Copyright © 2017 by Alison Roman Photographs copyright ©2017 by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. crownpublishing.com clarksonpotter.com CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data is available upon request. ISBN 9780451496997 Ebook ISBN 9780451497000 Cover design by Elizabeth Spiridakis Olson Cover photography by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott v4.1_r1 prh For Jen, Finn, and Theo Burrata with Tangerines, Shallots, and Watercress CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE PANTRY CONDIMENTS VEGETABLES Vinegar-Roasted Beets with Spring Onions and Yogurt Blistered Green Beans with Creamy Tahini and Fresh Hot Sauce Spring Peas with Anchovy, Lemon, and All the Radishes Olive Oil–Roasted Vegetables Raw Broccoli and Basil Salad with Peanuts and Shallot Roasted Broccolini and Lemon with Crispy Parmesan Fried Eggplant with Harissa and Dill Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Hot Honey Browned Butter A Perfect Tomato Recipe Caramelized Winter Squash with Toasted Coconut Gremolata Why Are You Always Asking Me to Toast My Nuts? Cumin-Roasted Cauliflower and Dates with Tahini and Pine Nuts Turmeric-Roasted Carrots with Seeds and Labne Steamed Artichokes with Salted Garlic Butter Grilled Artichokes with Preserved Lemon Yogurt Butter-Tossed Radishes with Fresh Za’atar Cucumbers and Kohlrabi in Crunchy Chili Oil Baked Summer Squash with Cream and Parmesan Bread Crumbs Raw and Roasted Carrots and Fennel with Feta and Pistachios Grilled Corn Salad with Fresh Cheese and Corn Nuts Grilled Eggplant Dressed with Garlicky Walnuts and Lots of Basil Quick Kimchi Perfect Asparagus with Garlic and Salted Olive Oil I Love Boiled Potatoes Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Fried Onions and Parsley KNIFE-AND-FORK SALADS Chicories with Anchovy Bread Crumbs and Egg Yolk Little Gems and Cabbage with Pickled Turnips and Lemony Tahini Dressing Ladies Who Keens Vinegared Romaine with Sour Cream, Bacon, and Herbs Raw and Roasted Kale with Pistachios and Creamy Pecorino FRUIT SALADS Apple and Endive Salad with Parsley and Salted Almonds Persimmons and Pears with Blue Cheese and Spicy Pecans Creamsicle, or the Most Delicious Thing Burrata with Tangerines, Shallots, and Watercress Watermelon and Cucumbers with Spicy Sumac Salt Cantaloupe with Arugula and Black Olives Blood Oranges with Crunchy Red Onion and Avocado Fennel and Grapefruit Salad with Honey and Mint SAVORY BREAKFASTS Savory Barley Porridge with Parmesan and Soy Crispy Kimchi and Cheddar Omelette Baked Eggs with Crushed Chickpeas, Chorizo, and Bread Crumbs Smashed Cucumbers and Scallions over Garlicky Yogurt Morning-After Breakfast Salad Eggs and Kale Fried in Chicken Fat Avocados with Everything A Good Batch Matzo Brei GRAINS AND THINGS Crispy Chickpeas and Lamb with Greens and Garlicky Yogurt Split Pea Salad Spelt with Crispy Sausage, Flowering Broccoli, and Green Garlic Cooking Grains Spiced Lentils with Spring Onions Spiced Black Lentil Salad with Oil-Packed Tuna, Radishes, and Purple Potatoes Sour Cream Flatbread Olive Oil–Fried Lentils with Cherry Tomatoes and a Chile-Fried Egg Four-Bean Salad with Green Romesco Kinda-Sweet Granola with Coconut and Turmeric Decidedly Not-Sweet Granola Dried Beans Special Beans in Tomato Broth with Slab Bacon Clam Pasta with Chorizo and Walnuts Whole-Wheat Pasta with Brown-Buttered Mushrooms, Buckwheat, and Egg Yolk Wednesday Pasta Night Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Bucatini The Best Baked Beans Spicy, Garlicky White Beans Pasta with Crispy Squid, Lemon, and Chile Baked Pasta with Artichokes, Greens, and Too Much Cheese Cold Garlicky Pasta with Capers and Salsa Verde Cold Soba with Cucumbers, Watercress, and Sesame FISH Shrimp in the Shells with Lots of Garlic and Probably Too Much Butter Littleneck Clams with Green Garlic Butter and Leftover Wine Grilled Branzino with Lemons All of the Ways Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Spicy Radishes and Green Romesco Whole Roasted Snapper with Harissa and Sun Gold Tomatoes Spring Seafood Stew with Peas, New Potatoes, and Tarragon Quick Weeknight Fish Stew with Olives Grilled Squid with Spicy, Garlicky White Beans and Vinegared Tomatoes Black Bass with Salty, Spicy Celery Scallops with Corn, Hazelnuts, and Brown Butter Chermoula Oil-Roasted Sardines with Mayonnaise, Pickled Onions, and Lots of Parsley Mom’s Trout with Herby Bread Crumbs Slow Salmon with Citrus and Herb Salad Soy-Brined Halibut with Mustard Greens, Sesame, and Lime Smoked Trout with Mustard and Apples Dad’s Scotch Gravlax Swordfish-Like Steak with Crispy Capers MEAT Skillet Chicken with Crushed Olives and Sumac Impostor al Pastor Fennel-Rubbed Pork Chops for Two Meeting “The One” Perfect Steak with Buttered Radish Toast Golden Chicken Broth with Turmeric and Garlic Chicken Soup with Toasted Garlic, Mushrooms, and Celery Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Farro and Watercress Seared Short Ribs with Quick Kimchi and Sesame Salt Cumin Lamb Chops with Charred Scallions and Peanuts Paprika-Rubbed Sheet-Pan Chicken with Lemon Crispy Chicken Legs with Rosemary, Tiny Potatoes, and Sour Cream Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Garlic, Citrus, and Cilantro Pork and Red Chile Stew with Tomatillos Turmeric-Roasted Lamb Shoulder and Carrots with All the Fixings A Beautiful Brined Bird Buttermilk-Brined Chicken with Fresh Za’atar Lamb Stew with Fennel, Preserved Lemon, and Crispy Fried Bread Hanger Steak with Dandelion, Arugula, and Grana Padano Bacon-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Caraway’d Cabbage and Apples Anchovy-Butter Chicken with Chicken Fat Croutons SWEETS Sorbet in Grapefruit Cups The Only Piecrust Double-Crust Peach Pie with Honey, Ginger, and Lime Buttered Raspberry Hand Pies Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread, or Why Would I Make Another Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever Again? Luckiest Biscuits in America, or How Did I Get Here? Luckiest Biscuits in America Frozen Blackberries and Labne with Honey Chocolate-Tahini Tart with Crunchy Salt Jen’s Key Lime Pie A Better Banana Bread Cocoa Banana Bread Honey-Yogurt Pound Cake with Raspberries Caramelized Honey with Figs and Ice Cream Everyone’s Favorite Celebration Cake How to Casually Frost a Cake Rhubarb-Almond Galette Pistachio-Plum Crisp Lemon Shaker Tart Blueberry Cake with Almond and Cinnamon Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler Brown Butter–Buttermilk Cake ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INDEX INTRODUCTION When I was twenty, I told my mom I was going to take a break from college to cook food for a living. She gave me a special look, reserved only for mothers about to ask a question in a half cry, half yell: “You’re going to quit school so that you can go work at Hot Dog on a Stick?” Not exactly. It was, in fact, a really nice restaurant, James Beard award and all. No corn dogs, no hand-pressed lemonade. It wasn’t that I didn’t like school (I did), or that I wasn’t good at it (I was!), but more just that I didn’t feel anything for it, and I was really all about following my feelings at that time. Eleven years later, I’m still on that break from college. Over time, in and out of restaurant and editorial test kitchens, I’ve cultivated my own personal cooking style, which is hard to classify. I wouldn’t call it lazy—I prefer the term lo-fi—but to give you some insight into my life as a home cook, I don’t own a blender, and up until a few months ago, I didn’t even own a food processor (my love for good bread crumbs finally broke my resolve). I use the same stainless-steel skillet to cook nearly everything, a cast-iron one for everything else, and when I inevitably misplace my rolling pin, I take pleasure in rolling piecrust with an unopened wine bottle. The ingredients I keep in my kitchen are mostly familiar (herbs, lemon, olive oil, salt) with only a few that aren’t (yuzu kosho, lime pickle), but all have certainly earned their place among the chaos that is my kitchen cupboard. I prefer my steak seasoned with only salt and pepper and believe that my chipped, fire-orange Dutch oven scavenged at a flea market does the job of ten electric slow cookers. The recipes in this book follow my general approach, in that I would never ask you to toast nine different hard-to-locate spices on a Monday after work, and I’d never suggest you make something that takes 2½ hours if there were a simpler and equally delicious way to do it in one. I’ve been calling these recipes “highly cookable,” meaning they’re easy to shop for, simple to execute, and a joy to eat. They prove that casual doesn’t have to mean boring and simple doesn’t have to be uninspired and that more steps or ingredients don’t always translate to a better plate of food. In most cities it’s easy to eat every meal out at a wonderful restaurant if you want. From $1 plates of dumplings to $26 avocado salads, you can truly have it all. And don’t get me wrong, I love the experience of eating out, being served, ordering things I would never cook or make myself, like roasted bone marrow on toast with a perfect martini or 36-hour ramen. But for everything else, I prefer dining in. Sure, there’s the grocery shopping (a task I actually love), the chance that your oven will stop working halfway through roasting a chicken slathered with anchovy butter (finish it on the stove!), and yes, there are dishes to clean (that can wait until tomorrow). But for me, there’s nothing more special or satisfying than cooking for your friends, family, lovers, or, perhaps most important, yourself.