Whether you like cooking, love it or are indifferent to the task, most of us can agree that washing a lot of pots and pans after dinner is a drag.
Wouldn’t it instead be easier if there were really only one? One skillet or one Dutch oven, one sheet pan, one pot? Wouldn’t that be great? Imagine the ease of it, to come home from work and turn on the oven, line a sheet pan with foil or parchment, tip onto it some vegetables, some protein, some aromatics and sauce: Dinner, nothing else required!
There are vegetarian situations, and vegan ones too, lots of fish, plenty of chicken, plenty of stew. The only constant among them is our desire to make cooking easier (and wildly delicious) and to deliver you from the sadness of a sink filled with dishes.
BAKED BARLEY RISOTTO WITH MUSHROOMS AND CARROTS
Wholesome and nutty, barley is a superb alternative to arborio rice for risotto, since it’s naturally plump and chewy when cooked. Kay Chun’s recipe differs from traditional risotto in another way: It’s baked, which takes away the pressure of constant stirring. The grated Parmesan and butter stirred in at the end release the barley’s starches, creating a silky, creamy texture. White button, cremini and earthy shiitakes are a tasty, accessible weeknight combination, and any mixture of oyster, king trumpet and maitake mushrooms elevates it to dinner-party fare.
RECIPE:
Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small white or yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound mixed mushrooms, such as white button, cremini and shiitakes, halved if small, quartered if large (about 7 cups total)
Kosher salt and black pepper
10 ounces pearl barley (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium carrot, very thinly sliced into rounds (about 1 cup)
2 ounces grated Parmesan (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped chives
HOW TO MAKE IT
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms start to soften, about 3 minutes.
2. Stir in barley, carrot and 4 1/2 cups water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, transfer to the oven and bake until barley is tender and chewy and almost all of the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.
3. Stir in Parmesan and the butter until slightly thickened and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Divide among shallow bowls. Sprinkle with chives and additional Parmesan, to taste.
Tips:
— Make sure to use pearl barley, not hulled barley, since it cooks much faster and is more tender.
— If you can stand using a second pan, browning the mushrooms separately adds another layer of flavour, and a little texture to boot.
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CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE
This is Julia Moskin’s take on your favourite childhood mac and cheese, and it’s light years ahead of the boxed stuff in terms of flavour and texture. It has a powerful advantage, too, for weeknight cooks: There’s no need to precook the pasta, which softens in the oven, absorbing the liquid from the dairy products. Spoon it right from the pan, while watching television.
RECIPE:
Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup cottage cheese (not low-fat)
2 cups milk (not skim)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch of ground cayenne
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
1/2 pound elbow pasta, uncooked
HOW TO MAKE IT
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan.
2. In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup grated Cheddar for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated Cheddar, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.
3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Tips:
— Fat is flavour. Don’t stint on it here: whole milk, please.
— Experiment with the cottage cheese. You could replace it with ricotta, for instance, or use a mixture of ricotta and cream cheese.
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CHEESY BAKED PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND RICOTTA
Melissa Clark came up with this amazing recipe — a cross between baked ziti and sausage lasagna, with a sauce that cooks the pasta straight from the box. It’s rich with ricotta and crushed tomatoes, and if the Italian sausage adds meaty depth to the sauce, vegetarians can leave it out or use their favourite plant-based sausage instead. Serve it in the pan, with a lot of basil and a shower of Parmesan, red-pepper flakes on the side.
RECIPE:
Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound bulk hot or mild Italian sausage (pork, chicken or turkey)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
Pinch of red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving (optional)
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices
1 (14-ounce) can crushed or strained tomatoes
2 bay leaves Kosher salt
12 ounces dried pasta, such as small shells, farfalle or other shaped pasta
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into bite-size pieces
6 ounces whole-milk ricotta (about 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup basil leaves
Black pepper, for serving
HOW TO MAKE IT
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Crumble sausage into skillet, using a spoon to break it into small pieces. Cook until starting to brown, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, fennel seeds and red-pepper flakes (if using), and cook another 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, using a spoon to break them up. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and 2 teaspoons salt, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken slightly.
3. Stir in pasta and 1 cup water and return to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, pluck out the bay leaves, and fold in about a third of the mozzarella.
4. Top pasta with remaining mozzarella and dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with Parmesan, then transfer to oven. Bake until pasta is tender when poked with a fork, and cheese is bubbly and lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. (If you’d like a more deeply browned topping, run the pan under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes.) Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Top with basil, plenty of black pepper, and more red-pepper flakes, if you like.
Tips:
— We call for fresh mozzarella because it’s so delicious, but the commercial low-moisture variety from the supermarket sometimes melts even better, if heroic cheese pulls are your jam.
— Small pasta shapes we love for this dish as much as shells and farfalle: cavatappi, cavatelli, elbow, gemelli, orecchiette, penne, rigatoni and ziti, of course.
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SPAGHETTI WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND KALE
In this brilliant recipe, uncooked pasta and cherry tomatoes simmer together in a single pan, so a thick, starchy sauce forms as the pasta cooks. It’s the British cookbook author Anna Jones’ take on a technique “the internet went heart-eyed for,” as Tejal Rao wrote when bringing it to The Times, and you can see why. Its smart approach is endlessly adaptable: When you add the kale, you could also toss in a couple of anchovies and a generous pinch of red-pepper flakes. When you season and top with cheese, you could add a pile of fresh chopped herbs, like mint, basil or oregano.
RECIPE:
Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1 pound spaghetti
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 pints)
2 lemons, zested
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 bunch kale or spinach, leaves only, washed and chopped
Black pepper
Parmesan, for serving
HOW TO MAKE IT
1. Bring just over a quart of water to a boil. Meanwhile, place spaghetti, tomatoes, lemon zest, oil and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in a large, dry, shallow pan. (The pan should be large enough that the dry spaghetti can lie flat.)
2. Carefully add the boiling water to the pan with the spaghetti. Cover pan, and bring up to a boil. Remove lid and simmer for about 6 minutes, using tongs to move the spaghetti around now and then so it doesn’t stick. Add kale or spinach and continue cooking until remaining liquid has reduced to a sauce and the pasta is cooked through. Taste, season with salt and pepper, and top with Parmesan.
Tips:
— For a two-pot, non-vegetarian alternative, cook some coins of fresh Italian sausage while you make the pasta, and add them to the dish at the end.
— For a vegan version, whizz some roasted almonds in your food processor, and use them in place of the cheese.
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