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New York Times
27-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- New York Times
3 Salad Dressings You Should Memorize
These recipes from Samin Nosrat, the 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' author, will have you reaching for your greens all summer long. Keep homemade dressings on hand in your fridge, and all kinds of big salads become in reach. Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards. Published June 27, 2025 Updated June 27, 2025 This article is part of Cooking 101, our series on kitchen fundamentals. Every episode covers a different technique, tool or ingredient, and each host shares the tips and recipes that they believe will set you up for success, no matter where you are in your cooking journey. Watch all the episodes on YouTube, and view all the recipes on New York Times Cooking. While I'll always have warm feelings for a few store-bought salad dressings (I'm looking at you, Hidden Valley ranch seasoning), the thought of coating fresh lettuce with bottled ingredients of indeterminate age and provenance makes my heart hurt. After you've taken the time to combine fresh vegetables, grains and other ingredients into something that sings, you want to add to the harmony, not overwhelm it. In that way, I like to think of salad dressings as the Darlene Love of the kitchen. Like Ms. Love, perhaps the most brilliant backup singer of all time, a good dressing enhances without overshadowing it. And there's no better way to ensure that than making your own. As a young restaurant cook, I was taught that each salad must have its own bespoke dressing. Preparing one might involve blending an herb oil for mayonnaise base or seeding, juicing, mashing, roasting or zesting various fruits. Then came layering in acids and oils until the dressing was perfectly balanced. By The New York Times Cooking That kind of effort made sense in a high-end restaurant, but, at home, undertaking a multistep recipe for a single-use dressing felt sort of ridiculous. As a result, I'd just about stopped making salad at home until a few years ago, when I began working on my second cookbook. While creating the dressing recipes, I'd often end up with multiple jars, and, loathe to waste them, I found myself reaching for them night after night. Eventually, I came to the now-obvious-seeming conclusion that if I have a jar of homemade salad dressing (or three!) ready to go in the fridge, I'm much more likely to eat a salad. The recipes here aren't just simple, they take any kind of greens you have on hand to the next level. This delicate sherry-shallot vinaigrette, from Rita Sodi and Jody Williams of the West Village trattoria, Via Carota, is such a stalwart that I now just call it my 'House Dressing.' Use it on any salad of tender greens, grain and bean salads, or a niçoise salad. Via Carota, a West Village restaurant, inspired this sherry-shallot vinaigrette. Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards. The creamy lemon-miso dressing here, inspired by a dressing at Kismet Rotisserie in Los Angeles, is somehow both light and rich. Add the optional poppy seeds for that classic lemon-poppy seed flavor, or leave them out for a much more versatile dressing, great for green salad, grain salad, roasted vegetables, or a composed summer salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and avocado chunks. This miso-lemon dressing is great on roasted vegetables. Rachel Vanni for The New York Times And then there's a sesame-ginger dressing, which I developed with visions of cabbage slaw and chicken salad floating through my head. The ginger's fire, chile's heat and acid's tang go right to the edge without going over. Use this creamy dressing to dress a salad of crunchy romaine and cabbage, just-boiled green beans, or rice or noodle bowls. It also makes a wonderful condiment for chicken, fish and tofu. Dress a crunchy salad of romaine and cabbage with a creamy sesame-ginger dressing. Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards. While none of these are hard to make, a hand-held immersion blender makes the light work of the dressings, and a sharp knife will make dicing shallots for the vinaigrette immeasurably easier. I like to make them in wide-mouthed jars, then cap and store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week. Of course, your vinaigrette will congeal in the fridge. Your dressing may separate. And any dressing's sharpness is sure to flatten. But you can always bring it back to life with a few tweaks. If your dressing congeals, set the jar in a warm spot to return it to its liquid state. For a separated vinaigrette, ensure the jar is tightly capped and give it a good shake to reunite the oil and vinegar. (If it's creamy, first, try shaking the jar. If that doesn't encourage it, let the dressing come to room temperature, add a small chip of ice, give the mixture a quick whiz with an immersion blender.) And for a dressing losing its luster, taste and add a bit more salt, acid, fresh citrus zest or a touch of sweetener. Take good care of your dressing, and it'll always be there for you, ready to raise up anything it coats. Follow New York Times Cooking on Instagram , Facebook , YouTube , TikTok and Pinterest . Get regular updates from New York Times Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice .
New York Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Cooking 101
Chefs demonstrate techniques and share essential recipes that are fundamental to making great food. Published June 25, 2025 Updated June 25, 2025 Welcome to the home base of Cooking 101, our series on essential cooking skills. Every edition of the series covers a different technique, tool or ingredient, and each host shares the tips, recipes and kitchen wisdom that they believe will set you up for success, no matter where you are in your cooking journey. View all the recipes featured in Cooking 101 Hosted by the chef and cookbook author Sohla El-Waylly, each episode focuses on a different ingredient, how to shop for it and the best ways to prepare it. Watch her as she shares the culinary methods she believes are truly worth mastering. As she says in the first episode, 'Welcome to my cooking school, but it's free, no debt.' What You'll Learn What to look for when buying steak; all about labeling, like what fat percentages mean and how you can use them to your advantage; how to cook tough cuts; how to test for doneness and more. David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell. James Ransom for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Johnny Miller for The New York Times What You'll Learn How to correctly boil your pasta; how to easily measure 12 ounces of pasta; what to do if you accidentally threw out your pasta water; why you generally shouldn't rinse your pasta and more. Grated Tomato Pasta Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell. Spaghetti Carbonara Linda Xiao for The New York Times Spaghetti Stir-Fry With Chicken David Malosh for The New York Times What You'll Learn How to buy the freshest heads of broccoli; how to slice and chop it perfectly; how to cook it to bring out maximum flavor and more. Recipes in This Episode Broccoli With Sizzled Nuts and Dates David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell. Quinoa and Broccoli Spoon Salad David Malosh for The New York Times Sesame Broccoli Joe Lingeman for The New York Times What You'll Learn How to shop for fish; the difference between farm-raised and wild-caught; how to get crispy skin; how and why to dry brine fish; how to braise frozen fish; how to shallow fry and more. Recipes in This Episode Roasted Salmon With Dill and Cucumber Salad Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. Coconut Curry Fish Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen. Fish Tacos Craig Lee for The New York Times What You'll Learn How to handle raw chicken safely; how to spatchcock a whole bird; how to ensure your chicken doesn't become dry; how to braise and more. Recipes in This Episode Spatchcock Roast Chicken Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. Coconut Milk Chicken Adobo Christopher Testani for The New York Times Hara Masala Murgh (Green Masala Chicken) David Malosh for The New York Times What You'll Learn How to shop for rice; the differences between short-, medium- and long-grain rice, brown rice and white rice; how to make a perfect pot and rescue a failed one; and how to cook pilaf, fried rice and more. Recipes in This Episode Butter Pilaf Linda Xiao for The New York Times Basic Stovetop Rice Karsten Moran for The New York Times Whatever You've Got Fried Rice David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. What You'll Learn How to shop for eggs and expert tips for all the ways to cook them: scrambled, fried, over easy, over hard, sunny-side up, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, poached and more. Recipes in This Episode Cheesy Frittata Johnny Miller for The New York Times Article: These 11 Tips Will Make You a Better Cook 'Properly equipping yourself in the kitchen is crucial to not only making good food,' Sohla El-Waylly writes, 'but also having a good time while you do it.' NYTCooking Follow New York Times Cooking on Instagram , Facebook , YouTube , TikTok and Pinterest . Get regular updates from New York Times Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice .
