Lunch

All good and decent breakfast spreads deserve some slow-cooked beans. These also freeze very well should you find yourself with leftovers.

You only need one bowl to mix this easy, cheesy, savory-and-sweet corn muffins.

Monte Cristo sandwiches usually have a sweet element, like powdered sugar sifted over the top, or raspberry jam served on the side for dipping. In this version, you’ll cook green apple and canned green chiles down into a sweet and spicy compote to slather on your bread.

These crispy, golden brown crepes get slathered with an aromatic mushroom spread, then rolled and dredged in breadcrumbs before pan-frying.

This omelet is flavored simply with nearly charred onions and fresh chives. To ensure the accompanying frites are soft and pillowy on the inside, they’re cooked in salted water before being fried.

This omelet, with its rich, comforting, fiery gravy, is enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Of course, you could also whip it up deep into the night, the time when most Goan partygoers looking for something to fuel their endless dancing sessions seek it out on the lively Goan streets.

These chicken and mushroom spring rolls are spiced with the sweet and salty flavors of kecap manis, the syrupy soy sauce for which Indonesia is famous.

The collar is one of my favorite parts of the fish. Baste it with naturally sweet and salty flavor from briny kombu and dark sweet prunes. The briny and sweet sauce is easy to make ahead and store in the refrigerator. The collars of a large fish, such as cod, is the part between the head and the body; it has a (healthy omega-3) fatty richness that is ultra-satisfying. 

Named for the famous 8th century Tang dynasty consort, Yang Guifei, this dish of juicy dark-meat chicken and peppers is sweet, sour, and just a little spicy.

The goal of longevity noodles is to create one long, slick, uniform strand, gently pulled over and over again until you get the right thickness.

The liberal spoonful of Chakalaka (spicy vegetable relish) makes these extra special. If you don’t have a jar of it in your fridge, you can use any type of relish or chutney.

Melty, cheesy, crunchy, spicy: These sandwiches, a street food favorite in India, check all the boxes.

In chef Matty Matheson’s riff on the Nashville hot fish sandwich, crispy golden fish fillets get smothered in a smoky chile butter and layered with onions, pickles, and cheese.

Standing three tiers high, the magnificent Bombay sandwich is a whopper of a construction. It’s available on every street corner, and each stallholder obsesses over their own special blend of spices, vegetables, and chutneys, for that “better than yours” taste. Although it’s a wonder, it’s also a labor of love to make at home, and so in this recipe I’ve attempted to embody its spirit—a sharp, hot green chutney, cheese, and onion—but in a pastry roll that can be made in just minutes.