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Crab Toast

Crab Toast

Cooked crabmeat is an incredibly useful fast ingredient with a wonderful sweet, briny flavor. This is a good way to stretch it, since it’s expensive.

By Mark Bittman Published December 20, 2022

Lasagne Bolognese

You can make all the components of this recipe in advance. I help you with the timing and assembly here, but if you freeze anything, it’s up to you to have everything thawed, properly seasoned, and ready to go before beginning assembly.

By Mark Bittman Published December 19, 2022
Broccoli, Cauliflower, or Just About Anything Else, Roman Style

Broccoli, Cauliflower, or Just About Anything Else, Roman Style

If there’s a more versatile way to cook vegetables, it’s boiling, and this is much more interesting. You see almost everything done this way in Rome, and it’s always good. The variation is a little simpler, but it requires more judgment; prepared correctly, it will be just as good. Other vegetables you can use: almost anything—dark, leafy greens, like collards and kale; green beans; carrots; potatoes; turnips; or beets, for example.

By Mark Bittman Published December 19, 2022
Endive and Radicchio with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Endive and Radicchio with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

With a warm dressing that features bacon and its cooking fat, you get two types of smoky saltiness—perfect to balance the assertiveness of endive and radicchio. The crunch factor is a knockout too. To turn the salad into a more substantial meal, toss in a handful of cannellini beans and serve with a fresh baguette.

By Mark Bittman Published December 19, 2022

The Marvelous Claudia Roden

Middle Eastern home cooking wouldn’t be what it is today without her.

By Mark Bittman Published December 14, 2022

Roasted Chestnut Soup

Throughout the northern Mediterranean littoral, chestnuts not only grow on trees; they fall to the ground each autumn and are, for many people, a free crop. (They once did the same on this continent, but blight wiped them out.)

The first fall I visited northern Italy, I saw them drop and realized there were more than anyone could possibly eat. As a result, they are used in a much wider array of dishes there than they are here. This is a rich soup, one that can be made in a matter of minutes with cooked, frozen, or even canned chestnuts, and the results are inevitably good. You can add flavor and substance to the soup by rendering a quarter cup or so of diced slab bacon, reserving the solids for a garnish and using some of the fat to sauté the celery and onion. A cup or so of shiitake mushroom caps, sliced and sauteed until crisp, makes a spectacular garnish if you happen to have some around. You can also add a little splash of port just before serving to give this a bit of a kick.

By Mark Bittman Published December 12, 2022

Feast of the "7-10+" Fishes

Or, how I celebrated Thanksgiving

By Mark Bittman Published December 9, 2022

Season Chasing with Jody Williams and Rita Sodi

The Via Carota duo talk about being a purist vs. a regionalist, the supreme reign of artichokes, and how to buy good olive oil

By Mark Bittman Published December 7, 2022
Simplest Whole Roast Chicken

Simplest Whole Roast Chicken, 8 Ways

Putting a whole chicken on a heated pan cooks the thighs faster than the breasts, which are exposed only to the heat of the oven. So you get solid browning without drying out the breast meat. If at any point during the cooking the pan juices begin to smoke, add a little water or wine (white or red, your choice) to the pan. This will reduce browning, however, so don’t do it unless you must.

By Mark Bittman Published December 5, 2022

Mark and Kerri's Excellent Adventure

We spent a couple days together winging it in the kitchen.

By Mark Bittman Published December 2, 2022

Mise en Place Is a Myth

Talking about the choreography of cooking “The restaurant model of cooking that became so popular,…

By Mark Bittman Published November 30, 2022

Hummus and Vegetable Pita Pockets

Pita is the ideal vehicle for hummus: Spread it thickly inside slightly crisp pockets, then fill with fresh vegetables and briny feta. The recipe here gives you about 2 cups hummus, enough for a generous 1/2 cup for each sandwich.

For a lighter approach, halve the portion of hummus, refrigerate the rest for up to a few days, and finish with lettuce, olives, or more cucumbers. The variations and list that follow will inspire your own creations and include directions for handling pocketless pitas. And you can always use cannellini or fava beans to make the hummus.

By Mark Bittman Published November 29, 2022
Hot and Sour Black Beans With Bok Choy

Hot and Sour Black Beans With Bok Choy

Turns out when you marinate black beans in a flavorful liquid for even a few minutes, they take on the characteristics of their fermented and dried counterparts minus the intensity. If you come across black soybeans, snap ’em up, but ordinary black beans are just fine.

The variations show how to substitute leftover beef or chicken for the beans. And of course you can use different beans or even cubes of tofu. Serve with rice or noodles to make a meal.

By Mark Bittman Published November 29, 2022
Spinach Carbonara

Spinach Carbonara

With the richness of eggs and parmesan and the fresh bite of lightly cooked spinach, this recipe offers a hearty meatless alternative to more traditional pasta carbonara. (That’s here, too; see the first variation.) You can replace the spinach with escarole, kale, mustard greens, chard, or broccoli rabe. Just cut the ones with large leaves and stems crosswise into ribbons and cook a little longer if necessary.

By Mark Bittman Published November 29, 2022

The Only Thing to Listen to While You're Cooking

The warmest people talking about the warmest things “That fusion between family and food, for…

By Mark Bittman Published November 23, 2022

What We Talk About When We Talk About Thanksgiving

Bread sauce, lasagna appetizers, adobo turkey tails, and holiday contemplation “Please, no marshmallows.” — Tom…

By Mark Bittman Published November 17, 2022

Chicken Kiev

This classic Ukrainian dish is one of pure indulgence, and was common in French restaurants in the middle of the last century. Warn your guests: When made properly, butter spurts out of the chicken when it is cut; it’s quite spectacular.

You can prepare the chicken rolls ahead of time and fry just before serving, but it cannot be said that this is a dish that takes no work— it’s about as complicated as I care to get. Traditionally, Chicken Kiev is served alongside crispy potatoes and fresh green peas, but rice and salad are good too.

By Mark Bittman Published November 14, 2022

Lamb and Rice Stuffed Cabbage With Tomato Sauce

Rolling cabbage leaves with lamb and rice is a lovely idea; the meat and rice steam, protected by the leaves, so the result is tender yet dense. And a tomato sauce seems appropriate. To add sweetness, I added grated carrots and parsnips to the stuffing. And I made the sauce spicy, a classic, quick tomato sauce spiked with crushed red pepper.

By Mark Bittman Published November 14, 2022

Red Lentils and Fennel Over Toasted Flatbread Triangles

I’m hesitant to call this a dal. Though the slightly soupy consistency is similar to some of the traditional Indian legume dishes, the spins are decidedly improvisations. The cold butter helps make the lentils creamy; for a vegan version, go for the oil option. Plain rice is a common accompaniment to dals; here I suggest toasted flatbread triangles for a crunchy base that softens as you eat. You have lots of options: pita, lavash, naan, chapati, even flour tortillas. Whole grain bread is encouraged, as is a salad or simply cooked vegetable alongside.

By Mark Bittman Published November 13, 2022

Dan Levy’s Big Love Is Food (But Not Cooking!)

“Analyzing where I could live in the unscripted television world — it had to be…

By Mark Bittman Published November 9, 2022