One Pan
46 recipes
West African Peanut Stew
Groundnut stew of tomato, peanut butter, sweet potato, and collard greens, simmered until it is thick enough to mound on a spoon. A whole habanero adds perfume without much heat.
Vegetarian Mapo Tofu
Silken tofu simmered in a fiery doubanjiang sauce with finely chopped shiitakes standing in for pork, finished with ground Sichuan peppercorn for its numbing tingle. Ready in under half an hour.
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.
Turkish Red Lentil Soup
Red lentils cooked soft with onion, carrot, and tomato paste, blended smooth and finished with dried mint bloomed in olive oil. Lemon at the table does the rest of the work.
Tortilla Espanola
The Spanish potato omelette: potatoes and onion poached soft in olive oil, drained, then bound in beaten egg and set in a skillet into a thick round with a barely creamy center.
Tomato Rasam
A thin South Indian broth of tamarind and tomato seasoned with black pepper and cumin, finished with a hot tempering of mustard seed and curry leaf. Sip it from a cup or spoon it over rice.
Tom Yum Goong
A clear Thai hot-and-sour shrimp soup built on lemongrass, galangal, and lime leaf, sharpened with lime juice and fish sauce and rounded out with roasted chile paste.
Thai Basil Chicken Stir-Fry
Minced chicken stir-fried hard with garlic and bird chiles, seasoned with fish sauce and oyster sauce, then finished with a heap of holy basil that wilts into the pan. Twenty minutes start to finish.
Sundubu Jjigae Soft Tofu Stew
Silken tofu spooned into a kelp and shiitake broth built on a quick gochugaru chile oil, with onion and scallion. It arrives at the table still bubbling and comes together in under half an hour.
Stovetop Kettle Corn
Popcorn popped in oil with sugar stirred in at the moment the kernels go, so it caramelizes into a thin sweet-salty shell instead of scorching in the pot.
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Spaghetti tossed off the heat with rendered guanciale, egg yolks, and Pecorino Romano until the sauce turns glossy. No cream: the emulsion comes from pasta water and constant tossing.
Skillet Cornbread
Unsweetened Southern cornbread, all cornmeal and no wheat, poured into a preheated buttered cast iron pan so the crust sets on contact and comes out crunchy.
Sinangag Garlic Fried Rice
Filipino breakfast fried rice built on day-old grains and a lot of garlic, half of it fried crisp for the top. Salty, toasty, and dry enough that every grain stays separate.
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.
Shakshuka
Eggs poached directly in a thick, cumin-and-paprika spiced tomato and pepper sauce. Everything happens in one skillet, and the dish goes to the table in the pan.
Ribollita Tuscan Bread Soup
Cannellini beans, cavolo nero and stale bread simmered together until the bread dissolves and the soup turns thick enough to eat with a fork. Mashing some of the beans does the thickening.
Pancit Bihon with Shrimp
Thin rice noodles stir-fried with shrimp, cabbage and carrot, then finished by letting them drink up a soy-and-broth sauce. Squeezed citrus at the table is what pulls it together.
Palak Paneer
Blanched spinach blended into a smooth green gravy with ginger, green chile and garam masala, then folded around pan-browned paneer. Blanching and shocking the spinach keeps the color bright.
Pajeon Scallion Pancake
A Korean scallion pancake built on whole lengths of scallion in a thin flour-and-cornstarch batter, fried until the edges shatter, with a sharp soy and vinegar dipping sauce.
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.
Nordic Rye Porridge with Berries
Cracked rye simmered with salt until it turns thick and creamy, topped with a tart berry compote cooked in the same pan. Earthier and chewier than oat porridge, and it holds you all morning.
New England Clam Chowder
Chopped clams and diced potato in a milk and cream base built on rendered salt pork, thickened lightly with flour and seasoned with thyme. Canned clams and their juice carry the flavor.
Mushroom Risotto
Arborio rice cooked ladle by ladle with a porcini-steeped broth and browned cremini, then beaten with butter and Parmesan off the heat. The finish should spread slowly on the plate, not mound.
Miso Soup with Tofu
Kombu dashi loosened with barley miso off the heat, with silken tofu and wakame. The two rules that decide it: pull the kombu before it boils, and never boil the soup once the miso is in.