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Simplest Asparagus Gratin

Cover cooked asparagus with cheese, stick it under the broiler until the top is golden brown and crisp around the edges, and you have a fabulous and elegant dish. You can prepare any of the variations using asparagus instead of the suggested alternative vegetable. Other cooked vegetables you can use: green or wax beans, artichoke hearts, fennel, eggplant, leeks, spinach, celery root, parsnips, zucchini, winter squash, or sweet potatoes.

By Mark Bittman Published December 16, 2024

Green Beans Tossed with Walnut-Miso Sauce

This traditional Japanese dish comes together in minutes, and the results are wonderful. Even better, this sauce is almost universally useful. It works on other vegetables as well as plain rice, noodles, or other cooked grains. Other vegetables you can use: almost any solid vegetable—peas, snow peas, or sugar snap peas (parboiled and shocked); broccoli or cauliflower (parboiled and shocked); potatoes (boiled or baked); eggplant (sautéed); zucchini (steamed or grilled); and so on.

By Mark Bittman Published December 16, 2024

Curried Stir-Fried Potatoes

This is an unusual dish—the potatoes remain slightly crunchy—inspired by similar creations from the Sichuan province of China and throughout India. Best with homemade curry powder or garam masala. The cumin seeds add a nice bit of crunch, and the cilantro adds a fresh note at the end, but neither is essential. Other vegetables you can use: cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, turnips, or radishes.

By Mark Bittman Published December 15, 2024

BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches

Simmered, then roasted, canned jackfruit tossed with barbecue sauce tastes remarkably like pulled pork. The two steps are key for the best flavor. Simmering softens the jackfruit, allowing you to break it into shreds. Roasting it with barbecue sauce results in caramelization that makes the jackfruit taste like it’s come off the grill. Do not prepare this using jackfruit packed in syrup; if you do, you’ll have a super-sweet, sticky mess. If you like, top your sandwich with a little coleslaw.

By Mark Bittman Published December 15, 2024

Sautéed Ripe Plantains (Plátanos Maduros)

Sweet, but appropriately so. My kids went wild over these when they were young, and still do. Other fruit you can use: just-ripe bananas (yellow but with only a few black spots).

By Mark Bittman Published December 15, 2024

Food with Mark Bittman: Brita and Bryce Lundberg

When rice = family.

By Mark Bittman Published December 13, 2024

Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are a pickle used in North African and Middle Eastern cooking. Chopped up, they can be added to all sorts of pilafs and braised vegetable dishes like Mediterranean Bulgur Pilaf. Or you can make a refreshing drink by muddling a couple in the bottom of a glass, then filling the glass with ice and sparkling water. They keep in the fridge for months.

By Mark Bittman Published December 13, 2024

Anything-Scented Peas

Peas have a delicate flavor that can be enhanced with just a touch of the right ingredient, subtlety being the key. If you’ve never tasted peas sprinkled with a pinch sugar during cooking, give it a try. Other vegetables you can use: about 1 1/2 pounds snow peas or sugar snap peas.

By Mark Bittman Published December 13, 2024

Japanese Egg Crêpes with Nori

These crêpes are ideal for Sushi Bowls and Nigiri Sushi, and can also be filled with Crisp-Fried Bean Sprouts or Stir-Fried Vegetables. The nori strips add subtle flavor and wonderful visual interest to the crêpes.

By Mark Bittman Published December 13, 2024

Broiled Fish with Fresh Salsa

This recipe is a template for one of my favorite ways to eat all kinds of fish and shellfish: paired with salsa based on fresh seasonal produce. The list of possibilities is long: cod, rockfish, catfish, bass, or halibut, for starters. Thin fish fillets, scallops, peeled shrimp, and squid rings and tentacles are other options for this technique. All will cook several minutes quicker than thick fish fillets, so check them earlier than directed in the recipe. For salsa ideas, take advantage of summer melons, berries, or peaches and other stone fruit, or go with pineapple, citrus, mango, or papaya in winter and apples or pears in the fall.

By Mark Bittman Published December 12, 2024

Arugula with Fried Eggs and Shaved Parmesan

Sharp-tasting, bright green arugula, dressed simply with lemon juice and olive oil, is an ideal bed for an oozing fried egg. As you eat, the yolk mixes with the olive oil, lemon, and Parmesan to form an irresistibly rich dressing. Make this heartier by cooking twice as many eggs and serving with Croutons or a dense whole grain bread.

By Mark Bittman Published December 12, 2024

Steak, Lettuce, and Herb Wraps

A little like Thai-style beef salad, only deconstructed so you can eat it with your hands. Here’s the strategy: Make a quick dipping sauce while the steak grills, then lay out herbs and lettuce leaves and let everyone assemble their own wraps. I like to have rice on the table for each person to add to the filling or put on the plate to capture the drippings.

By Mark Bittman Published December 12, 2024

Stuffed Winter Squash with Quinoa, Corn, and Tomatoes

Acorn squash seems to get all the attention when it comes to stuffing, but there are other varieties that take well to this treatment, including kabocha and small spaghetti squash and pumpkins. Select squash that are 1 to 2 pounds; the smallest spaghetti squash are around 2 pounds. When cutting the squash in half, do it through the equator or the stem, whichever makes more sense for the shape of that particular variety. The squash halves are partially baked, then stuffed and finished to keep the filling from drying out.

By Mark Bittman Published December 10, 2024

Jean-Georges’ Ginger Fried Rice

Like all fried-rice dishes, this begins with leftover rice (freshly cooked rice is too moist to fry well). It’s jasmine rice here, but white from takeout works nearly as well and is more convenient. Perhaps unsurprisingly — this is a chef’s recipe, after all — separate cooking processes are called for: ginger and garlic are crisped, leeks softened, rice and eggs fried. But no step takes more than a few minutes, and the results are absolutely worth the effort.

By Mark Bittman Published December 10, 2024

Chiles Rellenos

A fabulous classic: The crisp coating is light and airy, the chiles soft and yielding, and the cheese oozing. You’ll never regret the hour it takes to make these—they’re that good. If time is an issue, make the chiles through Step 1 up to a day in advance, cover, and refrigerate until ready to batter and cook them.

By Mark Bittman Published December 10, 2024

Oven-Roasted Potatoes

You can oven-roast any kind of potato. Waxy potatoes will form a brown, crisp crust and, as long as you cook them long enough, a creamy interior, while starchy varieties will tend to darken more easily, not become quite as crisp, and turn very, very soft. Both are delicious. You can prepare this with butter instead of oil; if you do, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Other vegetables you can use: any root vegetable, winter squash, or tropical tuber

By Mark Bittman Published December 10, 2024

Roasted Nut Butter

It’s incredibly simple to make nut butter at home, and roasting the nuts first in the oven enhances their flavors. Try this with any nut you like.

By Mark Bittman Published December 9, 2024

Tomato Cobbler

There’s nothing quite like a summertime tomato cobbler. The biscuit topping is quickly assembled in a food processor, and you serve it at room temperature, which makes this ideal for a potluck or entertaining. Other vegetable you can use: tomatillos.

By Mark Bittman Published December 9, 2024

Vegetable Crisps

Delicious and colorful, you can make these with all sorts of root vegetables like beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, or even kohlrabi.

By Mark Bittman Published December 8, 2024

Pasta with Caramelized Onions

I found this recipe miraculous when I was introduced to it around 40 years ago. The onions are cooked slowly until they become sweet and incredibly tender.

By Mark Bittman Published December 8, 2024