Hello! Mia here, filling in for Emily. Always a delight to chat with my fellow weeknight dinner makers.
I’m going to get right into it, because you have sunscreen to slather on, pools to cannonball into and cold movie theaters to sit in — here are five fast, delicious recipes for your week. I’ve made all of these recently and I loved them; I think you will, too.
1. Spicy Sardine Pasta With Leeks and Lemon
A tin of sardines and a few simple aromatics can deliver many a dish: a satisfying toast, a Provençal gratin or a bowl of pasta, as in this recipe. Mashing tender sardines into a fry of garlic, leeks and chiles produces a spicy and savory sauce, while capers and chives add bright and fresh pops of flavor. Don’t love sardines? Tins of oil-packed anchovies and tuna, likely neighbors in most seafood-friendly pantries, are both strong alternatives.
By Ashley Lonsdale
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (4-ounce) tins sardines packed in olive oil
- Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
- 2 medium leeks, trimmed, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and rinsed
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 serrano chile, thinly sliced
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus two tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons capers, roughly chopped
- 1 small bunch chives, thinly sliced
Preparation:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Pour the olive oil from the sardine tins into the skillet. (You should get about 1/4 cup, but you can supplement as needed with additional olive oil.) Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the garlic and chile and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the pasta to the large pot and cook, stirring occasionally to ensure the strands don’t stick together, for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time on the package directions.
4. While the pasta cooks, lower heat under the skillet to medium. Add the sardines to the skillet and mash into bits with a spoon. Stir in the lemon juice, zest and capers.
5. Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the skillet along with 1 cup pasta water. Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce for about 1 minute, turning and tossing with tongs, until all but a small amount of loose sauce is absorbed, adding splashes of additional pasta water if needed. Garnish the pasta with chives, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly cracked pepper.
2. Fish and Lentils With Sauce Rof
In sauce rof, a fragrant, emerald green condiment from Senegal, garlic, parsley, scallions and chile are crushed together and used to season seafood or meat, adding nuance and complexity. For this recipe, fresh herbs chopped into confetti-like bits are loosened with a glug of oil and fresh lemon zest ensures the sauce maintains a vibrant and spicy tickle. While the sauce rof marinates fish, it also seasons the broth for cooking the lentils. After the fillets gently poach in the same pan, a handful of greens and a final addition of fresh sauce rof turn the meal into sublime bliss.
By Yewande Komolafe
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup French green or black lentils, rinsed
- 6 1/2 cups water, divided
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 Scotch bonnet chiles, jalapenos or serrano chiles (seeded for milder heat)
- 1 bunch scallions, coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stems coarsely chopped
- 1 lemon, zested and halved, divided
- 1/2 cup safflower, grapeseed or canola oil, divided
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
- 4 (4- to 6-ounce) white fish fillets, such as tilapia, cod, snapper or striped bass
- 5 ounces baby spinach (see Tip)
Preparation:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the lentils with 4 cups water and soak while preparing the sauce and marinating the fish. Soaking the lentils helps speed up cooking later.
2. Make the sauce rof by pulsing the garlic, chiles, scallions and parsley in a food processor until evenly chopped, scraping the bowl as needed. (Or, finely chop the ingredients by hand.) The mix should resemble confetti. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the lemon zest and the juice of half the lemon, 1/4 cup oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir to combine. Transfer 1/2 cup sauce to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Cut the remaining lemon half into wedges for serving.
3. Pat the fish dry and lightly season both sides with salt and pepper. Add the fillets to the large bowl and turn to coat with sauce. Cover and refrigerate to marinate while the lentils cook.
4. Drain the lentils and add to a large, deep skillet with a lid. Add 2 1/2 cups water, the remaining 1/4 cup oil and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, about 7 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to medium to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the lentils are al dente, about 15 minutes. Stir 1/4 cup of the reserved sauce into the lentils. Stir and continue to cook until the lentils are completely soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Nestle the fish fillets into the lentils, skin or smooth side down, adding any leftover marinade from the bowl. Cook uncovered until the fish is opaque just around the edges, about 4 minutes. Scatter the spinach on top, season with salt, cover and cook until the greens are wilted and the fish is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and push the spinach off the fish to check for doneness: The fillets should flake easily when poked with a fork.
7. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup sauce and serve immediately with the reserved lemon wedges for squeezing.
Tip: You can also use 4 to 5 ounces of coarsely chopped mature spinach or mustard or dandelion greens.
3. Coconut Saag
Saag paneer is a classic North Indian dish — but itap also endlessly riffable. Swap out the paneer for feta or halloumi, the mustard greens for kale or spinach, and so on. This is a particularly stellar riff, in which coconut milk enriches an already aromatic and verdant sauce that can be paired with either the traditional paneer, or extra-firm tofu. The final hit of coconut oil infused with smoky cumin seeds and red chile powder adds loads of depth, making this dish quite possibly the most luxurious way to eat a pound of greens.
By Priya Krishna
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 3 green cardamom pods or 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (freshly ground is best)
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 (1/2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound mustard greens, tough ends trimmed and greens roughly chopped, or fresh baby spinach (10 to 12 cups)
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1 small Indian green chile, serrano chile or Thai bird’s-eye chile, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (such as Morton)
- 1 (13-ounce) can coconut milk
- 1 (12-ounce) block extra-firm tofu or 1 (8-ounce) package paneer, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon asafetida (optional, but really fantastic)
- 1/4 teaspoon red chile powder, such as cayenne or Kashmiri
- Rice or roti, for serving
Preparation:
1. In a large, deep pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the vegetable oil. Once it shimmers, add the coriander and cardamom and toast the spices until fragrant and starting to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
2. Add the mustard greens, a large handful at a time, and cook until just wilted and still bright green. Don’t overcook the greens!
3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lime juice, chile and salt. Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend into a chunky paste. Return the mixture to the same pan over low heat. Stir in the coconut milk, then gently stir in tofu. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes more, until the tofu is warmed through and has soaked up some of the sauce.
4. While the tofu cooks, in a small pan or butter warmer over medium-high heat, melt the coconut oil. Add the cumin seeds, and once they start to brown and dance around in the pan, about 1 minute, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the asafetida, if using, and red chile powder.
5. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the saag, and serve with rice or roti.
4. Cold Noodles With Tomatoes
Halved cherry tomatoes provide a strong flavor foundation for this cold noodle dish thatap at once savory like gazpacho and refreshingly satiating like naengmyeon, the chilled Korean noodle soup. Inspired, too, by oi naengguk, a hydrating cold cucumber soup, this dish leans into the wonders of ripe tomatoes and lets you taste them as they are: raw and juicy. Julienned cucumber would taste wonderful here, as would supple poached shrimp or halved hard-boiled eggs.
By Eric Kim
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 pints ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- 12 to 14 ounces somyeon, somen, capellini or other thin wheat noodle
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large garlic clove, finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 cups cold filtered water
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 2 radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced at an angle
- 2 cups crushed or cubed ice
Preparation:
1. In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes and salt. Let sit until juicy, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to package instructions, drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
3. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, mustard and sesame oil to the tomatoes, and toss with a spoon until well combined. Stir the filtered water into the tomatoes and sprinkle the surface of the broth with the sesame seeds, radishes and scallions.
4. Right before serving, add the ice to the broth. Divide the noodles among bowls, and ladle in the broth and any unmelted ice, making sure each serving gets a nice sprinkling of tomatoes, radishes, scallions and sesame seeds.
5. Smashed Chicken Meatballs With Suya and Charred Corn
The earthy, robust notes of suya spice taste best when paired with a protein seared over high heat. Here, it marinates ground chicken along with fresh chile, ginger and garlic, and seasons a peanut dressing thatap drizzled over the meatballs. To keep lean chicken juicy while it cooks, miso and chopped spinach are stirred into the meat and the mixture is loosely formed into balls with a spoon. The deeply seared meatballs are smashed and give the entire dish a lovely brown hue, along with charred corn. A topping of herbs adds freshness to the hearty meal served over rice.
By Yewande Komolafe
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons suya spice (see Tip), plus more for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons white or red miso, divided
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Zest and juice of 1 lime, plus lime wedges for serving
- 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
- 1 (10-ounce) package chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and excess liquid squeezed out
- 1 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, seeded for mild if desired, chopped
- 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, finely grated
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 2 to 3 ears) or thawed frozen kernels
- 1 (5-ounce) box baby kale
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro and mint leaves, chopped
- Rice, for serving
Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, whisk the peanut butter, 1 tablespoon suya spice, 1 teaspoon miso and 1/2 cup water until smooth; taste and season with salt if necessary. Transfer 2 tablespoons to a medium bowl. To the sauce remaining in the small bowl, add the honey and the lime zest and juice; whisk until smooth. The finished sauce should run easily off a spoon. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water if needed and season to taste with salt.
2. To the medium bowl, add the chicken, spinach, chile, ginger, garlic, remaining 2 tablespoons suya spice, remaining 1 teaspoon miso and 1 teaspoon salt. Using your hands, mix well to combine.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large, well-seasoned cast-iron skillet (or other large heavy-bottomed pan) over medium-high. Once the oil is very hot, add the meat in heaping irregular chunks by scooping it with a large spoon or your hands and carefully dropping it into the skillet. Cook, undisturbed, until dark brown underneath and crisp around the edges, about 5 minutes.
4. Flip the meatballs and use a wooden spoon to smash the meat, breaking up any very large pieces. Move the meatballs to one side of the skillet, and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil then the corn to the other side. Cook without stirring until corn is light brown in spots and meat is fully cooked, about 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt if necessary.
5. Spread the greens on a large serving platter and top with the crispy meat and corn. Sprinkle generously with more suya spice. Drizzle with the peanut sauce and top with herbs. Serve immediately with lime wedges and rice.
Tip: To make about 1/4 cup suya spice, combine 1/4 cup toasted peanuts, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt in a spice grinder. Pulse to blend into a fine powder. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.
This article originally appeared in .
