People are talking about the new Netflix series “With Love, Meghan,” and our own Julia Moskin traveled to California to spend the day with the Duchess of Sussex in her Montecito home kitchen. Certainly the sight of Prince Harry sporting Birkenstocks in the garden is thrilling, but what had me at the edge of my seat was Julia’s peek inside the freezer (full of tater tots).
You can read Julia’s article in today’s New York Times, and we’ve got two of Meghan’s recipes: There’s her herb-topped pasta salad with kale and zucchini, perfect for spring, and a vanilla pudding layered with banana and strawberries and a light sprinkling of vanilla wafer crumbs. They’re both available outside of the paywall (read: free!) if you’re not a New York Times Cooking subscriber. Bookmark both recipes for the next time you’re having friends over for a simple yet stylish meal, which is just how Meghan intended them.
Featured Recipe
Spring Garden Pasta Salad
Then again, when are you not cooking for someone special (yourself included)? Sue Li’s lemony shrimp and bean stew is weeknight quick, requiring barely any chopping, yet feels elegant with outsize flavors from a short ingredients list including sweet leeks and smoked paprika. Sue suggests serving it with toasted slices of country bread or pita to scoop up all those garlicky beans.
If you have any pitas left over, save them to make chips for Lidey Heuck’s taverna salad. Her inspired recipe melds two classic dishes, Greek horiatiki and Lebanese fattoush, in one beautiful bowl. An ebullient mix of crunchy raw vegetables, tangy olives and capers and pan-fried halloumi, it’s got just the right balance of lightness and heft.
I recently left the New York City winter for a weeklong vacation, and when I returned I was delighted to find spring already springing in my backyard. The pots of chives and sorrel have sprouted verdant scruffs, the trees are fizzing with buds, and yesterday I saw the very first springtime ant sashay across my kitchen floor. Forearms — shoulders, even — will be going unsleeved before we know it.
All of this makes me want to cook loads of fresh green things, including my easy herby skillet chicken. Seasoned with garlic, coriander seeds and chile flakes, it’s an adaptable recipe that you can make with kale, mature spinach or any hardy greens. Serve it over rice or mashed potatoes for a soothing early April meal.
Also very green: Hetty Lui McKinnon’s lemongrass tofu and broccoli. This speedy meatless stir-fry has the intense citrus perfume of fresh lemongrass, which is used in the marinade that doubles as a sauce. As you’d probably guess, it’s great over rice, but Hetty also suggests pairing it with glass noodles or rice noodles for a bouncy, slippery accompaniment.
Naturally, you’ll need to subscribe to get these recipes, along with the thousands of others available at New York Times Cooking. If you need any technical advice, send a note to cookingcare@nytimes.com for help. And if you’d like to say hi I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com.
That’s it for now. See you on Monday.
