I get it. Nutritional yeast doesn’t make your tastebuds salivate and broccoli never got anyone too excited. But this easy side dish is virtuously healthy and actually tastes really, really good. Never had nutritional yeast? Think of it as umami powder: slightly cheesy and super savory. Sprinkle it on your greens and you’ll be asking for seconds in no time.
Ingredients:
2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets and similarly-sized pieces of peeled stalk
2 teaspoons virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquefy
5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt and pepper
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss vegetables with oil on a rimmed baking sheet to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast until golden brown and tender, 20–25 minutes. Let cool slightly, then toss with nutritional yeast.
Okay, so this photo isn’t the prettiest. The lighting is awful. But I’d be remiss to not share this recipe with you. Herein lies one of my favorite dishes of all time. This mac and cheese is decadent, complex, and will have you going for seconds thirds in no time. I’ve adapted it from a Food and Wine magazine recipe: I removed the cilantro and nutmeg from the original, upped the other herbs, and reduced the amount of fat here. But still: it’s cheesy, smoky, meaty, garlicy and satisfies all your carb-laden dreams. It’s time consuming and it’s unhealthy. But. It. Is. DELICIOUS.
You have been warned.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced thyme
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded mild white cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
Salt
Black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
6 ounces andouille sausage, diced (or raw andouille sausage, crumbled)
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 pound medium pasta shells
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot sauce (such as Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot)
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small saucepan, bring the milk and heavy cream to a simmer. Keep warm over very low heat.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the panko and toast over moderately high heat, stirring, 
until lightly browned, 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Wipe out the skillet.
4. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the sausage, bell pepper and onion and cook over moderate heat until the vegetables are lightly browned, 5 minutes. Stir in the 1/4 cup of sliced scallions and the chopped parsley.
5. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain well, then return the pasta to the pot. Stir in the cheese sauce and the andouille mixture. Season with hot sauce and salt and black pepper.
6. Spoon the pasta into a large oven-proof ceramic baking dish. Top with the remaining 1 cup of sharp cheddar and the toasted panko. Bake until piping hot, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Garnish with scallions and serve warm.
I’m obsessed with banchan. You know, the beautiful and delicious array of side dishes that magically appear at Korean restaurants? One of my favorite banchans are these little bites of pan-fried tofu with a deceptively simple spicy sauce.
Golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside, these make for a super easy vegetarian appetizer. Best of all, they can be served room temperature.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 pound medium or firm tofu
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1. Combine the soy sauce, green onions, sugar, gochugaru, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a small bowl to make the sauce. Set aside.
2. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Add the tofu and pan-fry until the bottoms turn golden brown, about 8 minutes. Carefully flip the tofu with a spatula and drizzle the remaining tablespoon vegetable oil around the edges of the pan to spread evenly. Cook until the other side of the tofu is golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Transfer the tofu to a serving plate. Spoon the seasoning sauce on top and serve.
Nuts? In a dumpling? With meat? It may sound unconventional, but this combination works wonderfully. I’m always on the hunt for new types of dumplings and this one adds a wonderful crunch and depth of flavor to the chicken filling. Cooked in the style of gyoza, their dumpling skins become crispy and wonderfully chewy as they cook.
These are a little time consuming to make, but you can make a batch ahead of time and freeze them for later, for when you’re ready to cook them. These hearty dumplings go perfectly with a simple dipping sauce of vinegar, ginger, and soy sauce.
Ingredients:
3/4 pound ground chicken
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped salted cashews
1 1/2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 egg, lighly whisked
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 package round dumpling wrappers
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1. In a bowl, cover the mushrooms with hot water and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and finely chop.
2. In another bowl, combine the chicken with the mushrooms, water chestnuts, green onions, cashews, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice wine, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, egg, and cornstarch. Mix well.
3. Lay a dumpling wrapper flat. Using your finger, brush the outer edge with water. Spoon 1 teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold the wrapper over the filling to form a half-moon and fold pleats, pressing with your fingers to adhere until you have a sealed and pleated half-moon. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers and filling.
4. Pour vegetable oil into a large nonstick skillet to cover the bottom. Arrange the dumplings in the skillet with the non-pleated side down. Cook over medium heat until golden on the bottom, about 3 minutes.
5. Pour in enough water to cover the bottom of the dumplings, about 1/3 cup. Cover and cook until most of the water is absorbed and the filling is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until all of the water has evaporated and the dumplings are crispy on the bottom, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a serving plate and serve warm.
I’ve been on a spicy kick lately. Does it have chiles? Copious amounts of chiles? Yes? Will my tongue tingle and will my mouth go numb? Sign me up then.
This Sichuan-influenced dish of glass noodles quickly dry-fried with spices and ground meat is fiery thanks to a healthy dose of chili bean paste and dried chiles. It’s a flexible recipe, so feel free to leave out the meat for a vegetarian version or add vegetables galore to up the health factor. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that this dish is spicy. Pass the water, please.
Ingredients:
6 ounces dry bean thread noodles
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
4 ounces ground chicken
4 teaspoons minced garlic
3 green onions, minced, plus a few tablespoons reserved for garnish
1 Thai or serrano chile, minced
2 teaspoons doubanjiang
Small handful chopped cilantro
Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak until pliable and tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Make the sauce: combine the soy sauce, sugar, and chicken stock in a small bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Heat the oil in a wok over high heat until shimmering. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Immediately add the chicken and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.
Add the garlic, green onions, chile, and doubanjiang and stir-fry until fragrant about 45 seconds. Add the sauce.
When the sauce is simmering, add the noodles. Gently lift and fold the noodles into the chicken and sauce (do not stir vigorously or the noodles may become sticky). When the sauce is mostly absorbed, fold in the reserved green onions and cilantro, and serve.
