CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Miso, Shiitake Mushroom and Kimchi Soup. (Milk Street via AP)

Transform Asian kitchen staples into an umami-packed vegetarian soup

It’s a common misconception that the best soups require long ingredient lists and hours of simmering. In fact, just a handful of high-flavor items can be transformed into an umami-bomb of a soup in just 45 minutes.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Italian flourless chocolate torta. (Milk Street via AP)

An Italian flourless chocolate cake hits the right sweet notes for Valentine’s Day

For a different spin on chocolate this Valentine’s Day, consider making a torta Barozzi. That’s a sumptuous and sophisticated flourless chocolate cake from Italy. Traditionally, torta Barozzi is made without wheat flour and is therefore gluten-free.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for cheese baked farro with kale and tomatoes. (Milk Street via AP)

For a comforting vegetarian meal, bake your farro with tomatoes and cheese instead of boiling it

Like most grains, farro typically is simmered until tender. But farro also does well in the oven. And the cooks at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street developed a mostly hands-off approach that’s easy to get on the table.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for braised chicken with fennel and saffron. (Milk Street via AP)

Braised chicken with fennel and saffron recalls flavors of Provence

Perhaps nothing calls to mind Provence more than bouillabaisse. The brothy soup combines whatever shellfish and white fish were caught fresh with iconic flavors such as saffron, fennel, tomato and garlic.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for curried fried rice with shrimp and pineapple. (Milk Street via AP)

Don’t toss extra rice! Use it in this curried shrimp fried rice

It’s common knowledge throughout Asia, but many American cooks might not know that the key to perfect fried rice is using previously cooked and chilled rice. That’s because freshly cooked rice can result in a soggy, gluey dish.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for pork with kale, red wine and toasted garlic. (Milk Street via AP)

Stop marinating meat. Instead, season then sauce one-pan Florentine pork

Marinating meat for weeknight cooking rarely is worth it. That’s because marinades do a poor job of penetrating the surface of meat. Then you’re left cooking wet meat, which inhibits flavorful browning.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chickpea and garlic soup with cumin-spiced butter. (Milk Street via AP)

Canned chickpeas — and their liquid — create an elegant, garlicky soup

Though many people prefer the flavor and texture of dried beans, canned beans have a leg up besides convenience. The super-starchy liquid in the can is like an ingredient itself.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Shanghai-style fried noodles. (Milk Street via AP)

For the new year, Shanghai-style noodles and greens augur tastiness -- and prosperity?

Around the world people prepare special foods for the new year to symbolize luck or wealth. In East Asia, for example, the shape of noodles represents a long life, while greens augur a prosperous year.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chicken and potato traybake with garlic, lemon and parsley. (Milk Street via AP)

One-pan lemony chicken traybake is the antidote to post-holiday craziness

After the craziness of the holidays, simple meals are on the agenda. For the cooks at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street that means traybakes.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for prune, peppercorn and fresh herb-rubbed roast beef. (Milk Street via AP)

Feed holiday crowds with affordable, marinated eye round or a side of salmon

Holiday parties often call for feeding crowds all at once, so this year the cooks at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street offer two impressive main courses that make that easy. These are as good served at room temperature as they are hot from the oven.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Indian-style tomato-ginger soup. (Milk Street via AP)

Pitch the boxed broth! Indian-spiced tomato soup doesn’t need it

Buying a box of broth at the supermarket feels like a soup shortcut and saves time. But store-bought stock generally lacks real flavor. Turns out, you don’t need it anyway.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for bocadillos with flank steak and mushrooms. (Milk Street via AP)

Butter and lemon juice enrich Spanish steak sandwiches

Spaniards are not known for eating lunch on the go. But the bocadillos served at bars, cafeterias and bakeries around country are the exception to the rule. They typically are simple sandwiches made on baguette-like bread.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Mexican noodle soup with fire-roasted tomatoes. (Milk Street via AP)

Smoky and spicy, this Mexican pantry soup takes under 30 minutes

A three-course lunch at Mexico’s many mom-and-pop eateries can cost just a few bucks but taste like a million. And one of those courses might well be sopa de fideos, a much-loved soup of thin noodles.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for sweet potato brown rice with soy and scallions. (Milk Street via AP)

Spike your Thanksgiving sweet potatoes with Korean flavors

Each November in South Korea, the streets fill with toasty aromas of roasted sweet potato from food vendors. Inside, home cooks take advantage of the season to feature the tubers in a variety of satisfying dishes.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Belgian mashed potatoes with winter vegetables. (Milk Street via AP)

Nontraditional flavors boost one-note Thanksgiving squash, kale and mashed potatoes

It’s tricky to mess with tradition on Thanksgiving, but with a few tweaks, some typically one-note side dishes can become boldly flavored, exciting dishes. The cooks at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street skip pureeing butternut squash.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Sardinian herb soup with fregola and white beans. (Milk Street via AP)

Handfuls of fresh herbs enliven Sardinia’s fregola-studded soup

The Sardinian soup s’erbuzzu is brothy and bold, but it’s still fresh and light thanks to handfuls of fresh herbs. More than a dozen, actually.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for plov, a hearty pilaf, with chicken. (Milk Street via AP)

From Uzbekistan, a cuminy rice pilaf comes studded with sweet pops of flavor

The streets of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, are lined with paddle-wielding chefs called oshpaz tending to enormous cauldron-like pans. The air fills with aromas of frying meat and vegetables, all blanketed in rice that steams atop the other ingredients.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for pizza with salami and smoked mozzarella. (Milk Street via AP)

Rectangular pies inspire this weeknight salami-mozzarella pizza

To make pizza on a weeknight, try store-bought dough. The cooks at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street simplify the prep even further. They make rectangular pizzas in a single batch as people do in Sicily and Rome.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for red stew with chicken. (Milk Street via AP)

Punchy aromatics brighten the saucy chicken braise of Nigerian red stew

When cooks in Nigeria want long-cooked flavor in minutes, they turn to obe ata (OH-bay AH-ta). The tomato and red pepper sauce is similar to a Spanish or Italian sofrito in that it’s often made in big batches and then used as the flavor base for a host of dishes.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for chicken souvlaki with tzatziki. (Milk Street via AP)

Take Greek souvlaki off the rotating spit for weeknight cooking

Souvlaki translates from the Greek as “skewer,” but a rotating spit and open fire aren’t necessary to achieve satisfying results.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for kale and cheddar melts. (Milk Street via AP)

Kale, crispy bacon upgrades grilled cheese to an adult level

Satisfying, tasty and quick, a grilled cheese is a weeknight staple for a reason. But the cooks at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street use a couple tricks to spruce it up from an after-school kids’ treat into a meal an adult would love.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for beef and rice meatballs with lemon-olive oil sauce. (Milk Street via AP)

Lemony olive oil sauce enriches Greek beef and rice meatballs

Greek avgolemono (ahv-guh-LEM-uh-no) is a creamy but tart mix of lemon and whipped eggs used to thicken sauces and soups.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for risotto with sausage and sun-dried tomatoes. (Milk Street via AP)

Sausage and sun-dried tomato risotto doesn’t require all that extra stirring

It turns out we’ve all been cooking risotto the wrong way. On a trip to Milan, the cooks at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street learned a lightning-fast risotto that does not require constant vigilance and uninterrupted stirring.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for charred eggplant pita sandwiches with spicy tahini. (Milk Street via AP)

Eggplant-stuffed pita sandwiches show the power of a quick pickle

One of the characteristics of great cooking is contrast — pairing tangy and sweet flavors, for example. Or creamy and crispy textures.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Turkish-style chicken kebabs. (Milk Street via AP)

For juicier Turkish grilled chicken skewers, think strips not chunks

Perfectly grilled chicken skewers are tender and smoky, but they just as easily can turn out tough and overcooked. So the cooks at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street have reconsidered the chicken skewer from the start.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for Andalusian tomato and bread soup. (Milk Street via AP)

Cool down with Spain’s ‘other’ famous chilled tomato soup

While the summer heat lingers, cool down the soup. And forget about gazpacho. Salmorejo is Spain’s lesser known but creamier tomato-based chilled soup.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for a breaded chicken cutlet sandwich. Thin breaded chicken cutlets fry up in minutes, and are terrific made into sandwiches or served with dipping sauces. (Milk Street via AP)

With school back in session, 3 lunch ideas that kids (and parents) can enjoy

Bologna sandwiches may be an easy kid’s school lunch. But busy parents can prepare something they also will want to bring to work.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for peanut butter–miso cookies (Milk Street via AP)

Spice up your after-school snacks with uncommon ingredients

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street has put an international spin on two classic American after-school snacks — popcorn and peanut butter cookies. The basic cookies are tasty. But they can be one-dimensional. Not so when you add white miso.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for cabbage and chicken salad with gochujang and sesame. (Milk Street via AP)

Jazz up store-bought rotisserie chicken with spice and umami in one spoonful

A rotisserie chicken can be more exciting with a little help. The Korean spicy pepper paste gochujang is incredibly complex and loaded with umami. That makes it a great ingredient to add tons of flavor in one spoonful.

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for pappardelle with basil, anchovy and toasted breadcrumbs. (Milk Street via AP)

In France, pesto is enriched with an umami bomb

Think of it as pesto with an umami-rich kick. In Provence, France, cooks have their own version of a no-cook garlic and basil sauce. But they enrich theirs with savory anchovies.