Good morning! Today we have for you:
-
A sheet-pan salmon dinner with a pleasant punch
-
A Zanzibari street-food favorite you can make at home
-
And, chewy brownie cookies, because you shouldn’t have to choose
The nights are getting nippy, the days are shortening, and I simmered my first stew of the season last week. It doesn’t quite feel like autumn yet; it’s an in-between time when the tomatoes and butternut squash are rubbing elbows at the farmers’ market, and I can’t decide which to bring home for dinner. (The obvious answer is: both.)
As for how to cook them, a sheet pan is my default, especially now that I don’t have to crank up the air-conditioner as I crank up the oven. I could roast them together, slicked with oil and warm spices until the squash softens and the tomatoes break down into a sauce. This would be excellent topped with fried eggs.
Or maybe I’ll save the squash for soup and scatter some cherry tomatoes alongside the potatoes in Samantha Seneviratne’s horseradish roasted salmon. Hers is a flexible recipe that can take whatever vegetables and fish you like, all coated with a pungent mix of mayonnaise and horseradish spiked with lime zest. Both bright and comforting, it meets this liminal moment with verve.
Featured Recipe
Horseradish Roasted Salmon With Mustard Potatoes
More food for thought
One-pot chicken with greens and beans: Cybelle Tondu’s comforting chicken dish comes together faster than you’d think. Boneless thighs get beautifully browned while Swiss chard, white beans and aromatics simmer in the same pot, creating layers of flavor as everything mingles. A bright hit of lime juice at the end keeps things from feeling too heavy, and it all shreds into silky, fork-tender bites.
Skillet broccoli Cheddar rice: Inspired by a classic broccoli-rice casserole but without having to wash the casserole dish, Ali Slagle swaps in a skillet to make an inherently easy dish even more streamlined. Buttery rice forms the base, bright green broccoli adds freshness and a blanket of cheese gets bubbly under the broiler for those irresistible crispy-gooey moments. It’s satisfying enough to stand alone, but also makes a perfect side for whatever protein you’ve got going.
Zanzibari pizza: Adored by locals and tourists alike, this East African street food flips everything you know about pizza on its head — instead of dough topped with fillings, it’s more like a stuffed flatbread. For her take on the recipe, Yewande Komolafe wraps spiced meat, cabbage, tomatoes, soft cheese and eggs in crispy roti or paratha for hand-held perfection. A bit like a quesadilla or savory crepe, it’s even better served with hot sauce for dipping.
Butternut squash and green curry soup: And about that butternut squash soup I mentioned above: Samin Nosrat gives her version a zippy flavor upgrade with Thai green curry paste, fish sauce and coconut milk. The result is creamy but bright, sweet but complex. The real magic happens with the garnish, a crunchy, nutty topping inspired by miang kham (a Thai and Laotian snack) that turns each spoonful into a little flavor adventure.
Chewy brownie cookies: Vaughn Vreeland’s bittersweet confections deliver all the fudgy richness of brownies but bake up in cookie time. The secret is in the technique: lots of egg beating for structure, a strategic pan bang mid-bake for that signature crackled top, while cocoa and espresso powders add depth. Whether you’re a corner- or middle-piece brownie person, these cookies give you both textures in every bite.
That’s all for now, except to remind you that if you run into any technique issues (where did my recipe box go? How can I print?), email the smart people at [email protected] for help. And I’m at [email protected] if you want to say hi.
I’ll see you on Wednesday.
Melissa Clark has been writing her column, A Good Appetite, for The Times’s Food section since 2007. She creates recipes for New York Times Cooking, makes videos and reports on food trends. She is the author of 45 cookbooks, and counting.
The post A Sheet-Pan Salmon Dinner With Plenty of Verve appeared first on New York Times.
