When we look back on the year's most popular new recipes, it should come as no surprise that comfort food stole the show. Ragù Bolognese, Tortilla Soup, Mexican Stewed Beans. You liked our desserts, too, from the blender-mixed Mexican Sweet Corn Cake that Christopher Kimball couldn't get enough of in Mexico City to the French Almond Rum Cake (Gâteau Nantais) that yields a reliable tender crumb.
As 2020 draws to a close, we rounded up the 10 most popular new recipes that we published this year, so that you could see what everyone else was loving and catch up on the ones you might have missed. Enjoy all of them for free through the end of the year.
Mexican Sweet Corn Cake
The panqué de elote found across markets like Mexico City’s Mercado de Coyoacán is somewhere between cake and cornbread, subtly sweet and velvety. It’s also a simple cake to make at home since it’s one layer and the batter—which includes fresh corn, condensed milk and yogurt—is made in the blender.
Ragù Bolognese
In Bologna, Christopher Kimball realized that ragù Bolognese is all about the meat, not about the dairy....Get a glimpse of his journey and watch how it's made on the newest season of Milk Street TV.
Pour-in-the-Pan Pizza with Tomatoes and Mozzarella
The crust for this pizza borrows from the Milk Street recipe for a light, open-crumbed focaccia, our re-creation of the focaccia we encountered in Bari, Italy. The dough uses so much water that it verges on a batter and it rises for at least four hours on the counter (be sure to place the bowl in a warm spot).
Mexican Stewed Beans
In Mexico City, chef Eduardo Garciá taught us how to prepare traditional stewed beans, as well as a version enriched with pork. Sofrito added at the end, not the beginning, of cooking freshened the hearty dish.
Bolognese-Style Pork Cutlets
For our version of classic cotoletta alla bolognese, we use pork tenderloin instead of veal, which is similarly mild in flavor, and we layer the prosciutto slices onto the cutlets, under the breading, to better integrate them into the dish.
Tortilla Soup
In this simple, homestyle sopa de tortilla, tortilla chips, called totopos in Mexico, are used in two ways: They’re cooked and pureed with the base to thicken the soup, then fresh chips are added to the serving bowls before the soup is ladled in.
Neapolitan Meatballs with Ragù
In Naples, we learned the secret for the world’s most tender meatballs is the most common ingredient... bread. Then we employed a workaround to streamline this recipe (and get your meatballs on the table faster).
French Almond-Rum Cake (Gâteau Nantais)
For a reliably moist cake, the French use plenty of almonds and rum, as in this French Almond-Rum Cake (Gâteau Nantais). You can serve the cake as soon as the glaze sets, but its flavor and texture improve if allowed to rest overnight at room temperature, so it's a great dessert for making ahead.
Chicken Vindaloo
Vindaloo, often made with lamb or chicken, is notable for tangy flavor from vinegar, a generous dose of garlic and a hit of spice from dried chilies. This one-pan meal delivers.
Palestinian Upside-Down Chicken and Rice (Maqlubeh)
In the Galilee Valley, Friend of Milk Street Reem Kassis shared with us her family's recipe for maqlubeh, which inspired this chicken and rice one-pot feast.
