The Five Weeknight Dishes in My Current Rotation

(Five Weeknight Dishes)

I’m always happy to write about weeknight cooking because -- this might roll some eyes, but here goes -- I genuinely love cooking on weeknights. I love cooking in general, but putting together something to eat, using my favorite flavors and ingredients, gives me a satisfying dose of creativity on days that can be overrun with emails, spreadsheets and “circling back.”

So I’m sharing five weeknight recipes that I’ve been cooking a lot lately, the dishes that I can’t help making on repeat because they’re so good and so easy. Maybe one is already a favorite of yours (hello, Sam Sifton’s oven-roasted chicken shawarma); maybe you’ll find something new that catches your eye and your appetite.

1. Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma

Here is a recipe for an oven-roasted version of the flavorful street-side classic usually cooked on a rotisserie. It is perfect for an evening with family and friends. Serve with pita and tahini, chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, some olives, chopped parsley, some feta, fried eggplant, hummus swirled with harissa, rice or rice pilaf. You can make the white sauce that traditionally accompanies it by cutting plain yogurt with mayonnaise and lemon juice, and flecking it with garlic. For a red to offset it, simmer ketchup with crushed red pepper and a hit of red-wine vinegar until it goes syrupy and thick, or just use your favorite hot sauce instead.

By Sam Sifton

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Total time: 45 minutes, plus marinating

Ingredients:

2 lemons, juiced

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

A pinch ground cinnamon

Crushed red pepper, to taste

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 large red onion, peeled and quartered

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

1. Prepare a marinade for the chicken. Combine the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and crushed red pepper in a large bowl, then whisk to combine. Add the chicken and toss well to coat. Cover and store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.

2. When ready to cook, heat oven to 425 degrees. Use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to grease a rimmed sheet pan. Add the quartered onion to the chicken and marinade, and toss once to combine. Remove the chicken and onion from the marinade, and place on the pan, spreading everything evenly across it.

3. Put the chicken in the oven and roast until it is browned, crisp at the edges and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to rest 2 minutes, then slice into bits. (To make the chicken even more crisp, set a large pan over high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then the sliced chicken, and saute until everything curls tight in the heat.)

4. Scatter the parsley over the top and serve with tomatoes, cucumbers, pita, white sauce, hot sauce, olives, fried eggplant, feta, rice -- really anything you desire.

2. Caramelized Cabbage and Walnut Pasta

A single, modest cabbage goes a long way in this recipe. Green cabbage (though you could also use Savoy) becomes jammy and sweet when cooked with aromatic leeks and garlic for 15 minutes, a practically effortless concoction to toss with pasta. Cumin seeds add just the right amount of earthiness along with a subtle citrus tone; add more if you want a pronounced flavor, or substitute with fennel seeds or caraway. The walnuts balance out the sweetness of the cabbage and leeks, and introduce a slight bitterness and crunch. Store-bought roasted walnuts are a time saver here, but if you want them extra dark and crispy, toast them for 6 to 8 minutes in a 325-degree oven until deeply golden. If you have chives or scallions on hand, toss these in at the end for a lively finish.

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 leeks, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced into rings

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 pounds finely sliced green cabbage

Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

1 pound spaghetti or other long pasta

4 ounces pecorino, grated, plus more for serving

2 to 3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)

1 to 1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Handful of chopped chives (optional)

Preparation:

1. Heat a large Dutch oven or pot over medium. Add the olive oil and butter. When the butter has melted, add cumin seeds and bloom for 15 seconds, then add the leeks, garlic, cabbage and 2 teaspoons salt, and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until wilted. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes without stirring. Check every few minutes to make sure the bottom is not burning. If needed, give it a stir.

2. After 10 minutes, remove the lid from the cabbage and stir. Cover and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, until it is supersweet and tender. Taste and season with kosher salt.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. When the pasta is ready, do not drain, but use tongs to drag the pasta out of its cooking water and straight into the pot with the cabbage. Add about 1 cup of pasta cooking water, along with the pecorino and the black pepper. Toss well to combine.

4. Add lemon juice. Taste, adjusting seasonings with more salt, pepper or lemon, if needed. To serve, scatter with walnuts and finish with more pecorino and chopped chives, if using.

3. Bean and Vegetable Japanese Curry

In this lovely, warming curry, canned beans give you protein and a soft, starchy bite. Japanese curry is essentially a stew, so add to it what you like: Here, eggplant and spinach melt into the sauce, giving you roughage, then canned beans are stirred through for appearances and chew. Served over rice or noodles, this dish is a veritable weeknight meal with restaurant appeal and freezes beautifully (see Tips below).

By Eric Kim

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

Salt

1 medium globe eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 (3- to 4-ounce) brick Japanese curry, such as Golden Curry (see Tips below)

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, butter beans or other large, sturdy beans, drained and rinsed

1 (10-ounce) package baby spinach

Basic white rice or cooked fresh udon, for serving

Preparation:

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium-high. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Add 3 cups of water, scraping the bottom of the pot to pick up any stuck-on bits. Add the eggplant and carrots, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Ladle some of the hot liquid from the pot into a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, then add the curry brick. Let it melt, about a minute, before whisking to blend. Stir the curry mixture into the stew.

4. Add the chickpeas and spinach, bring back to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach is wilted and the curry has thickened but is still brothy, about 5 minutes. Taste and add salt as needed.

5. Serve over rice or noodles. (See Tip below for make-ahead freezing instructions.)

Tips:

Japanese curry bricks are sold in boxes at many grocery stores these days, though you’ll have the best luck finding them at Asian supermarkets. They come in various sizes and heat levels. For this recipe, hot and extra hot are especially enticing (and not all that hot).

Leftovers of this curry keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you won’t eat it all in that time frame, freeze the stew in individual containers so you can have curry whenever you want. When ready to eat, just thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and microwave until warmed through.

4. Dan Dan Noodles

A specialty from Sichuan, a province in the southwest of China, vendors once balanced baskets of noodles and sauce on their shoulder poles and cried out “dan dan mian!” to hawk their wares. Dan dan refers to those bamboo shoulder poles and mian means noodles, but there’s no one way to prepare them. Nowadays in the Western diaspora, the dish is associated with a few essentials, namely chili oil and sesame paste, but another is worth adding: preserved vegetables. Salty and a little sweet with the sour oomph of fermentation, pickled mustard greens give the soothing noodles an umami zing. These noodles are especially rich with sesame, but you can adjust all of the seasonings to your taste. Toasty and salty, tangy on the cliff of funk, chewy with pops of peanut, dan dan noodles are a bowl of contentment.

By Genevieve Ko

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:

1/4 cup well-stirred Chinese sesame paste or tahini (see Tips below)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 to 2 tablespoons chili crisp, preferably Sichuanese, plus more for serving

2 to 3 teaspoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon Chinkiang vinegar or balsamic vinegar

For the Meat:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup ya cai (Sichuan preserved mustard greens) or other finely chopped Chinese pickled or preserved mustard vegetables (see Tips below)

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

8 ounces ground pork

1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or other rice wine

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons tian mian jiang (sweet wheat sauce) or hoisin

For the Noodles:

1 pound fresh Chinese wheat noodles (see Tips below)

8 to 12 bok choy or gai lan (Chinese broccoli), optional

Chopped roasted, salted peanuts, ground Sichuan peppercorns and finely sliced scallions, for topping

Preparation:

1. Start the sauce: Set a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, mix the sesame paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili crisp, brown sugar and vinegar in a large bowl. The mixture will be thick. Taste and add more chili oil or brown sugar (or other seasonings) to your liking.

2. Make the meat: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or large, deep skillet over high. Add the ya cai and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Scrape half into the sauce bowl. Add the remaining oil to the wok. When it’s hot, add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pork and cook, smashing it into the vegetables and stirring to break it into tiny bits. When its pinkness fades after a few minutes, add the wine, soy sauce and tian mian jiang, and stir until the pork is cooked through. Keep warm over low.

3. Finish the sauce: Scoop 1/4 cup boiling water from the pot and add to the sauce. Stir until smooth. The sauce should run off the spoon. If it doesn’t, add more boiling water a tablespoon at a time.

4. Make the noodles: Drop the noodles into the pot of boiling water, stir and cook until there’s still a bite in the center, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the bok choy and cook until bright green and the noodles are just tender, about 1 minute longer. Drain and run under hot tap water to rinse excess starch off the noodles.

5. Slide the noodles and bok choy over the sauce, scrape the pork and its sauce on top, then sprinkle with peanuts and scallions if you want. Top with more chili crisp if you’d like. Mix well and enjoy immediately.

Tips:

Chinese sesame paste has a deep toasted flavor. If using tahini, try to find one made with roasted sesame seeds, such as Joyva. If using tahini ground from raw sesame seeds, add another tablespoon toasted sesame oil.

Sichuan preserved mustard greens, known broadly as ya cai or more specifically as Yibin ya cai for the region from which it comes, come in small foil packets or jars. The dark brown bits of preserved vegetables start as strips of Sichuanese mustard green stems, which are then dried, salted and fermented with a sugar syrup and spices. They end up savory, a little sweet and pleasantly funky. There’s no great substitute, but other varieties of Chinese pickled or preserved mustard greens, such as sui mi ya cai, work. In a Western pantry, a combination of finely chopped capers and finely diced fermented bread-and-butter pickles comes closest.

If you don’t have fresh Chinese wheat noodles, you can use 12 ounces dried lo mein noodles, thin spaghetti or ramen and cook according to the package directions before draining and rinsing.

5. Pan-Seared Salmon

Searing salmon in a hot skillet is not only a speedy way to prepare it, but it also makes for a super-crisp crust and a tender, flaky center. A nonstick pan makes cleanup easy, but a heavy, cast-iron or stainless steel skillet works, too -- just be sure to use a large one to avoid crowding the fish, and make sure to preheat the pan to avoid sticking. Make the recipe as written, or finish the salmon with a steakhouse-inspired butter-and-garlic baste (see Tip below). Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill or tarragon, if you have some on hand.

By Lidey Heuck

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skin on or off

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

Black pepper

Half a lemon, for serving

Chopped fresh parsley, dill or tarragon, for serving (optional)

Preparation:

1. Heat a (12-inch) nonstick, cast-iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high until it’s very hot. (A drop of water flicked onto the pan should turn to steam almost immediately.)

2. Meanwhile, pat the salmon fillets dry with paper towels. Pour the oil over them and toss to coat, then season all over with salt and pepper.

3. When the pan is hot, add the fillets skin-side up, spacing them evenly. Cook until the salmon is browned on the bottom and releases easily from the pan, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the fillets, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the salmon is cooked through but still slightly rare in the center, 4 to 5 more minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

4. Remove the fish to a platter or individual plates and rest for 5 minutes, then squeeze the lemon on top and sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired.

Tip:

For a rich, restaurant-style finish, remove the pan from the heat and add 2 tablespoons cubed, unsalted butter and a smashed, peeled garlic clove. Tilt the skillet and spoon the melted butter over the salmon fillets a few times, until coated.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Copyright 2026 The New York Times Company

This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 1:29 PM.