Budget Recipes

Marcel Proust had his madeleine. David Leite has his Portuguese salt cod, potato, and egg casserole.

An updated Italian classic made with all the usual suspects along with an unexpected drizzle of pesto that turns a frugal veggie-bin catch-all into something truly astounding.

Four ingredients and one simple technique that will leave everyone asking—maybe even demanding—you for more. A keeper of a side dish.

Because yes, a properly constructed tuna melt is reason to get pretty darn excited. This exquisite specimen makes a pretty compelling argument.

Because some things don't change. Including the lure of old-fashioned, uncomplicated, chewy chocolate chip cookies with crisp edges and soft centers.

The pleasing smack of sourdough was seemingly made to be melded with the awesomely chewy denseness of bagels. And it's SO much easier than you'd expect!

Blissfully simple. Outrightly old-fashioned. Sigh-inducingly cooling. Even righteously healthy. Say hello to your latest summer obsession.

One of the best red-sauced pizzas we've ever slung as well as one of the easiest. It just may ruin takeout pizza for you.

Crisp, crackling BBQ pork belly just like what you find in Chinatown. Like most Chinese barbecue, It's impossibly tender, slightly sweet, and surprisingly easy to make at home.

Apple cranberry sauce. Not quite as American as apple pie. Not until you taste this version, that is. Sweetly tart and superbly lovely with turkey and pork and so, so much more.

The sultry, smoky flavor of ras el hanout permeates this simple supper of eggs in tomato sauce, which takes on more sustenance than usual thanks to late-summer eggplant.

Forget the state fair. You can have funnel cakes whenever you want. And as many as you want. Without asking your parents' permission. And they're as quick and easy as pancakes.

This Italian classic is gonna bring ease to your everyday supper situation with its understated complexity and undeniable frugality.

Pantry ingredients and barely any effort yield you something that's sweetly tangy and spicy that you'll want to slather on ribs, wings, pulled pork, smoked or grilled chicken, burgers...

David explains how to make classic Portuguese papo secos, the stuff of everyday eating, that essentially look like cherubic little baby buns and have a taste that's also divine.

In the pantheon of great Portuguese foods, there are few sandwiches that are more superlative than the bifana. Essentially pork, bread, and sauce, it's comfort food at its simplest.

We know you've always wanted to fling pizza dough like a boss. This recipe from master bread baker (and pizza flinger!) Jim Lahey helps you do exactly that.

Simple. Modest. Perfectly proportioned. And just like you'll find in Manhattan. Swear. And a family project that's just time-consuming enough to distract but not so tedious as to deter.

Craving that characteristic crust and crumb of an artisanal loaf of sourdough? We have just the beginner's recipe for you that's a cinch to pull off at home. Swear.

Got leftover spaghetti in the fridge? If you've also got eggs, then you've got supper. A simple, frugal specialty of a chef from Chez Panisse, this comes together with spectacular ease.