Good morning and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes, brilliant ideas for busy people. This week’s recipes are full of flavors to love, the kinds of ingredients that make dinner come alive.
Ginger and chiles! Feta and olives! Fish sauce and lime! Even — maybe especially — the pickled red onions that top the skillet chili. Do you like what you see? Have requests, thoughts or dire kitchen dilemmas? Email me at dearemily@nytimes.com.
1. Chicken Drumsticks With Orzo, Dill and Feta
I’m always in search of great one-skillet meals like this chicken number, though I might add a few handfuls of baby arugula to the cucumbers, feta and dill that top it. My colleague Margaux made this with boneless thighs to cut down on the cooking time, and it worked beautifully, a small weeknight gift.
Those two magic words: pantry recipe. You could buy everything you need to pull this together and stash it all away until a hazy future date when you have to make dinner and won’t get to the store. (Two more magic words: pickled onions. Don’t skip them.) If you wanted a vegetable side, try a simple baby spinach salad dressed with lime juice and oil.
3. Coconut-Poached Fish With Bok Choy
Isn’t it great when a recipe makes you look like an artist when really you’re just painting by numbers? This one is too easy and beautiful not to try, with vibrant Thai-inspired flavors. Start a pot of rice before you begin cooking; make extra if you might also want to reheat it to serve with the flank steak below.
