Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
As winter gives way to spring, so do stew pots yield to skillets and grills
Iam not one for spring cleaning, but I am one for spring cooking, throwing open the windows and airing out those stewy winter cooking habits. Whether I’m loading a skillet with everything green or cranking up the grill on the first 60-degree day, I’m breezily banishing all thoughts of winter.
Add these recipes to your spring cooking bucket list, or even make one for dinner tonight.
One-pot mushroom and ginger rice
Inspired by Cantonese one-bowl rice dishes such as bo zai fan and sticky rice, this mushroom and ginger rice has clean yet robust flavors. The Chinese cooking technique of velveting — dusting protein in cornstarch to keep it tender and silky during cooking — is usually reserved for meat or seafood, but here the same method is used for the mushrooms, allowing them to stay juicy and plump as they cook in the rice. Crisping the rice at the bottom of the pot is optional, but if you choose to do it, stay close, listen to the sound of the sizzle, smell the aroma; if you detect any burning scents, take it off the heat immediately. At first, the rice will seem stuck to the pot, but it will release more easily once it has cooled. A dish like this would traditionally be cooked in a clay pot, so use that if you have one, but if not, a cast-iron Dutch oven will do the job.
By Hetty Lui Mckinnon Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups medium-grain white rice
• 2 cups vegetable stock, store-bought or homemade
• 10 oz mushrooms, such as shiitake, cremini, button or blue oysters (or a mix), halved or quartered
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 6 to 7 tsp tamari soy sauce
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine (optional)
• 3 tsp sesame oil
• Salt and white or black pepper
• 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Toasted white sesame seeds (optional) Preparation:
1. Place the rice into a Dutch oven and rinse it 3 times until the water runs almost clear. Pour the stock over the rice and leave to soak for 10 minutes while you prepare the mushrooms.
2. Place the mushrooms into a bowl and add the cornstarch and toss to coat. Add 4 teaspoons of soy sauce, the 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (if using), 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of white or black pepper; toss to coat.
3. Place the pot with the rice over medium-high heat, add the ginger slices and bring to a boil. When bubbling, cover, reduce to low and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Uncover, add the mushrooms and, using chopsticks or a large spoon, stir the mushrooms through the rice. Cover again and cook on low until the mushrooms are cooked and rice is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Remove the lid, increase heat to medium-high and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until you can hear it sizzling aggressively, which indicates that the bottom of the rice is becoming crispy. (Skip this step if you don’t care for the crispy rice.)
6. Turn off heat and drizzle with 2 to 3 teaspoons of soy sauce, the remaining 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and top with scallions and sesame seeds (if using).
Herby skillet chicken
In this easy skillet meal, seared boneless chicken thighs are nestled on a bed of herbs, browned whole garlic cloves and greens before the pan is popped into the oven to roast until golden. Just before serving, butter, lemon zest and (optional) olives or capers are tossed into the pan drippings, adding creaminess and a tangy, salty spark to the sauce. Serve this over rice or with roasted or mashed potatoes, or with bread for soaking up the drippings.
By Melissa Clark
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 35 to 45 minutes
Ingredients:
• 6 garlic cloves, 5 smashed and peeled, 1 finely grated or minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal, or use 1/2 tsp Morton), more as needed
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• Large pinch of red-pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see Tip)
• 1 bunch scallions
• About 1 large or 2 small bunches kale, collard greens, mustard greens, mature spinach or other hardy greens (12 oz)
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
• 1 cup chicken stock or water
• 1 cup chopped soft herbs, such as cilantro, dill, mint or basil, or a combination, more for serving
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 lemon, zested and halved
• 1 to 3 tbsp chopped olives or capers (optional)
Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together grated garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, coriander and red-pepper flakes. Rub all over chicken, then set aside to rest at room temperature while you prepare vegetables.
2. Thinly slice the scallions, separating the white and green parts. Pull the leaves off the greens and coarsely chop them (discard stems or save for another use). You should have 8 to 9 cups.
3. Heat a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Add oil and smashed garlic cloves, stirring to coat garlic in oil, then add chicken. Cook, stirring the garlic occasionally, until chicken is deeply browned on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn chicken and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on the other side, just until no longer pink (the chicken will still be very raw inside). Transfer chicken to a plate but leave garlic in the pan.
4. Stir in scallion whites (save the greens for later) and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in stock, greens, herbs, another pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil. Bring liquid to a simmer, tossing to wilt the greens (you might have to add the greens in batches, adding more as they wilt down).
5. When the greens are wilted, nestle chicken into skillet, browned side up, and pour in any juices from the chicken plate. Transfer skillet to oven and cook, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven and transfer chicken to a plate.
6. If pan juices are watery, bring to a simmer over high heat and cook until thickened slightly. Add scallion greens, butter, lemon zest, and olives or capers (if using) to the pan, stirring until the butter melts. Squeeze in a little lemon juice, then taste and add more salt and lemon juice if needed. Return chicken to the pan and toss with the saucy greens. Top with more herbs and serve.
Tip: If you want to use bone-in, skin-on thighs or chicken breasts here, you can. Just add about 10 minutes or so cooking time for the bone-in thighs, and start checking the breasts 5 minutes sooner, since they might need less time in the oven.
Skillet broccoli spaghetti
This pasta, adapted from “I Dream of Dinner (So You Don’t Have To),” by Ali Slagle (Clarkson Potter, 2022), might seem unorthodox at first. The pasta is cooked in the sauce instead of in a separate pot of boiling water? The broccoli is cooked until it’s mushy enough to become sauce? Yes and yes, and for very good reasons. The sauce, sweet from simmered-until-tender broccoli and savory with loads of garlic and anchovy, tastes lovingly coddled, like you cooked that broccoli forever. But you know the truth: It came together in minutes. You don’t have to wait for a big pot of water to come to a boil, but more important, the pasta and sauce have a symbiotic relationship. The pasta soaks up the sauce flavors from the start, and the pasta releases starch to help turn the water into a creamy sauce.
By Ali Slagle Yield: 4 servings Ingredients: Total time:
25 minutes
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 lb broccoli
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 12 oz spaghetti (or another pasta that cooks in 10 minutes)
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes
• Grated Parmesan, for serving (optional) Preparation:
1. Thinly slice the garlic and transfer to a large (12-inch) skillet with high sides. Cut the florets off the broccoli, keeping as much of the branch connected to the trunk as possible. Peel the trunk and cut the trunk and branches into 1/2-inch pieces. Transfer to the skillet. Roughly chop the florets so even the biggest pieces fit on a soup spoon. Leave the florets on the cutting board.
2. To the skillet, add the butter and anchovies, and set over medium-high. Cook, smashing the anchovies and stirring the butter, until the garlic and broccoli are softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the spaghetti, the florets and any broccoli bits on the board, 2 teaspoons salt and the red-pepper flakes. Pour over 5 cups water. Bring to a boil over high, then cook, tossing often with tongs, until the spaghetti is al dente, 8 to 12 minutes. If the pasta is looking dry, add more water. Eat with grated Parmesan, if using.
Crispy coconut shrimp and shallots
Crispy coconut, caramelized shallots and tender shrimp are cloaked in a spicy-sweet orange chile sauce in this recipe, which is slightly reminiscent of coconut shrimp, the beloved beachside snack. However, the vibe here is more dinner main and perhaps even more laidback because no battering and frying is needed. Instead, shrimp are simply sautéed in coconut oil to build coconut flavor, then bathed in sauce, before being crowned with the crunchy flakes of coconut and shallot. To soak up the sauce and round out this meal, steamed rice sits at the base, but wilted spinach or roasted green beans would be delightful.
By Christian Reynoso Yield: 4 servings Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
• 5 tbsp unrefined coconut oil or olive oil or a mixture of both
• 1 large shallot, sliced into thin rings (about a heaping 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 lb large raw shrimp (20 to 25 count), peeled and deveined, patted dry
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro • Freshly steamed rice, for serving
Preparation: 1.
Heat 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large, 10- to 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium. Once fully melted, stir in the shallots and once they are rapidly sizzling, about 2 minutes, stir in the coconut flakes so they get coated in oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper and sauté, stirring frequently until both the shallots and coconut are golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Take off heat, transfer coconut and shallot to a paper towel-lined plate, set aside and wipe the pan clean.
2. In the same pan, add the remaining 2 tablespoons coconut oil and heat on high. Once hot add the shrimp in a single layer, if possible, and cook, turning them over occasionally (or stirring if the pan is more crowded) until cooked through and thoroughly pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate. Wipe the pan clean and turn heat down to low.
3. Whisk the cornstarch into 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry. Add the orange juice and lime juice to the pan, then the cornstarch slurry, sugar, fish sauce and red-pepper flakes and stir to combine and cook over a low simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Season as needed with salt and black pepper. Turn off heat.
4. Serve immediately by first spooning the rice into bowls, then place the shrimp atop with the sauce generously spooned over. Toss the cilantro with the coconut and shallots and sprinkle on top of the shrimp.
Tip: To help keep the coconut crunchy, top the shrimp right before serving.
Flank steak
This lean, readily available cut of beef takes particularly well to flavorful marinades and is best grilled over high heat to develop a nice char. In this recipe, the marinade takes a cue from bottled salad dressing, with plenty of punchiness from garlic, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard. The honey helps the flank steak caramelize beautifully on the grill, and Worcestershire adds a savory, salty note that balances the sweetness. The trick to serving lean cuts of beef like flank is to slice them against the grain, so look for the natural lines in the steak’s muscle fibers, and slice perpendicular to them. For directions on how to cook a flank steak on the stovetop, see Tip.
By Lidey Heuck
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Total time: 2 hours, 50 minutes Ingredients:
• 1 flank steak (1 1/2 to 2 lb)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp minced garlic (about 4 large cloves)
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for serving • 1/2 tsp black pepper
Preparation:
1. Pat the steak dry with paper towels and place it in a large baking dish or in a resealable plastic bag.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, honey, garlic, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour the marinade over the steak and turn to coat. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap or seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
3. Before grilling, let the steak sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, set a grill to medium-high heat.
4. Brush any excess marinade off the steak and grill, keeping the lid closed to retain heat, until it reaches medium-rare, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer the steak to a plate, sprinkle with salt, rest for 10 minutes, then thinly slice against the grain.
Tip: To cook flank steak on the stove, heat a very large (at least 12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, then add the steak and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate and rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. If you don’t have a skillet large enough to fit the steak, cut it in half crosswise and cook the pieces one at a time.