Cookbooks

Extra vegetables and a lighter crust make this comfort-food classic a smarter choice than traditional versions. Using store-bought phyllo dough cuts down on prep time.

Coating the chicken slices in cornstarch before cooking them encourages browning. Add the basil after the stir-fry is off the heat, so its flavor stays bright.

A bit of planning ahead makes preparing weeknight dinners a breeze. Use the extra chicken from Roast Chicken and Parsnips with Swiss Chard (page 149) in one of the recipes below.

A bit of planning ahead makes preparing weeknight dinners a breeze. Use the extra chicken from Roast Chicken and Parsnips with Swiss Chard (page 149) in one of the recipes below.

Roasted chicken breasts gain a big boost with surprising sides: caramelized parsnips and wilted Swiss chard. To save time, this recipe calls for roasting four additional chicken breast halves to use in one of the recipes on the following page.

Brimming with peas and carrots and topped with fresh-dill dumplings, this nourishing one-pot meal is just right for cold evenings. Keeping the heat at medium-low helps the chicken cook slowly, so it turns out ultra-tender.

Chicken thighs are a more flavorful (and economical) alternative to breasts, and just as versatile. A spice-and-ginger rub flavors the meat, while the heat of the broiler crisps the skin.

A pureed bell pepper and garlic sauce tops grilled chicken breasts; it can also be tossed with pasta. If you like, double the amounts called for below and refrigerate the extra sauce up to one week in an airtight container.

Here, peanuts lend a golden, crisp crust to chicken breasts—and because the dish is baked, there’s no need for a frying pan. Other nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, can be used instead. Blanched asparagus, tossed with butter and lemon zest, rounds out the dish.

Chicken breasts get bold bursts of flavor from a zesty topping of cherry tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, and green olives. Serve this dish with rice or a simple green salad and crusty bread.

Think of this hearty casserole of ground lamb in tomato sauce, penne pasta, and a béchamel-and-cheese sauce as the ultimate Greek comfort food.

Thick, flat udon noodles have a sumptuous, chewy texture. Look for them in the Asian-food section of the supermarket. If you can’t find udon, use linguine—just break the noodles in half before boiling them.

A bit of butter, parmesan cheese, and fresh basil transforms roasted vegetables into a flavorful sauce for pasta. You could easily modify this recipe to use any vegetables that are in season.

The combination of raisins, pine nuts, and chard is typical in Sicilian cooking; here it is used in a robust pasta dish, along with crumbled sweet Italian sausage. Running a paring knife down the center of the sausage is the easiest way to remove the casing.

Cauliflower topped with brown butter and bread crumbs is a classic French dish; here the same components (plus sage, often used to flavor brown butter) combine to produce a delicious pasta sauce.

Begin cooking the shrimp and sauce while the pot of water is coming to a boil so everything is ready at the same time. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp, as they can easily become tough.

Whole-wheat spaghetti, which is slightly nuttier and chewier than regular pasta, holds its own with the kale, fontina, and rich, smoky bacon in this substantial main course.

This creamy no-cook sauce is very simple: Whisk together goat cheese, reserved pasta water, and butter, and toss with pasta and roasted asparagus. The corkscrew shape of cavatappi is just right for cradling the sauce.

Quickly wilted arugula, canned beans, and toasted walnuts add heft to this vegetarian main course. Try spinach in place of arugula and pine nuts instead of walnuts.