Thursday, April 11, 2024

A no-chop, no-fuss weeknight lasagna

Pair with the world's best chocolate cake (actual recipe title) for an absolute winner of a dinner.
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Cooking

April 11, 2024

A corner piece of spinach and ricotta lasagna has been cut out from the casserole dish and placed on a small beige plate.
Matt Taylor-Gross for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

A no-chop, no-fuss weeknight lasagna

By Mia Leimkuhler

You know what's surprisingly annoying? Draining frozen spinach after it's thawed. I always feel deceived by this seemingly friendly freezer staple. Sure, it's a shortcut to so many delicious dishes (hello, spinach dip), but then smash cut to me picking teeny tiny bits of green out of my colander and off of my hands for what feels like eternity. I give myself a pep talk as I get to that step in a recipe: You've got this. Don't let the spinach win.

Hetty Lui McKinnon must understand, because her new recipe for weeknight spinach and ricotta lasagna doesn't require draining any of the frozen spinach. In fact, that extra moisture is necessary to keep things nice and saucy. (The only thing sadder than no lasagna is dry lasagna.) Perked up with chile flakes and fresh herbs, it's the sort of clever, cheater-y dinner that feels like an absolute win — no cursing at your colander required.

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Weeknight Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna

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The clever part of Melissa Clark's spiced salmon with sugar snap peas and red onion is that the peas and onions cook in the baharat-seasoned rendered salmon fat, turning them crisp-tender and savory. Everything is enhanced with a strong squeeze of lime and a shower of mint or cilantro (or both) for a 30-minute dinner that smacks of spring.

You need exactly five ingredients (not counting salt and pepper) to make these chicken miso meatballs from Kay Chun. One of those ingredients is Ritz crackers — their buttery, salty richness helps the meatballs stay juicy. You could eat the remainder of them out of hand or save them for Eric Kim's Ritzy Cheddar chicken breasts or Sarah DiGregorio's cracker-topped cod.

This taverna salad from Lidey Heuck — a cross between Greek salad and fattoush — has a longer ingredient list, but it's exactly the sort of fresh, crunchy salad I want to feed myself on a Saturday afternoon after a Friday night out. To continue my good-for-me vegetable consumption, I'll take a cue from several reader notes on this five-star Melissa Clark recipe for coconut-lime shrimp and add in some veggies: green beans, snap peas, maybe baby bok choy?

And because I'm all about balance: Here's the world's best chocolate cake, a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. Despite the daunting name, it's both easy to make (the batter comes together in one bowl; no tricky chocolate melting) and versatile (you could swap the ganache icing for Melissa's not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting or, really, nothing at all). It is, to quote my colleague Nikita Richardson, peak Bruce Bogtrotter-core.

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Beatriz Da Costa for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.

Spiced Salmon With Sugar Snap Peas and Red Onion

By Melissa Clark

30 minutes

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Article Image

Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Chicken Miso Meatballs

By Kay Chun

20 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Taverna Salad

By Lidey Heuck

45 minutes

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Coconut-Lime Shrimp

By Melissa Clark

25 minutes

Makes 3 to 4 servings

Article Image

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

World's Best Chocolate Cake

Recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh

Adapted by Yotam Ottolenghi

1 1/2 hours, plus cooling

Makes 12 servings

Fresh, delicious dinner ideas for busy people, from Emily Weinstein and NYT Cooking.

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Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

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Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

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