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The Washington Post •

Column | Spring onion kebabs with romesco celebrate the season in Spanish style

Every year about now, my heart skips a beat the first time I spy those gorgeous spring onions in farmers markets and grocery stores. You know the ones, I hope? They look like scallions that have gotten as swole as a tech bro.And every year, I think to myself: Why am I not in Spain right now? Or, more accurately, why wasn’t I in Spain a month or two ago? That’s when restaurants in Catalonia host dinners celebrating calçots, their version of spring onions that are planted twice to bulk up their gr...
The Washington Post •

Spring Onion and Halloumi Kebabs With Romesco

By Joe YonanGrill skewers of spring onions, zucchini and halloumi cheese while you also char the ingredients for the classic Spanish romesco sauce that will accompany them. The idea comes from the Catalan calçotada, an annual celebration of spring onions at which they’re charred over a fire and served with lots of romesco (and lots of wine). Halloumi elevates this to main-course status, but the cheese is also particularly high in sodium; see Substitutions for lower-sodium alternatives. For broil...
The Washington Post •

Column | Double down on carrots with a hearty pearl couscous salad

Meat and seafood cooks double up on ingredients all the time: They poach chicken breasts in chicken stock, make a quick shrimp broth with the crustaceans’ shells and use it in shrimp risotto, and include beef stock as a component in beef stew. For traditional duck confit, you cook the duck legs in duck fat.I know, because I’ve done all of the above as a way of concentrating and amping up a main ingredient’s flavor — making it taste even more like itself. But what’s the vegetable equivalent? Of c...
The Washington Post •

Warm Carrot, Bean and Couscous Salad

This summery salad gets extra carrot flavor from juice you use to cook the carrots and pearl couscous. White beans add heft and protein to elevate it to main-course status, but it would be perfectly at home as a cookout or picnic side dish. It also holds up well as leftovers, making it appropriate for brown-bag lunches.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days, preferably without the pistachios and mint.

Where to buy: Carrot juice can be found at well-stocked supermarkets and natural food stores.
The Washington Post •

Column | This pasta with cauliflower captures the best of California cuisine

When you walk into Greens, the landmark San Francisco restaurant, one of the first things to catch your eye is a masterpiece redwood installation by sculptor JB Blunk: The main piece rises from the floor like some kind of giant’s gnarled hand, shadowing smaller tables and chairs — all of it cut from a single stump. When you get closer, you can’t help but run a hand along the smooth polished wood, and you can practically feel its energy simultaneously lifting and anchoring the room.The installati...
The Washington Post •

Pasta With Cauliflower and Chard

This riff on a classic Sicilian dish uses sweet-tart golden raisins, briny green olives, lemon zest and butter to bring zippy flavors to roasted cauliflower and pasta. The formula works with many other vegetable combinations; see Substitutions for ideas.

Make ahead: The cauliflower can be roasted and refrigerated for up to 4 days before tossing with the pasta and other ingredients.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days, preferably without the breadcrumbs, which can be stored at room temperatur...
The Washington Post •

Domino’s thin-crust pizza has a cult following. Here’s how to make your own.

Since this opinion seems to go against the grain of food snobbery, I generally keep it to myself. But I felt vindicated a while back when I read in Hanna Raskin’s great newsletter, “The Food Section,” that some of my favorite Southern chefs have a thing for Domino’s pizza. Not just any Domino’s, though. They are exclusively into the chain’s Crunchy Thin Crust variety, so much so that it’s their go-to order for their sometimes-raucous after parties.I hadn’t tasted a Domino’s pizza in years, so I...
The Washington Post •

Domino’s-Style Thin-Crust Pizza

By Joe YonanThis cheese pizza’s crust is thin, crispy and flaky, demonstrating why the Domino’s pizza that inspired it is such a favorite among chefs. With no yeast, and only a 30-minute resting period, the dough becomes weeknight-friendly, although the pizza, cut into squares in Midwest tavern-style, is party-worthy, too. The secret is a process of lamination that uses folds and turns to create flaky, super-thin layers as the pizza bakes, and to roll out the dough between layers of parchment pa...
The Washington Post •

Column | Want more protein and fiber in your diet? Try edamame pasta.

Here’s a simple way to boost your fiber and protein intake: Eat legume pastas.Found in many grocery stores, legume pastas are made from black beans, chickpeas, red lentils, lupine beans, fava beans and edamame — a type of soybean typically served in sushi restaurants.Edamame pasta is a standout in the world of legume pastas. A 2-ounce serving of edamame spaghetti contains around 12 grams of dietary fiber — roughly the same amount in two cups of cooked broccoli.Fiber is a particularly critical nu...
The Washington Post •

Edamame Spaghetti With Peas and Pistachios

Edamame spaghetti joins a vibrant, minty and slightly spicy pea sauce, feta and pistachios for a high-fiber, high-protein dish. If that’s not important to you, the sauce tastes good on any conventional pasta, too.

Storage: Refrigerate, preferably without the pistachios, for up to 4 days.

Where to buy: Edamame spaghetti, from brands such as Explore Cuisine (8 ounces) or Seapoint Farms (7 ounces), can be found in natural foods stores, supermarkets with a large selection of health-focused ingredi...
The Washington Post •

Column | Depression stole her drive to cook. Recipes like this brought it back.

Someone in my family once told me, “I don’t believe in depression.” It was a startling statement, insulting to those of us who have experienced depressive episodes, and my reply was quick and sharp: “Depression doesn’t require you to believe in it. It exists whether you want it to or not.”I’m a believer, and so is Meera Sodha. The London-based cookbook author and newspaper columnist had what she calls a “breakdown” several years ago, severe enough to force her to step away from her Guardian colu...
The Washington Post •

Matar Paneer

This rendition of matar paneer, a popular Indian curry, uses cashews to bring a velvety creaminess to the sauce that enrobes cubes of firm cheese, two types of peas and cherry tomatoes. The combination of spices results in a gentle but noticeable heat, which is easy to adjust to be spicier or less so (see Substitutions). Serve with your choice of rice and/or naan, chapatis or another flatbread.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Where to buy: Paneer can be found at well-stocked supermarket...
The Washington Post •

Column | Bring Sweetgreen home with a crispy rice bowl and spicy cashew dressing

The reason for the trio’s modest expectations: “Back then, a lot of the feedback was like, ‘This isn’t a full meal. I don’t know how many of these [salads] you can have. It’s so niche.’” But along the way, in what Jammet calls “right place, right time,” the company found itself in the middle of a shift in the food conversation led by Michael Pollan, Michelle Obama and the influential documentary “Super Size Me.”Sweetgreen has proved that plenty of people want salad on the regular — if not every...
The Washington Post •

Sweetgreen-Style Crispy Rice Bowl With Spicy Cashew Dressing

Inspired by Sweetgreen’s popular crispy rice bowl with spicy cashew dressing, this hearty salad combines arugula with two types of rice, crunchy vegetables, pan-fried tofu and roasted almonds. In fast-casual style, it is a great candidate for customization. You can also prep and refrigerate all of the elements — plus any others you like — and have them ready for quick assembly. This makes about twice as much dressing as you need for four servings, but you can easily find many other uses for it....
The Washington Post •

Column | An asparagus tart topped with Caesar dressing welcomes spring in style

Every spring, one question starts to occupy more and more of my brain: How can I get more asparagus on the table?As soon as the local spears appear in markets, I start steaming, shaving, broiling and roasting. But I live with people who aren’t as into what I consider spring’s biggest star as much as I am, so at some point I need to get a little more creative.Last year, I bathed them in a vinaigrette and mounded fluffy grated eggs on top for the classic French dish Asparagus Mimosa. (I know, I kn...
The Washington Post •

Asparagus Caesar Tart

This simple-to-assemble tart features tender asparagus baked under a blanket of vegan Caesar dressing on a crisp puff pastry crust. The recipe makes about twice as much dressing as needed for the tart, but you can use it on all manner of salads, roasted vegetables and more. Serve the tart with a salad and/or soup for a complete meal. For a party appetizer, cut into 12 pieces.

Make ahead: The Caesar dressing can be made and refrigerated up to 4 days in advance. Bring to room temperature before a...
The Washington Post •

Column | Greek fasolada is a soup to sustain you during times both good and bad

In a Zoom interview from New York, where she is promoting “Yassou,” Lipa explains that she is referring to the times Greece has faced widespread poverty. (Two such stretches were after World War II and during the recession that started in 2007 and hurt the nation’s economy for many years after.)The recipe she’s describing is fasolada, a soup of white beans and vegetables with a complex flavor that belies its simple preparation. “It’s not an expensive recipe,” she says. “Dried beans are so low-co...
The Washington Post •

Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup)

Fasolada, Greece’s classic bean soup, is simple in technique but complex in flavor. Traditionally, white beans are cooked in water, and then aromatic vegetables, crushed tomatoes and herbs are added, but “Yassou” cookbook author Shaily Lipa likes to start with the Italian technique for soffritto: sauteing the vegetables in olive oil first to create a richer and more concentrated soup.

This version makes the soup even more streamlined by using canned cannellini beans, along with their liquid for...
The Washington Post •

Column | Air fryer patatas bravas brings the tapas bar favorite home

In Spain, chef Omar Allibhoy tells me, nobody talks about Spanish cuisine.Of course, they talk about food; I think you could probably make a credible argument that they talk about little else. What he means is that when they do, they describe it as Galician or Catalan or Andalusian. “Spanish cuisine is very regional,” he says in a Zoom interview from his home in London, where he moved from Madrid two decades ago. “In fact, you would really never hear anybody use the phrase ‘Spanish cuisine.’”Dif...
The Washington Post •

Air Fryer Patatas Bravas

This classic Spanish tapa of fried potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce is called patatas bravas because bravas can mean “fierce,” a reference to the heat, but the spice level is easy to control. In the traditional recipe, the potatoes are double-fried, but this version simplifies things by steaming them first in the microwave, and then air frying them until crispy, although they can also be steamed on the stovetop and roasted in the oven (see Variations).

To help cut the spice, the potatoes are al...
Washington Post •

When you’ve got eggplant, ricotta and marinara, just roll with it

First things first, says Lidia Bastianich. Before I can even get the first question out of my mouth when I call her to talk about one of my favorite Italian dishes, she wants to make sure I know something very important. “Rollatini is not an Italian word,” she says.No, it’s not. In Italy, eggplant rollatini — the dish I’m interviewing her about — is known as involtini di melanzane, right alongside all the other involtini: di pollo, di carne, di vitello, di pesce, to mean little bundles of chicke...
Washington Post •

Rao's Marinara Sauce

This simple, classic marinara sauce is pedigreed: The recipe is from Rao’s, the New York City institution whose store-bought sauce is also beloved. (It was the clear winner in The Washington Post’s 2023 taste test of grocery store marinara sauces.) The ingredients are minimal: good canned San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, and small amounts of garlic, onion, oregano and basil. Conveniently, this makes about the same amount as a 24-ounce jar of Rao’s — with about half the sodium.

Storage: Refriger...
Washington Post •

Eggplant Rollatini

By Joe YonanThis classic Italian dish, called involtini di melanzane in Italy, consists of eggplant slices rolled around a ricotta mixture and baked in marinara sauce. The eggplant slices are often floured and fried, but this simpler version broils them for just a few minutes per side until they soften. Be sure to use high-quality, whole-milk ricotta for the best results; for a vegan version, use the artichoke-cashew filling from the related recipe for Baked Stuffed Shells. Using eggplants that...
Washington Post •

Column | You have to break a lot of eggs to make a Spanish tortilla. Or do you?

The first time I traveled to Spain, on a glorious two-week trip with my sister almost two decades ago, I followed an omnivorous diet, which was helpful in the land of jamón Ibérico and gambas al ajillo. The second time, I was vegetarian, so the menu was shorter — but still plenty satisfying: I enjoyed my fill of vegetable paella, escalivada, pan con tomate (sin anchoas, por favor) and, most ubiquitous of all, tortilla española.The latter dish, an icon of Spanish cuisine, is little more than eggs...
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