When people say they love a Caesar salad, what they’re saying they love is the creamy anchovy lemony dressing. Romaine, the typical green for this salad, is great, but has nothing going on flavorwise. Fennel, on the other hand, now, fennel has character—a slightly licorice-y flavor that’s crunchy at the bottom (the bulb) and herby up top (the fronds). This recipe uses both aspects of fennel, as well as swapping out the croutons (the second best part of a Caesar salad) for a delicious savory granola. More flavors; better crunch. The cheffiest thing about this recipe is also the easiest: the fennel oil. The bright pop of green from the oil is an impressive touch. Here I use the leftover tops and trimmings from the fennel to make the oil, but you can use any greens you have lying around—spinach, chives, basil, parsley. Whatever you use, make sure to cool it quickly, as that’s how you maintain the brightness of the color.
Once my kids became old enough to use a stove—in our family that’s around age six, still supervised, of course—they were automatically enrolled in the first three courses of Simeon cooking school. The first is learning to cook eggs (scrambled, then fried), the second is making ramen (the instant kind), and the third (and best lesson) is cooking potstickers, also known as mandoo, or gyoza, or what have you. It’s a straightforward process, but one that requires visual feedback and timing, two crucial skills for pint-size cooks. Also, without a doubt, there has not been a moment in the past decade when my house has not had at least one, often multiple, bulk bags of potstickers in the freezer. Quinn, who’s now fourteen, is the official dumpling deputy of our house, and can always be relied upon to cook a batch when the rest of us need a last-minute meal, which is pretty much weekly it seems like.
Even the greatest frozen potstickers can get a little boring, though, which is where this dish comes in handy. It’s the dumpling equivalent of loaded nachos or potato skins, made in the pan you’re already using to cook the potstickers. The sautéed onion-kimchi is a base layer for the gooey, molten mozzarella, which gets finished with chopped tomatoes, scallions, and spicy mayo.
The most vital ingredient of this classic Mallorcan salad is the time you leave it to sit. We have a love in Cyprus for zoumi, which are the juices at the bottom of a salad bowl. Growing up, it took me years to realize that those were the best part of the salad that was on the table at every meal, even on Christmas Day (the acid in a salad helps to cut through richer dishes).
Once we both understood the secret of zoumi, my sister and I would fight over who got them. Absolutely cherish those juices at the bottom of the salad bowl. Go to war for them. Whatever you do, don’t throw them away!
Not sure what to feed your F•R•I•E•N•D•S at your next social gathering? Make sure the menu includes this relatable, reliable, really delicious mix of crunchy veggies, toasted almonds and crushed ramen noodles with an addictively sweet, sesame-ginger dressing.
Popular for decades, yet not exactly gourmet fare, people always go nuts for this retro recipe.
These savoury fritters, rich in plant-based protein and packed with veggies, were born out of a burning desire to get more legumes into our kids’ diets. Coat with breadcrumbs to get them across the line and you will be making these for years to come! Serve them hot or cold, solo, dunked in a dip or tucked into a wrap. They remind us of yummy cafe corn fritters and are a hit with the whole family every time.
This is one of those simple soups that, after making and enjoying it just once, you won’t even need a recipe for it. The addition of Chinese five-spice, with its combination of star anise, fennel seed, Szechuan pepper, clove and cinnamon, really enhances the humble carrot and apple combination, giving it a well-rounded flavour complexity with minimal effort.
I cannot begin to describe how delicious these are: toothsome from the bulgur, salty from the feta and fresh from all that parsley, whose innate bitterness brings the fritters into balance. They are, of course, inspired by that classic Middle Eastern salad tabbouleh and—just as in that dish—the parsley is not merely a herb offered up for a bit of additional flavor, it is used as a green leafy vegetable in its own right.
Growing up in a Greek community on Long Island, I did not eat meatloaf as a kid because that was always thought to be very much an American dish. But as an adult, it’s one that I have really adopted as my own, and I love it as an easy, high-protein main dish for weeknights. I also think it’s a perfect vessel for Greek flavors like Kalamata olives, feta, and oregano, with tzatziki served on the side. As a nod to the classic, I give you the option of an American-style, ketchup-based glaze, which I am partial to, but it’s easy to leave out, based on your preferences.
Tigania, from tigani, the word for “frying pan,” usually refers to a dish of quickly seared small pork cubes finished with wine that is one of Greece’s favorite carnivorous mezedes. But vegetarians and vegans are having their day in Athens, too, and despite the incredible wealth of traditional plant-based dishes that are part of Greek cuisine, there’s also a move toward redesigning the classics to appeal to a growing audience of vegetarians. This dish in so many ways represents the new Athens: Greek but international, too, culled from tradition but changed, a mix of well-known Greek ingredients like honey, with newcomers like soy sauce, which would have been an unthinkable, even unknowable, addition a generation ago.
Keema Mattar was one of the great comfort foods of my childhood, and a staple of my family’s Sunday brunches. It is marvelously versatile—in addition to serving it as is, my mother used it as a filling for stuffed vegetables and flatbreads, and as the base for her shepherd’s pie. Leftovers were transformed into breaded cutlets, or croquettes, and enjoyed with tea the following day. Keema pizza and keema tacos are also excellent ideas.