Weeknight Meals

For a gluten-free version, toss the shallots in cornstarch rather than flour.

We highly recommend finishing the pasta with finely grated Parmesan and some extra cracked black pepper—they’re great flavors with the creamy lemon sauce.

Based on a Middle Eastern mujaddara, a homey mix of spiced simmered lentils and rice, this easy, meatless dish is rich with allspice, cinnamon, and sweet browned leeks. The handful of baby spinach stirred in toward the end turns it into a one-pot meal, and adds a bit of welcome color, too. If you don’t have leeks, use an onion or two instead.

Layering and baking sautéed garlicky greens, beans, and Parmesan on top of make-ahead Parmesan Polenta creates a super fast, pantry-friendly weeknight dinner that’s sort of like a polenta pizza.

This highly riffable dinner salad features cubes of leftover polenta, tossed in Parmesan, and crisped in a skillet for croutons that are naturally gluten-free, delightfully crunchy on the outside, and warm and creamy on the inside.

This revamped tuna noodle casserole is homey, bright, and pantry-friendly. You’ll toast dry pasta in oil until golden brown before cooking it in the tomato sauce.

This pasta offers the familiar comfort of baked macaroni and cheese but with pops of pleasantly bitter bright green broccoli rabe throughout.

Using a sliced whole lemon gives you unbeatable fresh aroma from the skin, bitter complexity from the pith, and tart, puckery juice from the flesh. Thin slices soften evenly and ensure that the lemon plays nicely with the pasta, butter, and Parmesan.

We took loose inspiration from Hainanese chicken rice to create this weeknight-friendly dish that retains the comforting and fragrant qualities of the beloved original.

Dried barberries are incredibly tart, more so than any other dried fruit you’ll encounter. Look for them at Middle Eastern markets or specialty foods stores, or order them online. 

Coconut milk and lots of aromatics bring life into this fish chowder. And just when you thought oyster crackers couldn’t get better, you’ll cook them in butter and smother them in paprika.

This rich, flavorful Nigerian dish brings together bold chile heat, the pleasant funk of fermented locust beans and dried shrimp, and a good dose of Old Bay.

Using both syrupy date molasses and pitted, sliced dates gives this dish rounded sweetness. It gets a dash of sourness from apple cider vinegar and some heat from cayenne.

This recipe from Bryant Terry highlights the earthy taste and the toothsome texture of collards, and offsets the greens with tofu that’s been soaked in a Jamaican-inspired marinade.

These turkey burgers are my nod to the Mediterranean, packed with fresh herbs, lemon, and red onion.

This soup coaxes big flavors from a short ingredient list. Patiently browning the onions and garlic is essential to adding flavor and depth to the finished dish.

Thai green curry paste packs potent flavor into this one-pan, eight-ingredient, weeknight-friendly chicken dinner.

Bright in color and flavor, the silky sauce for these meatballs is made from a purée of coconut cream, Thai green curry paste, and spinach.

Green curry with chicken and eggplant from Chef Hong Thaimee.