Skillet Shrimp with Green Olive, Caper and Jalapeño Sauce

Inspired by Veracruz-style shrimp from the Gulf Coast of Mexico, this shrimp dish combines punchy, savory depth of Spanish cooking with a piquant, Mexican-style touch.

By Courtney HillDecember 8, 2023

Parmesan and Pancetta Pasta with Kale

This quick, one-pot pasta dinner hits a wide spectrum of flavors: it’s savory with crisp bits of pancetta, umami-rich with Parmesan, green and minerally with kale, spicy with pepper flakes and bright with a last-minute addition of lemon juice. We use

By Hisham Ali HassanDecember 8, 2023

Tomato Rice with Smoked Sausage and Peas

This homey, comforting one-pot meal is a riff on Cuban arroz con salchichas, or rice and sausage. We first brown slices of smoky kielbasa, then sauté a simple sofrito of onion and poblano pepper to build flavor. Garlic, cumin, dried oregano and bay pr

By Rose HattabaughDecember 8, 2023

Curry-Braised Chicken with Tomatoes and Potatoes

This comforting, low-effort braise takes inspiration from Mauritian chicken daube. In the 18th century, French colonizers brought the hearty braise called daube to Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Over time, Mauritians adapted the dish

By Diane UngerDecember 8, 2023

Green Curry Beef with Snap Peas

This rich coconut curry leans on store-bought Thai green curry paste to provide spiciness and complexity, while fresh ginger and lime juice add brightness. Snap peas and a red bell pepper bring sweetness, color and a pleasant crispness. Be sure to sli

By Diane UngerOctober 3, 2023

Roasted Butternut Squash with Chickpeas, Herbs and Tahini

This colorful vegetarian dish, inspired by a recipe in “The Lebanese Kitchen” by Salma Hage, matches the sweetness of roasted butternut squash and shallots with a tangy, nutty lemon-tahini dressing. We toss the squash and shallots with tahini and oil

Spicy Peanut-Sesame Stir-Fried Shrimp

Chunky peanut butter and toasted sesame oil bring two layers of nutty flavor to this simple stir-fry.

By Courtney HillOctober 4, 2023

Rigatoni with Turkey Sausage and Tomato-Cream Sauce

This comforting pasta dish is our re-creation of a favorite from Bar Pitti in New York City. Italian sausage made with turkey or chicken is best, as its leaner, milder flavor is a better match than pork-based sausage for the creamy tomato sauce and sw

By Malcolm JacksonOctober 4, 2023

Stir-Fried Masala-Spiced Pork with Peas

This pea-studded pork-and-rice bowl, inspired by southwestern Indian flavors, uses few ingredients for maximum pizazz.

By Courtney HillAugust 9, 2023

Tomato, Bread and Chorizo Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

Italy’s toasty bread salad meets Spain’s bread-and-chorizo dish—a simple, yet incredibly satisfying balance of deep umami, sweetness, and crunch.

By Diane UngerAugust 9, 2023

Salmon Traybake with Harissa-Roasted Pepper Sauce

The inspiration for this colorful traybake is Moroccan-style red chermoula: a bold, warmly spiced sauce, often served with fish. Our weeknight-friendly version calls on smoky harissa, a North African chili and spice paste, plus sweet roasted peppers,

By Rose HattabaughAugust 9, 2023

Two-Cheese Orzo with Cauliflower

“You guys killed it coming up with this,” a reader writes about this creamy, cheesy “orzotto” with cauliflower.

By Rose HattabaughAugust 9, 2023

Ribeye Steaks with Green Olive-White Wine Pan Sauce

This is a riff on a dish from the new edition of “Spain: The Cookbook” written by Simone Ortega and first published in Spain in 1972. The 1,080-recipe tome has since become a bible of Spanish home cooking. We use pimento-stuffed green olives to add po

Curried Chicken Fried Rice with Chilies

Nigerian fried rice, seasoned with curry powder, dried thyme and a handful of aromatics, inspired this meal-in-a-skillet. Beef liver and an assortment of vegetables are classic ingredients, but here we opted for chicken thighs and green beans. Instead

By Courtney HillJune 22, 2023

Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes, Capers and Herbs

The tiny Italian island of Pantelleria off the coast of Sicily is the home of pesto pantesco, a puree of fruity olive oil, fresh tomatoes, leafy herbs, briny capers and pungent garlic. For a quick, summery dinner, we deconstructed the pesto and create

By Elizabeth MindreauApril 6, 2021

Maque-Style Mexican Bisquetes

Maque is a bakery/café with multiple locations in Mexico City. During a visit to the Condesa shop, we became particularly enamored of their bisquets. Mexican bisquets are common, but Maque’s stand out as unique. The deeply golden oversized buns featur

By Christopher Kimball & Rose HattabaughApril 28, 2025

Broken Phyllo Cake with Orange and Bay

The soaking syrup we use in this pudding-like citrus cake is infused with warm spices for added dimensions of flavor and fragrance.

By Rose HattabaughJanuary 5, 2022

Tomato-Olive Focaccia

The world’s best focaccia comes from Bari, Italy, where oozing buckets of dough bake up into an impossibly airy, tender crumb. OR A recreation of a light, open-crumbed focaccia from Bari, Italy, with tomatoes and olives melded in the crust.

By Diane UngerJanuary 21, 2024

Portuguese Sponge Cake (Pão de Ló)

Portugal's famously airy, eggy cake with a gooey layer underneath a thin withered crust.

By Rose HattabaughFebruary 5, 2021

Georgian Cheese Bread (Khachapuri)

We adore Georgia's staple snack—a bread boat made of a plush, yeasted dough that’s easy to tear and dip into an abundant filling of creamy cheese.

By Erika BruceFebruary 1, 2024

No-Fry Neapolitan Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di Melanzane)

Skip the breading for a lighter, silkier eggplant Parmesan. OR Naples's hands-off eggplant Parm is lighter, silkier, and golden-browned. OR In Naples, we learned a hands-off, no-fry eggplant Parm that's lighter and silkier—opposite of the familiar gut

By Rose HattabaughFebruary 1, 2023

French Onion Soup

Is there such a thing as “light” French onion soup? The answer is an herbaceous, brothy bowl served to Chris Kimball at Bichettes in Paris. OR In Paris, we learned to make a light, bright French onion soup—the opposite of beef stock, soggy bread, and

By Courtney HillMarch 7, 2024

Skillet Spanakopita

We love spanakopita—Greek spinach and feta pastry pockets—so much that we turned it into a skillet-sized brunch dish. OR We took spanakopita—the popular Greek spinach-and-feta-stuffed triangle—and expanded it into an abundant, skillet-filling course.

By Courtney HillApril 20, 2022

Yogurt and Olive Oil Flatbreads

Incredibly delicious and soft, these flatbreads from chef Marianna Leivaditaki make smart use of a short ingredients list.

By Rose HattabaughAugust 9, 2021

Turkish-Style Flaky Flatbreads

Lavishly flaky and buttery, these skillet flatbreads, katmer, come together with just four ingredients. OR This buttery, flaky flatbread was inspired by katmer—just flour, water, and salt, transformed into a tender, rich skillet bread.

By Diane UngerFebruary 1, 2023

Piadina

This quick, supple flatbread from northern Italy gets its bubbly and charred from a screaming-hot cast iron skillet. OR The quick, supple flatbread gets its flavor and supple texture from a combination of yogurt and lard.

1-2-3-4 Yogurt Cake

In France, gâteau au yaourt is a cake that uses an entire container of yogurt then cleverly employs the empty container as the measuring cup for the flour, sugar and oil. It’s easy to throw together and a perfect recipe to make with children. If you’v

By Milk StreetOctober 5, 2023

Potato Gnocchi

It helps to have a kitchen scale to weigh out the 1¼ pounds of cooked potatoes needed to make the gnochhi dough. To process the cooked potatoes, a ricer or food mill works best for obtaining the smooth texture needed for light, fine gnocchi. A potato

Gnocchi in an Instant

Potato flakes make for the most pillowy gnocchi- in just 30 minutes!

Marika Contaldo Seguso’s Basil Tagliatelle with Butter, Sage and Parmesan

Marika Contaldo’s luscious, homemade tagliatelle, flecked with basil and coated with a luscious buttery sauce.

By Rose HattabaughNovember 1, 2022

Indonesian Spiced Beef and Lemon Grass Soup

This aromatic soup is our adaptation of the sop konro that home cook Nobita Budianti demonstrated for us in her kitchen in Jakarta, Indonesia. The blender does much of the heavy prep, pureeing many of the ingredients into a spice paste, called bumbu d

By Courtney HillAugust 26, 2025

Thai Rice Soup (Khao Tom)

One of our readers’ favorite recipes, this pork soup showcases almost magical layers of aroma and flavor.

By Diane UngerApril 2, 2018

Polenta Soup with Kale and Parmesan

Soft polenta takes on a brothy quality in our take on comforting polentina alla toscana.

Canederli in Brodo (Bread Dumplings in Broth)

Stale country-style bread is the base for canederli, the rustic, generously sized dumplings that originate in the Alpine regions of northern Italy. Our version is based on the recipes we learned in the city of Trento from Mauro Pisoni and Pietro Gambo

By Courtney HillOctober 24, 2024

Chili Crisp Chicken and Corn Soup

James Ooi—founder of Little Bao Boy, an Asian street food business based in Leeds, England—inspired us with his go-to soup for a quick weeknight dinner. Chicken breast, soy sauce, and canned corn. We were intrigued. Based on his description, we develo

By Hisham Ali HassanSeptember 2, 2025

Vietnamese Meatball and Watercress Soup (Canh)

“This is my favorite Milk Street soup recipe,” a reader writes of this Vietnamese pork meatball soup: a bright green bowl of juicy, tender pork with a complex background of fish sauce, scallions, garlic, ginger and lime juice.

By Diane UngerAugust 7, 2017

Italian Bean Soup with Fresh Pasta

“Everyone should eat this,” a reader writes of one of our all-time most popular soups: rustic Italian bean soup, the perfect vehicle for fresh pasta.

Korean Hand-Torn Noodle Soup with Chicken (Sujebi)

Rustic hand-torn wheat noodles are the star of sujebi, a hearty, brothy Korean soup. In Seoul, we learned there are countless ways to make the dish, but for our version, we combined our favorite elements of the recipes we learned from home cook Insook

By Courtney HillJanuary 19, 2024

Filipino-Style Chicken Soup with Coconut and Lemon Grass

Coconut water makes the brightest, freshest-tasting chicken soup we’ve ever had—and out of thousands of Milk Street recipes, it’s one of our kitchen’s favorites.

By Courtney HillAugust 9, 2021

Butter-Braised Tomato Soup

In “The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking,” Marcella Hazan shared her now-famous recipe for a sublimely delicious, remarkably simple sauce made with nothing more than tomatoes, onion and butter. This soup turns that sauce into a light meal. If you

Tomato-Rice Soup with Caramelized Onion

Caramelized onion soup: one onion, deep flavor, and a couple pantry staples.

By Rose HattabaughNovember 8, 2022

Kale and White Bean Soup

A leftover Parmesan rind and canned cannellini beans make for an extra-savory broth in one of our favorite crusty-bread soups.

Somali Chicken Soup

This electric Somali-style chicken soup is heaped with fresh, crisp ingredients added at the end and spiked with hot sauce. OR. Warming spices, a cut of lime juice, and broth simmered in a pot-full of browned onions is our prescription for all ailment

By Diane UngerJanuary 8, 2018

Thai-Style Coconut and Chicken Soup

This fragrant Thai soup is rich with coconut milk, awoken with chili heat, lime, and lemongrass, and studded with meaty chicken and mushrooms—and its electricity depends on that deep, coconutty backdrop. Ersatz homemade coconut milk provides the rich

By Courtney HillJanuary 21, 2024

Soup from Nothing (Caraway Soup with Parsley and Walnut Pesto)

At Milk Street, this simple, comforting broth is affectionately known as “soup from nothing.” It is our adaptation of a recipe we learned from Oana Udrea, chef at Meșendorf 65 in the Transylvania region of Romania. The heart of the soup is a light but

By Courtney HillMarch 7, 2025

Garnish-as-You-Like Potato-Leek Soup

Potato-leek soup is a blank canvas for all manner of garnishes. Keep it simple for family—chopped thyme and black pepper—and for a larger gathering, double the soup and set out an array of options so guests can add what they like. With a base of water

By Courtney HillDecember 21, 2024

Pasta with “Fake” Sauce

In Italy, we learned about Tuscan sugo finto, or “fake sauce,” so called because the vegetables—onion, carrot and celery—are minced, then gently cooked in fat to the point where they resemble, in both appearance and texture, bits of long-simmered meat

By Rose HattabaughOctober 4, 2024

Browned Butter Gâteau Magique

Gâteau magique, or magic cake, is a French dessert that lives up to its name. During baking, its seven-ingredient batter separates into three layers: a firm, flan-like bottom, a creamy, pudding-like center and a puffy, souffléed crown. Our version get

By Hisham Ali HassanDecember 17, 2024

Orange–Olive Oil Sweet Breads

French gibassiers (pronounced zhe-bah-see-ay) take a couple different forms. In certain areas of Provence, the baked good is a cookie made with olive oil. But the better-known version is a sweet yeasted bread rich with butter, olive oil and eggs and f

By Rose HattabaughSeptember 12, 2024

Roman-Style Chicken Cacciatore

Cacciatore, it turns out, is not always a chunky, tomato-heavy braise. At Piatto Romano in Rome, we learned how to make the Roman version—an elegant, minimalist dish bright with the acidity of white wine and vinegar and heady with rosemary, garlic and

By Courtney HillAugust 16, 2024

Babas au Rhum

A classic French dessert with Eastern European roots, babas au rhum traditionally consists of yeasted, mildly sweet, bread-like individual cakes heavily soaked in a boozy, rum-spiked syrup. At Restaurant Astier in Paris, we tried a lighter, fresher i

By Rose HattabaughSeptember 24, 2024

Pissaladière

French Provençal pissaladière is a flatbread-like savory tart featuring a thin crust topped generously with onions that are slow-cooked until jammy and sweet, plus briny black olives and umami-rich anchovies. Diminutive Niçoise olives are the traditio

By Rose HattabaughSeptember 11, 2024

Frozen Lemon Mousse

Thanks to store-bought lemon curd, you don’t need to spend any time at the stovetop to make this ethereal frozen mousse. With the help of a stand mixer, the base comes together in a few minutes, then is frozen in a loaf pan until firm enough to unmold

By Rose HattabaughAugust 12, 2024

Meringue-Topped Cake with Cherries

Romanian prăjitură cu rubarbă is a simple, rustic rhubarb-studded cake that is covered with a snowy cloud of meringue after baking, then slid back into the oven. A few minutes later, the two-layer treat emerges with a crown of golden swirls and peaks—

By Rose HattabaughJune 27, 2024

Agrodolce Red Onions

Italian sweet and sour onions—called cipolline agrodolce—typically are small whole onions simmered with sugar and vinegar. But Ristorante Barbieri in Calabria uses sliced tropea onions, a variety that is a specialty of the region. We apply their techn

By Kevin ClarkAugust 16, 2024

Korean Hand-Torn Noodle Soup with Chicken (Sujebi)

Rustic hand-torn wheat noodles are the star of sujebi, a hearty, brothy Korean soup. In Seoul, we learned there are countless ways to make the dish, but for our version, we combined our favorite elements of the recipes we learned from home cook Insook

By Courtney HillJanuary 19, 2024

Scalloped Potatoes

This recipe for scalloped potatoes is designed to be easily scaled up to serve as many as 12 (see below). The ingredients are basic, but the finished dish is rich and elegant enough for a holiday spread. Be sure to use Yukon Gold potatoes, which have

By Courtney HillSeptember 20, 2024

Buttery Hazelnut and Winter Squash Tian

This winter squash side comes together easily. It takes its name from a classic French Provençal dish of vegetables baked in a shallow, round earthenware vessel called a tian. Either a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or an 8-inch square baking dish works f

Easy-Stretch Yogurt Pizza Dough

Is it heretical to use yogurt in pizza dough? Traditionalists would say yes. But there’s no arguing that the yogurt in this high-hydration formula yields a dough that is easy to shape into rounds because it does not recoil when stretched. It also adds

By Christopher KimballSeptember 19, 2024

Arrabbiata Slab Pizza

This slab-style pizza features a puffy, crisp-bottomed, focaccia-like crust and a spicy, garlicky tomato sauce inspired by pasta all’arrabbiata. We like mild, buttery fontina cheese for the way it counters the intensity of the sauce, but if you want b

By Courtney HillDecember 2, 2024

Rice Pudding with Caramel Cream and Almond Praline

Riz au lait, or rice pudding, is the signature dessert at L’Ami Jean, a Parisian bistro known for its innovative takes on robust French fare. Rice pudding typically is heavy, but chef Stéphane Jégo lightens his with whipped cream and pairs it with a m

By Rose HattabaughMay 22, 2025

Danish Dream Cake

This fluffy vanilla "dream cake" (drømmekage), gets its dreaminess from a light crumb and a gooey, glossy, caramelized coating.

Spanish Garlic and Bread Soup

Taught to us by chef José Andrés, this “end of month” recipe transforms simple odds and ends.

By Christopher Kimball & Matthew CardNovember 11, 2022

Spinach and Ricotta Dumplings in Tomato Sauce (Palline al Verde)

At Trattoria Antico Falcone in Rome, palline al verde—which translates as “green balls”—were small dumpling-like orbs of ricotta, Parmesan and an abundance of spinach. Since the only binder was egg, their texture was delicate and creamy, and their fla

By Rose HattabaughApril 5, 2024

Stovetop Chocolate Cake

This no-oven chocolate cake comes together in a pan—steamed, rather than baked, resulting in a moist, tender cake every time. OR This no-oven-needed chocolate cake is "steamed" for about 20 minutes in a Dutch oven—a method which results in an unimagin

By Yvonne RupertiJanuary 22, 2024

Broken Phyllo Cake with Orange and Bay

The soaking syrup we use in this pudding-like citrus cake is infused with warm spices for added dimensions of flavor and fragrance.

By Rose HattabaughJanuary 5, 2022

Easy-Stretch Yogurt Pizza Dough

Is it heretical to use yogurt in pizza dough? Traditionalists would say yes. But there’s no arguing that the yogurt in this high-hydration formula yields a dough that is easy to shape into rounds because it does not recoil when stretched. It also adds

By Christopher KimballSeptember 19, 2024

Rigatoni with Roman Broccoli Sauce

Romans use the leaves that grow around heads of broccoli to make a flavorful sauce for pasta. In the U.S., most of the leaves are stripped off before broccoli is sold. Our recipe instead uses the stems, which are equally flavorful and produce a silky

1-2-3-4 Yogurt Cake

In France, gâteau au yaourt is a cake that uses an entire container of yogurt then cleverly employs the empty container as the measuring cup for the flour, sugar and oil. It’s easy to throw together and a perfect recipe to make with children. If you’v

By Milk StreetOctober 5, 2023

Pasta with “Fake” Sauce

In Italy, we learned about Tuscan sugo finto, or “fake sauce,” so called because the vegetables—onion, carrot and celery—are minced, then gently cooked in fat to the point where they resemble, in both appearance and texture, bits of long-simmered meat

By Rose HattabaughOctober 4, 2024

Romanian Crème Fraîche Cake (Lichiu)

During a trip to Transylvania, we tasted lichiu, a sweet yeasted dough spread with a creamy, lemony, semolina filling and a custard upper layer made with crème fraîche and egg yolks. The semolina and custard fuse during baking, resulting in a deliciou

By Hisham Ali HassanSeptember 5, 2024

Invisible Apple Cake (Gâteau Invisible)

“Cake” is somewhat of a misnomer for this elegant dessert. Instead of open, airy and crumby, the texture is rich and dense, with slices of sweet-tart apples set in an egg-rich batter. During its long bake in the oven, the fruit slices and custard-like

By Hisham Ali HassanAugust 16, 2024

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

This old-fashioned recipe is everything you wish angel food cake would be—light, but tender and flavorful, rather than vanishing and cotton-candy sweet.

By Milk StreetOctober 28, 2022

Butter-Roasted Carrots with Za’atar and Pomegranate Molasses

With roasted citrus and a luxe, buttery-herbal coating, these carrots are so much better than the simple olive oil-roasted variety.

By Courtney HillOctober 3, 2023

Milk-Simmered Mashed Potatoes

By cooking your potatoes in a little milk, which doubles as your mashing liquid, you get natural, creamy lusciousness—no cream needed.

By Diane UngerJanuary 21, 2024

Butter-Braised Mashed Potatoes

The trouble with most mashed potatoes? They taste more of milk or cream than potatoes. And they often end up gluey. So this recipe skips the liquid dairy and instead simmers russets in a minimal amount of water that is cooked off, not drained. This en

By Milk StreetSeptember 5, 2025

Mashed Potatoes with Herbed Browned Butter

In search of a twist on this holiday season essential, we looked to nutty browned butter. Infusing it with hearty herbs added a layer of unexpected yet familiar flavor. For an elevated finishing touch, we pour a portion of the fragrant butter directly

By Kevin ClarkNovember 14, 2024

Savory Sweet Potato Gratin

Smooth sweet potatoes, spiked with umami-rich miso, ginger and soy sauce and finished with a crisp topping of peppery-sweet panko bread crumbs and sesame seeds.

By Diane UngerOctober 16, 2017

Spiced Sweet Potato Tian

These buttery, spiced sweet potatoes balance savory and sweet—rather than a side that often feels closer to the dessert realm.

By Courtney HillSeptember 1, 2021

Garlic and Rosemary Potato Tian

A classic vegetable tian is round, as it takes its name from the Provençal earthenware vessel in which is is made, But for ease, we use a 9-by-13-inch baking dish to make a simple, generously sized potato tian for the holidays. A garlicky broth spiked

By Milk StreetOctober 3, 2025

Buttery Hazelnut and Winter Squash Tian

This winter squash side comes together easily. It takes its name from a classic French Provençal dish of vegetables baked in a shallow, round earthenware vessel called a tian. Either a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or an 8-inch square baking dish works f

Sweet Potato Gratin with Vanilla Bean and Bay Leaves

Heavy cream simmered with vanilla bean and bay leaves hints at marshmallow but is far more nuanced, compelling and aromatic. OR This no-marshmallow potato casserole retains a hint of marshmallow, but far more nuanced and aromatic, by infusing cream wi

By Matthew CardSeptember 27, 2016

Green Beans with Spanish Almond Sauce

Dairy-based sauces tend to dull the flavor of fresh produce. We prefer Spain’s salsa de almendras, or almond sauce. The nuts are blended to create a sauce with creamy richness, but none of the heft of dairy. We pair it with tender-crisp blanched green

By Courtney HillOctober 28, 2024

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Aleppo Pepper and Crème Fraîche

For the best mashed sweet potatoes, we favor roasting over simmering or steaming. During roasting, moisture in the potatoes evaporates, concentrating the natural sugars for heightened sweetness. And the caramelization that occurs on the exterior contr

By Rose HattabaughOctober 15, 2025

Scalloped Potatoes

This recipe for scalloped potatoes is designed to be easily scaled up to serve as many as 12 (see below). The ingredients are basic, but the finished dish is rich and elegant enough for a holiday spread. Be sure to use Yukon Gold potatoes, which have

By Courtney HillSeptember 20, 2024

Cranberry-Jalapeño Chutney

This cranberry chutney is a spicy, savory-sweet alternative to the standard sugary cranberry sauce. To tame the chili heat, seed the jalapeño and trim out the membranes before slicing. The chutney can be made well in advance; transfer to a container a

By Milk StreetSeptember 2, 2025

Easy-Bake Herbed Stuffing

Rather than waste precious minutes mincing and sautéing aromatics, we speed things up and maximize flavor by blending raw shallots and herbs with butter in the food processor, to create a flavor-packed paste that seasons the bread cubes as they bake.

By Matthew CardSeptember 27, 2016

Bagna Cauda Brussels Sprouts

The original Italian flavor bomb. Made with garlic, anchovies, butter and olive oil, bagna cauda is a savory dip from Piedmont, Italy. It’s a perfect pairing with Brussels sprouts that have been blistered and charred on a sizzling-hot baking sheet and

By Courtney HillMarch 26, 2025