Main Dish Recipes

Pizza dough a la Spago, the Wolfgang Puck Spago restaurant recipe with honey, olive oil, and a quick warm rise. Makes 4 individual crusts ready for the oven or wood-fired grill.

Polpettone di tacchino is an Italian stuffed turkey roll filled with ground dark meat, pistachios, and herbs, braised in white wine until tender.

Polpettone Italian stuffed meat steaks sandwich ham and melted mozzarella between two herbed beef-and-veal patties, breaded crisp, then baked under tomato sauce and more cheese. The Italian-American answer to chicken cordon bleu.

Pork chops a l'orange braised in cream of chicken soup, fresh orange juice, celery, and cashews with a hint of ground cloves. A retro one-pan dinner with citrus-cream sauce.

Baked pork chops topped with a savory corn bread crumb dressing, finished with a cream of mushroom gravy made from the pan drippings. A hearty one-pan comfort meal.

Pork chops and twice-baked yams share one pan, both perfumed with orange juice. A paprika-garlic rub on the chops, and yam shells stuffed with apple, onion and celery for a sweet-savory dinner.

Pork with vegetables and cashews is a hands-off microwave dish: soy-seasoned pork, peas and mushrooms cooked in one casserole, thickened into a glossy glaze and finished with crunchy cashews. Easy over rice.

Grilled portobello mushroom sandwich with balsamic-shallot roasted red pepper, melted Monterey Jack, and garlic-thyme aioli on a toasted onion roll. The vegetarian burger that beats any beef one.

Pot roast of buffalo: a lean bison rump roast larded with pork, marinated for days, then braised tender in a rich stock-and-tomato gravy. Classic wild game cookery.

Fork-tender chuck pot roast browned and slow-simmered with dill and a splash of vinegar, then finished with potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and a tangy sour cream gravy. A one-pot Sunday dinner.

Turkey breasts stuffed with jalapeño cornbread and wrapped in a golden potato crust. Pan-seared then oven-finished, served with southwest shoestring fries for crunch.

Chinese-style prawns stir-fried with fresh ginger in a rice wine, soy, and sesame sauce. From wok to plate in under 5 minutes of cooking time.

Pressure cooker rogan josh simmers tender mutton in a rich, nutty gravy of freshly roasted and ground coconut, almonds, and whole spices, with yogurt stirred in gradually. An aromatic Indian curry made fast in the pressure cooker.

Primavera tortellini salad blanches snow peas, asparagus, and carrots, then tosses them with feta and a warm lemon-garlic-olive oil dressing. A vegetarian pasta salad that eats like a main.

Fluffy couscous steamed in a spiced, citrus-kissed stock and tossed with sauteed peppers, red onion, and courgette. A warm, fragrant vegetable couscous, a colourful side for grilled chicken or fish.