Hi and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes, with recipes for busy people who still want something good to eat. Scrambled eggs were the first dish I learned to cook as a kid, dragging the white rubber spatula in the skillet at 12, 3, 6 and 9, so it makes a kind of sense that eggs are my favorite dinner in adulthood, stretching back to my single days when I lived alone and could eat whatever I liked. Even then, maybe especially then, I could have had eggs every night of the week. They are my desert-island food, along with bagels and lox, or a good take on a niçoise salad, or maybe a salty burger with crispy fries. (All great with an egg on top.)
Two dishes below feature eggs — one as the main event (the huevos rotos), another in which it provides a luxuriously yolky finish (the pasta). And for those of you who don’t love a good egg, we have citrusy, briny and creamy options for you too. As always, if you have requests, suggestions or kitchen dilemmas, I’m at dearemily@nytimes.com.
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Here are five dishes for the week:
CreditJulia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Liza Jernow.
This clever vegetarian version of the Spanish dish huevos rotos uses smoked paprika and red-pepper flakes to replace the chorizo it’s typically made with. I’d plan on two eggs per adult for dinner, and serve it with a heap of sautéed kale and a cold beer.
2. Slow-Roasted Salmon With Citrus and Herbs
This salmon! It is outrageously good, silky and stunningly simple. The word “slow” in the name just means 30 minutes in the oven rather than the typical 15 or so that salmon requires. You can sub in cod or halibut, and you can get by with less oil than the recipe calls for — think 2/3 of a cup or so. Add arugula and olive oil to the herbs and lemon to make a more robust salad, and serve with rice.
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3. Braised Chicken Thighs With Greens and Olives
Savory, saucy chicken plus salty, firm olives plus plump, sweet raisins — I really like this one, and it’s an easy way to get something great on the table in well under an hour. Go hard on the greens to make it a one-pot meal, and add toast on the side for sopping up broth.
4. Creamy White Bean and Fennel Casserole
More toast, more sopping, but this time it’s for wondrously creamy white beans and fennel. A crisp, lemon-and-Parm-spiked panko topping balances out the flavors and textures. I’d serve this as a vegetarian main course, but you could add sausage to the beans, giving it the vibe of a very simplified, very quick cassoulet. Green salad on the side, please. And, yes, toast.
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5. Pasta With Wilted Greens, Bacon and Fried Egg
Nothing fancy, but still a treat. Every bacon-lover will go wild for this pasta, though [she lowers her voice to a whisper] you can make this without the bacon and use olive oil instead. (Add lots more cheese to finish, and some red-pepper flakes wouldn’t hurt either.) No matter how you do it, use the best-quality ingredients you can manage. With a dish this simple, the little things matter.
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