One of the things I struggled with in writing this book was coming up with reasonable recipe yields for most home cooks. You see, growing up in a household of twelve with a mother who loved to cook, our yields were always enormous. Take this chicken shawarma, for example: When my mom originally developed the recipe, it called for 10 pounds of chicken! She would keep the cooked shawarma in the fridge, and whenever one of us would tug at her clothes and say we were hungry, she could say, “There’s shawarma in the fridge; go make yourself a sandwich.”
I scaled this recipe back to use 5 pounds of chicken, which may still seem like a lot . . . but the Arab in me cannot tell you to make less. The warmly spiced, vinegary chicken is great in a sandwich, on a salad, or on its own—perfect for meal prep.
This is my take on the traditional Mexican soup, a tomato-based broth that’s made super aromatic by garlic and onions, plus a little heat from jalapeños. It’s hearty enough to fill you up, but it’s not going to bog you down for the rest of the day. This soup is simple enough for a weekday meal, but it’s also a fun dish to entertain with because you can set out a big spread of toppings such as chopped onion and scallions, sliced radishes and jicama, Homemade Tortilla Chips (recipe below) —or store-bought— guacamole or sliced avocado, a variety of grated cheese—you get the idea! It’s especially perfect as a lighter option when having people over to watch a big game on TV. If you are going to be serving this for a crowd, you can leave out the chicken and use veggie broth instead to make this vegetarian-friendly. Then add shredded chicken (or short ribs or pulled pork) to your toppings bonanza for the meat eaters.
These simple yet flavorful ingredients can be put together in minutes and left to cook. This recipe can be made with chicken, lamb, or chopped potatoes. The simple yet distinct flavors of the greens and spices make it taste delicious with the chutney of your choice and a side of rice or bread.
Piquillo peppers, descendants of Peru’s chile de arbol, require a long, hot, dry growing season, which fits Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley to a T. Gardeners and farmers get their piquillo pepper seeds from the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University or online from Peppermania. Piquillos are not edible raw; instead, they’re smoke-roasted over wood and then packed in brine in jars or cans. If you grow piquillos, simply smoke-roast them until they’re done. Banana peppers are a good substitute for the piquillo peppers, too.