This arroz rojo recipe couldn’t be easier to make, and it tastes like it came straight from the restaurant. Use the best-quality tomatoes you can get for this quintessential side dish, as it makes all the difference.
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken stock
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 cup long-grain rice
Salt and pepper to taste
Place stock, tomatoes, 1 clove garlic, and onion in a blender and puree until smooth. Set tomato puree aside.
Heat oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add remaining garlic and rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato puree, season with salt and pepper, and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, until rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid, 25-30 minutes. Gently fluff rice with a fork and serve.
The only thing better than fresh tomatoes and pasta in the summer is fresh tomatoes and pasta with shellfish in the summer. Adapted from Bon Appetit, this incredibly easy fettuccine comes together in a matter of minutes, making the best of the season’s bounty. If you can, use fresh pasta here, although dry noodles will work just fine too.
Ingredients:
Salt
3 pounds clams, scrubbed
12 ounces fresh fettuccine
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons white miso
12 ounces Sun Gold or cherry tomatoes, halved, divided
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
Pepper
1/2 cup torn basil, plus more for serving
Partially fill a large bowl with cool water, add a handful of salt, and mix to dissolve. Add clams; let sit 15 minutes to expel grit. Drain and rinse. Repeat with a fresh bowl of cool water and salt. Set aside.
Cook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute short of al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Set pasta aside.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium. Cook garlic, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds. Pour in wine, add drained reserved clams, and increase heat to medium-high. Cover and cook, until clams are open, about 4 minutes. Transfer opened clams to a large bowl. Leave unopened clams in pot, re-cover, and continue to cook, checking every 2 minutes to remove any open clams; discard any unopened clams after 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and stir in miso to dissolve. Add half of the tomatoes and cook, pressing occasionally with spoon to help break open, until some of the tomatoes burst and release their juices, about 4 minutes.
Add butter, remaining tomatoes, and reserved pasta and cook, tossing and adding reserved pasta cooking liquid a little at a time if needed, until pasta is al dente and has soaked up some of the sauce (it will thicken as it sits). Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add clams along with any juices and basil and gently toss to combine.
Arrange pasta on a serving platter and top with more basil.
It’s tomato season! It’s cliche, but if you have top-notch ingredients you really don’t need a whole lot else. When you get your hands on some homegrown Sungold (or similar cherry-esque) tomatoes, make this summery pasta dish. Get the best quality fresh pasta you can find too. Or better yet, make your own.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces fresh tagliatelle pasta (or similar)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 pints Sun Gold tomatoes, cut into halves, divided
Salt
4 teaspoons butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
4 tablespoons torn or sliced basil, divided
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Add garlic cloves and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring often, until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Mix in 1 pint tomatoes, a big pinch of salt, and ¼ cup water. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes burst and become saucy, 6–8 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions, stirring occasionally, until al dente.
Using tongs, transfer pasta to pot with tomato sauce. Add butter, fish sauce, remaining tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, and 2 tablespoons of the basil. Using tongs or a wooden spoon, cook, stirring and adding a few tablespoonfuls of pasta cooking liquid if needed, until pasta is coated and glossy, about 2 minutes.
Divide pasta among serving plates and top with more Parmesan and remaining basil.
I know what you’re thinking, but listen, I’m not here for any turkey bacon slander. It’s salty, crispy, and savory: what’s not to love? Stir-fried with asparagus, they make an unlikely but deeply delicious pairing in this quick and easy fried rice. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound chopped turkey bacon
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 small onion, finely diced
3 eggs
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 1/2 cups asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups cold leftover steamed rice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon pepper
In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and cook the turkey bacon over medium-high heat, flipping the turkey bacon every few minutes to evenly brown. After a few minutes, once the turkey bacon is cooked through and crispy, remove from the skillet but do not wipe the skillet clean.
Sweat the ginger, garlic, and onion in the skillet until they become translucent and aromatic, about 1 minute.
Crack the eggs into a medium bowl, and stir them to break the yolks. Pour the eggs into the skilled and quickly stir to cook. While the eggs are still a little runny, push them to the side of the skillet. Add the remaining avocado oil to the center of the skillet and add the asparagus, stir-frying it in the oil for about 1 minute, then push it next to the eggs.
Turn the heat to high and add the rice to the skillet, breaking up clumps with a wooden spoon. Once the rice becomes loose, mix and fold the eggs and asparagus into the rice. Drizzle the soy sauce into the skillet, and continue to stir-fry. Add the reserved turkey bacon and green onions and season with black pepper and serve.
Steamed, boiled, or fried, I’m a sucker for any and all dumplings. I keep a few different kinds in my homemade rotation, and these boiled wontons are my new favorites, thanks to a generous drizzle of chili crisp, soy sauce, and vinegar at the end.
These make enough for large crowd, but don’t be surprised if you end up wanting to eat them all yourself.
Ingredients:
1 package wonton wrappers
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
2 cups garlic chives, chopped
10 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2-inch piece ginger, minced
1 tablespoon dried shiitake mushroom powder, made from 1 or 2 dried shiitake mushrooms ground in a spice grinder
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Chili crisp, soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, and sesame seeds, for serving
In a large bowl, mix together chicken, garlic chives, shiitake mushrooms, ginger, dried mushroom powder, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and pepper. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Place a small spoonful of filling (about 1 teaspoon) in the center of one of the wonton wrappers. Fold the bottom part up so that the dumpling forms a half circle and press all the way around to seal. Flip the dumpling over, grasp the two corners, and connect them by pinching one on top of the other. Repeat with remaining wontons and filling.
Working in batches to prevent overcrowding, drop the wontons in the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the dumpling floats to the top and is cooked through. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the wontons straight from the cooking water to into a serving platter.
Serve immediately with a few generous spoonfuls of chili crisp, soy sauce, black vinegar, green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds to taste.
