It’s solely the primary week of December, but it already feels just like the season of Huge Consuming is in full swing. Latke nights and cookie swaps and vacation events — it’s the very best but additionally… loads! Which is why on nights after we’re house and cooking for ourselves, I do my finest to maintain issues easy. Right here’s what’s on the line-up this week:
Spicy Tofu with Cabbage and the Most Scrumptious Sauce
This dinner takes benefit of two store-bought saviors: pre-baked tofu, which cooks rapidly and which you’ll find within the refrigerated part of most supermarkets (Dealer Joe’s sells two: sesame-ginger and Sriracha); and Mama O’s Kimchili Sauce, a cool, not-too-sweet garlicky scorching sauce that I’d drink by the gallon if I might. This combo started as an on-the-fly lunch, however I saved upgrading it, and now it’s the meal my daughter Abby requests most frequently when she comes house from faculty.
The recipe: Add half an onion (sliced), an inch of contemporary ginger (minced) and a clove of garlic (minced) to impartial oil in a big skillet set over medium warmth. After they soften a bit, add a small head of cabbage, shredded (I used half a head of pink and half a inexperienced cabbage right here however you should use no matter mixture you need). Prepare dinner down the cabbage till it will get caramelized and wilted (about 10 minutes), then transfer to the perimeter of the pan to show the center floor. Add a little bit extra oil, then pan-fry sliced tofu (one 7-ounce package deal is sufficient to serve two individuals in my home) for about 2 minutes a facet till golden. Toss every little thing along with a drizzle of soy sauce, a squeeze of contemporary lime juice. Serve with: toasted sesame seeds and Kimchilli sauce (or sriracha or your favourite scorching sauce).
Butter-Fried Salmon
Salmon is my hall-of-fame quick-dinner fish as a result of it’s so flavorful, which means cooks hardly should run any interference to make it style good. To simply improve a merely pan-fried filet, I serve with a spicy mayo.
The recipe: Add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter to a big heavy-bottomed skillet (I like forged iron) set over medium-high warmth. Add skin-on salmon fillets (1/3-pound filet per particular person) flesh-side down and fry till the road of cooked flesh comes a few third of the best way up the facet of the fillet. Flip the filet and prepare dinner one other 2-3 minutes (it’ll splatter loads as a result of the pores and skin is fatty), till the highest of the flesh feels agency to the contact however not rock onerous. Take away to a chopping board. Sprinkle with contemporary chives and serve with spicy mayo (mayo to sriracha ratio, 3:1) on the facet. Serve with: crusty bread and an arugula salad tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and topped with sliced avocado.
One-Pot Veggie Chili
The principle substances (beans, tomatoes, chili powder) come from a can or are always-have-on-hand staples (onions, garlic), which implies this is able to go any evening of the week. Yow will discover actual ingredient quantities in my go-to recipe, if you happen to’d like, however you too can simply riff.
The recipe: Warmth impartial oil in a medium pot set over medium-low warmth. Add 1 small chopped onion, 1 garlic clove, salt, black pepper, and pink pepper flakes and prepare dinner, stirring every so often, till the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in a scoop of tomato paste and prepare dinner one other minute, till the tomato paste darkens barely. Add 3 cans of beans (any mixture of white, pinto, black) and 4 tablespoons of chili powder, flip the warmth to medium-high, and prepare dinner till the spices get sizzly, about 3 extra minutes. Add a can of diced tomatoes, a hunk of darkish chocolate (optionally available), a touch of cinnamon (my husband’s “secret”), and a few wholesome shakes of oregano, and produce to a boil. Flip the warmth to low and simmer, stirring sometimes, till the flavors have an opportunity to deepen and meld collectively, about half-hour. Serve with: plantain chips, bitter cream and avocado chunks.
What are you cooking nowadays?
P.S. 5 methods to show rotisserie hen into dinner and cabbage: a love story.
(Chili picture by Christine Han.)
