Basically Recipes, Menus & Cooking Tips (2024)

This satisfying vegetarian stew is recipe developer Rachel Gurjar’s riff on North Indian-style lobia masala. Black-eyed peas soak up the flavors of an onion- and tomato-based gravy along with kale or any greens you’d like.

4.4

(4.37)

Creamy, cheesy potatoes with crispy edges, tender middles, and just a whisper of heat—need we say more?

4.6

(4.62)

The beloved Korean stir-fried chicken dish dakgalbi is spicy, sweet, aromatic, and comforting—and it comes together in a few easy steps and one pan.

5.0

(5)

This lightly spiced chocolate cake from Yossy Arefi's book Snacking Cakes is packed with pumpkin purée and features spices often found in Mexican chocolate. If you choose to use it, the pinch of cayenne adds a pleasing bit of warmth.

4.5

(4.47)

Cabbage has emerged as the hero of weeknight pantry cooking. Inexpensive and infinitely versatile, with an impressively long shelf life, one head of cabbage goes a long way. In this recipe, half of a cabbage is bathed in a turmeric-accented coconut milk until it’s meltingly tender and sweet.

4.7

(4.7)

This one-pot recipe, which makes a holiday table centerpiece with leftovers you’ll be thankful for, is adapted from Sabrina Ghayour’s book Simply. Cooking a lean cut of meat like brisket for an extended period of time in a moist environment yields meat that is, in Sabrina’s words, “ridiculously juicy [and] tender, [with] plenty of flavor.”

4.5

(4.45)

Melissa Weller has all the tricks up her sleeve.

Meera Sodha’s take on the beloved Indonesian dish nasi goreng uses shredded brussels sprouts two ways: Some are sautéed and incorporated into the rice mixture, while others are marinated and added on top for crunch and zing. Don’t skip the kecap manis—the syrupy Indonesian soy sauce is what gives nasi goreng its caramelization and depth.

4.0

(3.97)

Be the sharpest knife in the block.

Honing may not be sharpening, but it still is useful.

Instead of 14 rando knives, buy 3 good ones.

This is a “necessity is the mother of invention” kind of recipe, born from isolation, scant ingredients, an oversupply of kimchi, and sheer hunger. Yet this unconventional one-pot approach also happens to be one of the simplest ways to prepare mac and cheese.

4.0

(4.15)

3.0

(3.07)

When a recipe calls for sopping up sauce, these breadsticks are your sopper-uppers of choice. Topped with Kalamata olives, garlic, red onion, and Calabrian chiles, they’re also just as good on their own—serve them straight from the oven and let everyone rip them off with their hands. This recipe comes from Bryan Ford and is based on his Master Bread Dough. Feel free to customize them with whatever finely chopped toppings you desire; just be sure to press them into the dough so that they stick.

4.4

(4.43)

Make these sesame buns today, then question why it took you so long to make your own buns for burgers, egg sandwiches, fried chicken, and fillets o’ fish. This recipe from bread master Bryan Ford is based on his Master Dough recipe; simply portion it out, roll into tight balls, then dip in sesame seeds (or any small seeds and seasonings of your choice—poppy, flax, dried onion…). Ford bakes his buns in muffin rings, which gives them dramatic height—but free-form works just as well.

5.0

(5)

Here’s the answer to your question: “What can I make on Sunday night that will taste great for my 10:30 a.m. desk lunch on Wednesday?”

5.0

(4.76)

If you’re looking for a simple recipe for a tender sandwich bread—the kind of loaf that’d be great turned into a grilled cheese or crunchy croutons—this is it. This recipe from Bryan Ford is his Master Bread Dough, rolled into a tight log and baked until golden brown. We recommend slicing it and then freezing in a resealable plastic bag or airtight container for instant toast.

4.7

(4.69)

The secret behind many great breads is something called a preferment, a portion of the dough that ferments separately from (and for more time than) the rest of the ingredients. A preferment increases the strength of your dough (improving its final crumb structure) and contributes to aroma and flavor. In baker Bryan Ford’s cookbook New World Sourdough, the preferment is a sourdough starter; in this recipe, however, his preferment is the lower-maintenance poolish—a mixture of flour, water, and active dry yeast that grows overnight. Mix the poolish with more flour, water, and yeast as well as a touch of olive oil, sugar, and salt, and you get a resilient, flavorful dough that can be used in a nearly infinite number of ways. This is an instance when you really do need a kitchen scale—Ford encourages all bakers, especially beginners, to use one. The master dough can also be scaled up or down as desired.

4.0

(4.22)

This cheesy layered casserole is the ultimate sweet-and-savory mash-up, thanks to ground beef simmered with sofrito and tomato, melty mozzarella, and fried plantains to top it all off.

4.3

(4.31)

Some things in life are impossible to predict. Dinner isn’t one of them.

A classic yakhni pulao is meticulously prepared by simmering basmati rice in an aromatic chicken, lamb, or goat broth. In this version, chicken thighs are simmered in a spiced tomato base along with rice and whole spices like cinnamon and bay leaf.

3.6

(3.58)

If making bread has long intimidated you, start here. Parathas come in many shapes, textures, and flavors across Asia—they are perfect for dipping into dals and stews or eating alongside assorted condiments. This take, which Priya Krishna learned from her aunt Rachna, is really simple: a basic wheat-based dough stuffed with silky spiced potatoes.

4.0

(3.93)

“My mother (like many Puerto Rican mothers) has always had a copy of Yvonne Ortiz’s A Taste of Puerto Rico in our kitchen,” writers chef and recipe developer Gabriella Vigoreaux. “I can tell which dishes she’s made the most because the book just naturally falls open to those recipes. Only during quarantine have I started using it myself, marking new territory with soffritto stains on the pages my mother managed to keep pristine all these years. I turn to it when I want to taste my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s cooking with half of the effort. One of my go-tos is Ortiz’s guava barbecue sauce. It’s a wildly simple (four-ingredient) recipe with a single sentence procedure: ‘Thoroughly combine all the ingredients.’ It takes about five seconds to make but instantly conjures memories of childhood trips to the island, stopping at a kiosko for a pincho de pollo (chicken skewer) and licking the sticky sweet sauce from off my little fingers. My version is nothing like Ortiz’s, but it brings me back just the same. I’ve slathered this sauce on ribs and whole fish and used it as a glaze for pork belly, but I will always like it best with chicken. This is just to say, you might want to double it.”

4.0

(4.19)

Short ribs aren’t just for braising. Make sure to grill them to medium doneness, just long enough to render fat and tenderize, without letting them overcook or toughen.

4.5

(4.45)