Five Weeknight Dishes: Shake Things Up (A Little)

I’ve been in a bit of a cooking rut for the last several months: chili, meatballs, barbecue chicken, nachos and pizza on repeat ad infinitum. Spring feels like a good time to try something new. But not too new, because my family thrives on routine, and who wants a revolt at the dinner table? The dishes below are a gentle switch from the same old, same old.

1. Carrot Tart With Ricotta and Feta

Carrots work beautifully in this simple tart, but onions, parsnips, beets, zucchini or pumpkin work just as well. The key is to cook the vegetables before putting them on the tart, since the moisture released by baking raw vegetables would make the puff pastry soggy and prevent it from rising. Once you remove the tart from the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting to allow the cheese to firm up slightly. The tart can be served warm, or cooled to room temperature, and would make a great addition to a picnic.

By Sue Li

Yield: 8 servings

Total time: 1 hour

Flour, for rolling out dough

Ingredients:

1 (14-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 pound multicolored carrots, scrubbed and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper

8 ounces ricotta

4 ounces feta, crumbled

1 garlic clove, grated

Chopped fresh parsley, chervil or chives, for garnish

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Using a paring knife, lightly score a border around the perimeter of the puff pastry about a 1/4 inch away from the edges. Place puff pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick the pastry inside the border using a fork to prevent puffing in the center. Bake on top rack until puff pastry is lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

2. Meanwhile, toss carrots with 1 tablespoon oil, season generously with salt and pepper and spread into a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast carrots on the bottom rack (underneath the puff pastry) until the edges are golden brown and carrots are still crisp-tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. While puff pastry and carrots are in the oven, blend ricotta, feta and garlic in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Spread the cheese mixture onto the puff pastry up to the border and arrange the carrots in a single layer on top. Bake until the carrots are tender and the edges of the cheese mixture are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs before serving.

2. Doenjang Salmon Rice Bowl

This speedy meal is for seekers of the sweet-salty, known as dan-jjan in Korean. Doenjang, a glorious Korean fermented soybean paste, anchors the sauce with funk and umami. This sauce, balanced with sweet mirin and tangy rice vinegar, both marinates and lacquers salmon, which is quick-roasted. Cutting the fish into cubes allows more surface area for the salmon fat to render quickly, while the centers cook to a medium-rare, melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, a satisfying contrast to the still-crunchy, just-charred onions. This soul-warming breakfast, lunch or dinner tastes best with white rice, kimchi and whatever other accompaniments you might enjoy.

By Eric Kim

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons doenjang (see tip)

6 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Salt and black pepper

1 pound salmon fillets (preferably skinless and center-cut), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

Steamed rice, for serving

Kimchi, for serving (optional)

Preparation:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar, oil, doenjang, mirin and vinegar until the sugar and doenjang dissolve. Season with salt and pepper. Add the salmon to the marinade and turn with your fingers to evenly coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes and up to 8 hours.

2. When ready to cook, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Add the onion slices to a sheet pan or shallow baking dish. Dump the salmon and its marinade over the onion and toss to combine. Arrange the salmon and onion in a single layer.

3. Roast until the doenjang glaze bubbles like hot lava along the edges of the pan and the salmon is opaque but still slightly pink in the center, rotating the pan halfway through, 9 to 12 minutes. Divide the rice then the salmon among bowls and serve with kimchi, if desired.

TIP: You can find doenjang, often labeled “soybean paste,” in Korean or Asian supermarkets and online, either in jars or in plastic rectangular tubs. Funkily pungent and packed with savoriness, doenjang is a magical flavor booster that is sometimes compared to Japanese miso but has a saltier, more assertive kick. Full of fermented sourness and deep Parmesan-like umami, it can enliven all manner of soups, stews and salad dressings with unparalleled brio.

3. Rosemary Chicken Ragù

Requiring just 30 minutes of simmering, this is the ragù to make any old night. Made with chicken, it is lighter than traditional ragù, but has strong flavors from butter, anchovies, rosemary, garlic and a hefty kick of red-pepper flakes. (You can use less if that scares you.) With such a savory base of ingredients, you can skip browning the chicken and still be rewarded with juicy meat that willingly shreds when pulled with forks. The silky sauce and delicate strands of chicken like to twirl with long noodles, but they would also be great over polenta, mashed potatoes, white beans or farro. Meal planners, you should know that this recipe makes 6 cups of sauce and will keep 3 days refrigerated — and improves with time.

By Ali Slagle

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons tomato paste

6 garlic cloves, finely grated or chopped

4 anchovy fillets

1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

1 rosemary sprig (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)

1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 (28-ounce) can crushed or whole tomatoes

Salt

1 pound long noodles such as pappardelle or fettuccine

Grated Parmesan, for serving

Preparation:

1. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium. Add the tomato paste, garlic, anchovies, red-pepper flakes and rosemary. Stir until the tomato paste is a shade darker and sticking to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 4 minutes. If you have some white wine open, add ½ cup and simmer until nearly all evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the chicken and tomatoes and season generously with salt. If using whole tomatoes, break them up with your spoon. It may not seem like a lot of liquid, but the chicken will give off juices in time. Bring to a boil over medium-high, then reduce heat to gently simmer over medium-low until the chicken’s cooked through and the sauce is flavorful, 30 to 35 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

4. When the chicken is ready, turn off the heat under the sauce. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain the pasta. While the pasta’s cooking, remove the rosemary from the sauce. Using two forks, shred the chicken right in the pot. Taste and adjust with salt. Return to medium-low to keep warm and thicken slightly until the pasta is ready. (Some chicken is so juicy that the sauce might seem thin; just simmer it until it’s thickened.)

5. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss assertively over medium-high until the pasta is well coated. Add pasta water as needed to help the sauce cling to the pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

4. Ham-and-Cheese Brioche Pudding

Bread pudding, an old-fashioned frugal dessert, usually contains day-old bread, milk, eggs and a bit of fruit, fresh or dried, baked in a sweet custard. This savory version, made with ham and cheese, employs tender buttery brioche. It is easier to make than a quiche, but has a similar delicacy, perfect for lunch or a light supper.

By David Tanis

Yield: 6 servings

Total time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the pan

1 (12-ounce) brioche loaf or smaller brioches, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 8 cups)

6 eggs

4 cups half-and-half or whole milk

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of cayenne

1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions

6 ounces thinly sliced ham, cut crosswise into matchsticks (about 1 1/2 cups)

8 ounces grated Gouda or Gruyère cheese (about 4 cups)

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 11-by-11-inch baking dish. Fill dish with brioche cubes and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Whisk in half-and-half, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne and scallions. Pour mixture over cubes in baking dish.

3. Sprinkle ham and cheese on top of mixture, and press down to make sure everything is submerged. Set baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet.

4. Transfer baking dish and baking sheet to the middle shelf of the oven, and bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the dish emerges dry. Let rest for 10 minutes or so before serving.

TIP: If desired, let pudding cool completely and cut into squares or wedges. Then reheat for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

5. Sheet-Pan Miso Chicken With Radishes and Lime

This vibrant dish is adapted from “Keeping It Simple” (Hardie Grant, 2020), a book of weeknight recipes by the food writer Yasmin Fahr. Miso and ghee are tossed with radishes and rubbed underneath the skin of chicken thighs before both are roasted on the same sheet pan. Fresh scallions, sesame seeds and lime juice provide a bright finish. If you don’t have ghee, regular unsalted butter will do just fine. And if you’ve never had roasted radishes, you’re in for a treat: High heat eliminates the vegetable’s bitterness, coaxes out its sweetness and leaves the lovely pink color behind.

Recipe from Yasmin Fahr

Adapted by Margaux Laskey

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons white miso paste

1 pound trimmed radishes, halved, if large

1 lime, cut in half

2 scallions, light green and white parts only, thinly sliced

Black or white sesame seeds, for sprinkling (optional)

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place one rack in the middle of the oven and another about 6 inches from the broiler.

2. On a large baking sheet, drizzle the chicken all over with 1 tablespoon oil, then season all over with salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, mash together the ghee and miso until combined. Lift up the skin on one chicken thigh, carefully creating a space between the skin and meat, and place about 1/2 teaspoon miso-ghee mixture inside. Close the pocket, then lightly press on top of the skin to spread it around. Repeat with remaining chicken thighs, adding 1/2 teaspoon miso-ghee mixture to each. Massage another 1 1/2 teaspoons mixture all over the chicken, leaving about 1 teaspoon miso-ghee mixture remaining in the bowl.

3. Arrange the chicken skin-side up, evenly spaced apart, and roast on the middle rack for 15 minutes.

4. In the same mixing bowl, toss the radishes with the remaining miso-ghee mixture and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper.

5. After the chicken has roasted for 15 minutes, scatter the radishes around the chicken and cook until radishes are tender and lightly browned and chicken is cooked through (the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh should reach 165 degrees), another 10 to 15 minutes.

6. If the chicken skin is not as browned as you’d like, broil on the rack near the broiler until the skin is crispy and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Squeeze the lime juice over chicken and radishes, then garnish with the scallions and sesame seeds, if using. Divide among plates and serve.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.