Sweet Onions & Peppers, Fluffy Rice, Yogurt & Arugula
This is a meatless riff on one of my all-time favorite sheet pan dinners: a spicy harissa-slathered chicken loaded with lemony leeks, crispy potatoes, and a salty, garlicky yogurt topping. Here, roasted cauliflower stands in for the poultry, and almonds are tossed in for crunch. Added bonus: without the chicken, this lively, highly festive meal comes together in a flash.
Chelo means “plain steamed rice” in Farsi, whereas polos are rice dishes with other ingredients folded in, like pilafs—I included a few variations of these.
If there’s one piece of equipment you’ll see in every Persian household, it’s a nonstick pot. Although I almost never use nonstick cookware, for this recipe, it’s essential. It makes life easy when you want to serve the rice on a platter, or flip and invert it for easy release. Trust me and pay the money to invest in that peace of mind.
Popsicles (known here as artikim) are a national obsession, delivering a refreshing blast chill when the temperatures spike from hot to hades. From the cheap, delicious, artificially flavored ices you can buy along the beach to Mexican-style paletas, which come in a million gourmet flavors, it’s easy to get a frozen/sweet fix on a stick. To show off the gorgeous fruit in season, I based these pops around thick, juicy slices of figs. I slide them into popsicle molds, then tip a tart, honey-sweetened yogurt mixture around them before freezing. If you can, try to arrange your pops so the figs remain visible (see instructions in recipe), but no matter how you build them, they’re delicious. The tahini magic shell really is two-ingredient heaven; dip once and you’ve got a semi-translucent sesame slick that hardens on contact with the pops; dip twice for a thicker layer. I make a generous amount of the magic shell because it makes dipping the pops easier; you can refrigerate any leftover shell, then gently rewarm it in the microwave. If you want to halve it, you’ll just have to tip and swirl the pops around to coat them.
This recipe, which I got from a South African Gujarati family, is not really a soup but rather a sweet and sour soupy dish called fajeto. It is normally served with meals in small bowls and eaten with the fried puffy breads called pooris, but I strain out all the leaves and seeds that would normally float in it and serve it as a soup. My friends and family love it. It needs to be served hot, as it is thickened with very nutritious chickpea flour that does not behave well when it is cold. It is very quick and easy to make, since it uses canned mango puree. One of India’s finest mangoes is the Alphonso, and it is canned Alphonso puree that you should look for. All Indian grocers carry it. The brand I like and use is Ratna. It comes slightly sweetened. Conveniently, the 30-ounce Ratna cans hold exactly 3 cups, just what you need here.
Samin Nosrat shared this recipe with us as part of our Persian food episode Four Persian Cooks.
Besides being gorgeous, this dish is incredibly complex. The pomegranate, yogurt, and herbs play up each other’s hidden floral notes, while the lactones in the chicken blend seamlessly with fruity lactones and esters in the pomegranate. If you’re feeling bold, try substituting duck breast or boneless quail for the chicken in this recipe.
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.
This mullah, or stew, is a classic Sudanese dish. In Arabic, robe is the word for yogurt. During the Ottoman Empire, Syrian traders and Arab settlers heavily influenced the regional cuisine with the introduction of garlic and red pepper, among other seasonings. Dried okra is often used as a thickener in mullah, but many Sudanese, like Rasha [Ed. Note: Rasha is pictured above making this dish at a refugee camp in Calais, France], also favor peanut butter. Back in her home country, she would have prepared this stew with dried lamb jerky; as a substitute, she used minced lamb while cooking in The Jungle.
Fennel seeds and fresh tarragon quietly infuse a yogurt marinade in this delicate fish supper.