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Do you have an easy, go-to dish to make at home when you don’t want to do pickup or delivery and grocery supplies are low? —Kellen J., Nashua, NH
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Cacio e Pepe
Dare I say that this one applies to all of us from time to time. When the above applies—or I'm just too tired to cook anything complicated—I generally resort to pasta, because some dried iteration is always on hand.
Cacio e pepe is the frontrunner, due to its five-ingredient simplicity, followed by pasta with pesto, which is fine by itself or with any bits of vegetables added in. (Sam's Club sells jars of a worthy and affordable version that keeps well.) I've also resorted to poor man's nachos—tortilla chips and whatever cheese is available—and I must confess that I've been known to make a meal out of freshly made buttered popcorn and an adult beverage.
But who better to answer this question than the people who cook for a living? We asked a few local chefs to weigh in.
Brian Hale of Cobalt Smoke & Sea: "I actually made this one last night: spinach, supersweet cherry tomatoes, oregano, and lemon thyme, all from my garden, plus a can of Starkist tuna, canned chicken stock, unsalted butter, and angel hair pasta. I even used the green shaker of Kraft Parmesan—you do what you need to do."
David Sandusky of BEAST Craft BBQ, BEAST Butcher & Block, and Wing Runner: "Let’s not get all self-righteous about a Tuesday night meal that, if we’re being honest, has been started entirely too late in the evening to give any credence to the supposed justified opinions of our children who think they are autonomous. Our go-to meal is a zucchini bake with ground beef and pepperoni—from my shop, of course—and jarred Rao's tomato sauce. Cheese the hell out of the top of it with something white, bake, and let it ride. Ain’t nobody got time for more than that "
Mowgli Rivard of Little Fox: "One of our favorites is a simple pasta using up whatever greens might be going off in the fridge. I’m gluten-free, but luckily, years ago, we found a gluten-free pasta from Italy that [husband] Craig likes too, so you only need one pot of water and one sauté pan. It’s a perfectly creamy pasta using butter, olive oil, scallion, usually kale or arugula, herbs, pecorino romano, then finishing with pasta water and egg yolks. Our favorite gluten-free pasta is Le Veneziane Fettucce, which is available at some Schnucks stores."
David Kirkland of Turn: "I toss fresh asparagus and green beans in a tablespoon of vegetable oil with a dash of salt and pepper, then grill them until slightly charred and toss with a little balsamic vinegar. For a quick summer salad, I toss watermelon cubes with lime juice and zest, chopped mint, some feta, and serve that over fresh spinach."
Mike Miller of Kounter Kulture and Field to Fire: "I'm a big fan of the protein bowl with basmati rice, beluga lentils or any other grain as the base, and fresh veggies from my garden, quickly sautéed or even added raw. Sometimes I’ll use Southwest flavors and add cilantro and avocado. Eggs usually end up in the dish in one form, either fried, soft cooked, or scrambled, so it ends up looking like a bibimbap. Yogurt is a great go-to sauce. To jazz it up, I add minced garlic and herbs, hot sauce, or even a touch of barbecue sauce. This time of year, I’ll cook outside as much as possible, so all the meat—whether it’s chicken, beef, or fish—gets seared on my Weber grill and sliced up for the bowl. The contrast of the warm meat and grains with the cool freshness of the veggies and yogurt sauce is tasty and refreshing."
Chris Bolyard of Bolyard's Meat & Provisions: "My go-to is a microwave egg soufflé. You can add whatever you want to it, whisk in a little milk... Most people have jars of olives, pickles, jalapeños, etc. in their fridge that work well, and whatever cheese you have lying around. Throw some of that on top, and then finish it under your broiler."
Adam Altnether of Elmwood: "Every once in a while we'll make a bunch of dumplings at the house and freeze them. Super simple to boil and crisp up, then I add in a little chili oil, black vinegar, and raw onion."
Jordan Knight of Il Palato: "I've got three kids—[ages] 2,4, and 6—and a quick, easy lunch or dinner is spaghetti cacio e pepe, plus roasted corn and basil from our garden. It is the simplest thing once you get a hang of the sauce, and it takes only the amount of time to boil the noodle of your choice. Remember to toast the cracked pepper. It makes a difference."
Logan Ely of Shift and The Lucky Accomplice: "I combine a big-ass block of cream cheese with frozen corn and lime juice. The key is the big-ass block of cheese!"
Mandy Estrella of Mayo Ketchup: "Rotisserie chickens are good to have around at times like this, because they can be the base for so many items. They work for pretty much anything that calls for chicken."
Chef-at-large Bill Cardwell: "Eggs. We always have a couple dozen on hand, so making an omelet or frittata with whatever meat, vegetable, or cheese we have on hand is easy. Scrambling up a few eggs with some leftover fish works well, too."
Gerard Craft of Niche Food Group: "Mine is spaghetti aglio e olio con pepperoncini [a Classic Italian pasta dish with sauteed garlic and red pepper flakes]. I often add anchovies to it, and right now I’m throwing in cherry tomatoes. You can add in any veggies you might have on hand, and it's still delicious."
Natasha Kwan of Frida's and Diego's: "Pedro Beltranena [of Lester’s] made Guatemalan black beans for us a decade ago at his home, and we’ve been hooked ever since. You cook the beans with yellow onions, purée them, and spread the paste on corn tortillas with a little cilantro, onion, and salsa. Another go-to is spaghetti casserole, which was my husband's favorite thing growing up. It's just cooked noodles with sauteed onions, mushrooms, garlic, green peppers, and Italian seasoning, that gets baked in the oven. The secret ingredient is Schnucks' Culinaria Arabiatta Pasta Sauce, which is just so good."
Bill Cawthon of Herbie's: "Carbonara, all the way. Render some pancetta with onion, cook some spaghetti, and finish with salt, pepper, and a sauce made from eggs, Parmesan, and ideally some pecorino. It's the classic cook-when-you've-got-nothing-else meal."
Evy Swoboda of The Last Kitchen & Bar: "I've been enjoying maternity leave and some time off, so we ask ourselves this question every night for dinner right now! We make a lot of home made pasta in our house, since we always have semolina flour and eggs around (you can use AP flour and water instead). I just roll the dough out thin with a rolling pin, fold it over a couple times, and cut long flat noodles with a knife. We make a simple olive oil and garlic sauce with lemon and cheese, and sometimes we’ll throw in some tomatoes, herbs, or chicken, if we have it. Nothing is better than home made noodles and they're surprisingly easy to make."
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