Readers’ favorite recipes of the year
Recently, I asked readers to send me their favorite recipes of the year; a few of those are featured below. I’ve included a few of mine as well; as you might guess, I’m making recipes from New York Times Cooking all the time, and they’re at the heart of my kitchen repertoire. I’m a superfan of our writers and the work they do.
Happy holidays!
Baked Greek Shrimp With Tomatoes and Feta
This traditional Greek recipe disregards the notion that seafood and cheese don’t mix, and it works beautifully, resulting in a harmonious balance of flavors. Although it can be made year-round with canned tomatoes, it is sensational with fresh sweet ripe ones, so best prepared in summer. Serve it as a main course with rice or potatoes, or in small portions as an appetizer, taverna-style. — David Tanis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings. Total time: 45 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 large shallots, diced, about 1 cup 4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
2 pounds large ripe tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 ounces Greek feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 2 tablespoons roughly chopped mint
DIRECTIONS
1. Put 4 tablespoons olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Lower heat as necessary to keep mixture from browning. Remove from heat while preparing tomatoes.
2. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add whole tomatoes and cook for about 2 minutes, until skins loosen. Immediately plunge tomatoes in a bowl of cold water to cool, then drain. With a paring knife, core tomatoes and slip off skins. Cut tomatoes into thick wedges.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Return skillet to stove over mediumhigh heat. Add tomato wedges and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until mixture is juicy and tomatoes have softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a shallow earthenware baking dish.
4. Put shrimp in a mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, season shrimp with salt and pepper and stir to coat. Arrange shrimp over tomato mixture in one layer. Crumble cheese over surface and sprinkle with oregano.
5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until tomatoes are bubbling and cheese has browned slightly. Remove from oven and let dish rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with mint and serve.
Skillet Chicken With Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions
This comforting one-pot dinner is reminiscent of a rich French onion soup but made in less time and with lighter ingredients. Cooking the onions in a hot, dry pan forces them to release their moisture so that they shrink and become silky and sweet in 30 minutes. Serve everything directly from the pan, with some crusty bread to soak up all the juices, or shred the chicken and pile it on top of buttered noodles. For something green, stir in some spinach to wilt at the end or serve alongside a simple green salad or roasted broccoli. — Yasmin Fahr Yield: 4 servings. Total time: 30 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
5 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar 2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Kosher salt and black pepper 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 4 cups) 3/4 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced (about 4 cups) 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley or dill leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or pecorino (optional)
Bread or cooked pasta, for serving
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar, the honey, mustard, red-pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt; whisk until smooth. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then add to the mixture, coating it well. Set aside at room temperature, stirring it once while you make the onions.
2. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron or heavy skillet over mediumhigh until very hot, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then add the onions in an even layer. Season with salt, then cook, mostly undisturbed, for 4 minutes more, stirring every minute or so. Add the mushrooms, season with salt, and stir to combine. (It will look crowded, and that’s OK.) Allow to cook mostly undisturbed until the mushrooms shrink and start to brown, about 4 minutes, stirring every minute or so.
3. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and allow the onions to cook until they start to color, stirring and lowering the heat as necessary to avoid burning, about 2 minutes. Push the onions and mushrooms to the edges of the skillet, then add the chicken pieces to the center. Pour any remaining marinade (there will be very little) over the onions and mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes, then combine the chicken and vegetables and
cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes more. (Reduce the heat to medium if the onions look like they are burning at any point.)
4. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, stirring and scraping up anything on the bottom of the skillet. Season to taste with salt.
5. Remove from the heat and top with the parsley and cheese, if using. Serve with bread or pasta.
Gochugaru Salmon With Crispy Rice
Gochugaru, a mild, fragrant red-pepper powder, bedazzles this quick salmon dinner. As a key ingredient in Korean home cooking, gochugaru proves that some chiles provide not only heat but also fruity sweetness. Here, that’s especially true once it’s bloomed in maple syrup, vinegar and butter. If you like shiny things, you may find great pleasure in watching this pan sauce transform into a mirrored, crimson glaze. Try to get long, center-cut salmon fillets for uniform thickness and even cooking. Their crispy skin tastes wonderful with white rice, which toasts in the rendered salmon fat. To balance the richness of the fish, serve it with fresh, crunchy things, like cucumbers, pickles or a big green salad. — Eric Kim Yield: 4 servings. Total time: 20 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
4 skin-on salmon fillets (6 ounces each)
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups cooked white rice, preferably leftovers 4 teaspoons gochugaru (see Tip)
2 tablespoons maple syrup 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, kept whole
Sliced cucumbers or pickles, for serving (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Season the salmon on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over mediumhigh. Add the olive oil and sear the salmon fillets skin side down until the skin is browned and crispy, 2 to 5 minutes. The salmon’s orange flesh will begin to turn pale coral as the heat slowly creeps up the sides of the fish; you want that coral color to come up about two-thirds of the way at this point for a nice medium-rare. Carefully flip the salmon and cook the second side until the flesh feels firm, another 1 to 2 minutes. When you press it, it should not feel wobbly. Transfer the salmon to a plate skin side down and keep the pan with the rendered fat over the heat.
2. Add the rice to the fat in the pan and spread in an even layer, packing it down as if making a rice pancake. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the bottom is lightly browned and toasted, about 5 minutes. You should hear it crackle. Flip the rice like a pancake, using a spatula if needed. You may not be able to flip it all in one piece,
but that’s OK. Cook until lightly toasted on the second side, another 1 to 2 minutes. Go longer if you want crispier rice, but the trifecta of crispy-chewy-soft tastes wonderful.
3. While the rice is cooking, stir together the gochugaru, maple syrup, rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. When the rice is done, divide it evenly among the plates. In the now-empty pan, add the gochugaru mixture and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until it bubbles up and reduces significantly, 15 seconds to 1 minute. It should look pretty sticky. Turn off the heat and add the cold butter, stirring with a wooden spoon or tongs until fully melted and incorporated into the gochugaru mixture. Pour this glaze over the salmon and serve with cucumbers or pickles, if you’d like.
Tip: You can find gochugaru, or red-pepper powder, at Korean or Asian supermarkets and at most grocery stores, as well as online. It sometimes comes in larger bags, which is not a problem because it freezes beautifully and tastes great dusted over just about anything.
Ricotta Pasta Alla Vodka
In a 1974 cookbook, Italian actor Ugo Tognazzi published a recipe for pasta all’infuriata, “furious pasta,” a chilevodka-spiked tomato number. It’s one of the first written accounts of vodka in pasta. The alcohol is said to help fat disperse more evenly, keeping the sauce emulsion glossy and creamy, and to help you smell, and in turn taste, the sauce’s flavors in a heightened way. The ricotta serving suggestion draws inspiration from the creamy tomato soup with three dollops of cool, sweet ricotta on top from the now-closed Caffe Falai in Manhattan. The ricotta lends coolness both in temperature and in flavor, offering relief between bites of spicy booziness. — Eric Kim
Yield: 4 to 6 servings. Total time: 45 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil 4 slices thick-cut bacon (6 ounces), coarsely chopped 1 1/2 teaspoons red-pepper flakes
1 4 but teaspoon large left garlic whole dried cloves, oregano crushed 1 chopped medium yellow onion, finely Freshly ground black pepper 5 tablespoons tomato paste, preferably double-concentrated 3/4 to 1 cup vodka, depending on how boozy you want it 1 pound fusilli, penne or rigatoni 1 cup heavy cream 4 ounces Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, finely grated (1 cup) 1 cup/8 ounces whole-milk ricotta Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or basil, for serving DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Heat a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high. Add the oil and bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crispy at the edges, about 5 minutes. Carefully drain all but 3 tablespoons of the fat, reserving any excess for later.
3. Lower the heat to medium. Stir in the red-pepper flakes, oregano and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, just a few seconds. Add the onion, season generously with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add more bacon fat if the pan dries out. Add the tomato paste and stir constantly until slightly darker in color, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the vodka.
4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions until 2 minutes shy of al dente.
5. While the pasta cooks, turn the heat under the sauce to high and cook, stirring constantly, until reduced by three-quarters, about 2 minutes. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Take off the heat.
6. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the sauce, along with 1 cup pasta water and most of the pecorino. Cook over mediumhigh, stirring vigorously with one hand while moving the pan back and forth with the other, until the sauce glossily drapes the noodles, 5 to 7 minutes. Add more pasta water if the sauce looks dry. Fish out the garlic cloves. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, as desired.
7. Divide the pasta among plates, sprinkling with any remaining pecorino and dolloping each serving with three spoonfuls of ricotta. Top with the parsley, which adds necessary freshness to counter the richness.
Soy-braised Tofu With Bok Choy
This Chinese-style braised tofu is an ideal midweek dinner over rice or noodles. Shallow-frying the tofu first makes it sturdier and prevents it from breaking apart in the sauce. (You could also deep-fry or use an air fryer.) Cutting the tofu into thicker pieces means that each mouthful is crisp yet plump, with a soft interior. This is an adaptable dish; when adding the bell peppers, you could add more vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snow peas or whatever you have on hand. Those familiar with restaurant-style braised tofu may expect more sauce, but in this homestyle version, the seasoning sauce
delicately coats the tofu and vegetables without drowning them. That said, double the sauce if you prefer. — Hetty Lui Mckinnon
Yield: 4 servings. Total time: 20 minutes.
INGREDIENTS For the tofu:
1 (14-ounce) package extrafirm tofu, drained and patted dry
Neutral oil, such as grapeseed or vegetable
Salt and black pepper 1 tablespoon doubanjiang or chile oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
4 scallions, trimmed, white and green parts separated and cut into 1-inch pieces 1 bell pepper (any color), stem and membrane removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (optional)
4 baby bok choy, trimmed and halved through the stem Cooked rice or noodles, for serving
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon vegetarian stirfry sauce or oyster sauce 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. Cut tofu across into 3/4-inch-thick slices, then cut each slice in half so you have roughly 12 squares.
2. Heat a large (12-inch), deep-sided nonstick or wellseasoned cast-iron skillet on medium-high. When hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat the base. Place the tofu in a single layer, season each piece with a little salt and black pepper, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes until golden and crispy. Flip and cook on the other side for 3 to 4 minutes more, adding more oil if needed. Remove tofu from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
3. Make the sauce: Combine the soy sauce, vegetarian stir-fry sauce or oyster sauce, cornstarch and sugar with
1/3 cup of water. Whisk until smooth.
4. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the doubanjiang or chile oil (if you’re using doubanjiang, add about 1 teaspoon of neutral oil) and stir for 15 seconds. Add the garlic, ginger and white parts of the scallion, and toss for 1 to 2 minutes, until the scallions are softened and everything is fragrant. If the pan starts to look dry, add a drop of oil.
5. Add the bell pepper and Shaoxing wine, if using, and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly softened. Pour in the seasoning sauce and let it sizzle for 30 seconds, stirring once or twice.
6. Add the baby bok choy, tofu and green parts of the scallion, toss gently to coat the tofu. Let it simmer on low heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce thickens, the baby bok choy is wilted but still green and crisp-tender, and the tofu has absorbed some of the sauce. Serve with rice or noodles.