One-Pot Meals

A complete, one-pot meal.

Your whole meal—both meat and side—is cooked in just one pan. Us e the food processor grating disk to make quick work of shredding the beets.

For a falling-off-the-bone roast (about $4 a pound), crack open a tenderizing can of beer.

All of the components of this healthful one-dish dinner are roasted in the same skillet: The rice goes in first, then the salmon and broccolini. And they're all flavored with a lime, honey, and cilantro sauce. If desired, serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.

This one-pot meal—lobster, corn, and green beans—conjures summer in New England. The simple sesame mayonnaise is outstanding for dunking and slathering.

Editor's note:
The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Grace Young's book The Breath of a Wok. Young also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. A high-quality curry is key to this recipe's success. I prefer curry paste, which I think has greater depth of flavor than curry powder. Be sure to stir the coconut milk in the can; the cream always floats to the top.

Yellow miso (also known as shinshu miso) is available in the refrigerated Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at natural foods stores and Japanese markets. It adds a mellow, salty flavor to this healthful dish. Look for mirin in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Japanese markets.

Chile verde—slow-cooked pork in a tomatillo sauce—gets a speedy update.

Here's an updated version of a classic comfort-food casserole.

Serve over basmati rice.

The Sicilian-style tomato sauce has tons of Mediterranean flavor, thanks to the orange peel, olives, and oregano.

Making moussaka is something of an undertaking—a rich meat sauce (made here with lamb, but you can substitute other ground meats such as turkey, veal, or even pork, if you prefer), layered with tender eggplant and a cheese sauce. You can make the moussaka in two smaller casserole dishes to serve one now and freeze one to bake later.

You'll be shocked at how light yet satisfying this pasta is—it's finished in a fast garlicky almond sauce, studded with peas, and topped with chopped roasted almonds.

Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you: Yes, after simmering the fish with aromatics, wine, and tomatoes, we advise you to force every last bit through a food mill—heads, tails, bones, and all—for an incredibly lush soup, tasting of a beautiful union between land and sea (the food mill will strain any unwanted solids to be discarded). A garlicky rouille, exotic with a touch of crumbled saffron, further coaxes out the natural richness of the fish.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Diane Kochilas's book Meze: Small Plates to Savor and Share from the Mediterranean Table. Kochilas also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Kochilas and Greek cuisine, click here. Giant beans in some form or another are never absent from Greek meze menus. The key to making this dish taste as good as possible is to use high-quality roasted sweet peppers preserved in extra virgin olive oil. I usually make my own oil, and have them on hand. All you need to do is roast the peppers whole under the broiler, let them cool, peel them, and store them in a container in the fridge covered with good olive oil. You can pour a few tablespoons of the pepper-infused oil into the baking dish for added flavor. As for the beans themselves, the trick is to get the texture right. Giant beans need first to be soaked, then boiled, and finally baked. Once done, they should be soft, almost buttery, without being baked to the point that they fall apart.

Blanching the root vegetables shortens the stew's cooking time and keeps the flavors bright. Plus, the blanching water makes a great quick stock.

Gremolata is usually made with parsley, garlic, and lemon peel. Here, shallot replaces garlic, and tarragon and orange peel are added.

If you're pressed for time, you can sub 1 1/2 cups canned beans for the dried. There's no need to precook the canned beans—just drain and rinse them before adding them to the onions.

"Koreans are short rib masters," says Chou, who lived and cooked in Korea for several years. "It's their favorite cut." While some ribs are sliced thin, marinated, and grilled, others are reserved for stews and soups. Kalbi jjim, one of the country’s best-known concoctions, shares some ingredients with a European beef stew—namely, carrots, onions, and potatoes—but here the brothy, slightly sweet dish gets its robust undertones from dried mushrooms, soy sauce, fish sauce, and molasses, plus a dollop of hot red-pepper paste. Though it is rustic-looking, the meat's tenderness and the broth’s amazing depth make clear why this dish is a national treasure.