Lunch

Broccoli rice is the base for bright toppings like fresh peas, avocados, and pickled ginger. Round out the bowl with a creamy, herby dressing and a soft-boiled egg.

The secret to this version of potato salad is sweet pickle relish—not diced cucumbers, dill pickles, or cornichons.

Here’s a riff on the traditional patty melt, with perfectly cooked chicken breast and a big pile of caramelized onions. This recipe calls for a mixture of yellow onions, red onions, scallions, and fried shallots, but you can use any onions you have on hand.

You can use ground turkey or chicken here, or swap in a vegetarian protein of your choice. 

This salad evolved from my father’s favorite road-trip snack—carrot sticks with roasted almonds, lemon juice, and salt. I’ve punched it up with fresh ginger, lots of parsley, and dates.

Stirring a simple vinaigrette into warm just-cooked lentils helps them drink up flavor so they taste anything but plain. Use French green or black beluga lentils as they will hold their shape best. You can keep a batch of these dressed lentils in the fridge and add to salads, pastas, soups, and more all week long.

We tend to favor pickles that are bright with acid and low on sugar; anything labeled “half-sour” usually fits the bill. If using sweeter pickles, add a bit more vinegar and salt.

You need a bigger bowl and more water than you might think to rehydrate wood ear mushrooms—they nearly triple in size.

The salad works best with strips of Persian flatbread, but plain tortillas work just as well. The addition of golpar, with its citrusy aroma, really lifts this dish, accentuating the sweetness of the pomegranates and adding a wonderful depth of flavor, so try and track some down if you can.

This Northern Iranian dish traditionally features wild greens. This version is made with braised spinach, herbs, and eggs—and gets a vibrant boost of flavor from lime juice.

In this spicy salad, cubes of fried tofu act like tender-bellied croutons amid the leaves of baby kale, only with much more protein and spunk than the usual toasted bread.

These turkey burgers are my nod to the Mediterranean, packed with fresh herbs, lemon, and red onion.

I serve these pickles like a salad as a side with ramen noodles, gyoza (fried dumplings), or shumai (steamed dumplings), or with a sandwich. 

Mashing some chickpeas into the sizzling chorizo adds heft while keeping this meal light on the meat