Weeknight Meals

Heart-healthy fats in salmon also help your skin stay healthy.

Can't find Arctic char? Salmon works just as well. Opt for green (aka French) lentils, which hold their shape better when tossed into a salad.

No-fry zone: We let the fish 'n' chips fave go au naturel.

Every spring people make a hullabaloo about ramps, the wild leeks that grow in the forests of the East Coast, for good reason: they're wonderful, with a garlic-heavy leek flavor and a subtle sweetness. I pickle the ramps, put them in just about everything we eat (they're particularly great in omelets), and give them away by the armload. This pasta is a simple way to highlight their flavor.

Garlic scapes are the soft, lime-green-colored stems and unopened flower buds of hard-neck garlic varieties. Scapes have a mild garlic flavor and a slight sweetness, which makes them a prized addition in the kitchen. You can find them in the early summer and midfall at farmers' markets. If you grow your own garlic (which is easy), trim the scapes off before their flowers open. This forces the plant to focus on bulb production and increases the size of the garlic cloves. My Aunt Denise introduced me to the idea of garlic-scape pesto. Here I use it to sauce pasta; you can also spread it on crostini or use as a pungent dip for crunchy vegetables. If all you have are salted pistachios, forgo the salt in the recipe and add salt to taste at the end.

This authentic taqueria-style guac brings the classic dip back to the basics: avocado, lime, cilantro, salt, and—surprise—just a little bit of water to smooth things out.

The keys to this dish? Use as many types of squash as you can, and heat the oil in the skillet until it's almost smoking.

Use Mexican adobo, a vinegary chile paste, to season any protein. For this recipe, the shrimp is chopped, so there's no need to splurge on a larger size.

Fruit is a welcome addition to savory grain salads. Here, mangoes and oranges add color and sweetness to the deep-purple hue of black rice. It's delicious with grilled fish.

A few simple spices are all you need to transform ground pork into a fantastic taco filling.

Ask your butcher for thinly sliced cross-cut short ribs, a.k.a. flanken or Korean style. If you can't find them, flank steak is a good substitute.

Butter, flecked with parsley, chive, and dill, melts into the smoky, briny juices of grilled clams to create a delicious, effortless sauce.

You can use any white flaky fish in this versatile—and quick—dish.

Be gentle when washing new potatoes; their tender skins scrub off easily.

"Nobody thinks to cook cucumbers, but I treat them as I would any vegetable"

This steak tastes best when marinated overnight, so try to start the recipe a day ahead.

Get juicy shrimp by gently steaming them in an herb-and-lemon infused broth.

The classic Middle Eastern salad shifts from bulgur wheat to quinoa. The tiny nutritional powerhouse is loaded with protein, making this dish both a delicious vegetarian main course and a summer-suitable side.

Chicken thighs are more succulent than breasts and stand up to reheating without drying out.