Weeknight Meals

You'll be shocked at how light yet satisfying this pasta is—it's finished in a fast garlicky almond sauce, studded with peas, and topped with chopped roasted almonds.

Salads don't always need vinegar or lemon juice. A mix of Boston and Bibb lettuce, seasoned with only good olive oil and salt, goes well with the more piquant dishes in this menu.

No need to call your local pizza joint. Thanks to prepared dough and bottled roasted red peppers, making your own calzones can be easy and far more satisfying.

A classic Greek soup that's thickened with eggs and spiked with lemon. Add some shredded rotisserie chicken and call it a meal.

Tonkatsu—deep-fried breaded pork—is a European-inspired dish that evolved during the late 19th century in Japan. Here, the pork is pounded thin and simply panfried. Pickled carrots offer a cool bite.

Food editor Maggie Ruggiero was humming for weeks after enjoying a salad of fresh buffalo mozzarella, cucumber, and the Italian wheat called farro at the Manhattan restaurant Il Buco. She set about reimagining it, and her version’s accents—tender lettuce, basil, and a light, lemony dressing—beautifully complement the cheese. Since fresh mozzarella is the star here, it's essential to use the best you can find. We love the kind traditionally made in Italy from the milk of water buffalo for its custardlike texture and sweet, milky tang. Recently, some American producers have gotten in on the act as well.

Chicken thighs are an excellent choice if you're looking for big, meaty flavor that's easy on the wallet. Here, they're seared until the skin is golden-crisp and then roasted with the classic combination of lemon and oregano until juicy.

This simple take on carbonara is the ideal postwork fallback dinner.

The color yellow symbolized joy for medieval Arabs, who were cultivating saffron in Spain by 960 c.e. Sephardic Jews were equally inspired by the coveted spice, and golden rice became a holiday and Sabbath tradition. This version, made with basmati rice, is punctuated by caramelized onion, currants, and fried almonds.

This salsa verde, which balances a meal full of spiced dishes, would also complement anything from grilled steak to steamed vegetables.

Most people keep celery salt around primarily for Bloody Marys, but its grassy brightness also pairs well with green beans, which offer a counterpoint to the rich flavors of this meal. Like all dried seasonings, celery salt loses flavor over time—if you can’t remember how long your jar has been in your pantry, pitch it and buy a new one.

Boneless top round roast is a cut taken from the flavorful leg. Here, we sliced it across the grain into steaks that are grilled and served with a Mediterranean-inspired combination of artichoke hearts, olives, and fire-roasted tomatoes.

Tortellini are often served in broth, but a quick sauce and some tender asparagus make them more substantial.

Radishes become lusciously tender and mild when braised with butter. Mustard sauce restores just the right amount of sharpness to complement the full, meaty flavor of quick-cooking skirt steak.

This C-food salad supplies the full RDA of infection-fighting vitamin C, which also helps you absorb iron from the octopus.

Forget deep-fried noodles: Miso dressing gives this hearty vegetable meal flavor minus the saturated fat.

This protein-rich dish virtually swims in antioxidants and niacin, which keeps skin healthy.

Think of it as an adult happy meal: This hearty bowl provides a healthy dose of mood-improving B vitamins.