721 recipes. Page 26 of 31
Pasta, steak, and other Western recipes
Spoonfuls of soft batter sit on sliced peaches with gaps between them, and the fruit juice bubbles up through those gaps as it bakes. The topping is mixed only until the flour disappears, which keeps it tender instead of heavy.
Not a drop of water goes into this Neapolitan braise; the octopus releases its own liquid, and together with crushed tomatoes it becomes the sauce. Black olives and capers handle the briny side, while crushed red pepper adds a low, steady heat. That heat and the garlic are drawn into the oil over low heat at the start, and the tomatoes are added before the garlic browns. Reducing the sauce waits until the octopus is truly tender; if it still resists after the long covered simmer, the lid stays on for longer. Done right, the sauce clings to the octopus with no thin liquid pooling on the plate.
Folded up at the edges with no tart pan, this free-form galette layers thin slices of Asian pear with ginger juice, brown sugar and cinnamon. Ginger brings warmth and a little heat behind the pear's clean sweetness without taking over.
Blistered crackling that shatters under the knife starts long before the oven. The skin is scored at 1 cm intervals, coarse salt is rubbed into the cuts, and the belly dries uncovered in the fridge for 8 hours. Any new droplets are wiped off just before roasting, so the skin enters the heat cold and dry. Oil and pepper are rubbed on the meat side only, leaving the dried skin untouched, and the belly sits on garlic and rosemary in the pan. A hot start blisters the skin, then a lower temperature renders the fat slowly. If the crackling still needs help, a brief, closely watched turn under the broiler finishes it, and the roast rests before slicing.
The pecans go into the bottom of the crust, but as the pie bakes they float up and pave the top. Underneath is a dense, sticky layer of brown sugar and syrup, very sweet, and although the middle still wobbles a little when it comes out, it firms up enough to slice as it cools.
Pork loin chops cut thick sear to a deep golden crust, and the browned bits they leave in the skillet become the base of the sauce once apple cider loosens them. Dijon mustard sharpens the cider's sweetness, and a knob of cold butter swirled in off the heat makes the sauce glossy. A sprig of thyme simmers in the reduction to tie the apple and pork together.
Ground perilla seed, a nutty seed flour common in Korean cooking, goes into both the batter and the tops of these muffins, so its toasty smell comes through first when they leave the oven. Honey and brown sugar share the sweetening, and neutral oil stands in for butter, so there is nothing to melt or cream before mixing. The batter fills one 6-cup muffin tray.
Pounded thin, the pork loin cooks through in about the time the crumb coat needs to turn golden, and the loosely attached breadcrumbs puff away from the meat. That thinness is the main difference from a thick Japanese tonkatsu. No deep fryer is needed: a wide pan with oil reaching halfway up the cutlet works, as long as the pan is swirled so hot oil runs under the coating. Lemon wedges take the place of any sauce.
Mashed boiled potato and ground perilla seed are worked into the focaccia dough, and sliced garlic and rosemary stud the top. The first rise is judged by the dough nearly doubling and a fingertip dent springing back slowly, not by the clock alone. When the dough springs back and refuses to reach the corners of the pan, a 5-minute rest relaxes it enough to stretch without tearing.
Chuck goes into the oven as one piece and comes out soft enough to pull apart with a fork, while the carrots and potatoes, added only for the final hour, still hold their shape. Tomato paste and the browned bits left by searing become the sauce right in the same pot, and the braising liquid ends up serving as the gravy.
Chopped dried persimmon (gotgam) studs this buttery loaf, and most bites catch a chewy piece of fruit; cinnamon is the only spice. The fruit is sweet enough that the sugar stays modest. It is moister the day after baking, once it has spent a night wrapped in plastic.
Thin potato slices bake in cream and milk until the liquid thickens between the layers, with Gruyere melted through the middle and browned on top. Garlic never touches the potatoes themselves, only the buttered dish, where it leaves a faint scent at the base. Baking happens in two phases, covered with foil until the potatoes cook through and then uncovered to color the cheese, which keeps the top from scorching before the center softens. There is no bechamel, just cream poured straight over the slices.
Brown sugar and pineapple rings line the bottom of the pan under the batter, and the cake is turned out after baking so the fruit layer ends up on top. The rings sit close together, because wide gaps let the melting butter and sugar pool in one spot.
Pork shoulder braises low in a heavy pot until the meat separates on its own when a fork touches it, then is shredded and tossed back into the onion-soaked pan juices with barbecue sauce. Doneness is judged by the meat, not the clock; if it still resists, it needs longer.
Half a kilo of onions, cooked over low heat for more than 40 minutes until jammy, is spread thickly over thin dough and crossed with a lattice of anchovies and black olives for this Provençal tart. Tomato sauce and cheese stay out of it, and the anchovies bring enough salt that the topping hardly needs more.
Thick coins of octopus sit on slices of boiled potato, finished with nothing more than olive oil, smoked paprika, and coarse salt. With so little seasoning, texture carries the dish: a hard boil tightens the flesh, so the octopus rests in its hot water after the heat goes off and softens gently.
This bread-flour dough makes two pizzas of about 30 cm each. Leave the rim alone when stretching: pressing the edge hard pushes out the gas that lets the crust puff in the oven. Dust with extra flour only when the dough is truly sticky.
The fat that rises on the red braising liquid becomes the frying fat for the tortillas, so trimming all the fat from the beef or pouring off the broth's oil leaves nothing to crisp them with. Dipping deeper into the thin broth below soaks the tortillas until they are hard to flip. Swapping the three dried chiles, guajillo, ancho and arbol, for plain chili powder changes the sauce. The rest of the broth gets reheated and served in a bowl for dunking, and low-moisture mozzarella stands in for Oaxaca cheese in the same amount.
Puff-pastry cups filled with egg-yolk custard go into a very hot oven for a short bake, which leaves dark brown spots scattered across the surface. The yolks go in off the heat and the custard is strained through a fine sieve, so the filling sets smooth with no stringy bits of egg.
Rosemary, thyme, garlic, and parsley chopped into breadcrumbs form a green crust over the lamb, held in place by a thin layer of Dijon mustard. Searing the rack first supplies the color, leaving the oven only to crisp the crust while the center stays pink. The seared surface needs to cool briefly before the mustard is spread on, otherwise the coating slides. Carve between the bones into individual chops.
The filling is pumpkin puree, cream and eggs with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. After baking, the pie cools completely at room temperature, chills overnight and is sliced cold. Bake it the day before you plan to serve it.
Raclette works as a meal at the table: each person melts a portion of cheese and pours it straight over warm potatoes and ham. The cooking ahead is simple, boiling small potatoes until a fork goes in but the centers hold, then keeping them covered and warm. A raclette machine is the usual tool, though small ovenproof pans under an oven grill manage the same job. Pull the cheese when it turns glossy and the edges bubble; left longer, it browns and the fat separates.
Three layers stack up in this British pudding: a soft base of breadcrumbs soaked in milk and set with egg yolks, a thin spread of raspberry jam, and a cap of meringue browned in the oven. The dish bakes twice, the first time just until the base holds at the edges with a slight wobble in the middle.
Thin rounds of eggplant, zucchini, tomato, and bell pepper stand in overlapping rings on a cooked base of onion, garlic, and chopped pepper, which sets this version apart from ratatouille stewed in one pot. Instead of stock or water, the juices the vegetables release in the oven loosen the base into a sauce. Part of the pepper is diced into the base and the rest sliced for the top, giving it two textures in one dish. It makes a full plate without any meat.