Weeknight Kitchen

Directions

Fresh salmon is cut into bite-sized chunks and skewered with alternating slices of fresh lemon. They are given a quick grill and then finished with a fresh basil vinaigrette.

Growing up, I was always served collards prepared the same way: some kind of pork and stock, with maybe a tomato, some onions, and always cooked until they were dark olive-green. I love collards and, like all other greens, want them to be a bright color and have some texture. This quick, simple recipe highlights that strong collard funkiness and tastes deceptively rich for a vegetarian dish.

We strongly recommend that you bake the beetroot [Ed. note, beets in North America] for this recipe according to the instructions below – baked beetroot have a stronger flavour, deeper colour and a denser, crunchier texture. Having said that, you could use boiled and it will still taste really nice. We use regular purple beetroot, but do try multicoloured ones if you wish. And if you don’t have time to make the labneh, you could use a smear of oat crème fraîche.

This is the kind of recipe that sums up the kind of food I like to eat when I want dishes that are satisfying and a little lighter, and that perhaps don’t require much else with them. I dislike the notion that lighter or healthier eating needs to rely on bland, flavor-free, overly simple food, and the misconception that it revolves solely around all that is green or sprouted. This recipe has more to do with simplicity in content, not necessarily in flavor or process. Fresh flavors, and satisfying and enticing foods, whatever the weather... those are the ones we will most likely turn to time and again.

Lemons, olive oil, basil... the only other ingredient needed is sun.

These fluffy beauties are tender within, golden without and slightly crisp at the edges: joy. Not only heroes of the breakfast table, they can also do a tasty savoury turn at lunch and dinner. For many, they’re the brightest stars in the pancake firmament.

A bright and lovely light meal, these pancakes are bursting with spring flavors. Enjoy them with a hefty dose of sunshine if you can.

Besides being gorgeous, this dish is incredibly complex. The pomegranate, yogurt, and herbs play up each other’s hidden floral notes, while the lactones in the chicken blend seamlessly with fruity lactones and esters in the pomegranate. If you’re feeling bold, try substituting duck breast or boneless quail for the chicken in this recipe.

This vegetarian play on tuna salad relies on white beans as the base. The beans become so creamy when smashed that only a touch of mayonnaise is needed to bring it together, and celery seed and tangy lemon juice intensify the flavor. It’s ultra versatile: slather it on thick bread slices as a sandwich, mound it on top of salad greens, or spread it on a croissant for an impressive brunch. In the summer, we add chopped basil, chives, or tarragon for an herby kick. It’s unassumingly tasty, and we make it for quick lunches or dinner in a pinch.