Though shakshuka originated in North Africa, today it’s popular throughout the Middle East (particularly in Israel) and elsewhere in the world, including in the United States, where it's a fixture on brunch menus. While this one-pan dish traditionally features eggs gently poached in a heavily spiced tomato sauce, it’s infinitely riffable. There are versions loaded with roasted veggies or studded with chorizo or chickpeas, but my favorite variation—especially during the spring—is green shakshuka.

Over the past decade or so, green shakshuka has become a brunch staple throughout the U.S. A vibrant, green sauce loaded with fresh herbs, spinach, and spices is the perfect foil for rich, runny eggs. Served with some good crusty bread for scooping, it’s a filling meal that’s just as great on a busy weeknight as it is for a leisurely Sunday brunch. 

In our recipe below, our Birmingham, Alabama–based test kitchen colleague Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman has developed a shakshuka with an impressive green hue. The sauce is packed with fresh cilantro, parsley, spinach, and an array of warm spices. The sauce components are blended and simmered before the eggs are nestled in and perfectly poached, then garnished with avocado, pickled onions, feta, and fresh herbs.

Ensuring a Vibrant Green Sauce 

The key to great green shakshuka is nailing the sauce. The sauce should be a mostly homogenous purée that’s thick enough to cradle and poach the raw eggs. It should also remain vibrantly green—not muddy army-green—once cooked for the most appetizing presentation. In developing this recipe, Tricia used a few culinary tricks to ensure a bright sauce with the right silky texture. First, she found that blanching the herbs and spinach with a small amount of baking soda helps weaken the vegetable cell walls, quickly softening them for easy blending while maintaining their bright green color.

Tricia also blanches and blends most of the spinach with vegetable stock, cream, and aromatics to create a velvety, pourable sauce, while reserving a couple cups of the raw spinach to wilt down into the sauce. This creates a sauce that’s creamy and mostly smooth, but with a welcome slightly chunky texture that’s perfect for scooping with good crusty bread.

How to Perfect the Eggs in Green Shakshuka

The trickiest part of most shakshuka recipes is getting the eggs cooked so the yolks are still jammy when the egg whites are set. While some recipes require an oven, we find sticking to a streamlined stovetop method easier. All you need is to gently poach the eggs directly in the sauce until just set. This can be easier said than done, as making shallow indentations in the sauce and cracking each individual egg into the wells can take some time, causing the first egg to overcook by the time the last egg is cracked in. To avoid this and to help the eggs cook at a more even rate, remove the skillet from the burner to eliminate the urgency of adding the eggs over heat. 

We also recommend cracking each egg into a small bowl before carefully adding it to the sauce so you can remove any rogue eggshell pieces before adding the eggs to the skillet. It’s also easier to neatly slip each egg into the sauce from a bowl, which helps keep the eggs from spreading too much as they cook.

Taking a cue from Kenji’s shakshuka recipe, Tricia incorporates the technique of spooning a little bit of the sauce around the whites of the eggs to help them set just a touch faster than the yolks. Once the skillet is covered and returned to the heat with the eggs, monitor closely and cook until the egg whites are just set and the yolks still golden and soft—perfect for dipping bread into.

In an 8-quart or larger pot or Dutch oven, bring water, baking soda, and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Place a large bowl of ice water next to stovetop.

Add cilantro and parsley to a fine-mesh strainer; dip strainer with herbs into water and cook, stirring constantly to ensure herbs are submerged, until herbs are bright green, about 10 seconds. Lift strainer and herbs out and transfer mixture in strainer to prepared ice bath and let sit until herbs are cold, 5 minutes. Drain and pat herbs dry, but do not squeeze (it should yield about 1/2 cup). Leave pot of water on stovetop on low heat.

To blender jar, add herbs, chile, 1/2 cup oil, 2 teaspoons garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon coriander. Blend on high, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed, until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer herb purée to a small bowl; set aside. (Do not clean blender.)

Return blanching water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 8 cups (8 ounces; 226 g) spinach to boiling water; cook, stirring constantly, until bright green and wilted, about 10 seconds. In now-empty fine-mesh strainer, drain spinach, pressing out excess liquid with a silicone spatula (it should yield about 2/3 cup cooked leaves). Transfer spinach to blender; add broth and cream, and process until smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add celery; cover and cook, stirring often, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add leek and bell pepper; cover and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 5 to 8 minutes.

Uncover and stir in remaining fresh spinach and remaining 1 teaspoon garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until spinach is wilted and garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in spinach purée, 4 tablespoons of prepared herb purée, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon coriander; cook over medium heat, stirring often, until simmering, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat. In a small bowl, crack 1 egg. Using a rubber spatula or large spoon, clear a rough 2-inch diameter well in sauce. Immediately pour in the cracked egg. (The well will hold yolk in place but may not fully contain egg white; this is ok.) Gently spoon a little sauce over edges of egg white to help contain it. Repeat with remaining eggs, evenly spacing them around the skillet. Cover, return to heat, and cook until egg whites are set but yolks are still jiggly, 3 to 6 minutes, or until desired doneness.

Uncover and top with feta, avocado, and pickled red onion. Sprinkle with cilantro and parsley. Stir lemon zest and juice into reserved cilantro mixture. Serve immediately, drizzling cilantro mixture on each portion. Serve bread on the side.

Special Equipment

Large pot, blender, fine-mesh strainer, large skillet, silicone spatula

Make-Ahead and Storage 

The final dish is best served immediately, but the sauce can be cooked through step 6, cooled, and refrigerated for up to 1 day. To serve, gently reheat the sauce over medium heat in a large skillet until simmering, then remove from heat and proceed with steps 7 and 8 of the recipe.

Right on cue in late March and early April, spring whets my appetite for the bright, tart flavor of rhubarb. When its acid-green and ruby red stalks start popping up in markets, I grab all I can find, and churn out rhubarb pies and compotes to satisfy my sweet tooth. But rhubarb’s tart flavor is also right at home in savory meals.

In this quick supper recipe developed by our Birmingham-based test kitchen colleague Elizabeth Mervosh , we celebrate rhubarb’s savory side by simmering it with sweet orange marmalade and an array of aromatics to create a jammy sauce, and pair it with pork tenderloin for a satisfying seasonal meal. Elizabeth's pan-roasted pork with rhubarb sauce is savory, sweet, bright, and perfect for a spring supper. Plus, it takes only 30 minutes to cook, making it a great weeknight dinner option.

The Pan Sauce

The first step to ensure a rich, flavorful pan sauce for the pork is to add gelatin to the stock or broth before using it. This technique has been used in many Serious Eats pan sauce recipes, such as culinary director emeritus Kenji’s pan-roasted chicken and pan sauce recipe. Whether you’re using homemade chicken stockor store-bought chicken broth, adding a few teaspoons of powdered gelatin to the liquid gives the mixture a boost in richness to ensure a really nice, glossy sauce that will cling to every bite of the pork.

Cooking the Pork

Next up: the pork. We here at Serious Eats love to reverse sear larger roasts like beef tenderloin (where you start by gently heating up a large cut of meat in a low-temperature oven until it's evenly cooked, then finish by searing it over high heat to give it a browned crust); but for a lean, thin tenderloin, the technique is a nonstarter. As Kenji learned when developing his pork tenderloin recipe, reverse-seared pork tenderloin inevitably dries out because the cut is lean and relatively small.

Instead, searing this lean pork roast at the beginning, then cooking it through in the pan, is the way to go. To further promote browning on the exterior of the meat, the seasoned pork tenderloin is dredged in cornstarch before going into the skillet. The cornstarch also adds a great rough surface on the pork for the glaze-like sauce to cling to. Think of the cornstarch as the layer of primer you apply to a wall before you paint it.

Once the pork is browned all over and set aside, attention is turned to the sauce. It starts with sautéing some minced shallot and garlic in the residual pork fat. Next you'll whisk in the chicken stock and gelatin mixture, along with some whole-grain mustard and orange marmalade. The marmalade brings sweetness and balances the tart rhubarb. But if you’re not a fan of marmalade, you can substitute your preferred fruit preserves, such as strawberry, cherry, or fig. 

At this point you could finish the dish by cooking the pork through in the oven and reducing the sauce separately in the skillet, but since we wanted this pork to be glazed with the sauce, there's no need to cook the meat in a way that preserves a crisp exterior crust. Instead of using the oven, Elizabeth found it much easier to simply nestle the pork into the sauce and finish cooking it all together. The pork cooks all the way through while the sauce thickens and you also avoid extra dirty pans and turning on the oven. Just make sure to turn the pork every few minutes to ensure even cooking.

Bringing It All Together

While the pork rests, rhubarb and butter are added to the sauce and simmered until the rhubarb is tender and the sauce becomes silky and jammy. When you add the pork back to the pan, you'll see why that cornstarch was such a good idea. It really helps the thick, flavor-packed sauce cling to the meat. Serve the pork alongside spring vegetables such as peas or asparagus for a delicious seasonal meal.

In a small bowl, combine chicken stock or broth with wine and sprinkle gelatin evenly over surface; set aside. Cut tenderloin in half crosswise and season on all sides with 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place cornstarch in a fine-mesh strainer, and dust cornstarch over tenderloin halves, lightly coating all sides.

In a 10-inch stainless steel skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over high until shimmering. Add pork; cook, turning as needed, until well browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a large plate; set aside.

Reduce heat to low. To now-empty skillet, add shallot, garlic, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and cook, stirring constantly, until softened and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken stock–gelatin mixture, orange marmalade, mustard, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Bring to a vigorous simmer over medium-high, stirring occasionally. Return pork along with any of its accumulated juices to skillet; cook, turning about every 2 minutes and adjusting heat as needed to maintain a vigorous simmer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest portion of pork registers 120 to 130°F (49 to 54°C) for medium-rare or 130 to 140°F (54 to 60°C) for medium, 6 to 10 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board.

Add rhubarb and butter to sauce in skillet and continue to vigorously simmer over medium-low, adjusting heat as needed, until rhubarb is tender, sauce is thickened and glossy and lightly coats the back of a spoon, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in herbs. Return pork to skillet, and turn to coat, then return pork to cutting board.

Slice pork thinly crosswise and serve with rhubarb sauce.

Special Equipment

Fine-mesh strainer, 10-inch stainless steel skillet

Notes

This recipe can easily be doubled with two pork tenderloins in a 12-inch skillet.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Leftover cooked pork and sauce can be refrigerated separately in airtight containers for up to 4 days.

It’s easy to see why Starbucks' sous vide egg bites are so popular—these custardy eggs filled with a variety of savory add-ins are a perfectly portable protein- and flavor-packed breakfast. And while we have sous vide egg bites (like this bacon and Gruyère egg bite recipe) that are loosely inspired by the Starbucks version, we know not everyone has a sous vide machine on hand—or the desire to use it to make their morning eggs. So, we wanted to create similar silky egg bites baked in a muffin tin instead.

To create the perfect muffin tin eggs, our Birmingham-based test kitchen colleague Elizabeth Mervosh baked batch after batch of these mini frittata-like bites. The result is a foolproof method that guarantees a silky, well-set egg custard every time. Her version is loaded with savory portobello mushrooms, earthy kale, and nutty Swiss cheese for a hearty breakfast that’s just as good for Sunday brunch as it is for busy weekday mornings—especially since these bites can be made up to four days ahead.

The prep and cooking process is fairly straightforward: The eggs are well blended with a combination of cottage cheese and Swiss cheese, mixed with sautéed mushrooms and kale, portioned into a muffin tin, and baked at a low temperature until the eggs are just set. But to ensure the eggs remain silky—not tough or rubbery, as some egg bites can be—and the veggies are evenly dispersed in every bite, there are a few key steps Elizabeth incorporates into her recipe.

5 Key Techniques for the Best Mushroom and Kale Egg Bites

1. Pull out the blender. For the smoothest eggs, you really do need to use a blender. While some recipes call for whisking the eggs and cheese by hand in an attempt to simplify the prep, Elizabeth found in her testing that the sharp blades of the blender are essential to ensure the mixture is smooth enough to produce the custard-like texture we're going for here.

2. Use a combination of cheeses for maximum silkiness and flavor. According to ingredient lists on the Starbucks website, their egg bites include a key ingredient that we've also incorporated here: cottage cheese. Blending cottage cheese with eggs helps create a custard-like texture in the bites. In this version we also add Swiss cheese for its tangy, slightly nutty flavor, which pairs well with the savory mushrooms and kale.

3. Add rice starch or cornstarch to the egg mixture to guarantee silky cooked eggs. The starch acts as a binding agent, preventing the egg proteins from setting too firmly, essentially protecting the eggs from overcooking and becoming rubbery. The result is a much creamier and more tender egg texture. Elizabeth’s many side by side tests confirmed that incorporating just a teaspoon and a half of rice starch or cornstarch into the egg mixture made a noticeable difference in the egg bites' final texture. When too much starch was added, the eggs became unpleasantly pasty, and when starch wasn’t added, the eggs verged on rubbery.

4. Blend some of the eggs with the kale and stir halfway through baking. Elizabeth’s early versions of the recipe called for sautéing finely chopped kale until tender, then stirring it with the mushrooms and blended egg mixture before portioning the mixture into the muffin tin cups. But as the bites baked, the kale sank to the bottom of each muffin tin, creating an unappealing layer of gloppy greens. What we wanted was vegetables evenly suspended in every bite for the perfect balance of eggs, mushrooms, and kale. 

The solution was blending some of the egg mixture with the kale before stirring in the mushrooms, portioning into the muffin cups, and pouring the remaining egg mixture over top. Stirring the egg mixture halfway through cooking further ensures that the vegetables don't settle to the bottom of the bites. This thoughtful blending, layering, and stirring of ingredients evenly disbursed kale from edge to edge.

5. Bake at a low temperature and use a water bath. While these egg bites are baked in the oven, we still wanted them to have the silky, custardy texture of sous vide egg bites. To mimic the gentle, steady, moist heat of sous vide cooking, we place the muffin tin in a water bath and cook the eggs at a low temperature of 325℉. The water bath insulates the egg bites, ensuring slow, even cooking. The water also creates steam in the oven, which helps prevent the tops of the bites from overcooking and browning.

Once the bites are baked, you have serving options. They’re great popped out of the tin and served warm right away for a hungry brunch crowd. But they’re also an ideal make-ahead breakfast option. They can be refrigerated in an airtight container for four days or frozen for up to a month and briefly reheated in the microwave or even eaten right out of the fridge. They’re a great filling breakfast option for busy weekday mornings—no trips to Starbucks needed.

Adjust oven rack to middle positions, and preheat oven to 325°F (160℃). Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray; set aside.

In a blender jar, combine eggs, cottage cheese, Swiss cheese, rice starch or cornstarch, hot sauce (if using), salt, black pepper, and garlic powder and blend on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour 2 cups of the egg mixture into a liquid measuring cup; set aside. Leave remaining egg mixture in the blender jar.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes; transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Reduce heat to medium, and add kale. Cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Scrape kale into blender jar with remaining egg mixture. Process on medium speed until kale is very finely chopped, about 10 seconds. Stir kale and egg mixture into mushrooms in bowl.

Divide vegetable-egg mixture into prepared muffin cups. Gently pour reserved egg mixture over mushroom-kale-egg mixture.

Set filled muffin tin in a roasting pan. Place roasting pan on middle oven rack and pour boiling water around muffin tin until water is 1 inch deep, about halfway up the sides of the muffin tin. Bake until the center of the egg bites look dry, with some bubbles on the surface, but edges are still wet, 10 minutes. Carefully remove roasting pan with muffin tin from oven, and using a toothpick or small spoon, gently stir each egg bite, combining the soft egg curds with the wet egg mixture. Return to oven, and continue to bake until eggs are completely set, about 20 minutes longer. Carefully remove muffin pan from roasting pan. Let cool for 5 minutes. Run a small offset spatula or butter knife around the edges of each egg bite to loosen, then gently turn the pan upside down to remove the egg bites. Serve or let cool completely before storing.

Special Equipment

Blender, large skillet, 12-cup muffin tin, roasting pan, small offset spatula or butter knife

Make-Ahead and Storage

Cooled egg bites can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month. For frozen bites, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. To reheat, microwave until heated through, about 30 seconds, or warm in a 350℉ (175℃) oven until warmed through, about 5 minutes.

A party without a shareable appetizer is like Easter without a bunny. And while pre-made puff pastry snacks from the freezer aisle can often do the job (if a bit soggily, at times), a freshly prepared savory tart delivers so much more impact with very little extra effort. With just one sheet of store-bought puff pastry, creamy Brie cheese, a few roasted carrots, and a zippy honey-mustard drizzle, this tart comes together easily for a colorful and delicious dish. It’s a great year-round addition to any party spread, Easter brunch, or even a picnic lunch. 

While carrots are rarely a “main event” ingredient, our Birmingham-based test kitchen colleague Renu Dhar has found a way to showcase them in this savory carrot tart recipe. The key to a crisp crust with a tender carrot topping comes down to just a few critical techniques.

Why Store-Bought Puff Pastry Is Best

Puff pastry is a laminated dough, made by repeatedly folding butter and dough together until the layers are paper thin. When the heat of the oven hits the dough, steam expands from the melting butter. Once baked, you have a light and delicately flaky pastry that is the perfect vessel for holding both sweet and savory fillings. It’s a beautiful thing.

But making it from scratch not only takes time, it's also a pain to do. The temperature of the butter and the dough, as well as the ambient conditions of the room you're in, all need to be just right for the pastry to turn out perfectly. The easiest solution? Don’t make it. 

Instead, start with frozen puff pastry. This allows you to throw it together relatively fast. When properly baked until deep golden and crisp, frozen puff pastry is a powerhouse ingredient, offering a quick foundation for the roasted carrots. We love the buttery flavor of Dufour, but other brands, such as readily available Pepperidge Farm, also work well. 

Whatever brand you choose, well-baked is the key here. Undercooked puff pastry is gummy and bland, and it’s an unfortunately common occurrence. To avoid this, the thawed puff pastry needs to be baked until bien cuit, the French term for “well done” which refers to the deep, dark color on the crust. To achieve this, it requires longer than you’d expect to bake through, drive off moisture, and fully express all its flaky layers.

While many recipes call for par-baking the puff pastry before assembling the tart to ensure proper baking, Renu found that with this tart, this step could be skipped because of the carrots' relatively low water content—they dump less moisture onto the pastry than many other vegetables and fruits used for tarts like this, and thus make it less soggy (that, plus some prep tips I'll discuss below).

Instead she scores and docks the dough right before adding the toppings. Scoring the dough's perimeter with a pairing knife and poking the dough all over with a fork (aka docking) ensures the crust’s edges will puff properly, while the center stays smooth and flat when baking. This saves time and effort, while still achieving a shatteringly crisp crust from edge to edge. 

How to Make a Flavorful Carrot Topping That Won’t Cause a Soggy Crust

The key to ensuring the tart's crust remains crisp relies not only on how the dough is prepared, but also on how the carrots are prepared, and how all the ingredients are layered together. 

First, roast the carrots separately, before assembling the tart. If you were to plop raw carrots onto the raw tart dough and bake it, you’d end up with a tart with browned edges, a soggy bottom and still crunchy carrots. There’s no avoiding this step—those carrots need some alone time in the oven first to ensure that once the tart is assembled and baked, they are fully tender at the same time the cheese melts and the dough cooks through.

While carrots are not a very juicy vegetable, roasting them first still helps to cook off any excess moisture, which could cause the puff pastry to turn wet and prevent it from rising properly. Before roasting, the carrots are tossed with oil, garlic powder, and ground ginger that complements their natural sweet flavor. For visual contrast and a fun presentation, we like to cut some of the carrots into round coins, and some into long strands.

The second tip to ensure a crisp tart is to layer the ingredients with purpose. Start by shingling the Brie cheese across the prepared pastry. Not only does the Brie add creamy, rich flavor to the tart, the cheese also acts as a protective layer to help prevent excess moisture from seeping down into the dough. The cheese is then brushed with a honey-mustard vinaigrette, followed by the carrots. As the cheese bakes and melts, it also anchors the carrots in place to ensure everything comes together into one cohesive bite: The bottom crust is crispy, the carrots on top are soft, and all of it is glued together with delicious melted cheese.

Note that when you're baking the tart, it can be difficult to tell if the underside is crisp just by looking at the top, so we recommend gently lifting the edge of the tart with a spatula and running a butter knife across the bottom to feel for how crisp it is. If still soft, loosely cover the top with aluminum foil and let it bake for a few more minutes until the bottom is crisp.

Once you remove the tart from the oven, let it cool (uncovered—you don't want to trap steam!) for a few minutes before cutting to allow the cheese to firm up slightly. The tart can be served warm, or cooled to room temperature.

Adjust oven rack to lower third position; preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Slice 2 carrots crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds; halve remaining carrots lengthwise.

On a rimmed baking sheet, toss all carrots with 1 tablespoon oil, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger until evenly coated. Arrange carrot rounds and lengths in a single layer, cut side down. Roast until carrots are tender and lightly browned at edges, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes; keep oven on.

While carrots are roasting, in a large bowl, thoroughly whisk vinegar, mustard, honey, remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Drizzle in remaining 2 teaspoons oil while whisking constantly.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll puff pastry sheet into a 13- by 11-inch rectangle. Transfer to parchment-lined sheet. Using a pairing knife, lightly score a border around perimeter of puff pastry, about 1/2 inch from edges. Using a fork, prick pastry at 1-inch intervals inside the border (do not prick the border). Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to bake.

When ready to bake, arrange Brie slices in an even layer inside scored border of pastry. Arrange carrot rounds and lengths on top of cheese; drizzle and brush evenly with 2 tablespoons honey-mustard mixture. Lightly brush edges of pastry with beaten egg yolk.

Bake until cheese is melted and pastry is deeply browned on edges and crisp on bottom, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes. Transfer tart to cutting board and drizzle top with remaining honey-mustard mixture and garnish with black pepper and thyme leaves. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Special Equipment

2 rimmed baking sheets, parchment paper

Make-Ahead and Storage

This tart is best served right after baking, but leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. To reheat, transfer to a parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and heat in a 350°F (175°C) oven until warmed through, cheese is softened, and puff pastry is recrisped.

Carrots are an incredibly adaptable vegetable. In the colder months I love them roasted until carmelized and sweet or cooked on the stovetop and bathed in a buttery glaze. But once spring hits, I like to embrace their crunch and eat them raw, with recipes like this fresh carrot and raisin salad developed by our Birmingham-based test kitchen colleague Elizabeth Mervosh. In this salad, grated carrots and plump raisins are tossed with a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing, which gets a refreshing acidity from vinegar, orange juice, and lemon juice. The salad is topped with crunchy pistachios right before serving. Each bite is bursting with fruity, tart, sweet, and savory flavors. 

This slightly sweet vegetable side dish is just as great served at casual cookouts as it is at a formal Easter brunch. It takes only a few minutes to prepare and there’s no need to even turn on your oven. Here are a few tips to perfect it.

3 Simple Techniques for the Perfect Carrot and Raisin Salad

1. Shred the carrots for the best salad. For a salad with just the right amount of crunch, Elizabeth recommends shredding the carrots. She found in testing that carrots cut other ways just didn’t work as well: Grated carrots were too mealy and were lost in the dressing, carrot ribbons were too slippery, and sliced raw carrots were too hard to bite through. Shredding the carrots is best for a pleasantly crunchy salad. While you can do this on the holes of a box grater, butto prevent sore muscles and scratched knuckles, we recommend shredding the carrot with the disc attachment of a food processor. 

2. Take a few minutes to plump the raisins. Raisins in this salad add a welcome pop of sweetness. But to make them even better, we found that microwaving them with a simple dressing of orange juice, vinegar, and honey plumps the raisins to produce a more tender texture, and letting the raisins marinate briefly in the warmed juice mixture infuses them with bright citrus flavor. Once the raisins are drained, we don't let that flavorful juice mixture go to waste—it’s whisked with lemon juice, more honey, and mayonnaise to complete the dressing.

3. Serve the salad immediately. Once the carrots, raisins, and pistachios are tossed with the dressing, we recommend serving the salad immediately. The salt in the dressing will begin to leach moisture from the carrots over time, creating a soupy salad with a wet puddle at the bottom. If a puddle does form before serving, just drain off some of the excess moisture or toss the salad again to redistribute the liquid right before serving.

On the large holes of a box grater, shred carrots. Alternatively, carrots can be shredded with disk attachment of a food processor. You should have about 3 1/2 cups shredded carrots.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, whisk together orange juice, vinegar, and 1 teaspoon honey until combined and honey dissolves; add raisins and toss to coat. Microwave on high until orange juice mixture is hot and bubbling, about 45 seconds. Let sit, stirring every 5 minutes, until raisins are plump and softened, about 15 minutes.

In a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl, drain raisins, reserving the orange juice mixture in the medium bowl; set raisins aside. Whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and remaining 2 teaspoons honey into the reserved orange juice mixture.

Add carrots, plumped raisins, and pistachios, and toss to coat. Serve immediately. 

Special Equipment

Microwave-safe small bowl, box grater or food processor with shredding disk attachment

Make-Ahead and Storage

The carrots can be shredded and refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 days before making the salad.

We strongly suggest tossing the salad right before serving, but leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Note that the salad will become more watery as it sits, and you may need to drain excess liquid before serving.

I’m a lamb lover. It might have something to do with my being half Greek, but it more so has to do with lamb’s rich, faintly gamey flavor that I find way more nuanced and exciting than beef or pork. While I love to roast a whole lamb leg over an open fire, or sear up some lollipop chops, one of my favorite ways to enjoy lamb is ground, heavily spiced, and rolled and seared into flavor-packed meatballs. Lamb meatballs are nothing new, many cultures have an affinity for ground lamb, just look at keftedes, Moroccan meatball tagines, or Kofte. Ground lamb is a no-brainer for meatballs; it’s rich and higher in fat than most other ground meats, guaranteeing meatballs that remain tender and flavorful when cooked. 

This recipe, developed by our Birmingham-based test kitchen colleague Renu Dhar developed, features lamb meatballs flavored with fragrant spices, onion, and fresh herbs, set in a cooling swoosh of a yogurt-feta sauce. They retain a beautiful mahogany charred crust while still being spoon-tender inside, and whether served with a simple side salad or stuffed into a pita pocket, they are a great, filling meal. Sound fancy? Not really. 

Start with a Fresh Bread Panade

As noted above, ground lamb’s high fat content helps ensure rich, tender meatballs. The other primary way to ensure supremely tender meatballs is with a panade. A panade is a mixture of bread and liquid (often milk or water) that keeps meatballs (and really any ground-meat mixture) moist and tender, while also preventing them from falling apart. In his easy weeknight meatballs recipe, Serious Eats’ editorial director Daniel Gritzer talks about how meatball recipes fall into two general camps: those made with a panade of soaked fresh bread vs. dried breadcrumbs. His years of meatball-making experience have convinced him that fresh-bread panades produce the most moist and tender meatballs.

Renu’s testing for this recipe aligns with Daniel’s experience, finding that a fresh bread panade was superior to one made with dried breadcrumbs. When she made the recipe with dried breadcrumbs, the result were denser, drier meatballs.

To help the fresh bread break down more easily into a cohesive paste, you only need to briefly soak it in milk first before mixing in the remaining seasonings and meat.

Adding Maximum Flavor

We wanted meatballs with tons of flavor, so we went with a more-is-more approach here. The flavor profile for these meatballs is inspired by Greek keftedes. They’re packed with warm spices like cumin, coriander, granulated garlic, and red pepper flakes, and get a hit of fresh bright flavor from a few tablespoons of yogurt (which also helps bind the balls), fresh herbs, and freshly grated onion. 

Mixing the Meat

For tender, not tough baked goods, it's crucial not to over-work batters and doughs, and it's just as important not to get overzealous when preparing a meatball mixture. Be sure to blend the ingredients only until just combined, handling the meat as little as possible to achieve a homogenous mixture. Mixing beyond this point will push the meatballs more and more towards an extra-springy sausage texture—bouncy, but not as tender.

To do so, Renu recommends combining all the seasonings with the softened bread panade first before folding in the ground lamb. This will help distribute the aromatics and seasonings evenly throughout the meat mixture without overworking it, avoiding denser, tougher meatballs.

Cooking the Meatballs

Ever heard the expression “there’s more than one way to cook a meatball”? Probably not, but it’s true! Meatballs can be cooked myriad ways; simmered, baked, grilled, pan-fried. They’re forgiving little spheres and there’s really no wrong way to cook them, it just depends on your preferred result.

Here we wanted meatballs with a tender, juicy center encased in a crisp, deep-golden outer shell. To achieve this, a two-step cooking process is the solution: First sear, then bake the meatballs. This will work best with a cast iron or carbon steel skillet, as both will retain heat well while baking; a stainless-steel skillet will also work well.

A tangy, creamy yogurt-and-feta sauce packed with fresh mint and dill is the perfect complement for these rich meatballs. For an attractive presentation, we recommend swooshing a big dollop of the sauce across each serving plate, then topping with the meatballs, preserving their crackly crust.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine bread with milk and toss to coat. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely moist, about 5 minutes. Squeeze bread between your fingers or mash with a spoon to make sure there are no dry spots.

Add onion, egg, coriander, cumin, red pepper, garlic, 1/4 cup mint, 2 tablespoons yogurt, 1 tablespoon dill, and 2 teaspoons salt to bread mixture. Using a clean hand or spoon, stir until very well combined. Add ground lamb and, using your hand, continue mixing vigorously, squishing meat and seasonings between your fingers, until just combined and meat has taken on a slightly sticky texture; be careful not to overwork meat.

Using wet hands, roll lamb mixture into 2-ounce (60 g) meatballs (about 16 total). Place on prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart, and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate meatballs until firm and cold, at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

In a 12-inch cast iron, carbon-steel, or stainless-steel skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of meatballs in an single layer and cook, undisturbed, until browned on 1 side, 1 to 2 minutes. Using tongs, carefully turn meatballs and continue to cook, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a large plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs. Once all meatballs are browned, transfer meatballs back to skillet, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meatballs registers 145°F (63°C), 5 to 7 minutes (see notes).

Meanwhile, in a food processor, process feta cheese, lemon zest and juice, remaining 3/4 cup of yogurt, remaining 1/4 cup mint, remaining 1 tablespoon dill, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt until mostly smooth, about 2 minutes.

Spoon sauce onto a large serving plate or individual plates. Gently set meatballs on top of sauce. Garnish with dill fronds, and serve with lemon wedges.

Special Equipment

12-inch cast iron, carbon-steel, or stainless-steel skillet, food processor

Notes

The ideal Greek-style yogurt for this recipe is one that is completely strained; many Greek yogurts in the US market are only partially strained. One good option here is Fage, which comes thoroughly strained from the start. If you have another brand that seems slightly thinner, you can place yogurt in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl and let stand for about 2 hours. Once the extra water has drained away, you will have a much thicker yogurt to work with.

We think 145°F is an ideal internal temperature for lamb meatballs, but if you have any health concerns such as a compromised immune system among your diners, you can cook them further to 160°F.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The yogurt and feta sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

An Irish favorite, colcannon combines potatoes and greens into a hearty mash. While in the US it’s become a mainstay for St. Patrick’s day celebrations, in Ireland it’s a dish deeply linked to and traditionally served on Halloween (although also enjoyed year-round). It’s the perfect partner for sausages and a pint of beer, but also just as good at the family dinner table as a side for corned beef or baked ham; crowned with a fried egg or some smoked salmon; or even alongside a simple green salad to complete a filling meal.

Colcannon emerged as a staple food in Ireland by the mid-18th century, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The name colcannon likely originated from the Gaelic phrase cal ceannann, which means "white-headed cabbage." Like many other Irish potato dishes, colcannon was created as a resourceful way to transform humble potatoes into a filling side dish using various available ingredients. In this vein, it was often made with whatever greens were on hand to supplement the potatoes—cabbage, broccoli leaves, kale, sorrel, watercress, or more. It’s a recipe that is as adaptable and frugal as it is delicious. 

In this recipe below, our Birmingham-based test kitchen colleague Jasmine Smith has created the richest, most hearty version possible. The key to making great colcannon is to start with perfectly boiled potatoes—all the better to soak up more butter and milk.

For the creamiest mash, Jasmine found that medium-starch yellow potatoes (such as Yukon Golds) worked best. Yellow potatoes have just the right amount of starch (less than starchy russets, but more than small waxy new potatoes) to ensure the perfect thick yet silky mashed texture. When cooked, the starch granules within the potato cells absorb water and swell, and some cells inevitably burst, releasing a gluey gel that helps give the mashed potatoes just the right amount of cohesiveness. Keep the potato chunks in large pieces so that they don’t become water-logged when boiled. 

While the potatoes may seem like the star of the show, colcannon’s flavor comes from the added butter, milk, and greens. We chose garlic and scallions to build an aromatic allium base before sautéing the cabbage. While we love cabbage for its neutral flavor and accessibility in this recipe, really you could substitute any preferred green, like kale or Swiss chard; just be sure to still fully wilt whatever green you choose before folding them into the potatoes.

On top of the classic alliums and cabbage, though, we sneak in another (optional) ingredient: seaweed. While seaweed isn’t traditional in colcannon, we like it for the subtle vegetal umami depth it adds to the mash. Plus, seaweed has been used in Irish cooking for centuries. In her cookbook From Forgotten Skills of Cooking, Darina Allen points out how many varieties of seaweed “have been part of the diet of coastal peoples since time immemorial.” In recent years it’s regained popularity with young Irish chefs.

While the seaweed is optional, we believe it’s what sets this version apart from so many others. Laver seaweed, sold in dried dark green sheets labeled as nori, is crisp, relatively mild, slightly saline, with roasted, smoky, nearly nutty notes. It pairs well with the hearty potatoes in this mash. To add it to the mash, we finely chop it and then steep it in the milk mixture until the seaweed is softened and the milk is infused with a briny, umami-rich flavor. 

Whether you add the seaweed or not, make sure not to forget to stud the top of the hot mash with pads of butter to melt and pool all over. It's the final step that guarantees these are potatoes you’re sure to love.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add white and light green scallion slices and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and translucent, about 1 minute. Add cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in milk and seaweed, if using, bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.

In a colander, drain potatoes, shaking off any excess water. Set a ricer or food mill over now-empty pot and pass potatoes through. Add milk and cabbage mixture, salt, pepper, and half of sliced green scallion tops; fold until just combined. If potatoes are too thick, fold in additional hot milk as needed for desired potato texture. Season with additional salt to taste, if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with remaining scallion greens. Top with pats of butter and black pepper. Serve.

Special Equipment

Large pot or Dutch oven, large saucepan, colander, ricer or food mill

Notes

Laver is the name of a type of algae sometimes used in the cuisines of Ireland and Wales; nori is made from a related algae and can be used as well. It adds a subtle vegetal savoriness in this recipe, but is not traditional and can be omitted