721 recipes. Page 24 of 31
Pasta, steak, and other Western recipes
Two ropes of brioche, one plain and one tinted with matcha, are twisted and tied into knots, so each piece pulls apart in alternating white and green. Toasted sesame seeds pressed on before the surface dries get toasted a second time in the oven.
Steamed mussels and fries share one plate in this Belgian pairing, but they run on very different clocks. The mussels open in 3 to 4 minutes under a lid, while the potatoes need a gentler first fry and a hotter second one to turn crisp. Getting the first fry done before the mussels hit the pot keeps the two from colliding at the stove. That first fry ends while the potatoes are tender but still pale. Soaking the cut sticks in cold water and drying every side matters, since wet potatoes splatter and stay limp. Discard any mussels that stay closed, and bring both to the table at once so the fries do not soften while the shellfish waits.
White chocolate melted with butter, rather than dark chocolate or cocoa, makes up the base, and matcha turns the whole pan bright green. The cocoa butter in white chocolate is what gives these a dense, fudgy chew instead of a cakey crumb. Chips stirred into the batter only half melt, leaving small pockets of concentrated sweetness.
Mussels release their own briny liquor as they open, and together with dry white wine that becomes the broth without any added stock. The butter is split in two for a reason: the first part softens the shallot and garlic, the second is stirred in at the end to give the broth some shine. The pot comes off the heat once most shells have opened, before the meat shrinks and toughens, and any that stay shut get thrown away. Ladle the leftover wine broth into the bowls too.
Made from nothing but egg whites and sugar whipped to a stiff gloss, with no flour or butter, these shatter into light, dry crumbs. The oven is kept low because the goal is to dry them out rather than bake them, and a pale, nearly white finish is what you are after. Folding cocoa powder into part of the meringue gives a second flavor from the same batch. Humidity is their weak point: left out in the air, the shells soften and turn sticky.
Mussels steamed fast in white wine release their juices into the pot, and that liquid becomes the sauce once a spoonful of cream and chopped parsley are stirred through. Any mussels already open before cooking are left out. Shallot and garlic soften in butter without taking color, giving the wine a mild, sweet base. One shake of the covered pot halfway through helps the shells open at about the same time. The cream waits until they have all opened, and crusty bread takes care of the broth.
Puff pastry normally balloons in the oven; here it bakes under parchment and a heavy tray so it comes out as three flat, brittle sheets that can carry a filling. Between them goes a vanilla pastry cream thickened with egg yolks and cornstarch, cooked on the stove until it holds a line. A fork pressed through the stack breaks the flaky layers first and then meets smooth, cool custard.
Pan-fried eggplant, lamb sauce scented with cinnamon and a thick bechamel set into distinct layers that show clearly when the dish is sliced. Egg yolks whisked into the bechamel let it firm into a golden crust that holds everything in place. A day or two in the fridge deepens the flavors, which makes it a good dish to prepare ahead for a gathering. Ground beef in place of lamb, or potato and zucchini alongside the eggplant, are common swaps.
Doenjang, Korean fermented soybean paste, goes into the filling here, beaten into butter with maple syrup and spread between thin sheets of enriched dough. The slices stand upright in a loaf pan and bake into a loaf you tear apart layer by layer, each sheet carrying salty, savory paste and maple sweetness together. The bread pulls apart most easily while still warm, before the filling firms up as it cools.
Finely chopped green and black olives in olive oil soak into a round loaf and season the salami, ham, mortadella and provolone layered inside. Filling and pressing the whole loaf before slicing binds the layers and keeps the cut faces neat. The olives are drained well, and only enough oil goes in to keep the salad moist without pooling at the bottom of the bread.
White miso, toasted sesame oil, and whole sesame seeds go into these thin crackers with only a pinch of sugar, and salty, nutty flavors come before sweet. Stop handling the dough as soon as it comes together. Kneading builds elasticity, which makes it resist rolling thin and bakes into a harder bite. Fresh from the oven they can feel slightly soft, and they crisp as they cool.
Six small cocottes of mushrooms in sour cream, with no flour or roux to thicken them, rely entirely on the mushroom liquid being cooked off first. Tilt the pan: clear liquid pooling at one side means it needs longer. Sour cream stirred in over low heat stays smooth instead of splitting, and the cheese goes only on top, melting in the oven rather than into the sauce. The portions suit a starter or side more than a main, and one large dish in place of small ones changes the baking time with its depth.
Cocoa and instant coffee darken the crumb of this cake, and small dots of sweet red bean paste sit scattered through the middle. Most bites are bittersweet mocha; every so often you hit a moist pocket of bean paste whose sweetness tones down the bitter coffee. The top is raked with a fork before baking, which leaves a rough, homey surface rather than a smooth glaze.
Thick slices of button mushroom take the place of beef, seared over high heat until browned, then finished in a sour cream sauce over very low heat. The two stages pull in opposite directions: mushrooms left to stew in their own water turn gray and soft, and sour cream boiled at the end curdles. Paprika tints the sauce and adds gentle warmth.
Cut into with a spoon, the thin cake wall gives way and warm chocolate runs onto the plate. That molten center is not a hidden filling but the same dark chocolate batter, baked hot and fast so only the outside sets. Timing does most of the work. Residual heat keeps cooking the middle after the ramekins leave the oven, and the cakes are turned out right away to stop it.
Baked whole in the oven rather than charred over a flame, the eggplant won't taste smoky; the soft flesh, tahini, yogurt and lemon carry the dip. Pressing the scooped flesh in a sieve removes the liquid that would otherwise pool once the yogurt is stirred in.
Small balls of milk dough are dipped in melted butter, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and piled into a Bundt pan, so the finished ring is pulled apart by hand rather than sliced. In the oven the butter and sugar run down between the pieces and cook into a sticky, caramel-like coating, while the inside of each piece stays soft.
Melted cheddar glues tortilla chips together with browned beef, black beans and slices of jalapeño, building a tray meant for sharing. Building the chips in two layers, each with its own share of beef, beans and cheese, keeps the bottom ones from being left bare. The beef cooks until the pan is dry, because any liquid left behind turns the chips soft in the oven. Grated cheddar loosened before scattering melts in an even sheet rather than in clumps. Salsa stays off until just before serving, keeping its moisture out of the chips while they bake.
A single mugwort butter dough does double duty: part of it is pressed into a firm base, and the rest goes over a layer of mashed chestnut. That topping is just the leftover dough pinched into pea-sized bits and scattered, and it bakes up uneven and craggy.
The heat is added after frying: hot oil mixed with cayenne and brown sugar gets brushed over the crisp chicken thigh, leaving a red, fiery coat on the crust. A 30-minute buttermilk soak keeps the thigh meat juicy under that crunch.
Mugwort powder is stirred into a dark chocolate brownie batter, and a swirl of cream cheese loosened with cream runs across the top. Both the herb and the chocolate lean bitter, so the tang of the cream cheese is what keeps each square from tasting heavy.
Beef and pork cooked with peppers and green onion fill thin pastry half-moons that are sealed with a fork and deep-fried. Because the filling is cooked and cooled first, the pies fry briefly instead of waiting for raw meat to cook through a thick crust. Shortening rubbed into the flour makes a dough that should not be kneaded like bread, and warm filling melts that fat and tears the thin wrapper. A clear border with the air pushed out keeps the seams closed in the oil.
With 680 g of cream cheese, this is a heavy cheesecake, nothing like a soufflé cheesecake, and a fork sinks into it slowly. The graham cracker crust gets a bake of its own before the filling goes in. The cake bakes in a water bath and then cools slowly in the switched-off oven with the door slightly open.
Thickness decides how these rings eat: cut too thin and you get mostly batter, too thick and the coating browns while the onion center is still firm. The lager is split at the start, with one portion for soaking the onions and a cold portion kept clean for the batter. Flour and cornstarch set into a light, thin shell around the soft onion. A crowded pot loses heat, which gives the coating more time to soak up oil, so the rings go in small batches. Piling finished rings in a bowl traps steam against the bottom ones, so they drain on a rack in a single layer.