Hella Green Pasta and more easy dinner ideas from Caroline Chambers

Plus, how to make your salads more fun.

Today we’re celebrating the launch of The Dinner Plan podcast with two(!) episodes. It’s such a thrill to get this show out into the world. Once you’ve listened, it would mean so much to me if you’d leave a review. (You can find the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast apps—hit follow / subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.)

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Caroline Chambers has about 40 eggplants in her fridge. There are Costco chicken thighs and pork butt in her freezer, too, but life’s been even more busy than usual for the mother of three, since she’s been touring on and off for weeks for the release of her wildly popular cookbook, What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking. 

I talked with Caroline, who writes a crowd-favorite Substack by the same name, about what she’s going to make from all those eggplants, plus how she transforms finicky hands-on dishes like stuffed tomatoes into easy, beginner-friendly dinners; what she adds to make main-course salads more fun (spoiler: sometimes the answer is a handful of potato chips); and the recipes she leans on most at home.

Clearly Caroline has really tapped into something. “I haven’t said the title of my book or my newsletter to a single person who is like, oh, I always feel like cooking,” she tells me. “Even people who love to cook, it’s their favorite thing in the world, have those nights when they are like, I simply cannot do it tonight.” 

Harissa-Roasted Veggies With Whipped Feta (recipe below). Photo: Eva Kolenko

That’s why there’s an entire chapter of 15 minute dinners in the book—and another where everything is done in half an hour. It’s why she offers really simple meal plans and speedy dishes like Hella Green Pasta (scroll down for the full recipe), and why she emphasizes deeply flavorful ingredients like the harissa in her Harissa-Roasted Veggies With Whipped Feta (you’ll get the recipe for that one below, too.)

Our conversation is full of dinner concepts from Caroline that are so easy they won’t require a formal recipe—just listen in—but here are a few links I promised to share during the episode.

Healthy-ish Turkey Bolognese
Honey-Roasted Chicken, Carrots, and Brussels Sprouts with Tahini Yogurt
Podcast recommendation: Didn’t I Just Feed You
Harissa recommendation: New York Shuk Signature Harissa & Preserved Lemon Paste

Below, you’ll find two of Caroline’s favorite recipes from the book—perfect for adding to next week’s dinner plan.

Photo: Eva Kolenko

Hella Green Pasta

Reprinted with permission from What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co.

Want to trick a bunch of people into eating a pound of kale? Look no further. This bright green pasta has been rebranded “green monster pasta” in my home, and it’s one of my very favorite ways to get my children to eat leafy greens. Kids or not, this pasta tastes bright from the lemon and creamy from blending it with starchy cooking water, Parm, and extra-virgin olive oil. Even when you make it for yourself, you won’t believe you’re eating a pasta sauce made from kale.

LEARN Boiling the garlic tempers its fiery bite, making it smoother and more mellow. Typically when you’re cooking with kale, you want to remove the tough, fibrous stems for easier eating, but here there’s no need! Boiling softens them enough that they blend up smoothly.

SWAP Instead of kale, try spinach or Swiss chard. They’ll taste relatively similar in the end, with all that added garlic and Parm!

Serves 4 to 6

Kosher salt
1 large bunch lacinato kale (about 12 ounces)
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 pound any shape dried pasta
2 lemons
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for serving

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the kale and garlic to the boiling water and cook until the kale is very limp and the garlic is fork-tender, about 8 minutes. Use tongs to transfer the kale and garlic to a blender (do not drain the pot!), squeezing out excess moisture from the kale before you add it to the blender.

2. Return the pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook to al dente according to the package instructions. Scoop out 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

3. While the pasta cooks, grate the zest from 1 lemon directly into the blender. Cut the zested lemon and the unzested lemon in half and squeeze their juice into the blender. Add the olive oil, Parm, 1 teaspoon salt, and the red pepper flakes. Blend on high speed until smooth, adding pasta cooking water a splash at a time as needed to achieve a thick sauce. Don’t burn out your blender—just add more water if needed to get it to move. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.

4. Pour the sauce over the pasta (you don’t have to use it all, but I love pasta super saucy, so I do!) and toss to coat well. Add a bit more of the reserved pasta cooking water if needed to achieve a saucy consistency; it shouldn’t be too thick, but it should be glossy and stick to the noodles.

5. Divide the pasta among bowls and garnish with more Parm and red pepper flakes before serving.

Harissa Roasted Veggies With Whipped Feta

Reprinted with permission from What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co.

Serves 4

Sometimes all I want for dinner is a heap of really well-seasoned roasted vegetables. I chop up whatever veggies need to be used up, throw it all on a sheet pan, make a sauce while it’s cooking, and 30 minutes later: dinner. This whipped feta elicits positively indecent responses out of my guests every time I serve it—it’s ridiculous.

RIFF Omit the harissa and honey, and instead toss a big spoonful of pesto into the veggies after they’ve roasted. Serve with burrata instead of whipped feta.

SHORTCUT Skip the whipped feta and just crumble some feta on top. Find prechopped butternut squash or sweet potatoes at the grocery store and use that instead of carrots.

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas
1 pound medium carrots
1 large red onion
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons harissa, plus more for serving
2 teaspoons honey
Kosher salt
1 (8-ounce) block feta cheese
½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
½ lemon
Handful of fresh soft herbs, such as parsley, dill, cilantro, basil, or a mix
Handful of toasted nuts, or ¼ cup toasted seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Dump the chickpeas into a colander. Drain them, but do not rinse.

3. Arrange a few layers of paper towels on a rimmed baking sheet, then pour the drained chickpeas on top. Use another paper towel to pat them very dry. Discard all the paper towels, then shake the chickpeas into an even layer. There will be some chickpea skins on the baking sheet now—no need to pick them out. They’ll roast up into crispy little bits and be delicious!

4. Cut the carrots on the diagonal into half-inch-thick slabs and thinly slice the onion. Add the carrots, onion, olive oil, harissa, honey, and 1 teaspoon salt to the chickpeas and toss to coat well.

5. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the carrots are golden on the outside but fork-tender.

6. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processer, combine the feta and yogurt. Zest and juice the . lemon into the blender and add a pinch of salt. Blend on high speed until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed, 30 to 45 seconds. If it’s too thick and your blender is having a hard time mixing, add a bit of water, a splash at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved.

7. Chop the herbs and nuts.

8. Taste the roasted veggies and add more salt as needed. Stir in the herbs.

9. Spread a nice spoonful of whipped feta over the bottom of your bowl or plate and top it with a pile of roasted veggies and a sprinkle of nuts. Add another dollop of harissa on top if you love spice.