Cottage pie is beef; shepherd’s pie is lamb. This version swaps about half the ground beef for cooked lentils. The sauce carries most of the flavor anyway, so the lentils barely change the eating experience.

Japanese curry built on a scratch roux instead of the store-bought bricks, with crispy chicken strips served alongside so they stay crunchy. Family approved. Serves 4–6.

Note: unlike most recipes on this site, this one is not gluten-free or dairy-free as written — the roux is flour and butter, and the chicken is breaded. A 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and gluten-free panko should work, but I haven’t tested that yet.

Getting crispy potatoes with a good strong lemon garlic flavor is tricky. Not having it eat your day in the process is also tricky.

This soup can be made with pretty much whatever veggies you have lying around. If you skip the beets, you’ll have a hard time convincing anyone it’s borsch. The nitrites in celery help preserve things, so don’t skip the celery. Borsch tastes even better after a couple or three days in the fridge.