Go for the gold: What to Cook This Week

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Melina Hammer for The New York Times

Sunday, April 18, 2021

What to Cook This Week

Sam Sifton

Good morning. My colleague Margaux Laskey introduced me to Mississippi Roast (above). I wrote about the dish for The Times a short while later and, five years on, I still hear from people who make it monthly, sometimes as written and sometimes with gravy packets, sometimes with pork and often with venison. It’s the sort of flavor bomb that makes for a terrific dinner and great sandwiches with the leftovers on a following day. I think of it as a near-perfect Sunday supper, the kind that can simmer away all afternoon in a slow cooker or above a low flame on the stove, while you watch sports or read or prepare things for the freezer ahead of nights when you know you’re not going to want to start dinner from scratch.

Lately, for me, that’s been these fish cakes with herbs and chiles. After you’ve put them together, you can freeze them on wax paper until they’re solid, then either store them in the freezer in individual sandwich bags or wrapped in wax paper in a larger one. To cook them, sizzle in oil about 8 minutes a side, or roast in a hot oven until they’re cooked through. I serve them with greens dressed in a lemony vinaigrette, alongside a dollop of mayonnaise or tartar sauce.

(Is that a hard pass on the preparation of meats and creatures of the sea? Give these three-cup vegetables a try. The dish comes together quickly, so you’ll still have plenty of time in the afternoon to cook for the freezer in a different way. Spinach lasagna, maybe?)

On Monday night, I think mushroom shawarma could be just the ticket, with some superfast hummus on the side for added flavor and bulk.

For Tuesday’s meal, simplicity itself: pasta with anchovies, garlic, chiles and kale. Or, if it’s bulk you’re after, sheet-pan sausages with caramelized shallots and apples.

A nice Wednesday meal, no fuss, big flavor, from our newest staff reporter, Priya Krishna, and her mom: Indian-ish nachos with Cheddar, black beans and chutney.

How about maple-baked salmon for Thursday night, along with roasted potatoes?

And then you can head into the weekend on Friday with a rush of heat and excitement, with Maangchi’s cheese buldak: “One of my all-time favorite recipes,” one subscriber noted below the recipe. “It has everything: sweetness, saltiness, heat, fat, and ginger. Love, love, love it.”

Thousands and thousands more recipes you might consider cooking this week are waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. Go take a look around and see what piques your fancy. Save the recipes you like. Rate the ones you’ve cooked and, if you like, leave notes on them for yourself or others. Learn to make pancakes! It’s a whole scene we’ve got going over there. (Yes, you need a subscription. Subscriptions support our work. Please consider, if you haven’t already, subscribing today.)

And we’ll be standing by, as always, to lend a hand if you get into trouble in the kitchen or on your device. Write us: cookingcare@nytimes.com. I promise someone will get back to you.

Now, it’s nothing to do with tapioca pearls or frozen corn, but here’s something to think about: The cornerstone of St. Peter’s Basilica was laid in Rome on this day in 1506.

I love it when Sarah Lyall writes about thrillers for The Times. From her latest column I learned about Flynn Berry’s “Northern Spy,” a novel about Irish sisterhood — and the modern I.R.A. I’m glad for that and hope you will be, too.

Here’s Mazzy Star, “Fade Into You,” live in 1994.

Finally, news from Wired: “TikTok Duets Are Reviving the Exquisite Corpse.” That’ll send you down some rabbit holes. I’ll be back on Monday.