Weeknight Meals

If you can’t find freekeh, use another whole grain, like spelt or rye berries.

We like to serve this main with couscous, rice, or grilled bread to sop up all of the shrimp’s intensely flavored cooking liquid.

Bobby Flay often uses terra-cotta dishes called for this recipe. These lightweight vessels, ubiquitous in Spain, can go from oven to table, and come in a full range of sizes.

In addition to being deliciously nutty, quinoa is a complete protein—but you knew that already, right? If you can’t find red, the white variety will work just as well in this tangy, wilted salad.

Savoy cabbage is a bright green, hearty member of the brassica family. Lightly braised with chickpeas and mustard, it becomes a vegetable worthy of a main course.

For a complete meal, pair this black bass recipe with roasted potatoes, creamy polenta, or cooked white beans.

Cutting the vegetables into similarly sized pieces helps them cook at the same rate, so this entire dish—sauce included—can be made in one pan.

We’re big fans of the cabbage and crema that’s served atop Baja-inspired fish tacos. Along those lines, this crispy slaw brings out the best in a simple pan-roasted salmon fillet.

Pulling mussels from the shell is a delightfully hands-on way to get your lean protein. The little black shellfish are easy to cook; the only trick is to sort them carefully beforehand. Toss out any cracked shelled mussels, as well as any open ones that don’t close up tight when you squeeze them. The beards are the tough little fibers that help mussels cling to rocks; to remove them, just pinch the hairy fibers with a clean kitchen towel and pull. Don’t do this much before cooking, though, becau.…

This dish calls for a fish with a fairly firm structure: Line-caught albacore, lingcod, and mahi-mahi are all good options. Or paint a wild salmon fillet with the marinade and proceed. If you have not made The Greenest Tahini Sauce, you could use a spoonful of straight tahini mixed with olive oil as a marinade; try incorporating a bit of lemon zest as well.

Mackerel, a lovely oily fish, is delightfully hard to overcook. It’s often sold frozen, especially in Japanese markets, so allow a day for defrosting if you’ve purchased it in that form. If you can’t find mackerel, choose another oily fish: Black cod and wild sockeye salmon will both work, though they require a longer cooking time. You may want to try cooking them in steaks with this broiling method; the bones lend extra flavor and keep the fish from falling apart, too.

Seasoning the chicken with a bit of apple cider vinegar beforehand helps tenderize the chicken before roasting.

“The grapefruit brightens everything in this dish.” —Eleanore Park, BA recipe tester

Get the pan smoking hot so the halibut won’t stick. Let it get a good sear on the first side, which will also help it release.

For this cod recipe, you want to cook it at a lazy simmer; it will make all the difference between buttery, flaky fish and rubbery, tough fillets.

If the idea of cooking skin-on fish makes you nervous, do this in an ovenproof nonstick pan. The skin won’t get quite as crisp, but you won’t have to worry about it sticking.

With slices of celery root and chefs’ new favorite cheese, scamorza, pizza night just got a lot more fun.

In this hamburger recipe, adding onion delivers moisture; forming thicker patties prevents them from cooking too fast and drying out. Both steps are key when working with grass-fed ground beef.

Make extra grains on Sunday and use them for this lightning-quick weeknight dinner.

Harissa is a great shortcut ingredient to flavor, but no two jars (or tubes) are the same. Taste first—if it seems very spicy, use a bit less. You can always stir more into the chickpeas when the dish is finished. Learn how to make this recipe and more in our online cooking class with Sur la Table.