In tropical Vietnam, cauliflower is a prized cool-weather crop that’s typically stir-fried, added to soup, or pickled. Home ovens are uncommon in Vietnam, so few people roast cauliflower. In my California kitchen, however, I coat cauliflower wedges in salty-sweet-spicy seasonings typically reserved for Cantonese-style char siu barbecue pork, and then high-heat roast them. The contours of the wedges caramelize here and there to develop a deep savoriness that evokes the prized edges and corners of char siu pork. Serve this cauliflower as a satisfying main dish or tuck it into bao and banh mi.
Serve with Rice and Tortillas, garnish with cilantro & lime
Toum, the fluffy, garlicky, tangy condiment, originated in Lebanon but is found throughout the Middle East. It is the mandatory condiment for chicken shawarma. Accept no substitutions. Usually, toum means you need to spend loads of time peeling and degerming garlic, juicing lemons, and lugging your food processor onto the counter. This method sacrifices some of the fluffiness for ease. Using an immersion blender to create the emulsion, you can skip the delicate drizzling of oil and blend your way to toum town in a matter of seconds.
Most North American Jews are familiar with sweet noodle kugels. But there are also many savory noodle kugel varieties, which can include garlic, onions, mushrooms, or even spinach. This kugel is a recipe from my husband’s grandmother, Baba Billie. It has an extra garlic kick, fantastic mouthfeel, and a nice crunchy top. You can use fresh garlic if you want, but I think the jarred garlic in oil really is the preferred ingredient.
This dish is packed with bold flavors of garlic, spice, and vinegar and balanced out by the rich, creamy grits. The hint of rosemary pairs nicely with the piney hop aromas of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. This dish is so bold it needs a smooth beer like Pale Ale to cleanse your palate between bites.
I don’t do many trends or fads, but this one is worth it. I love zoodles—not because they are healthy but because they taste so good! This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy them, smothered in cheese. These are great on their own but also served with a nice grilled steak.
This rich pasta, coated with green olives and garlic sautéed in butter, is simple to prepare. Lemon adds acidity for balance, while the burrata and the warm pappardelle create a creamy finish.
When I lived in Peterborough, N.H., in the early 1990s, I had two obsessions: One was the lettuce mix from organic farming pioneer Rosaly Bass, who charmed me so much I signed up for a subscription that let me and a handful of others pick what we wanted off her land all season long. (I tended to swing by at midnight after a long day as editor of the weekly Monadnock Ledger and shovel up carrots by moonlight.) The other was this addictively pungent salad dressing, made by chef Hiroshi Hayashi at his elegant, health-minded Japanese restaurant, Latacarta. While Rosaly's farm is still going strong (it’s the state’s oldest certified organic farm), Hayashi long ago closed the restaurant and started the Monadnock School of Natural Cooking and Philosophy, where he continued making this vegan dressing for many years. He died in 2012. I use the concoction to dress simple salads of butter lettuce with cherry tomatoes and carrots, taking care to slice them into perfect julienne the way I remember Hayashi did, and I have since learned that you can substitute in any herb you like, any vinegar, any oil, and have played around with many a combination. This also makes an excellent dip for crudites.
Cơm tấm is one of Việt Nam’s quintessential street foods. On the streets of almost every major city in the country, you can find cơm tấm vendors shrouded in plumes of smoke as they grill marinated chops on charcoal-fed braziers breathing blister-ing-hot fire. They are true masters of the grill, as the chops are so thin that it takes deft hands to control the heat. It also takes the sharpest of cooking instincts to know precisely when to pull the chops off the flame before they dry out. At home, you can ensure juicy chops every time by first brining the meat for a day or two and then giving them a quick sear in butter. If you want to use thick-cut chops instead, sear them on each side, then place them in a 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until the center reaches 145°F. For plating, we suggest serving the chops with broken rice and a warm slice of chả trứng hấp (steamed pork and wood ear meat loaf).