This might just be the easiest, plushest tomato soup there isIs there anything as calming on a busy, hungry weeknight as a five-ingredient, five-star pantry recipe? Just seeing all that white space on an ingredient list and knowing you have everything you need already on hand can be as soothing as watching snow fall on branches on a dusky winter afternoon. OK, that analogy might be a stretch. But still, if it’s snowing where you are, or if there’s a chill in the air, you won’t find a more warming, simple meal than Carolina Gelen’s lentil tomato soup. Made with both butter and heavy cream browned until the milk solids caramelize, it’s on the richer, plusher side of tomato soup recipes, and all the more sustaining for it. Featured Recipe Lentil Tomato SoupIt’s also adaptable, as the best pantry recipes are. Carolina calls for canned lentils, but, as many cooks have reported in the comments, dried red lentils work nicely too if that’s what you have. Use ¾ cup and cook everything a bit longer until the lentils soften. And if you don’t keep heavy cream in the fridge, a can of coconut milk works just as well. (For more quick and easy weeknight recipes delivered to your inbox, sign up for our helpful Dinner Tonight newsletter.) Also eminently adaptable is a slow-cooker barbecue pork shoulder. Made from just pork, bottled barbecue sauce and some kind of dark soda, it’s the type of foolproof recipe that’s hard to get wrong. And when it hits just right, it can be sublime. Margaux Laskey tested several iterations to come up with her saucy, brawny take. It does call for a few extra ingredients (a little chopped onion and some spices) but they add layers of flavor, and the recipe is still completely fuss-free. You can even make it in a pressure cooker if you’re pressed for time. On the lighter, greener and meatless side of dinner is Ali Slagle’s crispy rice with dill and runny eggs. The not-so-secret ingredient here is frozen lima beans, which turn creamy as they cook with the rice and herbs. Inspired by baghali polo, a traditional Persian rice dish, Ali’s recipe makes for a fragrant, multitextured and sophisticated weeknight meal. I’ve been known to eat an entire sheet-pan full of roasted cauliflower with my fingers, standing over the pan, all by myself. But I know there are many people out there who like a little protein with their dinner. And, for them, let me suggest Yossy Arefi’s lightly spiced, roasted chicken thighs with cauliflower and herby yogurt. If you have time to marinate the chicken with the spices an hour or so ahead, the thighs will be even more deeply flavored. But even roasting them right after seasoning will give you a superb, crisp-skinned dish that cauliflower lovers will put on repeat. Something else I love to eat with my fingers straight from the pan is fried tofu: so pillowy, crisp and hard to resist. It’s worth saving some, though, to make Sarah Copeland’s sweet and spicy tofu with soba noodles. Loaded with vegetables and tossed with a gingery soy-based sauce, this colorful dish is great hot, warm, or at room temperature, and leftovers make for a killer lunch the next day. A pro tip for tofu lovers: Sarah calls for one and a half packages of tofu, but I like to fry up two packages so I can snack with impunity. Finally, it’s Yossy again, honoring the season’s best with her simple cranberry-pear crisp. Made with a mix of juicy pears and both dried and fresh (or frozen) cranberries, it provides plenty of pie-like pleasures without having to roll out pastry dough. Served warm with ice cream, it’s the loveliest of fall desserts. Leftovers are great cold for breakfast, dolloped generously with plain yogurt. Naturally, you’ll want to subscribe to get all the recipes at NYT Cooking (thank you if you already do). If you need any technical assistance, you can send an email to the genius minds at cookingcare@nytimes.com. And even if I can’t answer every single one, I love reading all your notes when you email me at hellomelissa@nytimes.com.
We’ve got more lentils — and more Ali Slagle — with today’s hearty one-pot recipe: a streamlined take on a classic Neapolitan pasta e lenticchie (pasta and lentils). With a thick, nubby texture somewhere between soup and stew, this rustic, garlicky dish is finished with Parmesan and olive oil for a satisfying weeknight win.
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