Salt

I love using filo pastry in my cooking – it’s so satisfyingly crunchy, which means
it acts as a brilliant base for tarts like this one. Pastry is yet another one of those things that people swear off because it’s ‘bad’ for them. But in the context of a healthy diet, I’m a firm believer that there’s room for all the foods you love – and
I love this filo tart. Loaded with vegetables and topped with eggs, feta and pesto, this is just one combination that works. Feel free to get creative and try it with other ingredients, like tomatoes and mozzarella, or butternut squash and goats’ cheese. The filo world is your oyster.

The dish known as gígantes pláki epitomizes traditional Greek food and occupies a place in the hearts of most Greek households. The name comes from the ‘giant’ beans – often butter beans or a variety of extra-large white runner beans called fasólia gígantes – that are baked in a gorgeous chunky tomato stew. For ease, I’m using canned butter beans here, so that all that needs to be made is the hearty sauce to accompany them. I love to top my gígantes pláki with crumbled feta and bake until the cheese is beautifully golden and crispy.

I come back time and again to this pie (or, in the more American sense, tart). It is as much a staple at a festive party (topped with whitefish or salmon caviar) as it is at a simple dinner with friends. Creamy, salty and full of flavor, it is ridiculously easy to make. Traditionally, we make it with Västerbottensost, a Swedish hard cheese with a sharp, salty character. You might find Västerbottensost difficult to track down, so an extra sharp cheddar or aged gruyère works just as well.

Like with Tadashi’s Perfect Steamed Rice on page 60, here we share, basically, Tadashi’s perfect Japanese-style fried rice. You can’t go wrong with this method. This dish, also known as chahan, uses leftover rice and cooks hot—and fast. Watch a few wok-cooking videos on YouTube to get hyped up! Woks are great, but a cast-iron, carbon steel, or quality nonstick skillet works fine too. (We used Harris’s trusty 11-inch cast-iron Lodge skillet to cook this dish.) Okay, so you might be wondering: What’s the difference between Japanese fried rice and its famous Chinese cousin—the global fried-rice standard? The Japanese variety uses less soy sauce, resulting in a lighter color and milder flavor, and relies on Japanese short-grain rice as well as local ingredients like shiitake and kakuni (lots of other ingredients work too; see the list on page 77). But ultimately, this dish is, in fact, an adaptation of Chinese fried rice, which was introduced to Japan in the 1860s by Chinese immigrants and evolved from there. Some practical considerations: If you don’t happen to own a chuan (a special Chinese wok spatula), use a big ol’ cooking spoon to turn the rice; you’ll be stirring throughout the cooking. Make sure to ventilate, because it could get smoky. And remember, hayai—move quickly

Eat this flavorful dip on toasted bread, in a sandwich, or as part of a veggie platter.

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.

“Jerk” refers to both the seasoning, and the style of cooking over pimento wood. Pimento is unique to the region, and Jamaica remains the largest producer, which is why it has become so deeply tied to the island’s culinary identity. The global popularity of jerk cooking has led to the excessive harvesting of pimento wood, significantly reducing its availability.

Sofrito: This aromatic mixture is the heart of many traditional Puerto Rican dishes. Use as a base for rice, beans, stews, or marinades to add authentic Puerto Rican flavor.

Green seasoning is one of the most important building blocks in Caribbean cooking. Almost every island has its own version, and it is the first layer of flavor in countless dishes. At its heart, it is a blend of fresh herbs, garlic, onions, peppers, and citrus, pounded or blended into a paste. Some cooks lean heavily on culantro (chadon beni), while others use more parsley or thyme, and the balance of heat depends on what peppers are at hand. Green seasoning is more than just a marinade—it’s memory and instinct in a bottle. You season your chicken with it before it ever touches a pot, rub it into fish before frying, stir it into stews, or even fold a spoonful into rice for depth. Every cook has a jar tucked into the fridge, and every family swears by their version. To understand Caribbean food culture is to understand that seasoning begins here.

This giant crumbly cookie is a specialty of Mantua, in Lombardy. But I first tasted it at a cooking class at the home of a chef from Parma, in Emilia-Romagna, where it is also popular. This makes sense, as Parma is just about an hour south of Mantua, and popular cookies tend to travel beyond their place of origin.

Also known as torta sbrisolona, the name of this cookie roughly translates to “crumbly cake.” It comes from the verb sbricolare, which means “to crumble.” The cookie was once upon a time prepared by farmers using simple ingredients that they were likely to have on hand—flour, cornmeal, sugar, a little lard or butter, and almonds. It was eaten as a snack to revive them after a long morning of work.

When assembling your sbrisolona, resist patting the sandy dough into the pan too firmly. It needs to be loosely packed in order to yield that fall-apart texture that makes it so irresistible. Once baked, it is customary to break this cookie into irregular pieces for serving, though you can cut it with a knife for a neater presentation.

Adis is a traditional lentil stew made with just a few simple ingredients: lentils, onions, tomatoes, and spices. My mom used to prepare it for me when we lived in Brussels. (I was often anemic, and this dish has always been one of my favorite iron-rich meals.) Sometimes she would enhance it with some khlii (see Preserved Beef, page 73), or add leafy greens and carrots for a nutritional boost. In this version, I’ve opted for sun-dried tomatoes for their sweet, intense flavor and kale for its earthy notes as well as its nutritional value. The vinegary red onion topping is optional, but it brings an appealing sweet-tart punch to the dish. I usually serve this comforting stew with crusty bread, but rice and quinoa are also good options.

I have learned the hard way, again and again, to always get insurance. That’s where the dusting of Microplaned cheese comes into play on these crispy smashed potatoes. Because the truth is, there’s plenty you can do to maximize crispy edges and tender centers. The baking soda in the cooking water, the rough toss with cooking fat before the high heat roast, and the temperature all contribute texture. But every now and again, you’ll come across a bag of potatoes that refuses to turn golden and crunchy.