Also known as McBitty’s Bean Burgers, these veggie burgers 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.
Nigella Lawson’s Toasted Marshmallow and Rhubarb Cake
This is a relatively new addition to my rhubarb repertoire, but it’s been heavily in rotation ever since I first made it. Anyone who has a birthday when the hothouse pink rhubarb is in season gets it (and I do even have alternatives for those dim days when it isn’t, and I’ll get to them later). It is splendidly celebratory, but not dauntingly difficult. – Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson shared this recipe when she joined us on Food with Mark Bittman.
The Bittman Vegan Burger
At last, an easy meatless burger that you can grill, broil, or cook in a skillet. The handful of ingredients are available from the supermarket, and all you need for the mashing is a fork. The result is an attractive and delicious patty with some pleasant heft and chew. You can also cook the mixture like ground beef for taco filling and tomatoey pasta sauces. Or shape and bake it for a meatless meatloaf.
Vegetable Fajita Salad
Imagine a room temperature salad based on fajita components, minus the meat. (Or if you want that, just see the second variation.) For a fancier presentation, you can plate the components separately on a large platter and let everyone serve and toss their own. Serve with warmed corn or flour tortillas or chips.
Smoky Bulgur And Eggplant With Or Without Feta
Here’s a satisfying sort-of salad you can eat hot, at room temperature, or out of the fridge the next day. So it’s as flexible as the salad. And it’s easy to adjust toward vegan by skipping the cheese or putting it on the side. Check off all of the make-ahead, crowd-pleasing features that are perfect for pot lucks or picnics.
The Balsamic Cocktail
Our friends at Gustiamo call this “The Modena Sunset.” It’s essentially a balsamic spritz, and it’s wonderfully light and fresh, delicious with or without alcohol. (I tried it without, since I was experimenting during a workday; and now I’m very much looking forward to tasting it with the sparkling wine addition!)
Refried Beans with Flour Tortillas and Pickled Red Onions
Refried beans usually get the side-dish treatment, but there’s no reason they can’t or shouldn’t be the main event. With a few garnishes and some flour tortillas for scooping, that’s exactly what they are. And whether you start with home-cooked beans or not, actually frying, mashing, and seasoning them yourself makes a huge difference.
Cashew Cream
Turn to cashew cream when you want to add smooth richness to a dish but no dairy as a savory alternative to fresh cow and goat cheeses and spreads. Cashews are a great alternative to coconuts because of their more neutral flavor. By adjusting the amount of water you add, you can make cashew cream as thin or thick as you prefer. This can be doubled, tripled, or more, and will keep for a few days in the fridge.
Charred Carrot Tacos
These tacos are fast, cheap, delicious, and vegan, and stand for the proposition that corn tortillas make a very welcome home for all sorts of ingredients and flavors. Toppings are a bit of a choose-your-own-adventure, but scroll down for a bunch of ideas.
Chicken and Lentils
A spicy, North African-style dish that comes together in one pot.
Hoppin’ John with Smoked Tofu
Smoked tofu has a slightly dense, chewy texture and strong smoky flavor that makes an excellent substitute for the smoked ham hock traditional to hoppin’ John; cooking the tofu whole with the beans, then cutting it up, keeps it moist. This does require some prep (unless you make the peas ahead of time), but since many of us are home right now, it can easily go into the weeknight meal category.
Holly Haines’ Pork Belly Adobo
Every Filipino home has their own version of adobo. And it’s essentially five standard ingredients: soy, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. The ratio of vinegar to soy sauce changes, or the amount of garlic changes, but basically, you can adobo anything.
Holly Haines’ Eggplant Adobo
The vegan version of adobo, with all the same delicious flavors.
Succotash and Shells
One-pot pastas — where you cook the sauce and noodles together “risotto-style” by gradually stirring in liquid and other ingredients — are perfect for busy weeknights. Plus you can easily vary the same recipe to accommodate all sorts of whims and wants. I tried the batch shown here with gluten-free shells made from corn, brown rice, and quinoa topped with a savory peanut seasoning instead of parmesan. Finish the dish with grated cheese, crumbled bacon, or any plain chopped nuts.
Falafel Hash with Tahini Sauce
All the crunchy taste of iconic chickpea fritters with a fraction of the time and work: Serve this hash and the accompanying sesame drizzle on top of torn greens, in a pita sandwich, or as part of a rice or couscous bowl. Also consider dairy/non-dairy yogurt or crumbled feta cheese as toppings. And while you’re waiting for tomatoes to come into season, chopped citrus makes a solid stand-in.
Broccoli Tofu Scramble
This tofu comes pretty close to eggs, and it’s quick and satisfying. You can always mix it up with scrambled sweet and hot peppers or swap out red onion for scallions and broccoli for tomatoes. For the latter, use vegetable oil instead of olive oil and finish with soy sauce.
Cheese Soufflé
The word soufflé has the same root as the French word for breath; this is all about air. The only difficult thing is the timing: You have to eat this as soon as it’s out of the oven. As long as you beat the egg whites correctly and fully but gently incorporate them into the base, everything will be fine.
Roasted Leftover Pasta
At last, a reason to freeze all those odd bits of leftover noodles. The idea is to create almost a lasagna; you want the pasta to get crisp around the edges and that requires a lot of surface area, so choose a 12- to 14-inch skillet.
Skillet Cannelloni
With one little shortcut — packaged egg roll wrappers — you can have homemade marinara and ricotta-filled cannelloni in a half an hour. There are even enough gaps in the action to pull together steamed vegetables to eat on the side. I downsized the recipe to two servings but it’s easy to double it and make it a family supper.
Stir-Fry Sundae
You know how silken tofu has that custardy texture? Moreso if you steam it. Top a couple of scoops with a fresh and spicy vegetable stir-fry and suddenly you’re eating a rich and savory “sundae”, without an animal product in sight.