DISHES TO COOK ON WEEKDAYS
Recently, I’ve been thinking about The New York Times’ original weeknight columnist, French chef Pierre Franey, who wrote “60-Minute Gourmet.” When he started in 1975, the ingredients available to most home cooks were pretty limited, as they are right now: a lot of dried, canned and frozen staples; the most basic fresh produce; and only the occasional fresh herbs or tomatoes or raspberries.
My big takeaway from Franey: As long as you have butter and cream and eggs and some kind of onion, you can definitely make a good dinner. And when in doubt, always make a pan sauce. Here are four recipes to try.
Crispy Frico Chicken Breasts With Mushrooms and Thyme
“Frico” is a fun way of saying “Parmesan-crusted,” an excellent treatment for boneless chicken breasts. You really can make this with any combination of quick-cooking vegetables — but you must make it in a nonstick skillet.
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 35 minutes
2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan (about 1/2 cup), plus more as needed
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 1/2 to 2 pounds) Kosher salt and black
pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil,
plus more as needed 1 pound mixed mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake, oyster or maitake, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red onion, halved and cut
into 1/2-inch wedges 4 fresh thyme or oregano
sprigs
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Heat oven to 425 degrees, and place the Parmesan on a plate. Lightly season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in Parmesan, and turn to coat, patting to help it stick.
In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Add the chicken, and cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Add the mushrooms, onion and herbs, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally and scraping up any cheese that may be stuck to the pan, until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Place chicken on top of vegetables, and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast until chicken is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the vinegar to the vegetables, and toss to combine; serve with chicken.
— Recipe by Dawn Perry
Korean BarbecueStyle Meatballs
The savory glaze that forms on the outside of these meatballs means that you have a tasty sauce for rice ready when they’re cooked. A leafy green stirfried with ginger is all you need to add; or just kimchi, if you have it.
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 20 minutes
1/2 cup chopped scallions 2 tablespoons low-sodium
soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced
garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper
1/2 cup finely crushed Ritz
crackers (12 crackers) 1 pound ground beef (round or chuck)
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, and use your
hands to gently mix.
Shape the meat into 12 golf-ball-size rounds (about 2 inches in diameter), and arrange on a greased rimmed baking sheet.
Bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Tips: Leftover meatballs freeze well and can be reheated in the oven at 375 degrees until warmed through (about 20 minutes). To make the Ritz crumbs, place the crackers in a resealable plastic bag, and lightly crush them with the back of a wooden spoon or measuring cup.
— Recipe by Kay Chun
Sheet-Pan Gnocchi With Asparagus, Leeks and Peas
Roasting gnocchi in the oven might seem odd, but think of them as a starchy vegetable rather than as a pasta. They form a lovely golden, chewy crust. Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 30 minutes
2 (12-ounce) packages gnocchi (preferably fresh, refrigerated, precooked gnocchi) 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons unsalted
butter
Kosher salt and black
pepper
1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into thirds
2 small leeks, trimmed, halved lengthwise, then sliced 1/2-inch thick (about 2 cups) 2 shallots, trimmed and sliced lengthwise 1/4inch thick
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
(or fresh peas)
1 lemon, scrubbed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan 1/4 cup sliced fresh chives or parsley (optional) Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss gnocchi with 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
On another rimmed baking sheet, toss asparagus, leeks and shallots with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few generous grinds of pepper.
Put both pans in the oven, with the gnocchi on the bottom rack and the vegetables above. Stir the gnocchi and vegetables after 5 minutes to distribute the butter. Stir the vegetables once or twice more, but leave the gnocchi undisturbed. Roast until vegetables are golden and getting crispy on the edges, about 15 minutes total, and the gnocchi are golden brown on one side, 20 to 25 minutes total. Stir the peas into the vegetables in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Combine the gnocchi and vegetables on one tray, then grate the lemon zest over the top. Sprinkle with half the Parmesan and chives, if using, saving some for serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss to combine, and transfer to a serving bowl or platter. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and chives, and serve immediately.
— Recipe by Susan Spungen
Spiced Chickpea Salad With Tahini and Pita Chips
I know some of you are tired of chickpeas, but this main-dish salad has so many things going on — crispy pita, tahini dressing, juicy tomatoes, warm spices — that the chickpeas act as one of many backup singers and not the main vocals.
Yield: 4 main-course servings
Total time: About 1 hour For the chickpeas:
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, well drained, or 4 cups cooked chickpeas
3/4 to 1 cup extra-virgin
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons ground cumin, or 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and ground coriander 1 teaspoon sweet paprika Salt and pepper
For the tahini sauce:
1/3 cup tahini Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
1 garlic clove, minced Warm water, as needed
To finish:
Olive oil, for cooking About 10 ounces kale, chard or spinach, well washed and thick stems removed
3 cups store-bought or
homemade pita chips Handful of roughly
chopped flat-leaf
parsley Handful of roughly
chopped mint
1 large or 2 small cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced Lemon, cut into wedges
Make the chickpeas: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pour the chickpeas into a small baking dish, about 6 inches by 8 inches. The chickpeas should be crowded together in a thick layer, not spread out. Pour in olive oil just until chickpeas are covered. (This will look like a lot, but don’t worry: It forms part of the dressing.)
Add garlic, cumin, paprika and 2 big pinches each of salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Bake until oil is bubbling around the chickpeas and they are turning reddish-brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, make tahini sauce: Pour tahini into a bowl, and whisk in lemon juice and garlic. The tahini will thicken and clump. Slowly whisk in warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until sauce becomes smooth, creamy and pourable. Taste, and season with salt, pepper and more lemon juice, if desired. Set aside.
Cook the greens: Place a large frying pan over medium heat, and drizzle lightly with olive oil. When hot, add the greens in batches, along with a big pinch of salt. Stir until wilted and tender, and set aside.
When ready to serve, in a large bowl, gently mix chickpeas and their cooking oil with the cooked greens, half the pita chips and the chopped herbs. Mound chickpea mixture in 4 shallow bowls. Divide cucumber slices around chickpeas. Drizzle thickly with half the tahini sauce, and scatter remaining pita chips on top. Place a lemon wedge on the side, and serve, passing extra tahini sauce at the table.
Tips: It’s easy to make pita chips from stale pita bread. Cut each round into triangles like a pie, and separate the top and bottom layers. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it ripples, add the pita triangles, and cook, stirring often, until golden brown. Reduce the heat as needed to prevent scorching.
— Recipe by Julia Moskin