Of all the wildly popular American takes on Italian cuisine (spaghetti and meatballs; fettuccine Alfredo; chicken Parmesan), the latest to go viral is lasagna soup, thanks to one TikTok user with a Lego set and a thing for pasta. Christina Morales got the whole story for The New York Times, and naturally we have the recipe. It retains everything you love about lasagna — the tomatoey marinara, spicy Italian sausage, soft sheets of pasta and milky ricotta cheese — and simmers it together with chicken stock to create the red sauced comfort food of your dreams.
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Lasagna Soup
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I’m making so much soup this winter that I no longer even bother putting away the pot after washing it: It stays on the stove, at the ready for the next bubbling batch. Its next mission will be Yasmin Fahr’s vegan mushroom barley soup, which gets its savory depth from a spoonful of miso. It’s on the lighter, brothier side of the soup spectrum, but the barley gives it body and satisfyingly nubby texture.
Also delightfully nubby, but with a hit of fiery red chile is Grace Lee’s kimchi fried rice, a recipe adapted by Francis Lam. Grace cooks chunks of Spam in a little butter to add brawny richness to this home-style meal, but you can leave the meat out if you prefer. In either case, top this with a fried egg, then break the yolk over the rice to coat it in a golden, runny sauce.
Vivacious citrus fruits are one upside to the harsh February chill, and I’ve been snacking on blood oranges, rosy grapefruits and my favorite, plump tangerines. I’ll save at least a few, though, for Naz Deravian’s citrusy salmon and potatoes. She first roasts sliced Yukon golds to give them a head start, then adds salmon filets to the pan, topping everything with a lime and clementine sauce seasoned with cilantro and shallots. You can swap in other fish for the salmon, too; the tangy-sweet flavors will pep up pretty much any seafood.
Perhaps a speedy and colorful chicken stir-fry would also brighten your week? Ali Slagle’s turmeric-black pepper chicken with asparagus gets a flavor boost from a mix of rice vinegar and honey, which brings out the earthiness of the spices. Other green vegetables (like broccoli or bok choy) can stand in for the asparagus if you’re holding out for the spring crop. And using tofu instead of chicken makes this an easy, meatless one-pan meal.
Let’s go with citrus again for dessert, with Samantha Seneviratne’s whole orange snack cake. As advertised, she calls for an entire orange — pith, zest, flesh and all — which gives the cake a pleasing hint of marmalade-like astringency balanced by a sweet-tart orange glaze. Cut it into squares and serve it straight from the pan; snack cakes never stand on ceremony.
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That’s all for now, and I’ll see you on Monday.
