When he’s in charge of pizza night, Saba follows a ritual: He starts the day before, making the dough from scratch, using no other flour but Tipo 00 (which is known for creating dough with a light, chewy texture). He budgets at least 12 hours for the dough to rise, and when he (and the dough!) is ready, he rolls and assembles one pizza at a time, pulling from several bowls of neatly prepared toppings, like a real pizzaiolo. Finally, he heats up his Ooni pizza oven to bake the pies. It’s a whole thing, and he is very proud of it. Needless to say, pizza night my husband’s way is not something that happens frequently. And yes, it’s special for that reason alone.
But this recipe is not that! And you might not approve of calling it “pizza,” but let’s just go with it. This is pizza night my way—lazy but delicious. It takes less than 15 minutes to assemble and does not require time for the dough to rise, nor a special oven. Made in a sheet pan, from phyllo dough and without sauce, it’s definitely not traditional. Yet the phyllo makes a light and flaky base for a simple assortment of veggies and cheeses.
I will never understand how avocado became the most famous of the toasts, when chili cheese toast exists. This isn’t to say that avocado toast isn’t delicious, but the combination of cheese, green chiles, and chaat masala is unrivaled—I want to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Many versions (including this one) feature tiny pieces of bell pepper folded into the melty cheese, which gives the dish a nice texture. (You can leave these out if you hate bell peppers!) I like to slather my bread with cream cheese before adding the other toppings because of the creaminess it brings to the toast. I also use pickled jalapeños because they’re milder, and that pickled flavor complements everything here so well.
I absolutely love making this soup now that I have figured out how to make it using my food processor. It used to be quite labor-intensive to cut all the vegetables by hand. Now, I just throw them into the food processor to chop into small pieces, then toss them into my Dutch oven. So quick, so simple, and I also vastly prefer the texture of the soup prepared this way to the traditional way I was taught to make it. The vegetables don’t all come out the same perfect size, which I like, and the rice or pasta is cooked at the same time, making it possible to get my soup on the table pretty quickly.
You can, literally, put any vegetables in soupe au pistou. In spring, I add asparagus and loads of fresh peas. In summer, more ripe tomatoes. In fall, I add butternut squash. It is a substantial soup, and served with a baguette, it could easily be the meal’s main course. A green salad is a nice accompaniment.
If you’ve never had red beans and rice before, let me warn you that you just might become addicted to it. When you cook this dish, the house will smell amazing, and you will be eager to dig in every minute you wait for it to be finished. Make this with Honey Jalapeño Cornbread and thank me later.
INGREDIENTS
This hot and fiery soup is seen only in the Indo-Chinese restaurants of India. When the weather is cold or I’m feeling unwell, I often make this soup. To boost the protein, you can add bits of leftover rotisserie chicken or tofu. Serve this with rice wine vinegar, Chilli-Soy Vinegar Sauce, or Indo-Sichuan Sauce on the side.
Not a side dish at all, this is a well-stocked breakfast entrée. Make sure the potatoes are diced — that is, in 1/2-inch cubes. They must be small and evenly sized to cook in the stated time. Skip processed sandwich meat and look for whole, roasted smoked ham at the deli counter. Have the butcher cut it into 1/2-inch slices to make the dicing easier for you.
This jade-green gazpacho is beautifully surprising and satisfying. Garnish it with a swirl of plain yogurt and add a great crunch with fried nuts.
Ingredients
After a week and a half in Turkey, this was the one dish that my sister, my wife, and I were consistently craving. Menemen is a dish of eggs scrambled just until barely set, mixed with tomatoes, chilies, and tons of olive oil. I love to eat it with a side of salty cheese, olives, and some good crusty bread.