Mains
15 recipes
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini
A whole head steamed until tender at the core, then roasted hot with cumin and coriander oil until the outside browns, served under a loose lemon tahini sauce with sumac and parsley.
White Bean and Sausage Cassoulet
Dried white beans cooked with salt pork and aromatics, then baked slowly with browned pork sausage until the liquid reduces and a browned crust forms and re-forms on the surface.
Vegetarian Black Bean Chili
Black beans simmered with toasted cumin, chili powder, and chipotle until the liquid thickens around them and a spoon stands up in the pot. It costs little and freezes well.
Vegetable Bibimbap
A rice bowl arranged with five vegetables, each seasoned separately with sesame and garlic, finished with a fried egg and a sweet-hot gochujang sauce that gets stirred through before eating.
Shrimp and Grits
Stone-ground grits simmered slowly with milk and butter until loose and creamy, topped with shrimp cooked in bacon fat with garlic, lemon, and a little hot sauce for the pan sauce.
Roast Chicken with Lemon and Herbs
A whole chicken roasted hot with thyme butter worked under the skin and lemon in the cavity, giving crisp skin and juices bright enough to serve as the only sauce.
Pork Carnitas
Pork shoulder braised low in its own rendered fat with orange, bay, and cumin until it shreds, then spread thin and crisped under high heat so the edges go brown and brittle.
Paella Valenciana
The inland Valencian original: chicken and rabbit browned in a wide flat pan with flat green beans, butter beans, and saffron, then bomba rice cooked undisturbed until a toasted socarrat forms underneath.
Moussaka
Roasted eggplant layered with a beef sauce spiced with cinnamon and oregano, under a thick bechamel enriched with egg yolks and cheese that sets into a custard as it bakes.
Lasagna Bolognese
A ragu of beef and pork simmered with milk and wine for hours, layered thin with pasta sheets and besciamella and baked until the top browns and the edges go crisp.
Jollof Rice with Chicken
Long-grain rice cooked down in a blended base of red pepper, tomato, and Scotch bonnet with browned chicken on top, steamed until the grains separate and the bottom layer takes on a smoky edge.
Cioppino Seafood Stew
A tomato and white wine broth built on fennel, garlic, and chile, then used to cook clams, mussels, white fish, and shrimp in stages so each one comes out just done.
Chicken Biryani
Yogurt-marinated chicken layered with basmati parboiled in whole spices, fried onions, and saffron milk, then sealed and steamed so the rice takes on the marinade without turning heavy.
Beef Rendang
Beef simmered for hours in coconut milk with a lemongrass and galangal spice paste until the liquid cooks away and the meat fries in the separated oil, turning dark, dry, and intensely spiced.
Beef Birria Tacos
Chuck braised until shreddable in a guajillo and ancho adobo, then folded into corn tortillas dipped in the red fat and griddled with melting cheese. The strained broth is served alongside for dipping.