Confort

This is quite a striking one-pan meal thanks to the combination of saffron, pistachios and pomegranates. Baking the rice in this way will also give you tahdig (crispy rice) around the bottom and edges of the pan.

During Nowruz, the Persian New Year, it’s customary to serve fish alongside sabzi polo, buttery herbed saffron rice, as a nod to renewal and prosperity Traditionally, white fish is smoked or fried, but this dish brings in many of the same key ingredients — fragrant saffron, fresh herbs and citrus — while embracing a more effortless, slow-roasted approach A flaky white fish like cod or halibut works beautifully here, but salmon also works and tastes especially luxurious when bathed in olive oil, garlic and dill.

This recipe, adapted from Roberta’s, the pizza and hipster haute-cuisine utopia in Bushwick, Brooklyn, provides a delicate, extraordinarily flavorful dough that will last in the refrigerator for up to a week It rewards close attention to weight rather than volume in the matter of the ingredients, and asks for a mixture of finely ground Italian pizza flour (designated “00” on the bags and available in some supermarkets, many specialty groceries and always online) and regular all-purpose flour As ever with breads, rise time will depend on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen and refrigerator.

Here is the archetype of a thin-crust pizza pie, a pizza margherita adorned simply in the colors of the Italian flag: green from basil, white from mozzarella, red from tomato sauce This pizza is adapted from the recipe used by the staff at Roberta’s restaurant in Brooklyn, who make their tomato sauce simply by whizzing together canned tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt The ingredients offer in their proportions what appears to be a kind of austerity — not even 3 ounces of cheese

Cabbages are the quintessential storage vegetable You can cut a cabbage in quarters or thirds and use one piece at a time The other hunks will keep, wrapped well in the vegetable crisper, for at least two weeks, and potentially a lot longer if you mist them with water every once in a while

This vegan variation of Korean rice porridge is soothing and superearthy, thanks to a mix of fresh and dried mushrooms. Fragrant garlic, ginger and scallions infuse the porridge, while a spoonful of caramelized miso layers deeper flavor into the dish.

At the happy place where mac and cheese, tomato pasta and tomato soup with grilled cheese meet, you’ll find this dreamy weeknight pasta. It starts with sizzling tomato paste, as well as garlic and paprika, in butter, to deliver a wallop of caramelized tomato flavor.

This one-skillet Japanese curry combines ground beef, potatoes, carrots and peas with store-bought curry roux bricks for a meal that tastes complex but comes together with little effort. A Westernized, roux-based version of curry was introduced to Japan by the British Navy in the late 1800s and, over time, evolved to become a staple in Japanese households, with a number of variations like kare udon (served over noodles) and kare raisu (served over rice).

Tacos are always a good idea on a weeknight They come together quickly and are a great way to clean out your refrigerator of leftover salsas or cheese nubs and can be an excellent way to incorporate vegetables Here, mushrooms, poblanos and cherry tomatoes are cooked down into a juicy filling seasoned with onions, garlic and the Puerto Rican spice blend sazón

The citrusy, sweet and sour sauce in this sheet-pan recipe gets caramelized by the oven’s high heat, coating chicken thighs and cubed sweet potatoes with a delightfully sticky glaze You can use any kind of marmalade here — orange, lemon, grapefruit — or use a mixed-peel marmalade for the most complex flavor The combination of fish sauce, soy sauce and garlic lends pungent, salty flavors that round out the sweetness of the marmalade, while crushed red pepper adds heat.

The full name of this dish is poulet directeur général, translated from French as “chicken for the director general” and known in English as CEO chicken because it was often reserved for high-ranking officials, business elites and important guests. This meal of chicken, plantains and vegetables bound in a fragrant tomato gravy was often a marker of privilege and exclusivity, and is now common in Cameroon and its diaspora.

This classic Shanghainese dish, adapted from “My Shanghai: Recipes and Stories from a City on the Water” by Betty Liu (Harper, 2021), features pork belly braised in light and dark soy sauces, Shaoxing wine and rock sugar until it’s deeply flavored, caramelized and glossy, a popular method called “red cooking.” There are endless variations of this dish throughout Shanghai: Some include hard-boiled eggs, tofu knots or salted yellow croaker fish.

Like magic, a faster path to Jamaican curry chicken appears with the presence of a pressure cooker and the absence of chicken bones. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs and potatoes tenderize quickly in a sweat of onion, garlic and ginger.

During Chinese New Year, long noodles are eaten in all corners of China “Longevity noodles,” also presented at birthday celebrations, are never cut or broken by the cook, and if they can be eaten without biting through the strands, it’s considered even more auspicious Longevity noodles are usually stir fried, presenting challenges to the home cook

Easy but exciting, this five-ingredient pasta dish is spiked with spicy gochujang, a Korean red chile paste that provides heat and complexity Chopping the shrimp into bite-size pieces before cooking ensures that they will distribute more evenly in the finished dish, leaving you with perfect bite after perfect bite Once that’s done, sear the chopped shrimp in olive oil, set them aside, then toss in scallions, halved cherry tomatoes, gochujang and a splash of pasta water for a supereasy pan sauce

This recipe came to The Times in a 2006 magazine article about the 75th anniversary edition of The Joy of Cooking, the soup-to-nuts cookbook found on practically every home cook's shelf since its first publication in 1931 Like many of the book's beloved recipes, this dish is a crowd-pleasing, homespun classic that is incredibly simple to put together First, make a quick chili of beef, black beans, corn, green pepper and onion seasoned with chile power and cumin

There is no high drama about simmering a stew However fine, stew is a homey, intimate exchange, a paean to the way living things improve when their boundaries relax, when they incorporate some of the character and flavor of others Soulful, a word inextricably linked with a good sturdy stew, is the payoff to the cook who plans a little and has the patience to abide.

Hungarian goulash, a stew of paprika-spiced braised meat and vegetables, likely arrived in the United States with a wave of immigrants in the late 1800s The dish began a game of telephone, slowly evolving into something new entirely While American-style goulash may not bear much resemblance to its Hungarian namesake, the hearty one-pot dish has endured as an easy and comforting family weeknight dinner

With minimal prep and a quick cook time, this shrimp stew feels elegant for such an easy weeknight meal You can also take the dish in a number of directions: Substitute the shrimp with an equal amount of flaky white fish or even seared scallops, or stretch the dish into a meal for six by stirring in some butter and serving over cooked spaghetti or rigatoni A good glug of your best olive oil would also be welcome.

For the fastest path to deliciousness, select ingredients that punch above their weight This weeknight recipe leans on just five primary ingredients — ground chicken, lettuce and rice form the foundation; kimchi adds depth and hoisin lends sweetness — for a fresh spread that cooks in just 15 minutes Bracing and assertive, kimchi doesn’t slip into this dish; it dominates

Like coq au vin, its sister dish from the Burgundy region of France, beef Bourguignon is a stew of meat slowly simmered in hearty red wine along with pearl onions, mushrooms and crisp, cubed bacon Use a good wine here, something simple but drinkable It makes all the difference in the finished dish

Humble green cabbage wedges are roasted to charred perfection and made dinner party-worthy with a drizzle of tamarind and a crunchy, Indian-inspired peanut-sesame topping. Roasting cabbage at a relatively low temperature followed by a shorter burst of high heat allows even the toughest parts of the cabbage to turn melt-in-your-mouth tender while delivering deeply browned, crisp outer leaves and gloriously charred bits.

I think of this recipe, adapted from my book “Big Vegan Flavor” (Avery Books, 2024), as a spin on a North Indian chana masala with the addition of spinach and coconut milk and a South Indian-style tadka to finish. Tadka, perhaps my favorite and most used flavor-infusion technique from Indian cooking, is the process of blooming spices (and sometimes aromatics) in a fat, such as oil.

Gochujang, a Korean fermented chile paste, enlivens a straightforward dinner of roast chicken and vegetables with a salty, spicy and umami-rich layer of flavor Freshly grated ginger, sliced scallions and quick-pickled radishes elevate the flavor even further This recipe calls for a wintry mix of squash and turnips, but equal amounts of root vegetables like carrots, potatoes and beets, or lighter vegetables like cauliflower, brussels sprouts or broccoli will work well too.

Whether or not you’ve fallen for this cheesy white-bean tomato bake, we’d like you to meet its bolder counterpart, smoky and spiced, with lots of melty cheese Black beans shine in a deep-red mixture of fried garlic, caramelized tomato paste, smoked paprika and cumin The whole skillet gets coated in a generous sprinkling of sharp Cheddar or Manchego cheese, then baked until melted

Also known as McBitty's Bean Burgers, these veggie burgers from Mark Bittman are loaded with black beans, porcini mushrooms, garlic, smoked paprika (or chili powder) and soy sauce, for a satisfying patty you can serve with all the usual burger fixings.

A sweet, soft mix of cabbage and leeks forms the base of this homey one-pot dish Using vegetable broth instead of water as the liquid in the pot deepens the flavor, which is rounded out with salty, nutty Gruyère cheese and sour cream, and finished with smoked paprika and dill (or another fresh herb) You can use any short pasta here, just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t overcook; it should be just tender without being mushy.

There’s really no reason not to celebrate meatloaf — it’s simple, budget-friendly, cleanup is a breeze and there are almost always leftovers for next-day sandwiches While beef is often the go-to choice for the meat, turkey is a flavorful alternative that can take on a slew of mix-ins Here, seasoned bread crumbs, garlic powder and Worcestershire do the work, but a teaspoon of Italian seasoning or a palmful of fresh, chopped thyme or sage can be added for an extra boost

Simple yet surprising, this pantry risotto is a study in contrasts: Luscious, creamy risotto is topped with caramelized carrots that are roasted with spicy chile crisp while you make the rice The risotto base — a classic approach using shallots, garlic and white wine — is the foundation for a cheap though lush meal that can be cobbled together with pantry ingredients This one is subtly sweetened with freshly grated carrots, then topped with a pile of smoky roasted carrots

The Dark ’n’ Stormy is a festive and fiery cocktail made with spicy ginger beer, warm dark rum and a refreshing hint of lime — a welcome wake-up call for your taste buds This cookie recipe is no different Cayenne joins the classic spice mix of ginger, cloves and cinnamon, and candied ginger, infused with dark rum, is mixed in, adding chewiness and sweetness