Recipes

What to Cook in 2017

Soba salad, the best stuffed eggplant, and the world’s greatest waffles await you

By SAVEUR Editors


Published on January 4, 2017

A new year means new chances to play in the kitchen. What dishes are worth your time? These recipes, for everything from weeknight dinners to all-day projects, should keep you busy in 2017.

Sushi can be intimidating for the home cook. How many tools do you need? How thick does the fish need to be? How sticky should the rice be? Are your palms sweating, or is it just me? Fortunately, there's a very low-maintenance solution: skip the rolls, add a bowl. Chirashi is everything you love about sushi, minus the hassle. Throw in the rice, a few different kinds of chilled, sliced seafood, some salmon roe, and whatever chilled vegetables you might have, and voila—you have the sushi lunch you've been craving without all the stress. Get the recipe for Chirashi »

If you like your carrots colorful and your tarts savory, this is the recipe to keep on-hand in 2017. Even if you can't get the gradient quite right, it won't matter—you'll still get all the carrot taste, enhanced with a lemony coriander dressing. This Instagram-worthy beauty is light and flaky enough to eat all year round, and is a great way to start digging to the root of root vegetables. Even more exciting? You'll be able to eat any leftovers of this cute little tart the next day. Just refrigerate and recrisp in the oven. Get the recipe for Shaved Carrot Tart with Ricotta »

Lemon Meringue Tarts
Lemon Meringue Tarts

Lemon Meringue Tarts

Test kitchen director Stacy Adimando likes to look at the tart as the perfectionist's alternative to the pie: "A good one is an artistic and culinary triumph." Tart expert Maury Rubin agrees. "The single best gauge of a bakery's quality is its lemon tart," Rubin explains. "There's a dance to balancing the sweet and tart flavors appropriately, and in a good bakery the filling will never taste buttery or eggy—it will taste like lemon." This recipe is adapted from Rubin's Book of Tarts and infused with lemon zest for extra citrusy flavor, but if lime is more your jam, you can swap it in for the lemon juice and zest. Nothing feels better than pulling a perfect tart out of the oven, so get practicing. Get the recipe for Lemon Meringue Tarts »

Get ready to become a breakfast person. These waffles are our new morning (or evening) favorite, with just a little sourdough starter mixed in. They'll be fluffy and just a bit crunchy, and they're a perfect gateway to get your sourdough starter addiction going. Parenting a sourdough starter has its ups and downs, but it's certainly worth the effort, especially when you dig in to a giant stack of these waffles. For this recipe by Stephen Jones of Washington State University's Bread Lab and Jeff Yankellow of King Arthur Flour, be sure to use a starter that's fully risen and made from equal parts whole wheat flour and water. (If you don't have whole wheat pastry flour, use regular whole wheat flour and loosen the batter with up to 1/2 cup more milk as needed in step 3.) Get the recipe for Sourdough Whole Wheat Waffles »

In 2017, we resolve to start stuffing, and this eggplant version is probably the best way to start. It wants you to get creative with the stuffing—find some seasonal vegetables, sprinkle with cheese, or even try some meat. There's really no way to go wrong with your stuffing choices. For the eggplant, the smaller the better, since the key is to bake as much vegetable and tomato flavor into the eggplant as possible. Get the recipe for Roasted Eggplant »

Perhaps you're really tired of doing dishes, or maybe you have resolved to do the environment a solid this year and avoid wasting water on washing dishes. Whatever the case may be, the bread bowl is here for you, especially when it's filled with a meaty curry. This particular version comes from Hollywood Bets in Durban, and you're encouraged to eat every last part, quite literally, of the dish, including the curry-soaked bread from the bottom and sides. Pretty soon, you'll be eating everything out of bread bowls. Get the recipe for Mutton Bunny Chow »

king crab gratin
The Ultimate Crab Dip

William Hereford

This recipe comes from Patagonia, and it's sure to warm you up in 2017's colder months. It's called chupe de centolla, and it features a healthy dose of Chile's local king crabs. Creamy, cheesy, and just the right amount of fishy, this appetizer will be a crowd favorite at any party, guaranteed. Get the recipe for The Ultimate Crab Dip »

La Paz Batchoy
Pork Noodle Soup with Shrimp Paste (La Paz Batchoy)

A regional soup packed with egg noodles and pig parts, La Paz batchoy was born in the La Paz district of Iloilo city, in the province where chef Dale Talde’s mother was born. Talde’s version streamlines the traditional recipe, keeps the liver and intestines optional, and applies just enough shrimp paste to keep things funky. Get the recipe for Pork Noodle Soup with Shrimp Paste (La Paz Batchoy) »

This soup has everything you could want, and a few things you didn't know you did, like pig parts. Combined with egg noodles and shrimp paste, it produces a delightfully funky take La Paz batchoy, which was born in the La Paz district of Iloilo city, in the province where chef Dale Talde's mother was born. Talde streamlines the traditional recipe in this version (liver and intestines optional). Even though it's served hot, we're down to eat this soup all year round. Get the recipe for Filipino Pork Noodle Soup »

A: Not a single thing, which is why Suzy Palatin's frites recipe is at the top of our list for 2017. Working off the traditional Belgian fry-making method, she fries these bad boys not just once, but twice. The first time cooks the potatoes through, and the second makes them crispy and brown. Give them a 20-minute break in the middle of the frying process to make sure they're as dry as possible so that when they hit the oil, they crisp right up but stay fluffy on the inside. No more takeout fries for 2017. Get the recipe for The World's Best French Fries »

What do you make with a lot of leftover tortillas? Not just tortilla soup, but how about tortilla dumplings? These dumplings, from Mexican cooking sage Josefina Velázquez de León, are a mix of tortilla, cheese, epazote, garlic, onion, egg and yolk, salt, and pepper. Ball them up, then give them a good sear. Next, simmer the dumplings in a rich cream of tomato soup. You'll never go back to regular tortilla soup. Get the recipe for Masa Ball and Tomato Soup »

If you love bread, lasagna, or both, get ready to incorporate this delicious stuffed loaf into your weekly recipe rotation. It might be a lot of work, but really, it's worth it. This scaccia is a popular street food in Ragusa, and it consists of a pizza-style dough rolled thin, smeared with tomato sauce, showered with D.O.P caciocavallo cheese, and folded into a lasagna-like loaf. What's not to love? Get the recipe for Lasagna Bread »

Sprouts, Kohlrabi, and Beet Salad with Herbed Crème Fraîche Dressing
Sprouts, Kohlrabi, and Beet Salad with Herbed Crème Fraîche Dressing

Sprouts, Kohlrabi, and Beet Salad with Herbed Crème Fraîche Dressing

This salad is so pretty, you might not want to eat it. But then you will. It's healthy and light, with sprouted lentils, mung beans, and sunflower seeds over a bunch of beets and kohlrabi. Even the most salad-averse person will fall in love with this one. Get the recipe for Sprouts, Kohlrabi, and Beet Salad »

The SAVEUR test kitchen has been more than a little obsessed with pork buns recently, but after lots of effort, we've got all the tips and tricks you need to make this your new favorite recipe of 2017. There are a lot of important things to remember with these buns—for instance, remember that the filling is totally customizable. You shouldn't be afraid to have fun with it! Get the recipe for Steamed Pork Buns »

Soba salad recipe with summer greens on two plates Vegetarian recipes

Dylan + Jeni

Not all salads need lettuce! Well, ok, this one also has lettuce, but the star of the show is definitely the soba, especially if you make your noodles by hand. Sprinkle it with basil, add tomato, cucumber, and carrots, and coat it in delicious sauces and spices. It'll be refreshing any time of the year. Get the recipe for Soba Salad with Lemon-Miso Vinaigrette »

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