Weeknight Meals

For this noodle bowl, I took inspiration from Heidi Swanson’s Black Sesame Otsu in Super Natural Every Day, in which a blanket of black sesame seeds is toasted until it smells heady, then pounded with a mortar and pestle and combined with some Asian pantry staples to make a thick, savory, and tangy dressing, here given a bit more punch with wasabi. Like other cold noodle dishes, this is a good dish for packing up, and in my experience has been wonderful on the beach. The shredded egg and wisps of radish incorporate into the noodles, the shallot brings crunch and zing, and the final drizzle of kecap manis—the Indonesian soy sauce— brings the whole bowl together in the most satisfying way.

This is probably the most famous lentil dish coming out of India—yellow lentils tempered with spices and the usual holy trinity of garlic, ginger and chile. It has always been a favorite of mine and it would grace our family dinner table at least once a week when I was growing up. There are lots of different recipes for flavoring the oil (tadka), so play around with your spice pantry and see what you come up with. If you don’t have half of these spices, then don’t worry; just add a tablespoon of your favorite spice paste and it will taste just as delicious.

Citrus segments get saucy in our play on duck à l’orange.

If your largest skillet isn’t large enough to hold 12 oz. pasta and toss everything together, dump the mixture back into the pot from cooking the rigatoni and toss.

Don’t toss out your Parmesan rind. Use it to flavor the beans and broth for this comforting classic.

This is like pouring a cooked mojito over stewed chicken, with the rum, lime, and herbs mingling beautifully with the chicken juices. Serve it with rice and a cold, crispy Alsatian white like a Pinot Blanc.

Frozen peas are a gift to the breakaway cook: their creamy, earthy goodness bursts with flavor, and they couldn’t be easier to store and prepare. The pesto-like tarragon emulsion, made even creamier by the addition of Greek yogurt, really brings out the best in them, and the sprinkling of pistachios on top lends a lovely toasted, nutty texture. Try them with a broiled fish fillet and a glass of grassy Sauvignon Blanc.

This dish is made with chicken thighs, which have more flavor than chicken breasts but you can substitute chicken breasts if you like. The meat needs to be raw for this dish so it can absorb more of the flavor as it cooks. Although the recipe calls for tequila, you can substitute beer, orange juice, or pineapple juice if you prefer. The liquid smoke is optional, but it does add a nice extra kick of smoky flavor. Serve this dish with rice, refried beans, and frozen margaritas or a frosty glass of beer.

Spaghetti squash plays the part of rice noodles in this take on a Vietnamese noodle bowl.

This quick-cooking version of the street-food favorite features chicken that is crisp on the outside yet moist and juicy on the inside.

Make your own broth with little more than dried porcini mushrooms for this light, filling, and deeply flavorful vegetarian soup.

These quick-cooking lamb chops make dinner feel instantly fancy.

With sweet potato as a binder, quinoa for protein, and meaty mushrooms for depth, this veggie burger beats anything in the frozen foods aisle.

I used to be put off by poaching chicken as I feared it was more complicated than my simple fried version. But it's actually much easier, because while the chicken poaches you can prepare the rest of the food. These days I often poach 3 or 4 chicken breasts at a time, then keep them in the fridge so I can toss them into salads over the following days. Poaching really helps to keep the moisture in the meat, so the end result is much more enjoyable than dried, overcooked chicken.

This fresh take on tabbouleh eliminates the bulgur entirely and uses the golden seeds of millet instead, which give a nutty, cornlike taste to the salad. (Here's how to master millet). But it's really all about the green herbs: Feel free to add too many!

Hanger steak is the king of what I call weeknight steaks, casual cuts of leanish meat that deliver delicious flavor without a lot of expense or fuss. The skinny strip of flesh tastes best cooked hard and fast, for a crispy char on the outside, and left nice and pink inside. Slice it with a significant slant across the grain for the best eating texture. If you can find a grass-finished hanger steak, you’ll get leaner meat and a higher proportion of healthy lipids, such as omega-3s and CLAs. The bad news: hanger steak—or onglet, as it is sometimes known—can be hard to find. Even my regular butcher runs out somewhat frequently. Don’t fret—just substitute flank steak.

This simple, light salad showcases the beauty of winter vegetables and makes an elegant start to a festive holiday meal.

I made this glorious hamburger soup one Sunday in winter for three very important reasons: One, it was so ding dang cold outside, all I could think about was soup. Two, church was canceled (Church? Canceled? I don't understand.) and I didn't have anything else to do. Three, I was hungry, man. I love hamburger soup so much because it's meaty and hearty and flavorful and satisfying. Mmmmmm! It just feels good to eat it, and as a bonus, it always reminds me of my grandmother Ga-Ga. And that always means it's going to be delicious.

Brown butter and sage create a rich, complex sauce in just a few short steps for this simple pasta.

Don't be fooled by the simple ingredient list: the combo of pumpkin purée and heavy cream turns into a luxurious pasta sauce with a rich smokiness thanks to Spanish smoked paprika.