When I crave a little warmth and comfort, I revert to a Greek style of cooking called yiahni, in which you slowly cook seasonal veggies in oil and tomatoes. Forget crunchy vegetables, I want them tender, sweet and delicious. In the summer, I will gently cook fresh flat beans and green beans in lots of garlic, onions and tomatoes; in the winter, I resort to using frozen peas and green beans. Either way, I will eat them with fresh bread and capers. A really nutritious and wholesome meal.
This interlude into the deep blue sea is brought to you by the Danes, who a) know a thing or two about what to do with fish, and b) know a thing or two about meatballs. Here, we have the perfect union of both in these light and lovely fish cakes and accompanying herb-loaded creamy sauce. They can be plated up with boiled potatoes or a fresh green salad, but for an off-the-rack Scandi experience, serve them with dark rye bread.
This simple, colorful salad, from Morning Glory Farm’s executive chef, Augustus Paquet-Whall, highlights two of the stars of summer: corn and tomatoes (the third is strawberries). His philosophy in the kitchen is to be intentional with ingredients—and with corn this good, there’s no need to overcomplicate things. Raw sweet corn is not only safe to eat but packed with nutrients and pure corn flavor. Serve alongside grilled meat or seafood, or enjoy a big bowl all on its own.
This fragrant brine is rooted in Vivian’s home woods of North Carolina. Pine needles and rosemary are steeped with spices that conjure up those deep woods. And, some would say, evoke the smell of a Thanksgiving-scented candle!
We make a lot of shakshuka in our house, both red and green, for brunch and for dinner. This green version is milder and lighter than its tomato-based cousin, and is perfect for when you are looking for ways to increase your leafy vegetable consumption, or just want to try something new. The joy of shakshuka of any color is the soft egg yolk running all over the savory, lightly spiced vegetables. Here, crumbled feta adds a salty bite, and avocado slices, a velvety texture. Serve it with some crusty bread to sop up all the saucy goodness.
Think of this as a sort of hot caprese salad —by cooking the tomatoes in a foil packet on the barbecue with their vines, aromatic herbs, oil, and salt, the flavors concentrate and intensify. They work beautifully with the mozzarella, as you would expect, with added interest from the crushed coriander seeds —simple yet luxurious
Samin Nosrat shared this recipe with us as part of our Persian food episode Four Persian Cooks.
I learned to make these eggy disks not long after moving to Italy because I loved eating them. Though called frittata in Italy, they bear little resemblance to any of the thick frittatas often served for brunch in the States. It’s basically a very thin, herb-packed omelet that is cooked like a pancake—sizzled on one side until a golden crust forms, cooked over low heat until the top sets, then flipped with a wide spatula and browned on the other side.