The quickest way to spring break flavorGood morning. I am back on the clock this week, having been away for spring break with my family and eating a whole lot of escovitch. I love this Jamaican delicacy of pan-fried flaky white fish, seasoned with allspice and typically adorned with a tangle of bell peppers, carrots, onions and Scotch bonnet chiles, all of it soaked in warm vinegar. (As with any staple and well-loved dish, the details can vary.) Millie Peartree’s quick version uses snapper — the dish is also known as snapper escovitch — and takes me back to translucent blue waters and sunshine without end. I think it will transport you, too. That recipe is below, along with four other excellent options for the days ahead. Questions? Suggestions? Email me at dearemily@nytimes.com. I love to hear from you. I’m also making: Citrus salad with fennel and olives, and baked wild salmon with za’atar.
1. Snapper EscovitchThis excellent recipe from Millie Peartree hits all the right notes. I’d serve the fish plain to my kids, who are currently pepper-averse, and hoard the magnificent topping for the adults.
2. Sheet-Pan Chicken and Potatoes With Feta, Lemon and DillThere’s a reason this recipe from Lidey Heuck has a five-star rating, with about 10,000 reviews. The flavors are timeless, and the dish is easy enough to throw together whenever you have time, but elegant if you serve it all on a big platter the way it’s done in the photo above.
3. Bò Lúc Lắc (Shaking Beef)This stir-fry comes from the wonderful chef Charles Phan of the Slanted Door, the seminal Vietnamese restaurant that started in San Francisco and now has offshoots. Mr. Phan died last year, but his legacy endures through dishes like this one, packed with tender beef and bright flavors that bop. The recipe calls for beef tenderloin (filet mignon), as the dish is made at Slanted Door; sirloin and rib-eye are good, less costly alternatives.
4. Za’atar Roasted Tofu With Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Lemony TahiniYewande Komolafe takes an unusual ingredient pairing — za’atar and tofu — and builds a dish that feels both surprising and inevitable. Of course you’d roast slabs of firm tofu in garlic-lemon-za’atar marinade! Of course you’d add chickpeas and cherry tomatoes to the pan! How could you not top it all with a simple tahini-honey-lemon drizzle? This is brilliant home cooking, and you can make it tonight.
5. Elaine’s Fettuccine AlfredoThe restaurant Elaine’s in Manhattan was famous for attracting celebrity regulars, but its fettuccine Alfredo deserves notoriety among home cooks. There’s nothing novel or complicated here, just the bliss that comes from combining garlic, egg yolk, Parmesan and cream. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. Thanks for reading and cooking. If you like the work we do at New York Times Cooking, please subscribe! (Or give a subscription as a gift!) You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, or follow me on Instagram. I’m dearemily@nytimes.com, and previous newsletters are archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com if you have any questions about your account. View all recipes in your weekly plan. Want to see more of our recipes in your Google search results?
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