Five beginner recipes are below, and I think you should look at them even if you’re very comfortable in the kitchen. Who doesn’t like having simple dishes and brilliant techniques at their fingertips?
Grilled salmon with mustard and lemon
In this simple salmon recipe, a quick stint under the grill transforms smooth Dijon mustard into a savoury, caramelised crust, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds just the right brightness and tang to the rich, sweet fish. Covering the baking pan with a protective layer of aluminum foil helps with the cleanup, meaning you can cook dinner and wash up in under 30 minutes.
By: Melissa Clark
Serves: 2 servings
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 (170-225g) skin-on salmon fillets, each about 2½cm thick
½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges, for serving
Method:
1. Position one oven rack 15cm from the grill heat source then heat the grill. Season the salmon fillets all over with ½ teaspoon salt and a couple of grinds of pepper and place them on an aluminum foil-lined baking tray, skin side down.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the oil and mustard until well mixed. Brush the tops and sides of the salmon with this mustard mixture.
3. Grill until the salmon is opaque with a deep brown crust, about 6 to 8 minutes for medium-rare (the centre of the fillets will be dark pink, if you pierce one with a paring knife and take a look). If your fillets are thinner, reduce cooking time by 1 to 2 minutes. If you prefer more well-done fish, add 1 or 2 minutes to the cooking time.
4. Squeeze a lemon wedge all over the cooked salmon fillets, then serve salmon with more lemon wedges on the side.
Vegetable tofu curry
This one-pot vegetarian meal comes together quickly and leftovers keep for days. Creamy coconut milk is made up of fat and liquid from pressed coconut meat and this recipe delivers its full range of flavours. When you melt the solids from a can of coconut milk and keep cooking until the liquid evaporates, the oil eventually separates out and delivers toasty nuttiness. Here, onion – any kind – tenderises in that tasty fat, and curry powder becomes more fragrant in it. Tofu soaks up the curry sauce while vegetables steam over the mixture, then everything gets stirred together. Experiment with whatever vegetables you have on hand, cooking them until tender.
By: Genevieve Ko
Serves: 2 to 4
Total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
2 broccoli heads, 225g green beans or 280g frozen peas, or a combination
1 (400-450g) container firm tofu
1 (380g) tin coconut milk
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp curry powder, plus more to taste
Cooked rice or other grains or noodles, for serving
Hot sauce, for serving (optional)
Method:
1. If using broccoli, trim the ends of the stems and discard, then cut the stems off near the base of the florets. Cut off the thick peel around the stems, then cut the stems into 1½cm slices. Cut the broccoli crowns into small florets. Drain the tofu and cut into 2½cm cubes.
2. Open the tin of coconut milk and spoon off an inch or so of the hard white solid part into a large saucepan with a lid i(f the milk is all liquid, add a few spoonfuls). Turn the heat to medium-high. When the solids melt, add the onion and broccoli stems, if using, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. The coconut milk liquid should have evaporated, so the onions should be sizzling in coconut oil and the milk solids should be brown and smell toasty. Scrape up any bits sticking to the bottom.
3. Turn the heat down to medium-low, add the curry powder and stir until evenly mixed, about 10 seconds. Add the remaining coconut milk, stir and bring to a simmer. Add the tofu and spread the cubes in an even layer, then top with the broccoli florets or other vegetables, sprinkle with salt and cover with the lid. Cook until the vegetables are just tender but still bright green, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Gently stir so the vegetables are also coated in sauce. Taste and stir in more curry powder, salt and pepper if you’d like. Serve hot over rice or other grains or noodles, with hot sauce if you want.
Tuna mayo rice bowl
This homey dish takes comforting tinned tuna to richer, silkier heights. Mayonnaise helps to hold the tuna together and toasted sesame oil lends incomparable nuttiness. You can adjust the seasonings to your taste: use as much or as little soy sauce as you’d like for a savoury accent. You can lean into the nuttiness of this rice bowl by sowing the top with toasted sesame seeds, or amp up the savouriness with furikake or spring onions. A staple of home cooking in Hawaii and South Korea (where it is sometimes called deopbap), this simple meal is a workday workhorse.
By: Eric Kim
Serves: 1 serving
Total time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 (140g) tin tuna (preferably any variety stored in oil), well drained
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
½ tsp soy sauce
250g cooked white rice (preferably short- or medium-grain)
Toasted white or black sesame seeds, furikake or chopped spring onions, for topping (optional)
Method:
1. In a small bowl, stir the tuna, mayonnaise, sesame oil and soy sauce to combine.
2. Add the white rice to a bowl and spoon the tuna mixture on top. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, furikake or spring onions, if using.
Crispy-edged quesadilla
This straightforward quesadilla has an unexpected twist: a border of salty, crispy cheese surrounding the tortilla. Achieving it couldn’t be easier; just press down on the folded tortilla as it heats up in the pan so the cheese spills out and turns golden. A nonstick pan is key here, otherwise the melted cheese will glue itself onto the cooking surface. Medium heat is just the right temperature for a quesadilla: it’s hot enough to crisp up the cheese but low enough to prevent the cheese from burning.
By: Melissa Clark
Makes: 1 quesadilla
Total time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tsp oil (such as olive, grapeseed or sunflower oil)
1 (20cm) flour tortilla
80g shredded cheese (such as cheddar or gouda)
Method:
1. Place a medium nonstick frying pan over medium heat, then add the oil. Let oil heat up for 20 seconds, swirling the pan around so the oil coats the bottom.
2. Place the tortilla in the pan and sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Once the cheese begins to melt, 30 seconds to 1 minute, use a spatula to fold the tortilla in half. Using the spatula, press down firmly on the top of the tortilla until some of the cheese runs out into the pan. Let the quesadilla cook until the cheese that’s leaked out solidifies and turns brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Flip the quesadilla over and let cook on the other side for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese is crisp and golden. Slide quesadilla onto a plate and serve immediately.
Turkey chilli
Rather than browning the meat first, which doesn’t do much for lean turkey mince and can actually make it tough, this recipe prioritises cooking down the vegetables first. Onions and tinned tomatoes fried in olive oil provide an umami-rich flavour base for turkey’s blank canvas, and the adobo sauce from tinned chipotle peppers does a lot of this dish’s heavy lifting. Optional toppings like shredded cheese and sour cream help cool down the spice. One of the best ways to enjoy this simple but powerful chilli is over French fries with melted cheese, or tossed with some cooked spaghetti. It’s so great on its own, as well.
By: Eric Kim
Serves: 2 to 4
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
1 (800g) tin whole peeled tomatoes
Salt
2 tbsp chilli powder
450g turkey mince
1 (200g) tin chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Shredded extra-sharp cheddar, sour cream and whole coriander leaves, for serving (optional)
Method:
1. In a large pot or casserole dish, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until translucent and starting to brown at the edges, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Use a fork to fish the tomatoes out of the tin and add them to the pot, leaving behind the juice for now. Season with salt and cook the tomatoes, breaking them up with the wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, until jammy and their liquid has reduced significantly, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Stir in the chilli powder and cook until fragrant, just a few seconds. Add the turkey mince, season with salt and stir to combine, breaking up the meat with the spoon (don’t worry about browning or cooking it through here, as it will do so when it simmers). Stir in the reserved liquid from the tomato can.
4. Use the fork to fish out as many chipotle peppers from the can as you would like, starting with two or three, and add to the pot, breaking them up with the wooden spoon, along with all of the adobo sauce. The more peppers you use, the spicier your final chilli will be; if you like spice, just add the entire tin (store any peppers you don’t use in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for up to 2 months). Fill the empty chipotle can with cold tap water, swish it around and add to the pot. Stir to combine.
5. Bring the chilli to a simmer over medium-high heat – you should see occasional small bubbles breaking the surface of the mixture – then cover the pot and reduce the heat to continue simmering over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced and the tomatoes have broken down, about 20 minutes. The chilli should look thick and shiny, but not too thick that you couldn’t ladle it into a bowl (if it’s too watery, then simmer with the lid off for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally). Taste and add more salt if desired. Serve with cheese, sour cream and coriander, if using.
© The New York Times
