Good morning! Today we have for you:
Tikka in no timeDuring a very brief stint as a caterer in my 20s, chicken tikka was a staple of my dinner party circuit. Heady with spices and generally beloved, it’s a dish that seems a lot more elaborate than it actually is. The technique couldn’t be more straightforward: Marinate your chicken in an aggressively seasoned yogurt, and then blast it with high heat. It’s the yogurt that does all the heavy lifting, tenderizing the meat while encouraging the edges to char and the spices to permeate. The same simple method is at play in Zainab Shah’s sheet-pan shrimp tikka. But since shrimp need less marinating and cooking time than chicken does, this dish can be on the table even faster. Zainab’s blend of spices — cumin, coriander, turmeric and mild Kashmiri chile — gives her recipe a haunting, earthy character that’s redolent but not fiery. She also adds vegetables to turn it into a one-pan meal. Serve it with rice, roti or warm, fluffy naan to catch all of the creamy, pungent drippings. Featured Recipe Sheet-Pan Shrimp TikkaMore food for thoughtSpiced chicken with sweet potatoes: Spring vegetables may be popping up in local farmers’ markets, but I still have a pantry full of sweet potatoes to put to good use. I’m eyeing this lovely dish from Yasmin Fahr, in which she nestles chicken thighs on a bed of sliced sweet potatoes, and then roasts everything until the chicken skin turns golden and the potatoes get velvety soft, absorbing the bird’s juices. If your larder is overflowing with regular potatoes, they’ll work just as well. Pork bulgogi with spring vegetables: You can use any quick-cooking vegetables — springy or otherwise — in this brawny, deeply flavored take on Korean bulgogi. I call for a mix of radishes, shiitakes and snow peas, but cauliflower, broccoli and cherry tomatoes make suitable substitutes. And while we’re riffing, note that you can swap chicken, tofu or beef for the pork. One-pot creamy pasta and greens: Ali Slagle turns milk, frozen spinach and a copious amount of Parmesan into a verdant pasta with creamed spinach vibes. She seasons it all with garlic for vibrancy and lemon zest for tang, but heat seekers can add a pinch of crushed red pepper to punch things up even more. Tzatziki chickpea salad: Hetty Lui McKinnon cleverly transforms a garlicky, dill-flecked Greek yogurt dip into a creamy dressing in this satisfying salad. Half-moons of cucumbers add crunch to the canned chickpeas, which lend enough heft to make this a light main course — maybe rounded out, as Hetty suggests, with flatbread or roasted Greek lemon potatoes. You can also serve it as a substantial side dish with grilled or roasted chicken or fish. Either way, leftovers are perfect for lunch the next day. Pink grapefruit bars: Jesse Szewczyk’s citrusy treats are a lot like lemon bars all decked out in pink. You’ll need the juice and grated zest of two to three grapefruits, which give the custardy filling its delightful, deeply floral perfume. That’s all for now, except to mention that if you have any technical problems, you can email the smart people at cookingcare@nytimes.com for assistance. And I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you want to say hi. I’ll see you on Wednesday. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. Want to see more of our recipes in your Google search results?
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