Recipes

This comforting weeknight squash stew is inspired by Thai curries that combine rich coconut and fragrant lemongrass, but it’s quite mild and soothing rather than spicy. Deeply orange kabocha is used here, but butternut, delicata or acorn squash would all work well. The secret behind this quick yet flavorful dish is peanut butter; it adds nutty depth to balance the aromatic and bright lemongrass-infused broth. Chickpeas pair well with squash, but this customizable stew can accommodate any bean (like white, pinto or black beans); lightly mashing half of the tender squash and beans at the end thickens the sauce.

The ancient Babylonians, who lived in modern-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria as far back as the early second millennium BCE, were among the earliest human civilizations. They pioneered such concepts as written language, legal justice, and mathematics, and the culinary arts are no exception: The world’s earliest written recipes survive today in the form of ancient Babylonian tablets dating to around 1730 BCE. The tablets were unearthed in the 1920s, but were initially thought to be medical texts. It wasn’t until the 1980s that researchers finally deduced that the artifacts actually comprised an early cookbook — in fact, it’s considered to be the oldest surviving cookbook in the world.  I was curious to see how these early recipes tasted — especially compared to contemporary dishes — so I set out to recreate a couple of them and try them myself. One of the ...Read More

Let's make our own tofu at home from scratch with only 2 ingredients! (Water doesn't count!) We'll go from soybean, to milk, to coagulating with nigari flake...

Pesto is a mouthful of bright summer — basil made more so. You can buy it in a jar or in the refrigerator section of your grocery store, but there is nothing better than making it yourself. Fresh basil can be found in abundance at farmers’ markets in the summer. Just clean, take the stems off and throw the leaves in a food processor with nuts and garlic. Dribble in the oil and you’ve got a versatile sauce for pasta, chicken or fish. Why You Should Trust This Recipe First published in 1986, this essential sauce recipe was created by Florence Fabricant. She began writing for the Times in 1972 and is the author of 12 cookbooks.

Khoresh kadoo halvaii is a popular and comforting fall dish from the northern region of Iran and is typically prepared with meat or chicken. This version swaps out the meat for canned chickpeas and is just as flavorful. Dried fruits are commonly used in Iranian cuisine to infuse a variety of savory dishes with a sweet and sour taste. Traditionally, dried golden sour prunes, aloo Bukhara, are added to this stew for a pleasing and distinct sour flavor, but pitted dark prunes, which lean a little sweeter, can be used. If using aloo Bukhara, be mindful of their pits when eating. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.

To make crispy, flavorful tofu without having to press it first, use this smart method from Andrea Nguyen, the author of “Asian Tofu” (Ten Speed Press, 2012) and other cookbooks: Warm the tofu in a pan with a small amount of flavorful sauce. As it cooks, it will dry out and absorb the flavors of the sauce. Next, you add oil to the pan, which crisps the tofu. In Ms. Nguyen’s recipe, soy sauce is used, but here, the aromatics in Thai green curry paste and the sugars in coconut milk toast and caramelize on the tofu. Once the tofu has a deep-brown crust, remove it, sear a quick-cooking vegetable in the same pan, then reduce the remaining curry-coconut mixture into a fragrant, sweet-and-spicy glaze.

Combining rice-shaped orzo with chewy farro makes for a very satisfying pasta salad, with diverse textures and a nutty flavor. Even better, you can cook the farro and orzo in the same pot, and they can be dressed up to a day in advance. Use this basic recipe as a template for your own combinations. Here, a mix of creamy goat cheese, sweet dried apricots and sliced almonds are tossed with fresh herbs and a mildly spicy lemon dressing. But add what you have and what you love; the orzo and farro can take it, with grace. You can dress the orzo and farro mixture up to one day ahead, but don’t add the remaining ingredients until just before serving. The recipe feeds a crowd, so if you’re not making it for a party, consider halving everything, or plan on eating leftovers for lunch all week long.

If you’re feeling a bit worn down, one bowl of this hearty lentil soup will bring you back to life — or at least fool you into thinking so. The broth is simply (and deeply) flavored with charred onions and six garlic cloves, plus a generous pinch of turmeric that stains the soup gold. As they cook down, the lentils melt into the broth, making it thick and rich. A healthy dose of black pepper brings gentle heat to clear your head, and the final sprinkle of fresh dill and parsley adds a bright, herbal finish. This soup is soothing and satisfying on its own, but feel free to add a few extras: hearty greens like kale or spinach to wilt, a soft-boiled egg, or even chile oil for some heat.

This festive dish is a fairly easy main course for the Seder meal — or anytime. Marinating overnight leaves very little work on the day of serving, but two hours is enough to infuse the chicken with tangy citrus and the sumac. Dried apricots, already more tart than sweet, are marinated along with the chicken and become almost savory in the oven. Using pitted Castelvetrano olives will save you a lot of elbow grease, and their meaty texture and mild flavor are perfect here. After roasting together, everything goes under the broiler to deeply brown and thicken the cooking juices into a tasty sauce.

The basic components of moo goo gai pan, a Chinese-American dish which means “mushrooms with chicken slices” in Cantonese, has remained relatively unchanged over the years: tender chicken and an assortment of vegetables coated in a light, savory sauce served alongside a pile of steamed white rice. The dish, which is inspired by classic Cantonese cuisine, is believed to have first appeared in the United States in the 1800s, when Chinese immigrants prepared it for laborers. While the combination of vegetables varies, here, fresh carrots and canned bamboo shoots and water chestnuts reflect what’s commonly found in Chinese restaurants in the United States. For added texture and flavor, this version includes crunchy sugar snap peas, and the option of substituting shiitakes for traditional button mushrooms. Most often, this dish is prepared with a silky, chicken broth-based white sauce, but here, a tiny bit of soy boosts the flavor.

Farro is a perfect vehicle to showcase summer produce. With its nutty flavor and toothsome texture, the whole grain is a great counterbalance to snappy, sweet green beans. The farro cooks while you prepare the rest of the salad, allowing for an easy-to-assemble meal. Dill and walnuts, a nod to Middle Eastern flavors, are used in the gremolata, but pistachios and mint or hazelnuts and parsley would also work. Feta cheese or ricotta salata tossed in at the end would also be a nice addition. This hearty salad works well on its own, but would also be a fine companion to grilled fish or any other protein. Add the acid just before serving; it makes every ingredient sing.

Melissa Clark’s roasted cauliflower and arugula salad. Matt Taylor-Gross for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne

Miso salmon is an easy meal for any night of the week but it gets taken to a whole other level here with the additions of grapefruit and honey. Combining the zest and juice from the grapefruit with honey, miso and a bit of ginger gives the fish a sticky-tangy finish when broiled. The sushi rice is mixed with a humble pat of butter and some sliced scallions, making it a comforting counterpart to this simple fish for an elegant weeknight dinner.

Vibrant with the sharp creaminess of tzatziki, the Greek yogurt dip, this dish embodies the cool, easy eating of the warmer months. Crisp cucumbers and hearty chickpeas are dressed with a lemony and garlicky Greek yogurt mixture. A hint of honey brings harmony to the dressing; the hum of sweetness softens the tartness of the yogurt and introduces a richness to the dish. This no-cook salad is hearty enough for a standalone meal, but should you wish to dress it up, here are a few serving suggestions: Eat with flatbread, falafel, veggie skewers, or roasted Greek lemon potatoes.

It’s Saturday night, and you decide to make your favorite chocolate cake. As you reach for the vegetable oil, you quickly realize the bottle is empty. In desperation, you grab the olive oil and think, can I just use this instead? The short answer is no. While the two cooking oils appear to have a similar look, each will make your food taste vastly different than the other. With so many oil options on the market, it’s easy to get confused. Here is a handy guide on the different kinds of cooking oils and when to use them.

This simple fish dish is best made with wild salmon, but it works equally well with the farmed sort. It's astonishingly easy. In a hot oven, melt butter in a skillet until it sizzles, add the salmon, flip, remove the skin, then allow to roast a few minutes more. You'll have an elegant fish dinner in about 15 minutes. Don't be afraid to play with herb and fat combinations: parsley, chervil or dill work well with butter; thyme, basil or marjoram with olive oil; or peanut oil with cilantro or mint.

Do the most with what you have on hand with these smart tips for swaps.

Simple and impactful, this pantry marinade made from lemon, honey, tahini and olive oil gives chicken a subtle nutty flavor and imparts a gorgeous color — and caramelization — thanks to the honey’s sugar content. You can cook this chicken one of three ways: on the grill, in the oven or a skillet; all options lead to sensational results. Flavorful but versatile, this chicken pairs with almost anything. You could serve a refreshing green salad or grilled vegetables on the side, or tuck the chicken into a toasted pita with avocado, cucumbers and crumbled feta. Sprinkling sumac on the cooked chicken or adding it to the sauce will add extra depth and citrusy notes.