BA - February 2022

H OW TO E AT H E A LT H Y I S H p. 36

RICE, FOUR WAYS p. 64

DECONSTRUCTING “ D I E T S ” p. 72

PEAR & RADISH SAL AD p. 53

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EVERY

LU X URY INCLUDED

Februar y VO LU M E 67 N U M B E R 1

11 The Buy A juicer that can stand up to just about everything assistant food editor Jessie YuChen throws into it.

12 The Pour Chicago sommelier Derrick C. Westbrook recommends five wines that make him smile.

16 The Getaway Contributor Amiel Stanek eats his way through a world’s worth of restaurants on Interstate 495.

18 Kitchen Upgrade Interior designer Elizabeth Roberts on how to lay out your cooking space.

32 All on the Table A goodbye—and a new beginning— over whole fried tilapia in Uganda.

BY TORREY PETERS

ON THE COVER

Pears and Radishes With Gorgonzola and Nori (for recipe, see p. 53). Photograph by Paola + Murray. Food Styling by Pearl Jones. Prop Styling by Sophia Pappas.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAOLA + MURRAY. FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES. PROP STYLING BY SOPHIA PAPPAS.

BY SAM COCHRAN

20 Family Meal Caramel-coated cod, creamy spinach with chickpeas, sheet-pan chicken, and more weeknight standbys.

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Februar y T H E H E A LT H Y I S H I SS U E

D O N ’T D E S P A I R , I T ’S C I T R U S S E A S O N !

36 How to be Healthyish Maple-gochujang cauliflower and a lower-ABV spritz make senior food editor Christina Chaey feel gooood.

48 Winter Salads Skip the lettuce— test kitchen director Chris Morocco says salads in February are all about tasting the rainbow.

54 For the Love of Food Chef couple Danielle Bell and Pablo Osorio share a multicourse Valentine’s Day menu for two.

72 The Diet Delusion You rarely see the word diet in marketing anymore— but does that mean anything has changed?

We investigate.

BY BET TINA MAKALINTAL

BY ALEX BEGGS

64 Grains of Truth Historian Jessica B. Harris on the history of rice—and four recipes from across the diaspora.

81 Basically This month we’re demystifying the timeless art of mixing drinks.

BY AMIEL STANEK

88 Dream Dinner Party Renowned author Hanya Yanagihara makes the case for a grand and gothic evening.

BY DAWN DAVIS

IN EVERY ISSUE 8 editor’s letter 86 recipe index

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAOLA + MURRAY. FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES. PROP STYLING BY SOPHIA PAPPAS.

P. 4 8

Editor in Chief

DAWN DAVIS Executive Editor SONIA CHOPRA Test Kitchen Director CHRIS MOROCCO Deputy Editor MERYL ROTHSTEIN Creative Director ARSH RAZIUDDIN Director of Editorial Operations NICK TRAVERSE

Editorial

Design

Social & Audience Development

Editorial Director AMANDA SHAPIRO Digital Director SASHA LEVINE Senior Editor, Cooking SARAH JAMPEL Senior Staff Writer ALEX BEGGS Culture Editor HILARY CADIGAN Lifestyle Editor KAREN YUAN Associate Editors ALI FRANCIS, BETTINA MAKALINTAL Associate Editor, Cooking ANTARA SINHA Assistant Editor CHALA TYSON TSHITUNDU Digital Production Assistant NICO AVALLE Recipe Production Assistant MEHREEN KARIM Assistant to the Editor in Chief JENNA ADRIAN-DIAZ Entertainment Director CAITLIN BRODY Contributing Editors JENNIFER HOPE CHOI, AMIEL STANEK

Art Director HAZEL ZAVALA Contributing Designers WALTER GREEN, DRUE WAGNER Contributing Digital Designer BRITTANY HOLLOWAY-BROWN Art Assistant JULIA DUARTE

Global Director of Audience Development, Analytics, & Social Media MATT DOMINO Associate Director, Social Media URMILA RAMAKRISHNAN Senior Manager, Social Media ESRA EROL Associate Manager, Social Media OLIVIA QUINTANA Associate Analytics Director CLARA CHEN Senior Manager, Audience Development ALEX PASTRON

Global Commerce Category Director, Food & Home ELAHEH NOZARI Senior Commerce Editor MACKENZIE CHUNG FEGAN Commerce Writer TIFFANY HOPKINS

Photography Contributing Visuals Editors ELIZABETH JAIME, ALLIE WIST Contributing Digital Visuals Editor LYN HORST Contributing Assistant Visuals Editor DONDRE STUETLEY Staff Photographer EMMA FISHMAN Associate Staff Photographer ISA ZAPATA

Operations Production Managers MATT CARSON, KATE FENOGLIO Editorial Operations Associate KATE KASSIN Copy Director GREG ROBERTSON Copy Manager BRIAN CARROLL Research Director RYAN HARRINGTON Contributing Research Editor MARISSA WOLKENBERG

Test Kitchen Senior Food Editor CHRISTINA CHAEY Food Editor SHILPA USKOKOVIC Associate Food Editors RACHEL GUR JAR, ZAYNAB ISSA, KENDRA VACULIN Assistant Food Editor JESSIE YUCHEN

Contributing Editor

MARCUS SAMUELSSON

Video Head of Video Programming & Development JUNE KIM Directors, Creative Development DAN SIEGEL, MARIA PAZ MENDEZ HODES Associate Director of Creative Development, Social & Visuals ADAM MOUSSA Director of Content ALI INGLESE Senior Culinary Director RHODA BOONE Culinary Producer KELLY JANKE Programming Manager HOLLY PATTON Directors CORY CAVIN, MATT HUNZIKER, CHRIS PRINCIPE, RUSTY WARD Directors of Photography BEN DEWEY, KEVIN DYNIA Producers BLAKE JESSE, NESS KLEINO, PARISA KOSARI, TYRE NOBLES, TOMMY WERNER

Recipe Editors LIESEL DAVIS, JONATHAN MILDER

Chief Business Officer

JENNIFER MORMILE VP, Brand Revenue FRANCESCA COIA MAROTTI Head of Marketing DEBRA HARRIS VP, Finance ROB NOVICK Senior Business Director JENNIFER CRESCITELLI Director, Brand Marketing LESLIE YEH Associate, Brand Marketing OYETUNDE OLUBOWALE

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CREATIVE Senior Art Director PHUONG NGUYEN Art Director STEPHANIE OLSEN RABINOWITZ Associate Art Director MIRIAM ROSS Executive Producer LLOYD D ’SOUZA Senior Producer JULIE SULLIVAN Director of Creative Content Production DANA KRAVIS

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6 – FEBRUARY 2022

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Editor ’s Letter

A Time for Resolutions W E ’V E H A D O U R holiday excesses. Too many parties—yes, that’s a thing! Too much rich food. Too many cocktails. Now we’re making promises to ourselves. Raise your hand if you’ve made any of the following pledges: I’m going to eat healthier and maybe even pursue a dry January (“Cook, Eat, and Drink Healthyish in 2022,” page 36, to the rescue).

I’m going to cook more meals at home so I can save for that vacation I’ve been craving (enter “Family Meal” on page 20, with four quick and flavorful weeknight recipes developed by our test kitchen).

WHAT I’M LOVING A winery with a view means a feast for all your senses

8 – FEBRUARY 2022

I’m finally going to renovate my kitchen (designer Elizabeth Roberts’s design advice on page 18 is just the thing).

I’m avoiding my local restaurant’s Valentine’s Day prix fixe and will cook instead (“For the Love of Food” on page 54, with recipes from Pablo Osorio and Danielle Bell of de Porres Dinner Series in Los Angeles, is full of inspiration).

For these New Year’s resolutions and others, Bon Appétit has you covered.

Plus, we’ve got a rice story (page 64) by Jessica B. Harris, whose book, High on the Hog, was the basis for the popular Netflix documentary series. And as we make our way through the gloom of February, test kitchen director Chris Morocco adds a little color to our lives with his cover story, “Winter Salads” (page 48). We love these bright and crunchy dishes because they’re hearty and delicious—not because we’re on a diet.

As you’ll note, that wasn’t on the pledge list, and after reading senior staff writer Alex Beggs’s deep dive into the subject, “The Diet Delusion” (page 72), you’ll know why.

So here’s to ditching that diet and eating in ways that make us feel good in 2022.

DAW N DAV I S edi tor in ch ief @bonappetitdawn on instagram

A trip to anywhere in California wine country is always a food and wine lover’s treat. OVID Napa Valley sits atop Pritchard Hill and offers vistas that are hard to beat, as well as beautifully complex wines (available through its mailing list at acquire.ovidnapavalley.com). I particularly enjoyed the 2019 “Experiment W6.9”—a mix of Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, and six other varietals—and the Cabernet Franc–focused 2018 “Hexameter,” one of its first wines to evolve from experiment to signature. Redolent of plums and molasses, it paired so perfectly with chef Eric Webster’s roast prime tenderloin of beef served with a medley of vegetables and herbs, including sunchokes and thyme.

PHOTOGRAPHS: JENNY HUANG (BOLINHO DE ARROZ); OVID IMAGES COURTESY OF THE COMPANY. FOOD STYLING BY REBECCA JURKEVICH. PROP STYLING BY LINDEN ELSTRAN.

Erminia Apolinario’s Bolinho de Arroz With Molho Verde is the ultimate comfort food. P. 71

Find BelGioioso Cheeses near you!

belgioioso.com/Product-Locator

Photograph / Jennifer Chase

P O D C A S T

P O D C A S T

NEW EPISODES COMING IN SPRING 2022 LISTEN ON SPOTIF Y / APPLE PODCASTS

W I N E S T H AT B R I N G J OY

A FRIED FISH, A FA R E W E L L

p . 12

p . 32

R e c i p e s , E s s e n t i a l G o o d s , a n d Te s t K i t c he n K n o w - H o w

Let’s Get Juicy I realized I couldn’t live without this countertop juicer when I was working in a restaurant making gallons of lemon mayo from scratch every single day. It’s still my go-to because it stands up to all the cooking I do for dinner parties, events, and meals at home. The wide mouth and levered design get the most juice from any citrus, and a strainer filters out seeds and pulp.

Even pomegranates don’t stand a chance against this thing.

FOOD STYLING BY MICAH MORTON

—JESSIE YUCHEN, ASS I STA N T FOOD EDITOR

The Press by Vintage Kitchen, $60; amazon.com

P H OTO G R A P H BY E M M A F I S H M A N

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 – 11

Th e P o u r

Maison Noir Wines “New Noir” $25

Aslina Sauvignon Blanc $20

DISCLOSURE: ANDRÉ MACK HOSTS A VIDEO SERIES FOR BON APPÉTIT ON YOUTUBE. MAISON NOIR WAS CHOSEN INDEPENDENTLY FOR THIS STORY.

Michael Lavelle “Iris ” Rosé $25

12 – F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

Joy in a Glass Brown Estate “Chaos Theor y ” $40

At his Chicago wine shop, sommelier Derrick C. Westbrook is focusing on the wines that make him happy—and highlighting Black-owned vineyards

J U S T B E F O R E T H E PA N D E M I C I took over a bar and wine shop in Chicago’s West Loop with two partners. Juice@1340 is what Chicagoans call a “slashie”: part bar, part shop. Buy something and take it home or drink it here. We’re a neighborhood joint and definitely a stylish one. What we sell is a reflection of what we like.

I rotate by-the-glass pours that highlight what I’m currently excited about: an unexpectedly sweet Malbec, say, or a skin-contact Pinot Grigio. Typically, when you build a wine list, you’re beholden to making the highest margin or finding wines with the broadest appeal. By-the-glass options give me freedom to be whimsical, unbound by the barriers of business.

If distributors lead with the fact that a wine is Black- or woman-owned, I get annoyed. I don’t want that to be the barometer. I didn’t decide to sell Black-owned wines; I decided to sell really dope wines. The highest show of respect you can pay a wine is to judge it on the merits of yummy or nah. These five bottles fall into the yummy category—and just so happen to come from Black winemakers. — A S T O L D T O A M Y T A R A K O C H

BROWN ESTATE “ C H AO S T H E O RY ”

This earthy, dry blend from Napa Valley was the first Black-owned wine that echoed my palate and love for bold Napa reds.

MAISON NOIR WINES “NEW NOIR ”

Beverage director turned winemaker André Mack is the gold standard for sommeliers. His much-anticipated “New Noir” takes skin-contact wine to another level.

BODKIN W I N E “C U V É E AGINCOURT ”

Bodkin Wine “Cuvée Agincour t” $25

This wine was the first sparkling Sauvignon Blanc produced in the U.S. It’s everything you’d want from a dry sparkler.

M I C H A E L L AV E L L E “IRIS” ROSÉ

This screams Black boy joy! Many think rosé is just for the summer, but this one works year-round—its acidity and brightness cut through hearty meals.

ASLINA SAUVIGNON BLANC

This easy to drink gem from South Africa underscores simplicity as a pillar of quality.

P H OTO G R A P H BY I S A Z A PATA

Th e G e t a w a y

Circle Game International delights around the nation’s capital b y A M I E L S TA N E K

P H OTO G R A P H S BY S C OT T S U C H M A N

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Top: La Casita Pupuseria; Bethesda Crab House Bottom: Naija Cafe; Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly 14 – F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

PARADISE IS CALLING. PACK LIGHT. COVEATLANTIS.COM/BA | 877.553.6923

Th e G e t a w a y

The Beltway Washington, D.C., the Beltway—also known as Interstate 495, the highway that encircles the nation’s capital—is synonymous with traffic jams and gridlock. If you don’t live near the D.C. metro area, the Beltway is a metaphor for a whole different kind of gridlock and political unpleasantness. But this 64-mile stretch of asphalt does have one very special thing going for it: a whole network of suburban communities in Maryland and Virginia that are as diverse as they are delicious to explore. Truly, to travel the Beltway is to sample the flavors of the world. Cheesy, crisp-edged pupusas, lambfragrant hand-cut noodle soups, fier y Korean-fried chicken wings, and aromatic jollof rice, all on one tank of gas. Who says driving in circles has to be a bad thing?

IF YOU LIVE ANY WHERE NEAR

THE ESSENTIALS MARYLAND

D.C.

VIRGINIA

The Hot Spots

• Eden Center • Ruan Thai • La Casita • Northwest Chinese • Naija Cafe • Choong Man • Kuya Ja’s • Bethesda Crab House When to Go

Late spring or early fall to avoid swampy summertime weather.

Where to Stay

Stretch your legs and stay a while at D.C.’s Line hotel, which is housed in a historic Adams Morgan church and offers hip in-house dining options.

What to Bring Back

Jollof rice, vegetable samosas, and more from Naija Cafe in Clinton, MD 16 – F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

Capital City Mambo Sauce, D.C’s iconic sweet, sour, and spicy condiment with a storied past.

Eden Center You could spend an entire week exploring Eden Center, a sprawling Vietnamese shopping plaza in Falls Church, VA, and never get a bad meal. Must-trys include: takeaway snacks from Cha Oc Gia Huy like bò lá lôt, thumb-size nubbins of ground beef wrapped in betel leaves; fried fish cake sandwiches on crackly fresh bread from Banh Mi So 1; and any of Banh Cuon Saigon’s namesake rice rolls and noodle soups.

Ruan Thai Restaurant Fried dishes are a special standout at this 24-year-old Wheaton, MD, institution.

Start with the Yum Watercress, tangles of battered greens tossed with crispy bits of seafood and handfuls of herbs. You’d be wise to center a meal around the whole fried flounder bathed in Thaibasil-perfumed lard prik sauce, with plenty of sticky rice on the side for scooping.

La Casita Pupuseria & Market Anytime is a good time for pupusas at the original location of this beloved Salvadoran chain—La Casita is bustling from 8 a.m. until past dinnertime most nights.

The cheetah-spotted disks of griddled masa served here, some oozing with real imported quesillo, are

Th e G e t a w a y

Silver Spring, MD’s La Casita houses a market for Latinx pantr y staples.

outstanding, as is the pan de dia, a steamy breakfast sandwich stuffed with eggs, beans, crema, and avocado.

Northwest Chinese Food Specializing in dishes from Shanxi province—a cuisine that can be hard to find even in big city Chinatowns— this phenomenal sliver of a restaurant is just steps from the University of Maryland’s College Park campus.

Handmade noodles are the order of the day, whether stir-fried with chile oil or suspended in lamb and wood ear mushroom soup. Be sure to grab a couple rou jia mo— stuffed flat buns—for the road.

Naija Cafe D.C. proper has no shortage of excellent West African food, but it’s worth driving a few miles south of the Beltway’s southernmost point for a taste of Naija Cafe’s specialty: smoky, delicately spiced and grilled goat asun, a Nigerian favorite. But even if the goat is

sold out (it happens!), the rest of the menu will make the trip count: pepper soup with an entire tilapia cooked to perfection; aromatic jollof rice to accompany a tender leg of tomatoey pepper chicken; and thick, nutty egusi soup, made from ground melon seeds cooked down with greens, spices, and dried fish.

Choong Man Chicken Annandale, VA, is flush with stellar Korean options, but fried chicken fanatics need look no further than Choong Man Chicken, an outpost of a popular chain serving craveworthy and highly idiosyncratic styles of crispy poultry.

Snow onion chicken is as unique as it is wonderful, mounded with paper-thin shavings of raw onion and a sweet mayo-based sauce, while “tikkudak” versions are kissed with smoke after a postfry stint in a charcoal oven.

Bethesda Crab House If you visited the great state of Maryland without eating blue

Northwest Chinese serves up tast y rou jia mo in College Park, MD.

I T ’S O N LY NATUR AL The Beltway itself may not be scenic, but here are a few of our go-to places in the area to get a breath of fresh air (and bring a picnic).

Rock Creek Park The park’s 1,754 acres wind through the northwest quadrant of the city, with tons of trails and historical sites to explore.

Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens This peaceful refuge on the eastern edge of D.C. is beautiful year-round but especially so in July when the lotuses are in bloom.

Winkler Botanical Preserve Located southwest of the city, this verdant 44-acre oasis offers easy strolling, babbling streams, and a waterfall.

Wheaton Regional Park Featuring a miniature train and a 107-year-old wood carousel, this is the spot to reward car-cranky kids.

crabs, were you even there?

This no-frills seafood shack has everything you'd want and nothing you don’t: long picnic tables covered in brown paper, beer by the pitcher, and cafeteria trays piled high with steamed and spiced crustaceans sourced locally when in season and domestically if not. Walk-ins are likely to be served mediumsize crabs, but if you’re after larges or jumbos, call ahead to reserve them.

Kuya Ja ’s Lechon Belly Pork is the star of the show at this hip Filipino strip mall storefront—whether it’s ground and mixed with shrimp to stuff crackly batons of lumpia, braised and fried crisp to top rice bowls, or added to silky coconut-simmered spinach and kale laing. But the main attraction is right there in the name: lechón, glorious lechón.

We’re talking rich slow-cooked pork belly redolent of heady lemongrass and ginger and crowned with mahogany shards of beyond-crunchy skin.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 – 17

Kitchen Upgrade

The Lay of the Land Brooklyn designer Elizabeth Roberts has advice for configuring any kitchen b y SA M C O C H R A N

Center Stage “Islands are getting boring,” Roberts says.

Rather than matching the cabinetry, she mixes it up with designs sheathed entirely in stone, like the marble one at fashion designer Ulla Johnson’s Brooklyn brownstone. (“I like a big block of something,” Roberts notes.) Other islands have been detailed to look like furniture, with meticulous joinery in the woodwork. For a kitchen on the North Fork of Long Island, she added eight inches to the legs of a vintage farm table to make it counter height.

DESIGNER

Elizabeth Roberts HOME BASE

Brooklyn KNOWN FOR

Historically sensitive renovations GO-TO MEAL

Noodle salads

P H OTO G R A P H BY F LOTO + WA R N E R

GE T CREATIVE For extra character, outfit your kitchen with the same decorative layers as any other room in the house. Here are four ways to do it:

Room With a View When laying out your kitchen, Roberts advises, “always think about what you want to be looking at.” A sink by the window, for instance, makes washing dishes a scenic experience, whereas a sink on an island allows for interactions with family or guests.

Knowing your priorities will determine the placement of key stations.

“Go with a light fixture that is unexpected, like a task lamp on the counter or a swing-arm lamp,” says Roberts.

Fulcrum Table Lamp by RH, $3595; rh.com

PHOTOGRAPHS: NICOLE FRANZEN (WEST VILLAGE); DUSTIN AKSLAND (HENRY, PROSPECT); COURTESY OF RH (FULCRUM); COURTESY OF NANZ (CABINET PULL); COURTESY OF CLÉ TILE (TILE); COURTESY OF MATTHEW COX (TABLE). ILLUSTRATION BY CARLY JEAN ANDREWS.

To Hood or Not to Hood Among the first kitchen questions to ask is: How important is ventilation? (“Some people like the smell of bacon,” Roberts says.) Against a wall rather than above an island is typically the best place for a powerful range hood, “which can be big and bulky.”

For a more minimalist look, consider concealing the air duct inside a cabinet or using a pop-out vent, like the Miele appliance at this New York City townhouse.

The Cabinet Conundrum “There is always the question of how many upper cabinets to have and where,” Roberts notes, adding that many clients now want to stare at something other than a cupboard when cooking. A single open shelf provides an elegant display for everyday staples while leaving wall space for artwork or sconces.

Be playful with cabinet pulls. For heavy paneled fridges or dishwashers “you’ll need something really big.” Nº 6828P, from $250; nanz.com

“For kitchen flooring I advocate for stone or tile. I would rather break a jar than mar a wood plank.” Zellige Secret Lagoon Hex tile, $224 for 100; cletile.com

“I love an island that is more furniture -like,” says Roberts, who often uses pieces by British artisan Matthew Cox. Oranger y Table, from $3,370; matthewcox.com F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 – 19

Family Meal Savory caramel-coated cod, drunken clam noodles, and more winning weeknight dinners

This sauce is also stellar on roasted potatoes, veggies, and more.

C A R A M E L S A U C E makes everything better—ice cream, popcorn, and even…fish?

Seafood may not have been where your mind wandered, but associate food editor Kendra Vaculin swears the turmeric-packed caramel on page 22 is the ultimate condiment for coating a fillet of flaky cod or any other whitefish. “Those fish are so delicate and plain, they really want some kind of highoctane sauce to punch them up,” Vaculin says. This sticky, savory-sweet dressing is a harmonious marriage of soy sauce, sugar, and a heap of ground turmeric. “Use your best turmeric,” Vaculin says, citing BA-beloved brands like Spicewalla, Diaspora Co., and Burlap & Barrel. “You’ll really taste every last bit of it.”

—CHAL A T YSON TSHITUNDU

P H OTO G R A P H S BY E M M A F I S H M A N

“

— Divia Thani

The World Made Local

Family Meal

Turmeric Caramel Cod This spiced caramel comes together in the time it takes to cook a pot of rice and is the perfect taste blanket for any mild-flavored fish R E C I P E BY K E N D R A VAC U L I N

1. Slice 3 limes in half and squeeze through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl (you should have about 5 Tbsp. juice); discard seeds. Cut remaining lime into wedges and set aside for serving.

4 S E RV I N G S

4 ½ 3 1 ¼

limes cup (packed) brown sugar Tbsp. soy sauce Tbsp. ground turmeric tsp. cayenne pepper Kosher salt 4 5–6-oz. cod or other flaky whitefish fillets

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Cooked jasmine rice, thinly sliced white onion, mint leaves, and cilantro leaves with tender stems (for serving)

Go heavy on the herbs and sliced raw onion topping—the freshness perfectly complements the umami-rich sauce.

2. Whisk lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, turmeric, cayenne, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.

Cook, swirling pan occasionally to keep mixture from bubbling up, until thickened, about 8 minutes.

Let caramel cool slightly (it will continue to thicken as it cools).

3. Meanwhile, pat fish dry, then season with salt. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over mediumhigh. Cook fish until flesh is opaque, cooked through, and flakes easily with a fork, about 3 minutes per side.

4. Divide rice among plates and top each with a fillet. Spoon warm caramel over. Top with white onion, mint, and cilantro. Serve with reserved lime wedges for squeezing over.

22 – FEBRUARY 2022

C O N T I N U E S O N PAG E 2 6

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Family Meal

Creamy Spinach and Chickpeas Creamed frozen spinach becomes a plush canvas for spiced chickpeas, with an added punch from pantry provisions like pickled peppers R E C I P E BY S H I L PA U S KO KOV I C

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook shallots, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add spinach, flour, and a large pinch of salt; cook, stirring constantly, until flour is well combined, about 1 minute. Add ½ cup cream and ½ cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is thick and creamy, about 4 minutes. Taste creamed spinach and season with more salt if needed.

2. Meanwhile, cook chickpeas, harissa paste, a large pinch of salt, and remaining ¼ cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until sauce is clinging to chickpeas, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in giardiniera; taste and season with more salt if needed.

3. Spoon creamed spinach into a large shallow bowl. Pile chickpea mixture over and top with pickled peppers, then fried shallots.

4. Serve creamed spinach and chickpeas with warm flatbread and lemon wedges alongside for squeezing over.

26 – FEBRUARY 2022

4 S E RV I N G S

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 2 large shallots, thinly sliced 1 10-oz. package frozen spinach, thawed, drained 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour Kosher salt ¾ cup heavy cream, divided 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed

Pile a big scoop onto a warm piece of flatbread for a meal that’s as filling as it is fast.

¼ cup harissa paste (preferably New York Shuk) ½ cup giardiniera, coarsely chopped, or sliced pickled cherry peppers ¼ cup sliced pickled cherry peppers ½ cup store-bought fried shallots Warm flatbread and lemon wedges (for serving)

Family Meal

Sheet-Pan Chicken and Squash Salad One baking sheet is all you need to make this medley of salad mix-ins: lemony chicken, tender squash, and crispy Halloumi cheese R E C I P E BY Z AY N A B I SS A

4 S E RV I N G S

4 garlic cloves, divided Zest and juice of 1 small lemon 4 Tbsp. plus ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided 3½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2 tsp.

Morton kosher salt, divided Freshly ground black pepper 6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

1 medium delicata squash 6 oz. Halloumi cheese, cut into 1" cubes 2 tsp. ground cumin 4 shallots, thinly sliced 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup 1 bunch kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves chopped

If kale isn’t calling to you, use any salad greens you have on hand.

1. Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 425°. Finely grate half of garlic into a large bowl. Mix in lemon zest, 3 Tbsp. oil, 2 tsp.

Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt; season with pepper.

Pat chicken dry and place in bowl, turning and rubbing to evenly coat.

2. Cut squash in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds and discard.

Slice crosswise 1" thick. Place squash and Halloumi on one half of a large rimmed baking sheet.

Drizzle 1 Tbsp. oil over, finely grate remaining garlic on top, and sprinkle cumin and 1 tsp.

Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt evenly over. Season with pepper and toss to combine.

Arrange into an even layer, keeping to the same side.

3. Place shallot slices in 6 piles on other half of baking sheet; top each pile with a chicken thigh, skin side up. Roast until chicken is cooked through and squash is fork-tender, 33–36 minutes.

4. Heat broiler. Broil vegetables and chicken until skin is golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice, mustard, syrup, remaining ½ tsp.

Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a clean large bowl; season with pepper. Gradually stream in remaining ⅓ cup oil, whisking until emulsified. Add kale; massage dressing into greens.

6. Transfer chicken to a cutting board; thinly slice, discarding bones. Transfer to bowl with salad; add squash, Halloumi, and shallots and toss. Season with pepper.

28 – FEBRUARY 2022

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Family Meal

Drunken Clams and Noodles Fresh ramen, clams, rice wine, and black sesame oil marry beautifully in this fast, flavorful noodle soup that makes magic in your pot R E C I P E BY J E SS I E Y U C H E N

4 S E RV I N G S

4 5-oz. packages fresh ramen noodles or four 3-oz. packages dried ramen noodles 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 2" piece ginger, scrubbed, thinly sliced 3 lb. clams (such as littleneck or Manila; about 36), scrubbed

3 red Thai chiles, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 cup dry rice wine (such as michiu or sake) ¼ cup black or toasted sesame oil 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce 2 cups Thai basil leaves or 4 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water (unsalted), stirring occasionally, according to package directions. Drain noodles, reserving 2 cups noodle cooking liquid; divide among bowls.

2. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Cook ginger, stirring often, until fragrant and lightly browned on both sides, about 4 minutes.

YuChen favors michiu rice wine for a clean yet complex broth.

FOOD STYLING BY MICAH MORTON

3. Increase heat to high and add clams, chiles, garlic, wine, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and 1½ cups reserved cooking liquid to pot.

Stir to combine, then cover and cook until clams open, 5–8 minutes. Uncover pot and remove from heat. Discard any clams that haven’t opened. Stir in Thai basil. Taste broth and add more noodle cooking liquid if too salty or more oyster sauce if not salty enough. Ladle clams and broth over noodles in bowls.

30 – FEBRUARY 2022

Design advice for real life.

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archdigest.com/clever

A l l o n t h e Ta b l e

Last Meal I was in Uganda to support my wife— and to say goodbye to the life we shared b y TO R R E Y P E T E R S

32 – FEBRUARY 2022

T H E L A S T T H I N G I ate as a husband—and arguably, as a man—was a fried tilapia. The fish had been caught from a skiff on the shore of Lake Victoria and only an hour or two later dredged in flour, fried to a golden crisp in a vat of vegetable oil over a wood fire, and served to me with lime and piri-piri sauce. I could still taste the green flavor of algae in the flaky white flesh. My senses all registered that I had before me a truly excellent meal, but I ate it glumly across from my then wife, Olive, who picked at a matching fish.

We sat on plastic chairs at a wood table banged together with pegs. It was the rainy season: low skies reflected in the puddles that pooled in the ruts of red dirt roads leading up P H OTO G R A P H BY E M M A F I S H M A N

THE NEW YORKER

RADIO HOUR

A l l o n t h e Ta b l e

The author, Torrey Peters, then and now

to the shore. Huge marabou storks— known as the undertaker bird on account of their haunted movements, leprous pink skin, and dark wings that hang like cloaks—slipped and flapped through the grasses around us, contributing to the funeral mood of our meal.

Olive and I had lived in Kampala for almost a year by then. She was a graduate student and had received a National Science Foundation grant to write an ethnography of Uganda’s only lesbian bar.

From appearances, a lesbian bar was an odd choice of study for an American woman in a heterosexual marriage. But it had happened organically. Three years before I’d come out to Olive as transgender but told her—or rather, told myself and her by extension—that I’d never transition. My mind turned constantly, thrillingly, to the idea of myself as a woman, but I loved Olive and didn’t want to mess up our relationship by transitioning. I assured her that I could manage as a man just fine.

The summer that I came out to Olive, she traveled to Uganda as a doctoral student to work with an NGO. But newly curious about trans people, she ended up meeting and befriending members of 34 – FEBRUARY 2022

a nascent trans movement in Kampala.

In 2009, urged on by members of the American evangelical movement, the Ugandan government considered a bill to strengthen laws against homosexuality (making no distinction between it and trans identities). Proposed punishments included imprisonment or possibly even death. And yet, in the midst of this, a group of trans men and lesbians kept the bar open—packing it every night of the week despite harassment, police raids, and daily hateful screeds in the local tabloids. Olive had returned that summer, and there, under the shadow of the antihomosexuality bill, she and her friends came up with the idea: She’d write a yearlong ethnography of the bar and its patrons. As her husband and a nominal trans person, I went with her.

In the U.S. I’d been experimenting with gender presentation: pierced ears, eyeliner, tighter shirts. I’d watch RuPaul and be inspired to try out a full drag look— which led to a desperate euphoria for days after, a wild-eyed happiness that I’ve since encountered in other trans people and understand can be both annoying and alarming. I reasoned that it worked like a safety valve—give me a day of

gender obsession every few months and I’d be a good husband the rest of the time.

I put my gender on hold in Uganda. In truth, because I’m white and American, it’s not like I was risking arrest or the death penalty like queer Ugandans were. Two Ugandan trans women I knew there had each been arrested multiple times. What they suffered in an Idi Amin–era bunker isn’t mine to recount, but suffice to say, it was horrific. By contrast I couldn’t even be honest with my wife about my own gender.

I might’ve been ashamed of this, but that’s the whole point of repression: to remain unconscious of one’s own cowardice.

In high school my friend’s dad caught him smoking and did that legendary dad thing where he then made my friend smoke an entire pack of Marlboro Reds. My time in Uganda was the masculinity equivalent of smoking an entire pack of cigarettes.

I bought a 4x4 truck and drove it around dusty roads. Hot water was unreliable, so I rarely shaved and grew constant stubble.

People told me T-shirts were disrespectful and slovenly, so I took to wearing button-down shirts and ties. I spent evenings grilling steaks in a simple pizza oven I’d made of mud and straw like some wayward suburban dad. The cows of Uganda grazed on anything green so that grass and floral flavors marbled the meat and only the simplest marinade was needed.

I learned a few phases of Luganda, but generally, I couldn’t follow conversations.

So I came to speak even English in a terse, clipped manner—to avoid letting my confusion or helplessness show. It was effective. I made friends easily. People thought I was competent. But the more I leaned into masculinity, the more opaque I became to myself. My internal landscape desaturated.

Sussing my own emotions was like feeling for lost objects on the bottom of a murky pond. Affection withered before I could express it. I stopped touching Olive.

Couldn’t express any kind of sexual desire.

At night I’d catch her watching me, the brief gleam of her sad eyes in the dark as she contemplated why this man she married no longer wanted her. Rather than face those eyes, I’d roll over and away. In the morning neither of us could talk about it.

All day long Olive spoke with queer activists—everyone wanted to tell the American ethnographer of furtive hookups made hotter by danger, of the dishshattering drama of breakups and cheating, of clothing and bodies pressed close to late-night beats, of slipping away with your crush to the back of a brokendown ’80s Corolla imported from Dubai.

FOOD STYLING BY MICAH MORTON. ILLUSTRATION BY ARSH RAZIUDDIN. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TORREY PETERS.

Olive and I would laugh along and perform that same open exuberance—but alone, under the mosquito net in our rented room, we suffocated on humid air and unsaid words.

By the winter of 2010, it became clear that a proxy culture war was being waged by the West in Uganda. The religious right—especially the Americans—were losing the battle of gay marriage at home, so they turned to the global South in search of new fronts and alit on Uganda, a country with policies unusually open to foreign organizations. Money from U.S. churches was pouring into the accounts of right-wing politicians, and European NGOs and LGBTQ+ organizations were funding counteractions.

The atmosphere grew increasingly hostile. Olive’s friends found their pictures printed daily in the tabloids along with unfounded accusations. Long nights of flirting over roasted maize, sambusa, and Nile brand beers turned into survivalstrategy sessions.

I awoke one morning to Olive crying. A friend of hers and prominent LGBTQ+ activist, David Kato, had been killed with a hammer. Within hours Hillary Clinton had denounced the murder and the antihomosexuality bill. Later that day, Barack Obama. Right-wing politicians saw this as foreign intervention in Ugandan affairs.

They turned Kato’s death into a political flashpoint to rile up followers and defended his killer, who in court employed “gay panic” as a justification for the murder. Olive spent a month helping out during the funeral and its aftermath: a descent into fear and paranoia that swept over Uganda’s queer and trans activists; the sudden hunt for asylum applications, safe houses, European sponsors.

While she worked, I stayed home, read novels, failed to write my own novel, worried about my truck, and occasionally drove it out to the countryside. I bought enough 3G internet credit to browse faraway trans websites—extremely slowly— on my third-generation iPhone. Olive and I went days without seeing each other.

It was during this era that we sat down to that dinner of fried fish at a place we’d been to a few times before—a grassy field that ran into a muddy shore north of Ggaba beach. On weekends people rented it out for weddings, but on weeknights a group of women brought tilapia and lake perch to fry in open vats for passersby picnicking on the grass. That night, because of the intermittent rain, we were the only customers.

Tilapia can be a maligned fish—freezerbitten, bland, often ending up breaded in tacos. But fresh from the water of its native lake, it rivals red snapper for flavor. And I wanted to eat something worthy of a last meal because I knew something Olive didn’t: I was leaving.

Maybe I wanted her to plead with me to stay. But she didn’t. She just asked me if I would please sell the truck because she didn’t want to deal with it.

I gazed out at Lake Victoria. A few men were casting nets into an algae bloom

Fried Fish With Piri-Piri Sauce A whole fish is a lot more forgiving to cook than a boneless fillet, which can overcook and dry out easily.

Look for a fish around 2 lb. so it will fit in a large wok or skillet and cook through relatively quickly.

4 S E RV I N G S

SAUCE

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 large red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1" pieces 1 large shallot, coarsely chopped 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped 1 habanero chile, halved 1 1" piece ginger, peeled, coarsely chopped 1 Tbsp. (or more) distilled white vinegar 1 tsp. dried thyme 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more F I S H A N D ASS E M B LY

1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 4

2 2

½ 4

Tbsp. coriander seeds Tbsp. fennel seeds tsp. cumin seeds tsp. fenugreek seeds Tbsp. garlic powder Tbsp. paprika Tbsp. sugar tsp. ground turmeric tsp. MSG (optional) tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more Tbsp. distilled white vinegar 1½–2-lb. head-on whole fish (such as tilapia, porgy, or black sea bass), cleaned cup rice flour cups vegetable oil Lime wedges (for serving)

offshore. The evening was so still that the sound of their grunts carried over the water. “When you finish here, will you come home to me?”

She didn’t respond. After a while she picked off the tailfin of her fish, sucked at it, and threw the bones to one of the marabou storks that peered at us from a dead tree.

It did a macabre dance of delight, opened its cloak, and descended upon us.

Torrey Peters is the author of the novel ‘Detransition, Baby.’

S P E C I A L E Q U I PM E N T :

A spice mill or a

mortar and pestle S A U C E Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook bell pepper, shallot, garlic, chile, and ginger, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown in spots, 5–8 minutes. Transfer to a blender. Add vinegar, dried thyme, sugar, and 1 tsp.

Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt; purée until smooth. Season sauce with more vinegar and/or salt if needed. Transfer to a small bowl.

F I S H A N D ASS E M B LY Grind coriander, fennel, cumin, and fenugreek seeds in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle to a fine powder (it won’t be as fine with mortar and pestle); transfer to a small bowl. Mix in garlic powder, paprika, sugar, turmeric, MSG (if using), and 4 tsp.

Diamond Crystal or 2½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, then stir in vinegar to make a paste.

Place fish on a cutting board; pat dry.

Using a knife, make slashes crosswise every 2" along body of fish, cutting all the way down to the bones. Turn over and repeat on other side. Season fish all over with salt, including inside cavity and slashes. Rub spice paste over fish, tucking some into slashes. Pour rice flour onto a rimmed baking sheet. Coat fish evenly in rice flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat oil in a large wok or cast-iron skillet over medium-high until an instantread thermometer registers 365°. Grip a fish by the tail and carefully lower, head first, into wok, making sure to lay it down away from you and releasing gently. Fry until cooked through and skin is deeply browned and crisp, about 4 minutes per side (use tongs and a fish spatula to turn). Transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with second fish. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Serve fish with sauce and lime wedges.

FEBRUARY 2022 – 35

Cook, Eat, and (Yes!) Drink Healthyish in 2022

by CHRISTINA CHAEY photographs by EMMA FISHMAN 36

CHICKEN SOUP WITH RICE NOODLES AND SCALLION CRISP P. 4 2

STICKY AND SPICY BAKED CAULIFLOWER

mobilism.org

The beginning of a new year has always been one of my favorite times to cook.

After the chaotic crush of holiday parties, cookie swaps, and too much pét-nat, I look forward to truly relaxing in the kitchen again. I’m ready, to borrow a phrase we use often around here, to “cook how I want to feel.” This kind of cooking is driven by intuition rather than any notion of what I should or shouldn’t eat. I gravitate toward cruciferous vegetables, but instead of ricing cauliflower, which reminds me of bird food, I’m lightly battering it and tossing it in a sticky-sweet sauce (this page). The tofu noodles with chili crisp on page 46 sates my craving for a bowl of dan dan noodles just without the meat. And because I believe in Dryish January, I’ve turned one of my favorite classic cocktails, the Adonis, into a spritz for a naturally lower-ABV sipper. These recipes reflect everything that healthyish means to me. They’re far from austere, easy, and totally satisfying meals that I (and hopefully you) will want to make all year round—until it’s time for the cookie swap again. —C.C.

Sticky and Spicy Baked Cauliflower 4 S E RV I N G S Battering and oven-baking large cauliflower florets gives them a slightly crackly, just-rich-enough exterior that’s ideal for coating in a sticky-sweet gochujang glaze.

1 ½ 2 1 1 ¼ 3 2 2 2

cup all-purpose flour cup cornstarch tsp. baking powder tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp.

Morton kosher salt large head of cauliflower (about 2½ lb.), cut into large florets cup gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) Tbsp. soy sauce Tbsp. pure maple syrup Tbsp. mirin tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar Steamed rice, toasted sesame seeds, and thinly sliced scallions (for serving)

Preheat oven to 400°. Whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl to combine. Whisk in 1 cup water to create a thin pancakelike batter. Using your hand or 2 forks and working one at a time, dip cauliflower florets into batter, letting

excess drip back into bowl, and divide between 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake cauliflower until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown, 20–25 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk gochujang, soy sauce, maple syrup, mirin, and 1 cup water in a medium bowl. Pour sauce into a skillet large enough to hold all of the cauliflower florets (a 12" skillet should do it) and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Cook, whisking, until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, 8–10 minutes. Stir in vinegar and remove pan from heat.

Using tongs, transfer cauliflower to skillet with glaze and toss until florets are evenly coated in sauce.

Divide rice among shallow bowls and spoon cauliflower over. Top with sesame seeds and scallions.

1 2" piece ginger, peeled, finely grated 2 garlic cloves, finely grated 2 tsp. New Mexico or Kashmiri chile powder 1 tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. ground cumin 4 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, divided 3 Tbsp. grapeseed or vegetable oil, divided 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp.

Morton kosher salt, plus more 1 1½-lb. skinless, boneless salmon fillet, cut into 2" pieces ½ small red onion, finely chopped 2 serrano chiles, finely chopped 2 cups chopped pineapple (from about ½ medium pineapple) ½ cup chopped cilantro, plus leaves for serving Lime wedges and toasted corn tortillas (for serving)

Salmon Tacos With Pineapple-Chile Salsa

Stir together ginger, garlic, chile powder, coriander, cumin, 2 Tbsp. lime juice, 1 Tbsp. oil, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl to create a paste. Add salmon to bowl and toss until evenly coated. Let salmon sit at room temperature 15 minutes to marinate.

Ginger-garlic paste gives a caramelized aromatic coating (chef Meherwan Irani of Chai Pani in Asheville is a devotee of this technique) to this salmon. Use it as a marinade for chicken or a base rub for braised meats, or add a spoonful to a mirepoix.

4 S E RV I N G S

C O N T I N U E S O N PAG E 4 2

39

SALMON TACOS WITH PINEAPPLECHILE SALSA P. 3 9

Meanwhile, mix red onion, chiles, pineapple, ½ cup cilantro, and remaining 2 Tbsp. lime juice in a medium bowl to combine; season with salt. Set pineapplechile salsa aside.

Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add salmon and reduce heat to medium.

Cook, undisturbed, until opaque all the way through and a browned crust forms underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn over and cook until second side is browned and flesh easily flakes with a fork, about 3 minutes. Transfer salmon to a plate and flake into large pieces with a fork; squeeze a couple of lime wedges over.

Serve salmon with pineapple salsa, cilantro, tortillas, and more lime wedges to build tacos.

Chicken Soup With Rice Noodles and Scallion Crisp Ginger, thinly sliced and fried until deeply browned, is the key to jump-starting flavor in this complextasting chicken broth that comes together in under an hour.

4 S E RV I N G S

CHICKEN AND BROTH

2 Tbsp. grapeseed or vegetable oil 1 3" piece ginger, scrubbed, thinly sliced 4 scallions, cut into 3" lengths 6 garlic cloves, smashed 2 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (about 2 lb. total) 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp.

Morton kosher salt, plus more S C A L L I O N C R I S P A N D ASS E M B LY

6 scallions, white and green parts divided, thinly sliced 1 2" piece ginger, peeled, finely grated 6 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced ½ cup grapeseed or vegetable oil 1 tsp. soy sauce 8 oz. rice stick noodles Kosher salt Sambal oelek and mixed tender herbs (such as Thai basil, basil, cilantro, and/or mint; for serving) Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Cook ginger, stirring, until deeply browned and very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add scallions and garlic and stir to coat, then add chicken.

CHICKEN AND BROTH

42

Carefully pour in 8 cups water and add 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt. Bring liquid to a boil, skimming foam from the surface as needed. Partially cover pot, reduce heat, and gently simmer until chicken is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 155° (internal temperature will increase to 160° as chicken sits), 20–25 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board; let sit until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

Remove skin from chicken and discard.

Separate meat from bones and slice ½" thick; set aside for serving. Return bones and any juices accumulated on cutting board to pot; simmer broth 15 minutes.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium heatproof bowl; discard solids.

Transfer broth back to pot and season with more salt if needed. Keep warm until ready to serve.

D O A H E A D : Chicken can be cooked and broth can be made 3 days ahead.

Transfer to separate airtight containers and chill. Reheat broth and chicken before using.

S C A L L I O N C R I S P A N D ASS E M B LY Place scallion greens and ginger in a medium heatproof bowl and set a fine-mesh sieve on top; set aside.

Cook scallion whites, garlic, and oil in a small saucepan over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until scallion whites are beginning to crisp and turn golden brown and garlic is golden, 8–10 minutes (don’t rush this process and watch carefully toward the end to make sure garlic doesn’t burn). Pour mixture through reserved sieve into bowl with scallion greens and ginger. Turn out scallion crisp in sieve onto paper towels and let drain (this process allows the scallion and garlic to crisp up even more before adding back to oil). Stir scallion mixture in bowl to combine, then stir in soy sauce and scallion crisp; set aside.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Divide evenly among bowls.

Top each bowl with a few slices of reserved chicken; ladle broth over. Top with a spoonful of scallion crisp, some sambal oelek, and a big handful of herbs.

D O A H E A D : Scallion crisp can be made 1 week ahead. Let cool; transfer to an airtight container and chill.

Adonis Spritz Adonis cocktail purists might balk at the addition of bubbles to the classic combo of sherry and sweet vermouth, but the club soda is what makes this drink an all-night sipper with virtually zero chance of a hangover the next day.

MAKES 1

1 1 3 2

oz. fino sherry oz. sweet vermouth oz. club soda dashes of orange bitters Orange twist (for serving)

Pour sherry and vermouth into an oldfashioned or rocks glass filled with ice, followed by club soda. Top with bitters and garnish with orange twist.

Cheesy Tomato Beans With Broccoli Rabe 4 S E RV I N G S The duo of doubleconcentrated (read: extra flavorful) tomato paste and cooked-down canned whole peeled tomatoes brings stewedall-day flavor to this quick skillet weeknight dinner. Call them pizza beans with a dose of greens.

4 garlic cloves 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets 2 Tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, plus more for serving 1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed, cut into 3" pieces Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper 1 14-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained, tomatoes torn into pieces, liquid reserved 2 15-oz. cans cannellini (white kidney) or other white beans, rinsed 1 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella Finely grated Parmesan and toasted country-style bread (for serving) Cook garlic and 3 Tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium, reducing heat as needed to keep garlic from burning, until golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Add anchovies, tomato paste, and ½ tsp. red pepper flakes.

C O N T I N U E S O N PAG E 4 6

ADONIS SPRITZ

CHEESY TOMATO BEANS WITH BROCCOLI RABE P. 4 2

44

SAUCY TOFU NOODLES WITH CUCUMBERS AND CHILI CRISP P. 4 6

Saucy Tofu Noodles With Cucumbers and Chili Crisp Don’t be afraid to go full Hulk on the tofu as you squeeze out every bit of water—it’s critical to achieving the crisp ground-meat-like crumbles that make the final sauce texture so satisfying.

2 – 4 S E RV I N G S

¼ 1 1 1 2 1 4 ½ 2½

1 2 4 8

46

cup soy sauce Tbsp. light or dark brown sugar Tbsp. tahini Tbsp. toasted sesame oil tsp. black (Chinkiang) vinegar or balsamic vinegar Tbsp. store-bought chili crisp, plus more for serving Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds cup unseasoned rice vinegar tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1½ tsp.

Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more 14-oz. block extra-firm tofu, drained Tbsp. cornstarch Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided oz. shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped 1 1" piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 10 oz. fresh ramen or dried wheat noodles Whisk soy sauce, brown sugar, tahini, sesame oil, black vinegar, 1 Tbsp. chili crisp, and ½ cup water in a small bowl or measuring glass until sugar is dissolved. Set sauce aside.

Toss cucumbers, rice vinegar, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp.

Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl to coat. Let sit, scrunching with your hands every few minutes, until cucumbers are softened and lightly pickled, about 10 minutes. Drain and set pickled cucumbers aside.

Wrap tofu in a clean kitchen towel.

Gather ends of towel together and squeeze with your hands over sink to extract as much liquid as possible. (Don’t worry if the tofu breaks apart—it’s going to get crumbled up anyway.)

Crumble tofu into a medium bowl (it should resemble cooked ground meat with some larger pieces). Sprinkle with cornstarch and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt; toss with your hands to evenly coat tofu.

Heat 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high. Arrange tofu crumbles in a single layer in pan; reserve bowl. Cook tofu, undisturbed, until golden brown underneath, about 5 minutes. Toss and continue cooking, tossing occasionally, until tofu is golden brown and crisp all over, about 4 minutes more. Transfer tofu back to reserved bowl.

Add remaining 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil to same skillet and reduce heat to medium-high. Add mushrooms and shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and shallot is translucent, about 5 minutes; season with salt. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Return tofu to pan and add reserved sauce; bring to a simmer.

Cook until sauce is slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions.

Drain and divide among bowls. Ladle saucy tofu over noodles and top with reserved pickled cucumbers and more chili crisp.

Chai-Spiced Granola The finely ground black tea and bevy of spices in this granola inspired by masala chai add tons of depth to the barely sweet, extra-crunchy mix. If you can’t find buckwheat groats, simply sub in more old-fashioned oats.

MAKES ABOUT 6 CUPS

1 2 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 2 ¼ ¼ 1 6

bag black tea cups old-fashioned oats cup buckwheat groats cup unsweetened coconut flakes cup raw pumpkin seeds cup raw sunflower seeds cup coarsely chopped walnuts tsp. ground ginger tsp. ground cardamom tsp. ground cloves Freshly ground black pepper tsp. ground cinnamon; plus more for serving (optional) cup unsweetened applesauce cup virgin coconut oil or vegetable oil tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp.

Morton kosher salt Tbsp. honey; plus more for serving (optional) Coconut or whole-milk yogurt and pear or apple slices (for serving)

S P E C I A L E Q U I PM E N T :

A spice mill

Preheat oven to 300°. Remove tea leaves from bag and finely grind in a spice mill (you should have about 1 tsp.).

Whisk ground tea, oats, buckwheat groats, coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, ginger, cardamom, cloves, a few grinds of pepper, and 2 tsp. cinnamon in a large bowl to combine.

Cook applesauce, oil, salt, and 6 Tbsp. honey in a small saucepan, whisking to combine, over medium heat until lukewarm, about 1 minute.

Pour applesauce mixture over oat mixture and stir with a flexible rubber spatula until oat mixture is thoroughly coated. Spread granola out on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until deep golden brown and dry to the touch, 40–45 minutes. Let cool.

Serve granola in bowls with yogurt, pear, and more honey and cinnamon (if desired).

D O A H E A D : Granola can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES. PROP STYLING BY SOPHIE STRANGIO.

Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until tomato paste is darkened in color and anchovies are dissolved into mixture, about 2 minutes.

Add broccoli rabe to skillet and stir to coat; season with salt and pepper. Cook until broccoli rabe leaves are wilted and stems begin to soften, 6–8 minutes.

Mash garlic cloves with spoon and stir into broccoli rabe to incorporate. Add tomato pieces and cook until broccoli rabe is tender and almost all of the liquid from tomatoes is evaporated (it should look more like a paste than a sauce), 8–10 minutes. Add beans, reserved tomato liquid, and ¼ cup water and stir to combine; season with more salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until beans are warmed through and flavors have melded, about 5 minutes.

Heat broiler. Evenly scatter mozzarella over bean mixture and transfer skillet to oven. Broil until cheese is melted, bubbling, and browned in spots, about 2 minutes (watch carefully so cheese doesn’t burn).

Serve beans, topped with Parmesan and more oil and red pepper flakes, with toast alongside for dipping.

CHAI-SPICED GRANOLA

Winter Salads For Chris Morocco, making great salads in the winter is about using anything but lettuce.

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mobilism.org

recipes by CHRIS MOROCCO photographs by P A O L A + M U R R AY

Roast Salmon With Citrus and Coconut-Chile Crunch P. 5 0

49

Using a small sharp knife, cut peel and white pith from citrus, leaving as much flesh behind as possible. Cut flesh from cores in a variety of shapes and sizes and arrange on plates. Break salmon into big pieces and divide among plates, arranging on top of citrus.

Stir vinegar into coconut-chile crunch and season with salt (it will probably need a few pinches). Spoon over salad and sprinkle with sea salt.

Napa Cabbage Wedge With Sesame Ranch 4 S E RV I N G S Okay, so this isn’t really a wedge, but hear us out: A thick round of Napa cabbage is ideal for evenly soaking up the rich dressing and seasonings on both sides.

6 ⅓ 3 2 1 1 1 ½

oz. bacon slices cup extra-virgin olive oil Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar Tbsp. white or yellow miso Tbsp. tahini tsp. onion powder tsp. soy sauce tsp. toasted sesame oil Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper 1 small head of Napa cabbage Thinly sliced chives, mild red pepper flakes (such as Urfa biber or Aleppo-style; optional), and toasted sesame seeds (for serving)

"Turn to vegetables with a lot of flavor, texture, and color—you don’t have to do as much work to turn them into dinner."

Roast Salmon With Citrus and Coconut-Chile Crunch Crispy, toasty, and just barely spicy, the coconut-chile topping takes the unlikely pairing of juicy fresh citrus and roasted salmon and turns it into a wintry main. A mix of some sweeter with some more sour citrus will make this look (and taste) extra fun.

4 S E RV I N G S

1½ lb. boneless salmon fillet, preferably skinless Kosher salt 6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 Fresno chiles, red jalapeños, or red serrano chiles (green is okay if that is what you can find), thinly sliced 1 1" piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes ½ cup unsalted roasted peanuts 50

2¼ lb. citrus (such as grapefruit, oranges, and/or tangerines) 3 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar Flaky sea salt Preheat oven to 350°. Pat salmon dry, then season with kosher salt. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium. Cook salmon (skin side down if it has skin) until well browned underneath, 6–8 minutes, then transfer to oven. Roast until flesh is opaque and flakes easily with a fork, 8–12 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook chiles, ginger, coconut flakes, peanuts, and remaining 5 Tbsp. oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until coconut and peanuts are golden, 8–10 minutes.

Transfer coconut-chile crunch to a heatproof bowl and let cool slightly.

Cook bacon in a single layer in a large skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until browned and crisp, 10–12 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and let cool.

Meanwhile, purée olive oil, vinegar, miso, tahini, onion powder, soy sauce, sesame oil, and 2 Tbsp. water in a blender until smooth; season with salt and pepper.

Trim top and bottom from cabbage and slice center portion into 1½"-thick rounds. Spoon 1–2 Tbsp. dressing onto each plate and top each with a cabbage round. Season cabbage lightly with salt. Drizzle 1–2 Tbsp. dressing over each and work it into the layers with the spoon. Drizzle any remaining dressing over.

Tear bacon into large pieces and scatter over cabbage. Top with chives, mild red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds as desired.

Napa Cabbage Wedge With Sesame Ranch

Radicchio With Hot Honey Vinaigrette and Cotija

Make the Cover

Pears and Radishes With Gorgonzola and Nori 4 S E RV I N G S Gently toasting nori by holding it over a lit burner will help enhance its roasted flavor and make it crispier and easier to crumble.

3 ripe but firm pears (such as Bosc or small Asian) 2 medium radishes (such as watermelon) or purple daikon or a 4" piece regular daikon, trimmed Kosher salt ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice Flaky sea salt 4 oz. Gorgonzola dolce or other soft blue cheese Freshly ground black pepper 1 toasted nori sheet Thinly slice pears, starting from outside edge and cutting until you hit seeds and working your way around core. Thinly slice radishes (a mandoline is great, but a sharp knife will do it just fine). Combine pears and radishes in a large bowl; season with kosher salt. Add oil and lemon juice and toss to coat. Taste and season with more kosher salt if needed.

Arrange some salad on each plate, dividing evenly, and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Crumble Gorgonzola on top and season with pepper. Crush nori and sprinkle some over each salad.

1 large head of radicchio, leaves separated, torn if large ½ cup crumbled Cotija cheese Cilantro leaves with tender stems (for serving) Preheat oven to 350°. Toast hazelnuts in a single layer on a small rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown and fragrant, 7–10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Meanwhile, place quinoa in a large saucepan and pour in water to cover by at least 4"; season generously with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain an active simmer, and cook until

quinoa is just tender, 12–15 minutes.

Drain and return to pot. Cover and let sit 10 minutes.

Bring honey, mild red pepper flakes, chile flakes, and 1 Tbsp. water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir, then let cool 5 minutes. Whisk oil and vinegar into honey mixture; season dressing with salt.

Combine radicchio and quinoa in a large bowl. Drizzle half of dressing over and toss to coat. Taste and season with more salt if needed (don’t forget the Cotija will add some salt too).

Drizzle with more dressing and top with hazelnuts, Cotija, and some cilantro.

Pears and Radishes With Gorgonzola and Nori

FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES. PROP STYLING BY SOPHIA PAPPAS.

Radicchio With Hot Honey Vinaigrette and Cotija 4 S E RV I N G S Package directions for cooking quinoa can vary across brands, so for the ultimate chewy-tender texture we prefer to simply boil it like pasta in salted water, then drain and let it sit to steam out any excess liquid. The extrafirm bite of black or red quinoa is worth seeking out.

½ cup blanched hazelnuts ¾ cup red or black quinoa, rinsed Kosher salt 2 Tbsp. honey 2 tsp. mild red pepper flakes (such as Aleppo-style or gochugaru) or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1 tsp. crushed chipotle chile flakes or crushed red pepper flakes 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 3 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar 53

What happens when a baker from Louisville and a chef from Lima get together?

FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD For DANIELLE BELL and PABLO OSORIO of de Porres Dinner Series, it’s chemistry in the kitchen—and outside of it

by BET TINA MAK ALINTAL

re c i p e s b y D A N I E L L E B E L L a n d PA B LO O S O R I O

photographs by EMMA FISHMAN 54

L E M O N - E L D E R F LOW E R P O U N D C A K E P. 6 3

L E E K S W I T H H A Z E L N U T S A N D TA R R A G O N P. 6 0

ASIAN PEAR –SHISO SAL AD W I T H Q U I N OA P. 59

IT STARTED WITH A PAELLA PAN

rust-colored tin ceiling, their dining tables sat 16. The kitchen was so teeny-tiny that it was remarkable they could get anything done there at all, Danielle recalls.

Peru’s St. Martín de Porres, whose card accompanied a package of palo santo wood that Pablo had at home, served as their namesake. Often depicted with animal prey and predators at his feet, the saint symbolized what their gatherings could be. “He harmonizes things,” Danielle says. “That’s something I wanted to do at the dinner table.” Based in Los Angeles since 2014, Danielle and Pablo now prep their meals with extra help and host their dinners in spaces like the urban refuge of Compton’s Moonwater Farm. But the intimacy of those early parties remains.

De Porres is rooted in their partnership.

“Food’s always been something of a love language for us,” Danielle says. A menu, like a relationship, is about collaboration: the result of disparate influences brought into harmony. For Valentine’s Day, the couple shares a menu for two that speaks to what they’ve created together—for the love of each other, and for the love of food.

Cilantro Pisco Smash

that sat barely used in Danielle Bell’s Brooklyn apartment. For their first dinner party, they made paella. Valencia style, Pablo Osorio had suggested, with rabbit and snails. From Kentucky, where bunnies occasionally hopped through the backyard, Danielle wasn’t a fan of eating rabbits. But she liked the quiet chef from Peru, so they spent the day tracking down ingredients.

Even as a teenager, Danielle would invite friends to get dressed up and come over for meals. Pablo is more private: no stranger to cooking for others, but not the type to host a party on his own. Eager to impress each other, they invited a handful of her friends over for dinner that night about a decade ago.

Cooking together, and for each other, made sense. Pablo is drawn to savory; Danielle dreams in sweets. He introduced her to the best Peruvian food she’d ever had; she shared her riffs on her mom’s caramel pound cake. “We constantly encourage one another,” Danielle says.

In 2012, Danielle and Pablo moved into an apartment that they chose with hosting in mind and formalized their gatherings as de Porres Dinner Series. In a candlelit glow under the 56

M A K E S 2 This recipe is inspired by Bell and Osorio's friend Malina Bickford and her lovage aquavit smash. The couple replaced the iconic Scandinavian spirit with Peruvian pisco—aromatic, herbal, and subtly sweet—and swapped in cilantro for freshness.

½ cup sugar 3 Tbsp. cilantro leaves with tender stems, plus more for serving 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice 6 Tbsp. Peruvian pisco Bring sugar and ½ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let simple syrup cool.

Muddle 3 Tbsp. cilantro with lemon juice and lime juice in a cocktail shaker.

Add pisco and 2 Tbsp. simple syrup.

Fill shaker with ice and shake until well chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into 2 rocks glasses filled with ice. Garnish with cilantro.

D O A H E A D : Simple syrup can be made 3 weeks ahead. Transfer to an airtight container; cover and chill.

CILANTRO PISCO SMASH

57

CHOROS A LA CHALACA

Choros a la Chalaca “A la chalaca” means in the style of Callao, a seaside city near Lima. Bell's take on the classic Peruvian mussels dish is still punchy, fresh, and colorful and makes a great cocktail snack.

2 – 4 S E RV I N G S

2 garlic cloves, 1 smashed, 1 finely grated 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp.

Morton kosher salt, divided 1 lb. mussels, scrubbed, debearded 1 small plum tomato, finely chopped ½ habanero chile, finely chopped 3 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice 2 Tbsp. cilantro leaves, plus sprigs for serving Bring smashed garlic, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 3 cups water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Add mussels and cook, uncovered, until opened, about 3 minutes. As mussels open, use tongs to transfer them to a medium bowl; discard any mussels that remain closed after 5 minutes or so. Chill mussels 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir grated garlic, tomato, chile, onion, lime juice, 2 Tbsp. cilantro, and remaining ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a small bowl.

Remove and discard top shells from mussels. Arrange mussels on a platter; top each with a spoonful of salsa.

Scatter cilantro sprigs over.

1 tsp. black sesame paste or tahini 4 shiso leaves or ¼ cup mint leaves, torn into small pieces Sesame seeds (for serving) Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add quinoa, return to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 12–15 minutes. Drain; set aside.

Whisk together white and pale green scallion parts, chile, vinegar, 1 tsp. lime juice, and 1 tsp. honey in a large bowl.

Add pear and cucumber; toss to coat.

Season with salt; let salad sit 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk yogurt, sesame paste, a pinch of salt, remaining 1 tsp. lime juice, and remaining 1 tsp. honey in a small bowl until smooth.

Just before serving, toss salad with dark green scallion parts and shiso.

Spread yogurt mixture over a shallow bowl. Using tongs, mound salad on top,

Asian Pear–Shiso Salad With Quinoa Osorio likes to take the extra step of deep-frying cooked quinoa for the ultimate crispy texture, but simply cooked quinoa still adds plenty of texture to this layered winter salad.

2 S E RV I N G S

Kosher salt ⅓ cup quinoa 1 scallion, white and pale green parts finely chopped, dark green parts thinly sliced 1 small red Thai chile, finely chopped 1 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar 2 tsp. fresh lime juice, divided 2 tsp. honey, divided 1 medium Asian pear, thinly sliced ½ medium cucumber, halved lengthwise, sliced ¼" thick ⅓ cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

SECO DE PATO

leaving behind any liquid in bowl.

Scatter sesame seeds and reserved quinoa over.

Seco de Pato 2 S E RV I N G S For Bell and Osorio, specialoccasion meals often include duck.

Cooking down the aromatic base—the Peruvian version of a sofrito, called an aderezo—into a dark, concentrated paste is the most important step in this homey, beer-based Peruvian stew.

2 duck legs (about 1 lb. total) Kosher salt 1 large bunch cilantro 1 medium sweet potato, peeled Vegetable oil (if needed) 1 large red onion, finely chopped 8 garlic cloves, finely grated C O N T I N U E S O N PAG E 6 0

thickened, 5–7 minutes. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Using tongs, place duck, skin side up, in pot.

Transfer pot to middle rack in oven and bake, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Partially cover pot and continue to bake until sauce is slightly thickened, 20–30 minutes longer. Uncover pot and stir in potato and carrot. Cover pot; continue to bake until duck and vegetables are tender, 20–25 minutes more. Stir in peas.

Unwrap reserved sweet potato and place in blender. Add cream, butter, and a pinch of salt. Blend, adding water as needed (up to 3 Tbsp.), until you have a thick but pourable purée. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Divide duck legs and sauce between bowls. Swirl sweet potato purée into sauce; top with reserved cilantro.

Leeks With Hazelnuts and Tarragon

½ cup ají amarillo paste (preferably Zócalo) 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper ½ tsp. ground cumin 1 cup pilsner or other pale lager 1½ cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled, cut into 1" pieces 1 medium carrot, peeled, sliced ½" thick ¼ cup thawed frozen peas 3 Tbsp. heavy cream 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter Pat duck legs dry with paper towels; season on both sides with salt. Place, skin side up, on a plate and chill, uncovered, at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours.

Pick ¼ cup leaves with tender stems from cilantro bunch; set aside. Coarsely chop rest of bunch and place in a blender along with ⅓ cup water; blend until smooth. Measure out ½ cup cilantro purée and set aside; discard remaining purée. Rinse out and reserve blender.

Place racks in middle and lower third of oven; preheat to 325°. Prick sweet potato all over with a fork and wrap in foil; place on a small rimmed baking 60

sheet. Bake on lower rack until forktender, 1–1½ hours. Remove sweet potato from oven; set aside.

Meanwhile, place duck legs, skin side down, in a cold, dry large Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot.

Set over medium heat and cook until skin is browned and a good amount of fat has cooked out, 8–10 minutes. Turn duck over and cook until browned on the other side, about 5 minutes. Transfer duck, skin side up, to a plate, leaving fat in pot (you should have about ¼ cup; add vegetable oil if short).

Add onion to pot and season lightly with salt. Cook (still over medium heat), stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to brown, 10–12 minutes.

Add garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ají amarillo paste; cook, stirring occasionally, until jammy, 5–7 minutes. Stir in pepper, cumin, and reserved cilantro purée.

Cook, stirring often, until darkened, thick, and most of moisture has cooked off, 5–7 minutes.

Add pilsner, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until

¼ cup blanched hazelnuts 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp.

Morton kosher salt, plus more 2 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only, roots trimmed, tough outer layers removed 1 large egg 1 large garlic clove, finely grated 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar Pinch of cayenne pepper 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more 1½ tsp. finely chopped tarragon, plus leaves for serving Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Toast hazelnuts on a small rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until deep golden brown, 12–15 minutes.

Let cool, then coarsely chop; set aside.

Bring a medium pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add leeks, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, until tender but still bright green, 12–14 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl of ice water and let cool; keep water in pot boiling. Transfer leeks to a cutting board and pat dry; slice in half lengthwise.

C O N T I N U E S O N PAG E 6 3

FOOD STYLING BY CAROLINE HWANG. PROP STYLING BY ANETA FLORCZYK.

2 S E RV I N G S The best dishes can be both decadent and simple. Humble leeks shine when dressed with a bright vinaigrette, toasted hazelnuts, and fresh tarragon.

LEMONELDERFLOWER POUND CAKE

Using a slotted spoon, gently lower egg into pot of boiling water; cook 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl of ice water and let sit until slightly warm, about 2 minutes. Gently crack egg all over and peel; tear into bite-size pieces.

Whisk together garlic, mustard, vinegar, cayenne, 1 tsp. black pepper, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp.

Morton kosher salt in a small bowl.

Gradually stream in ¼ cup oil, whisking constantly until vinaigrette is emulsified.

Stir in 1½ tsp. tarragon.

Arrange leeks, cut side up, in a single layer on a plate. Drizzle liberally with oil and spoon vinaigrette over. Top with egg, tarragon leaves, and reserved hazelnuts.

Season with more black pepper.

Lemon-Elderflower Pound Cake 6 S E RV I N G S “I owe this recipe to my mother,” Bell says. “When I was a child, she taught me how to make her caramel pound cake, and throughout the years I’ve adapted it numerous times.” This version bursts with lemon and elderflower flavor and gets served with roasted strawberries—a great way to bring some Valentine’s Day color to the plate.

STRAWBERRIES

1 lb. strawberries, halved, quartered if large 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 Tbsp. St-Germain (elderflower liqueur) CAKE

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan 1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for pan ½ tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp.

Morton kosher salt 3 large eggs, room temperature 1¼ cups (250 g) sugar 3 Tbsp. St-Germain (elderflower liqueur) 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest 2 tsp. vanilla extract ½ cup heavy cream, room temperature G L A Z E A N D ASS E M B LY

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter 6 Tbsp. sugar ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice

Pinch of kosher salt 2 Tbsp. St-Germain (elderflower liqueur) ½ tsp. vanilla extract S T R A W B E R R I E S Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 250°. Place strawberries in an 8x8" baking dish and toss with sugar and St-Germain.

Roast, stirring every hour or so, until juicy and tender, 2½–3 hours. Let cool.

D O A H E A D : Strawberries can be roasted 1 week ahead. Transfer to an airtight container; cover and chill. Reheat in a small saucepan if desired.

C A K E Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Butter and flour a 6-cup Bundt pan or 9x5" loaf pan.

Whisk baking powder, salt, and 1½ cups flour in a medium bowl.

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar, St-Germain, lemon zest, vanilla, and ¾ cup butter in a large bowl on medium-low speed until smooth and combined (use the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), about 2 minutes (the mixture will look broken and that’s okay). Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in dry ingredients, ¼ cup at a time, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed, until combined.

Increase speed to medium and beat in cream until incorporated.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth surface. Bake until golden brown and a tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, 40–45 minutes if using Bundt pan or 50–60 if using loaf pan. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 20 minutes.

G L A Z E A N D ASS E M B LY While the cake cools, cook butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, swirling often, until butter foams, then browns (do not burn) and smells nutty, 6–8 minutes. Add sugar and cook, whisking constantly, until dissolved, about 1 minute. Whisk in lemon juice and salt; cook, swirling occasionally, until mixture is reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Add St-Germain and vanilla and cook, swirling often, until glaze is syrupy, about 2 minutes.

Turn out cake onto a plate (flip cake upright if using a loaf pan). Poke holes all over cake with tester; spoon glaze over warm cake. Cut cake into slices and serve topped with roasted strawberries and their juices.

63

Grains

Nana’s Chicken and Rice Stew p. 71, Georgia Low Country I grew up eating rice with just about every meal possible.

Someone said to me once, “Man, y’all so Geechee, y’all eat rice all the time!” But Gullah Geechee food culture isn’t a monolith—people adapted to the areas they were in with the produce and foods that were available.

If you had a large family, a stew could last for two or three days with one chicken, vegetables, and rice. When my nana would do it, it was really about stretching the meal for all of us, and doing the most with the food until it cannot be done anymore.”

—Matthew Raiford, chef and author, ‘Bress ’n’ Nyam’

A delicious look at rice across the African Atlantic diaspora through recipes from around the world photographs by JENNY HUANG

quotes compiled by CHAL A T YSON TSHITUNDU

by JESSICA B. HARRIS

of

Truth

65

If you’re throwing a dinner party and the guests are picky, it’s always a good idea to serve rice.

It’s enjoyed around the world from North to South America, Asia to Africa. In fact, it’s so popular in some parts of West Africa that Peace Corps volunteers who worked on the continent in the 1970s jokingly suggested that the Christian Lord’s Prayer there be adapted to say “give us this day our daily rice.”

I visited Senegal years ago while working on my doctoral dissertation and found that most meals included rice. There, some dishes are prepared with rice stuffings, while others, like the national dish thieboudienne, incorporate rice into (or under) fragrant stews. For many in the African Atlantic world, this humble crop is the staff of life, and for centuries survival depended on its cultivation. But the simplicity of this common ingredient is deceptive. Within each tiny grain lies the littleknown history—a connection to Africa.

66

Western awareness of African rice began when the first Portuguese reached the West African coast and witnessed its cultivation. Portuguese chronicler Gomes Eanes de Zurara wrote about large fields planted with rice as early as 1446, saying the region looked like a swamp. But in the 16th century, Portuguese colonizers introduced high-yield Asian rice (Oryza sativa) to the African continent, replacing much of the production of native rice (Oryza glaberrima). To this day, most of the rice consumed on both the African continent and in the Americas is from this Asian variety.

From the West African crucible, once known as the Rice Coast, the crop made its way to the New World via the transatlantic slave trade. In the 18th century its cultivation was central to the economy of the South Carolina and Georgia Low Country. Back then enslaved Africans from rice-growing regions of West Africa were especially prized, as they brought with them the expert agricultural knowledge responsible for the region’s vast wealth.

But the Low Country is only one of the New World spaces to which African mastery of rice cultivation was brought. Many a traveler in Haiti has dozed off on the road north from Port-auPrince to Cap-Haïtien and awakened with surprise to see rice paddies that look like they were transported from the other side of the globe. This story repeats itself in other areas of the Caribbean and Central America, in northern Brazil, and throughout the New World, where Africans grew rice to feed themselves and others. The rice they cultivated became a foundational part of many of the culinary cultures of the diaspora, so much so that in some Spanish-speaking areas, a pairing of beans and white rice is simply known as la bandera—the flag!

Just about every culinary technique imaginable can be used on rice. Some people are partial to steamers and electric rice cookers while others swear by the stovetop. I myself could not cook rice from scratch for years, using nothing but precooked minute rice until one day, as I was facing the stove, my mother seemed to speak to me from beyond the grave. I remembered suddenly how she cooked rice like pasta, boiling it until done, draining it, and then steaming in a covered pot until fluffy, which is how I cook rice to this day.

While some Americans are increasingly moving away from white rice toward wild and other variants, many dishes of the African Atlantic world still hark back to the traditional fluffy white grains. In Brazil leftover white rice is famously fried and served as rice balls or fritters, like Erminia Apolinario’s golden Bolinho de Arroz (page 71). West African cooks like Pierre Thiam often add broth, meat, and vegetables to their leftover rice, cooking it down into creamy Senegalese Mbahal (page 69).

Across the Caribbean, bean-and-rice dishes like Gregory Gourdet’s version of the Haitian classic Diri Kole ak Pwa (page 70) are highly revered, and in the American South, rice turns up in memorable chicken-rich soups and stews. Lucky for us, Gullah chef Matthew Raiford has shared his renowned Nana’s Chicken and Rice Stew (page 71). These chefs are all experts in the ricecooking traditions of their respective communities, and these flavorful recipes celebrate the prominence, history, and enduring versatility of a staple we all know and love.

Jessica B. Harris, Ph.D., is an acclaimed culinary historian and author of several books including ‘High on the Hog,’ now a Netflix series.

Bolinho de Arroz p. 71, Brazil Brazilians, we eat rice and beans every day. It’s a food that feeds the masses.

I was raised on bolinho de arroz. When my Tia Zita would visit from Rio, she’d say, “Erminia, I made you a surprise rice ball. What do you think I put inside?”

I loved to play that game with her. It’s a very popular snack because you can put whatever you have in your kitchen inside; it can be cheese, sausage, chicken, or fish. It’s also a bar food—as a tropical country, we drink a lot of beer!

—Erminia Apolinario, chef and caterer

Mbahal Senegal, West Africa Senegal definitely breaks some records when it comes to rice. If there’s no rice on a given day, it’s like you haven’t eaten. Mbahal is a dish that oftentimes comes in between meals. Rice that’s already cooked is turned into a porridge by adding broth. Mbahal means “to boil” in Wolof, so it’s a boil, really. The rice is boiled, the meat is boiled, whatever vegetables you have— anything can go into mbahal. It’s the dish that every single household has a recipe for.

—Pierre Thiam, chef-cofounder, Yolélé

Mbahal From the Senegambian region of West Africa, mbahal is a rice porridge featuring peanuts, black-eyed peas, okra, and dried seafood. Thiam says the dish was born of frugality and makes a great vehicle for recycling leftover lamb and rice. Cozy and comforting, his mbahal abounds in meaty goodness from lamb and umami from fish sauce (a great substitute for dried fish).

6 S E RV I N G S

1 cup jasmine rice ½ cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight, drained, or one 15.5-oz. can black-eyed peas, drained 3 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1½ tsp.

Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more 2 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil 8 oz. boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1" pieces 1 large onion, coarsely chopped 1 cup cherry tomatoes 1 Tbsp. tomato paste 4 cups low-sodium chicken or beef broth 1 small Italian eggplant (about 8 oz.), cut into 1" pieces 1 habanero or Scotch bonnet chile 2 bay leaves 2–3 Tbsp. fish sauce 2 Tbsp. tamarind paste (optional) 10 okra pods, trimmed 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper Lime wedges (for serving) Place rice in a medium bowl and pour in water to cover. Let sit 30 minutes.

If using dried black-eyed peas, place in a medium pot; add 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and 1 quart water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until peas are tender, 30–40 minutes. Drain; set aside.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Add lamb in a single layer and season with 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Cook, undisturbed, until browned underneath, about 3 minutes.

Turn and cook until browned on the other side, about 3 minutes longer.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are blistered and softened, about 3 minutes. Using spoon, gently press on tomatoes until they burst. Continue to cook, still stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have released some of their juices and a light sauce forms, about 3 minutes more.

Pour in broth and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer; stir in eggplant, chile, bay leaves, fish sauce, tamarind paste (if using), and remaining 1 tsp.

Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is softened, 7–10 minutes.

Add okra and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggplant, chile, and okra to a medium bowl; set aside.

Add peanut butter to broth; whisk until incorporated. Drain rice, then stir into pot. Reduce heat to low, partially cover pot, and cook, stirring often, until rice is tender and mixture is thickened to the consistency of a risotto, 20–25 minutes.

Discard bay leaf and stir in pepper, reserved chile, and reserved black-eyed peas (or canned black-eyed peas). Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Transfer to a large bowl and top with reserved eggplant and okra. Serve with lime wedges.

D O A H E A D : Mbahal can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool, then transfer to an airtight container. Cover and chill.

Diri Kole ak Pwa

Diri Kole ak Pwa Haiti, the Caribbean In the Haitian community we joke that a meal isn’t complete without rice. There are so many different rice dishes in Haiti, and diri kole ak pwa is probably the most popular. It’s a dish that doesn’t see class—if you’re struggling financially, diri kole is something you can get on the table for your family, and even if you’re among the wealthy, it’s still on your table. Rice with beans has so many variations throughout the Caribbean, but the epis (green seasoning) creates this uniquely Haitian flavor profile, and a few tablespoons in your rice give it that distinction.

—Gregory Gourdet, chef-owner, Kann

70

Gourdet’s recipe for Haitian rice and kidney beans gets its aromatic kick from epis, an all-purpose flavor base made with onion, garlic, bell pepper, herbs, and Scotch bonnet chile. This recipe makes about 1 cup of epis; save the extra for marinating fish or chicken or try stirring it into yogurt for a zesty dressing. Cooking kidney beans from scratch yields a flavorful broth that is ideal for using as the liquid when making rice.

8 S E RV I N G S

2 1 2¼ 2¼

BEANS

3 scallions, halved lengthwise 3 garlic cloves ¾ cup dried kidney beans, soaked overnight, drained 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp.

Morton kosher salt

EPIS

½ small green bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, coarsely chopped ½ small white onion, coarsely chopped ½ large shallot, coarsely chopped ½ celery stalk, coarsely chopped 1 scallion, coarsely chopped ½ Scotch bonnet or habanero chile 2 garlic cloves 1 whole clove ½ cup (lightly packed) cilantro leaves with tender stems ½ cup (lightly packed) parsley leaves with tender stems

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Tbsp. thyme leaves tsp. distilled white vinegar tsp. fresh lime juice

R I C E A N D ASS E M B LY

2 ¼ 1 1 5 3 1½ 1

cups basmati rice cup extra-virgin olive oil medium onion, finely chopped Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp.

Morton kosher salt garlic cloves, finely chopped sprigs thyme tsp. freshly ground black pepper Scotch bonnet or habanero chile

E P I S Pulse bell pepper, onion, shallot, celery, scallion, chile, garlic, clove, cilantro, parsley, oil, thyme, vinegar, and lime juice in a food processor or

blender until a chunky sauce forms.

Transfer epis to a small bowl and set aside.

D O A H E A D : Epis can be made 4 days ahead. Transfer to an airtight container; cover and chill.

B E A N S Bring scallions, garlic, beans, salt, and 6 cups water to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender and the skins peel away when you blow on them, 55–65 minutes. Discard scallions and garlic.

Drain beans in a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Measure out 3 cups bean broth (add water if short). Set beans and broth aside.

FOOD STYLING BY REBECCA JURKEVICH. PROP STYLING BY LINDEN ELSTRAN.

R I C E A N D ASS E M B LY Rinse rice in a fine-mesh sieve under cold running water until water runs clear; drain well and set aside.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high.

Add onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is light golden around the edges, 5–7 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium and add garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in thyme, pepper, and 2 Tbsp. reserved epis; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Gently stir in reserved beans, then pour in reserved bean broth and bring to a boil. Stir in chile and reserved rice.

Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 15–20 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let sit, still covered, 10 minutes.

Uncover pot; remove and discard thyme. Fluff rice with a fork and divide among plates.

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp.

Morton kosher salt, plus more Freshly ground white or black pepper 2 sprigs sage 2 sprigs thyme 2 cups basmati rice 1 Tbsp. finely chopped marjoram 1 Tbsp. finely chopped rosemary (optional) 1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley, plus more for serving (optional) Heat butter and oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Season chicken all over with salt and pepper; add to pot. Cook, turning over halfway through, just until exterior of chicken is opaque, about 2 minutes total.

Add sage, thyme, 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 quart water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is tender and cooked through, 30–35 minutes. Discard sage and thyme. Using tongs, transfer chicken to a plate; let cool slightly, then shred meat with 2 forks.

Return chicken to pot and stir in rice, marjoram, rosemary (if using), 1 Tbsp. parsley (if using), and 1½ cups water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, partially cover pot, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, 30–35 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let stew sit 5 minutes.

Ladle stew into bowls; top with parsley if desired.

Nana’s Chicken and Rice Stew 6 S E RV I N G S Raiford remembers chatting with his nana about just how much flavor could come from stock made with the bones of a roast chicken. She always had chicken stock in her freezer for comforting stews like this one. He recommends serving it with freshly baked biscuits slathered in honey butter to make it extra hearty. Raiford incorporates a lot of fresh herbs, though you can leave out the rosemary and parsley if you’d like.

4 1 1 2 2

Tbsp. salted butter Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil large onion, finely chopped large carrots, peeled, chopped celery stalks, thinly sliced

Bolinho de Arroz With Molho Verde Apolinario grew up eating her aunt’s version of this popular snack in Brazil. These deep-fried rice balls can be stuffed with meats like bacon and chicken as well as many types of cheese. They pair well with molho verde (a punchy herbforward green sauce) and cold beer.

4 – 6 S E RV I N G S

MOLHO VERDE

2 scallions, coarsely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1½ cups (lightly packed) parsley leaves with tender stems 1 cup cold whole milk 1 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. fresh lime juice

1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp.

Morton kosher salt 1 tsp. sugar 1½ tsp. vegetable oil R I C E B A L LS

1 1 ¼ 3 2 1½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 4

cup jasmine rice large egg cup all-purpose flour Tbsp. chilled whole milk Tbsp. finely chopped onion tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp.

Morton kosher salt tsp. finely chopped garlic tsp. finely chopped peeled ginger tsp. finely chopped rosemary oz. sharp cheddar, cut into ½" pieces Vegetable oil (for frying; 6–8 cups)

S P E C I A L E Q U I PM E N T :

A deep-fry

thermometer M O L H O V E R D E Purée scallions, garlic, parsley, milk, lime juice, salt, and sugar in a blender until smooth. Add oil and blend until sauce thickens slightly.

Transfer to a small bowl.

D O A H E A D : Molho verde can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

R I C E B A L LS Rinse rice in a fine-mesh sieve under cold running water until water runs clear; drain well. Bring rice and 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 15–20 minutes.

Remove from heat, uncover, and let cool.

Mix rice, egg, flour, milk, onion, salt, garlic, ginger, and rosemary in a medium bowl until well combined. Scoop out 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of rice mixture and roll into a ball with your hands, then flatten into a 3"-diameter patty. Using your thumb, make a shallow indentation in the center of patty; place a piece of cheddar inside. Pinch rice mixture together to encase cheese; roll into a smooth ball. Transfer rice ball to a plate; repeat with remaining rice mixture (you should have about 12 rice balls).

Fit a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot with thermometer. Pour in oil to come 3" up sides. Heat over mediumhigh until thermometer registers 350°.

Working in 2 batches, carefully lower rice balls into oil with a slotted spoon or spider. Fry, turning often, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Serve hot with molho verde alongside.

71

72

The diet foo f inally g d craze of the ’8 one out of st yle. 0s has any thin But g really change has d?

by

GGS ALEX BE ions by illustrat ALL JOHN G

says ConAgra CEO Mike Harper as he walks into a private airplane hangar. “I lead a busy life.” In the 1989 commercial Harper tells the camera that after he had a heart attack he couldn’t find “healthy food that was really great-tasting.” So he invented Healthy Choice. Cut to a glamour shot of the low-fat, low-sodium, lowcholesterol frozen dinners: a sectioned oval tray with gravy-covered sirloin tips, a side of baby carrots, potatoes, and a fruit-topped dessert. By the end of the spot, Harper is piloting his little blue propeller plane off the runway.

In the three years following that ad, Healthy Choice would rake in $1 billion in sales. And it was hardly alone. Lean Cuisine, Diet Coke, Crystal Light, Bud Light: Diet food became a juggernaut in the 1980s thanks to a winning combo of government influence, food tech, and good old-fashioned societal pressure to be thin.

And in the years following, the industry would only grow. We don’t like to call it diet food anymore, but in 2020 foods with a dietary claim made over $100 billion.

From the moment in 1898 when J.H. Kellogg introduced Toasted Corn Flakes to get our digestion on track and help stave off the urge to “self-pollute” (masturbate), we’ve looked to food to make us healthier, more virtuous, and, yes, thinner. Has it worked? Not really. So why do we keep expecting it to?

WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE ’80S? (OTHER THAN LEOTARDS) Let’s crack open a can of Diet Coke, put on those leg warmers, and step back in time for a moment.

74

In 1977 a Senate committee released a report telling Americans that they needed to cut the fat, salt, and cholesterol (meat, butter, and eggs) in their diet right now—or else. Those types of food, the report said, directly link to heart disease, cancer, obesity, and stroke. It cited evidence that scholars at the time, and today, said is flawed. The report drove home the idea that taking control of our diets meant taking control of our health. “For those who are overweight,” the report said, “the best protection against heart disease is weight reduction.”

Later the U.S. surgeon general and the World Health Organization chimed in with their own low-fat reports, every major newspaper and magazine covered the news, and suddenly all over America, fridges were stocked with watery skim milk and margarine. “From 1984 through the 1990s, dietary fat was increasingly blamed not only for coronary heart disease but also for [weight gain] and obesity,” writes Ann F. La Berge in the article “How the Ideology of Low Fat Conquered America.” By swapping your milk, the thinking (but not the evidence) went, you’d reduce your chances of heart disease—and your waistline.

In response to these reports, the same companies who’d sold us fat, sugar, and salt for decades quickly pivoted to selling such delicacies as Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Stouffer’s Right Course, The Budget Gourmet Slim Selects, Campbell’s Le Menu LightStyle, and Molly McButter (cholesterol-free butter-flavored sprinkles).

Jenny Craig launched. Cooking Light magazine debuted. Jane Fonda’s famous

workout VHS tapes sold millions. Oprah dragged a Radio Flyer wagon full of animal fat onstage and said, “I’m gonna live on broccoli now.” In a 1983 Glamour magazine survey, 76 percent of women said they were “too fat” when 45 percent of those same women were considered underweight. Seventy percent of Playboy playmates were underweight, according to a study that went to the trouble of examining the waist-to-hip ratio in 240 nudie centerfolds. Deaths from eating disorders reached an all-time high. In the ’80s, writes food scholar Claude Fischler, people “dreamed of being thin, saw themselves as fat, and suffered from the contradiction.”

And yet! There was no evidence that low-fat Kraft Singles advertised on television by a young Leo DiCaprio made us thinner or healthier. Meanwhile, obesity rates in America shot up for the first time in the ’80s. Chicken McNuggets made their debut. By 1988 fastfood sales had increased to $60 billion (up from $6 billion in 1970). Portion sizes for what constituted a single serving sharply increased. President Reagan restricted food-stamp eligibility, making it harder for low-income Americans to get affordable fresh food. The health care system became increasingly privatized and Medicaid spending was cut, widening the health disparities between the rich and the poor. My mom—a nurse—was drinking cold Pepsi after cold Pepsi and also smoking Marlboro reds while she was pregnant with me. What I’m saying is: There were other things going on in this country that affected American health more than the food on grocery store shelves.

But back to Healthy Choice. The year the brand was founded, 1989, 626 new “reduced-fat” products were introduced, up 127 percent from the previous year. Healthy Choice stood out because it wasn’t marketed as a weightloss solution the way Weight Watchers’ frozen dinners were. The focus was on “healthy.” “Listen to your heart,” was the slogan slathered on ads showing svelte grandpas flexing for their grandkids and thin couples canoodling.

The ads compared Healthy Choice’s fat, sodium, and cholesterol counts to other brands and “reaffirmed notions that health is a personal choice, a lifestyle choice, and that health concerns

should be addressed through commodity solutions,” writes S. Bryn Austin in her essay for the book Weighty Issues.

In other words: Skip the doctor, head to Safeway! And that mindset has everything to do with where the diet food industry is today.

DIETING IS DEAD. LONG LIVE DIETING Somewhere along the line, after the Mediterranean diets of the ’90s and South Beach and Atkins of the ’00s, dieting went out of fashion.

In 1992 a panel at the National Institutes of Health reported that people on weight-loss diets gain the weight back in five years (though the findings were flawed because the subjects were already chronic dieters). There were women’s magazine stories like “Stop Dieting— And Start Losing Weight” (Redbook,

From the moment in 1898 J.H. Kellogg introduced Toasted Corn Flakes to get our digestion on track, we’ve looked to food to make us healthier, more virtuous, and thinner.

Has it worked? Not really.

So why do we keep expecting it to?

1996) as well as coverage of the growing “size acceptance” movement. A 1994 issue of Woman’s Day included a chart of “politically correct weight-loss terms”: “diet” was out, “healthful eating” was in; “calorie counting” was out, “portion control” was in. The chart was credited: Weight Watchers International.

Skepticism for diets only grew—in the early ’90s the Federal Trade Commission charged 17 diet companies with making false and deceptive claims.

Intuitive Eating: A Recovery Book for the Chronic Dieter by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch came out in 1995 and guided readers on how to rebuild their body images. But the diet industry simply adapted. Weight-loss pills, low-cal frozen dinners, books, and workout tapes talked about “healthy lifestyles.”

The idea of “functional foods” took root, which was great news for bran.

The FDA passed a food labeling act that allowed companies to put health and nutrition claims like “heart healthy” and “supports immune health” on their products, which marketers ran with. I saw a full-page ad for both prunes and mammograms (beneath a tastefully covered bare breast: “helping prune the risk of cancer every day”). Pharmaceutical companies launched lines of digestive biscuits. By 2001 the diet industry was worth an estimated $34.7 billion.

For the first time since it started tracking the diet industry, the market research firm Datamonitor saw a decline in new products with the word diet in the brand name starting in 2005. That same year Coke launched Coke Zero, which is a diet soda like all that came before it but largely marketed to men, as scholar Emily J.H. Contois explains in her book Diners, Dudes, and Diets. The word diet was too intertwined with women’s deprivation diets, which were historically huge bummers, while the word zero implied a lack of bullshit.

Dieting kept dying, for the most part.

In 2013 the trade publication FoodNavigator-USA wrote that “marketers are avoiding the word ‘diet’ like the plague” and quoted an expert who said weight loss had become “a ‘stealth’ issue.” In 2015 Lean Cuisine’s brand manager at the time told Ad Age “diets are dead” and the brand deleted all uses of the word diet from its marketing, pivoting to a strategy that emphasized women’s empowerment. (And when that didn’t quite save ’em, in 2020 the company introduced a new brand: Life Cuisine.)

In 2017 Shape wrote, “The Anti-Diet Is the Healthiest Diet You Could Ever Be On.” Yet another nail entered the coffin when Weight Watchers changed its name to WW in 2018 to take the emphasis away from weight loss.

The word diet may be as passé as a cold can of Tab (discontinued in 2020), but that doesn’t mean the concept has gone flat and stale in the back of the

fridge too. In the last few years, “wellness” has come into fashion—hell, Bon Appétit even had a whole website dedicated to it called Healthyish, which is also the theme of this very issue! In the food industry but also in skin care, fashion, fitness, and beyond, the concept of “self-care” cozily slipped in where “health” once reigned. Wellness wraps up food, mental health, and self-love into one beautifully designed package that can try to disentangle itself from the diet industry but can never quite escape one thing: our body obsession.

THE PATH TO PURITY In the last two weeks, I’ve sampled Cheez-It dupes made from heirloom corn flour, chickpea pasta, pea protein puffs, and cauliflower crust pizza from a brand that made nearly $39 million in 2020, and $35 million in just the first six months of 2021.

In the grocery store world, these food products are called “better for you” (BFY!) foods, and the BFY snacks market grew to $39 billion in 2020. BFY products are a response to what industry adviser David Portalatin, who writes an annual report called Eating Patterns in America, calls a “path to purity”— people who are looking for minimal, whole ingredients. Brands like Rxbar emphasize how few ingredients its product has right on the front of the sticky protein bar’s package: three egg whites, six almonds, four cashews, two dates, no B.S. The brand sold to Kellogg’s for $600 million in 2017.

“The change [in the American diet] today is really driven by the fact that consumers want to feel good about what they’re eating,” Portalatin says. It reminded me that two years ago, I wrote a headline for a recipe story: “Cook How You Want to Feel,” which haunts me every time I make a frozen pizza. (Sometimes I want to feel like melted cheese, oozing off the couch.)

In 2006 Michael Pollan’s seminal book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, argued that local organic food is good and socalled processed food is bad, very generally speaking. The book explores the ethical, planetary, and cultural cost of industrialized food and was a huge best seller, racking up accolades and even a young readers’ version. It’s 75

“Wellness” wraps up food, mental health, and self-love into one beautifully designed package that can try to disentangle itself from the diet industry but can never quite escape one thing: our body obsession.

arguably shaping a generation of eaters, including farmers-market-loving me. In much of his work, Pollan “sets up a moral hierarchy of food,” writes dietitian Christy Harrison in her book Anti-Diet, and it gave some readers even more food anxiety than we already had. Though hardly the first to do so (see Kellogg and masturbation), his influence, along with the seemingly uncontainable wellness industry, has given us another layer under which to cloak diet culture.

Consider the pink can of Strawberry Vanilla Olipop prebiotic tonic on my desk, which includes 32 percent of my daily recommended fiber. That seems like it could have repercussions I’m not ready to face. I show it to Harrison, whom I’m interviewing, over Zoom.

“What’s in it?” she asks. “Botanicals,” I reply, holding the can to the screen.

She laughs. “This really exemplifies the switch from aboveboard diet culture to wellness diet culture,” she says. In her book, Harrison writes about how the wellness industry seems to be selling overall health, but it can’t exist without making you fear being unhealthy, which most Americans still associate with fatness. The diet culture lurking in food activists like Pollan’s work, she explains, is the underlying idea that the wrong foods will make you fat and that fatness is a national shame. Eating more sustainably farmed food is great and all, but if you’re eating out of self-loathing, 76

fear, and hatred of being fat, it’s still diet culture. And so I drink the Olipop because it tastes delicious, like cream soda, and not because I’m trying to cleanse my colon.

In Diners, Dudes, and Diets, Contois posits that the wellness industry really took off during and after the chaos of the 2016 presidential election. When the world outside feels out of control, people seek control over the closest thing in the vicinity: their bodies. The Wellness Diet, Harrison writes in Anti-Diet, “is a type of virtue signaling that people use to secure and maintain their own class status.” The pandemic only magnified the problem. Sales of sleep-aid teas, calming chocolates, and anything labeled “immune-boosting” skyrocketed.

We’re in such a crowded mess of new diet foods that it’s funny to me that the most popular diet last year was oldfashioned deprivation rebranded as intermittent fasting.

The Eating Instinct author Virginia Sole-Smith tells me that even though the language has changed, a “better for you” food is still a diet food: “It’s still telling people that there’s a right way to eat and a wrong way to eat and if you’re eating the wrong way, it’s a reflection on you as a person, and your value, and your body. And it’s still selling weight loss.”

BIG FOOD FIGHTS BACK So what’s Healthy Choice doing now?

To find out I’m having lunch at the headquarters of its parent company, ConAgra, in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. Specifically, I’m here for the Healthy Choice Power Bowls. Bob Nolan, my dining companion, is head of Demand Science, a job I understand to mean “figure out what consumers want before they even know they want it.” We have a tasting menu of their newest dishes, microwaved and plated in airplane-size square bowls and garnished with a little parsley. They’ve printed a menu that says “Welcome Bon Appétit!” and there are flowers on the table.

“To become a national way of life, weight control had to be built into the culture as if it had always been there,” writes historian Hillel Schwartz in Never Satisfied: A Cultural History of Diets, Fantasies and Fat. “Diet food had to

seem to be basic food.” Prebiotic sodas, bags of LesserEvil avocado-oil airpopped popcorn (love the stuff ), all seem like snacks to me at this point, but something deep down, or not so deep down anymore, knows they’re tugging at my anxiety over eating my one true love: kettle chips.

This is just lunch food, the Healthy Choice bowls say, there’s nothing diet about it. But a calorie count on the front of the box, the callout of “lowcarb lifestyle,” and a yellow flag that shouts “made with riced cauliflower!” or “8g net carbs” signals to customers that it’s healthy, and healthy food will keep you thin. My favorite is the Cuban-style pork power bowl, with sweet bites of plantains.

Nolan is an industry legend who helped bring Healthy Choice (among other brands) out of the red by completely scrapping the old way of making brand decisions and embracing data instead. Frozen food sales, not just the sad diet ones, were lagging for decades because, while the brand led the way by marketing “health” over weight loss, the food tasted terrible. By revamping the food and the format—power bowls, baby!—Nolan brought Healthy Choice back to the top of the frozen food charts.

His team uses data from credit cards, Google searches, and grocery store rewards cards (the places where consumers never lie) to determine what new flavors and diets they’ll target in different bowls.

The words on food packages are so important you can put a dollar value on them. Gluten-free is an $87 billion industry. Protein is $26.8 billion. Oat milk: $37 billion. By making a dish that appeals to each specific category— Nolan calls these “jobs”—the brand can make a lot of money. “Plant-based,” Nolan tells me, is the biggest area of growth right now, despite the fact that Americans’ vegetable consumption continues to decline.

The truth is, the top “job” customers are “hiring” Healthy Choice to perform when they buy most of the dishes is losing a few pounds. From there Healthy Choice has a meal for every diet that might (but probably won’t) get you there, whether you’re keto or vegan or on a 30-day sugar challenge. For that last one, have a sesame chicken and zoodle Zero bowl—even the O in “zero” is skinny!

Food companies are responding to the demands of the marketplace, and those demands reflect all of our inner demons: body insecurity, food guilt, wanting to be a “better” person, a willingness to trade off flavor for perceived nutrition, never-ending confusion over what “healthy” even means, feelings of utter lack of control in a chaotic world, fear of death. So we end up volleying these anxieties back and forth at each other from behind the frosted freezer doors.

NPD Group’s David Portalatin thinks the next big movement in the diet food space will be personalization, which we’ve already seen in the beauty industry (I took a “hair quiz” and tried personalized shampoo once; it had nothing on Head & Shoulders). Who am I kidding, I would probably buy a personalized meal delivery kit based on my sun, moon, and rising signs. It’ll all be fun, and make people money, and still not keep you from dying.

YOU AREN’T WHAT YOU EAT I set out to figure out whether these “better for you” foods were making us healthier, but all I could prove is that they’re still selling. The diet—sorry, “health”— food industry is cranking along, thanks to internalized biases that equate health with thinness, a long cultural history of body obsession, and fantastic marketing.

Meanwhile, the people propping up the industry (generally white, middle- and upper-middle class) are the least likely to be in poor health. “Rather than spending so much time fretting over what to buy at the supermarket,” Eating Anxiety author Chad Lavin told me, “I wish we spent more time as a culture fretting about making sure people had health care.”

By the way, did you know that our diet and physical activity really only contribute a small portion of our overall health outcomes? There are so many other major factors, most of which are out of our control, that determine what happens to our bodies. “Diet matters, but it does not matter in the way that most people think,” Harvard’s Fatima Stanford, M.D., told me, standing in front of a fake leafy background on Zoom. To illustrate this point she shared her screen with me to show a slide from a presentation about the complexity of obesity.

Some of the factors in her color-coded chart were: Prescription drugs. Sleep deficit. Portion sizes. Trauma history.

Hormone fluctuation. Age. Gut microbiota. Maternal stress. Weight cycling (yes, losing weight causes weight gain). Family conflict. Lack of health care provider support. Heightened hunger responses.

Delayed satiety. Gestational diabetes.

Thermogenesis. Weight stigma.

The last one there is so crucial. Studies have found that weight stigma—being bullied, shamed, and ostracized for being fat (by others, and by one’s self)— in fact causes weight gain and is just as damaging to health as “poor diet.” I’m really just scratching the surface here, but almost every diet expert I talked to agreed on one thing: Americans need to stop giving food so much power.

“Food should really just be such a small part of our lives,” says Christy Harrison. “It’s essential for living, but in a way it’s like breathing or going to the bathroom. We all have to do it, but there’s so much more to life.” For those of us who work at food magazines or

“Rather than spending so much time fretting over what to buy at the supermarket,” Lavin told me, “I wish we spent more time as a culture fretting about making sure people had health care.”

love to cook, food is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Don’t get bogged down in the net carb count. Get your basic nutrients; have a little fun while you’re at it.

As Diet Coke hits the ripe old age of 40, Coke Zero is now projected to be the company’s biggest source of growth. It’s basically the same drink, just with a slightly different blend of artificial sweeteners, and I can say with confidence that it tastes great. I’ll never get tired of that sweet, sparkly taste of nothing. And I’m not the only one.

79

YOU DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD.

SHOP NOW AT JIMMYJANE.COM/SELF +

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S T E P-BYSTEPS

TIPS & TRICKS

ILLUSTRATIONS BY TIM LAHAN

Almost everything you need to know (and nothing you don ’t)

Happy Hour

A classic Manhattan is ser ved up—chilled but not over ice.

You finished Dry January?

Congrats! Sounds like it’s high time to make a proper cocktail b y A M I E L S TA N E K

P H OTO G R A P H S BY I S A Z A PATA

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 – 81

Basically

3

1 The Cocktail Has Come a Looong Way Historians have a lot of ideas about how the cocktail originated.

The general consensus, however, is that it was created sometime around the turn of the 18th century. (Fun fact: The name itself may have something to do with nubs of ginger and horses’ rear ends.)

Back then, cocktails consisted of little more than booze, sugar, bitters, and water.

These days the world of alcoholic mixed drinks is as exciting as it is diverse— hot, cold, frozen! bubbly, bitter, fruity, creamy!—and you could go a lifetime without sipping the same one twice.

THE TOOLS TO BUY (OR IMPROVISE) You may think you need a lot of gear to make a great drink.

But in reality, you can unlock a whole world of beverages with a handful of reliable tools—and, in a pinch, you can usually use something you already have in the kitchen. Here’s our short list.

2 The Fridge Is Your Friend High-proof spirits like whiskey, gin, and vodka can sit on your bar indefinitely with no ill effects. But winebased and other lowoctane beverages— like vermouth, sherry, aperitifs like Aperol and Lillet—should be refrigerated after opening and ideally consumed within about a month, after which they might oxidize and go rancid.

82 – FEBRUARY 2022

Boston Shaker

Measuring Cup

We prefer this simple design, with its two metal tins that nestle tightly together, to the three-piece cobbler-style model.

Unlike the two-sided jiggers favored by bartenders, simple liquid measuring cups are easier to read and always consistent.

Our Pick

The Hack

Our Pick

The Hack

Set of 2 Koriko Weighted Shaking Tins, $19; cocktailkingdom.com

A quart-size widemouthed jar or other strong container with a tight-fitting lid

Oxo Good Grips Mini Angled Measuring Cup, $6; amazon.com

Any liquid measuring cup with ½-oz. demarcations or smaller

mobilism.org

Basically

4 About Those Silicone Ice Molds…

The one problem with our beloved silicone molds? After a while they can get a weird stench that no amount of scrubbing or dishwashing can eliminate, and that imparts flavor onto your ice. Luckily, our friends at Cook’s Illustrated tested an effective solve: Bake the (empty) molds at 350° for an hour and the smell vanishes. Don’t ask us why it works, but we’re glad it does.

5 A mixing glass is the launching pad for the booziest cocktails.

Ice Is the Most Important Ingredient Ice obviously helps to cool down a drink to a refreshing temperature, but, as it melts, it also dilutes the drink to a tastier, more palatable strength. We favor solid cubes, like those produced by the silicone trays in No. 3, over the hollow or dimpled ice that comes from most ice machines. Because they melt at a languid, consistent rate, you can sip, not guzzle. For ice with the purest taste, make cubes from distilled or filtered water, then store covered in the tray or in resealable bags to ward off freezer flavors.

Hawthorne Strainer

A good strainer ensures that no errant ice ends up in your glass. The spring helps it fit snugly into shakers and mixing glasses.

Our Pick

The Hack

Winco Stainless Steel 4-Prong Bar Strainer, $6; amazon.com

A large slotted spoon or small fine-mesh sieve

Square Silicone Ice Cube Trays

Bar Spoon

Mixing Glass

Practically indestructible, they reliably yield solid straight-sided cubes that melt slowly and are easy to pop out.

The corkscrew handle and angled head make rapidly stirring around the edge of a mixing glass a breeze.

Essential for all stirred cocktails, the type we like has straight sides and a 23-oz. capacity, which is good for 2–3 drinks.

Our Pick

The Hack

Our Pick

The Hack

Our Pick

The Hack

Ozera 2 Pack Silicone Ice Cube Tray (1.25"), $15; amazon.com

Any ice is better than no ice!

Get a bag from the grocery store.

Viski Stainless Steel Weighted Bar Spoon, $14; amazon.com

A chopstick or any narrow, longhandled spoon or kitchen utensil

Large Yarai Mixing Glass, $45; cocktail kingdom.com

A quart-size widemouthed jar or a sturdy, straightsided vase FEBRUARY 2022 – 83

Basically

7 A classic Negroni is equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth.

Go Big Batch or Go Home Making cocktails for a crowd can be daunting—it’s hard to socialize with your guests while measuring from a bunch of different bottles.

But with a little advanced prep, you can dramatically decrease the amount of à la minute work required to get cold drinks into many hands: For stirred drinks…

Multiply your single-serving recipe by the number of cocktails you want to make, then add ½ ounce of cold water per drink (to account for the dilution that isn’t occurring from stirring with ice). Combine it all in a large bottle with a resealable lid, freeze until party time (it’ll keep for months), and then simply pour into chilled glasses or over ice.

For shaken drinks…

Start the same as above, but don’t add any water to dilute.

Store in a bottle in the fridge until you’re ready to serve (up to a day or so), then measure out as many drinks as you’d like to make into a shaker filled with ice, shake, and strain into chilled glasses (up) or over ice (on the rocks).

6 H O W YO U M I X M AT T E R S

Shake It!

Stir It!

Build It!

To combine alcoholic and nonalcoholic (think citrus and simple syrup) components, you’ll want to shake vigorously with ice. These cocktails tend to be lighter, frothier, and more refreshing because shaking incorporates air into the finished drink.

Examples: margarita, daiquiri, whiskey sour

Pouring a cocktail over ice and stirring reduces dilution and aeration, producing a drink that’s rich and silky, with a weight and density that should make you want to sip slowly. Do it with boozy heavy hitters, where every element contains alcohol.

Examples: Manhattan, Negroni, martini

By far the least fussy category of cocktails, built drinks don’t require any equipment— you pour everything into a glass and call it a day. Many of these drinks include seltzer, sparkling wine, or other bubbly elements that don’t need to be mixed.

Examples: Moscow Mule, Aperol Spritz, gin and tonic

84 – FEBRUARY 2022

8 Make It Apeeling A garnish is a surefire way to add subtle aroma (and a bit of drama) to your at-home happy hour—and it doesn’t have to be elaborate. Simply squeeze a piece of lemon, lime, or orange peel (cut with a Y-peeler or sharp paring knife) over the surface of a drink—skin side down!—to release its essential oils, then rub it around the rim of the glass and plop it right in.

FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES

Sure, your ingredients are important, but how you combine and chill those ingredients changes their flavor and, most important, their texture. Here’s when to do what:

recipe index

This noodle soup will make you happy as a clam.

P. 30

SALADS

SOUPS

Asian Pear-Shiso Salad With Quinoa p. 59 Napa Cabbage Wedge With Sesame Ranch p. 50 Pears and Radishes With Gorgonzola and Nori p. 53 Radicchio With Hot Honey Vinaigrette and Cotija p. 53 Roast Salmon With Citrus and Coconut-Chile Crunch p. 50 Sheet-Pan Chicken and Squash Salad p. 28

Chicken Soup With Rice Noodles and Scallion Crisp p.42 Drunken Clams and Noodles p. 30 Nana’s Chicken and Rice Stew p. 71

APPETIZERS

Bolinho de Arroz With Molho Verde p. 71 Choros a la Chalaca p. 59 BEVERAGES

Adonis Spritz p. 42 Cilantro Pisco Smash p. 56 BREAKFAST

Chai-Spiced Granola p. 46

MAIN COURSES SEAFOOD

Cheesy Tomato Beans With Broccoli Rabe p. 42 Drunken Clams and Noodles p. 30 Fried Fish With Piri-Piri Sauce p. 35 Salmon Tacos With Pineapple-Chile Salsa p. 39

Turmeric Caramel Cod p. 22 MEAT

Seco de Pato p. 59 Sheet-Pan Chicken and Squash Salad p. 28

Mbahal p. 69

VEGE TARIAN

NOODLES

Chicken Soup With Rice Noodles and Scallion Crisp p.42 Drunken Clams and Noodles p. 30 Saucy Tofu Noodles With Cucumbers and Chili Crisp p. 46 POULTRY

Chicken Soup With Rice Noodles and Scallion Crisp p.42 Nana’s Chicken and Rice Stew p. 71

Creamy Spinach and Chickpeas p. 26 Diri Kole ak Pwa p.70 Sticky and Spicy Baked Cauliflower p. 39 VEGETABLE, SIDE DISH

Leeks With Hazelnuts and Tarragon p. 60 DESSERT

Lemon-Elderflower Pound Cake p. 63

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86 – FEBRUARY 2022

PHOTOGRAPH BY EMMA FISHMAN. FOOD STYLING BY MICAH MORTON.

MAKE THE COVER

Pears and Radishes With Gorgonzola and Nori p. 53

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Hanya Yanagihara’s Dream Dinner Party The author with a cultlike following reveals how to compose a scintillating guest list for an intimate dinner

Yanagihara ’s beloved Laboratorio Paravicini snake plates (matchesfashion.com) bring witchy opulence to the table.

AT MANY A DINNER

party I attended a few years back, talk would inevitably turn to author Hanya Yanagihara’s sweeping (and heartbreaking) novel A Little Life, a Man Booker Prize–short-listed best seller exploring the relationships between four friends as they move from college to middle age. So I couldn’t help but wonder who the author would have at her dream gathering— and what they’d talk about.

— D AW N D AV I S

What’s your philosophy when composing a dinner party guest list? And which three people do you invite?

I love planning parties, and I especially love doing seating charts. When you’re hosting a large party, you want to have anchors every four seats or so: people who understand that they’re there to work, to make conversation and include shyer guests. But since this is a small party, I’d be indulgent and 88 – FEBRUARY 2022

instead invite entertainers— people who know how to tell a good story. People who probably don’t know one another but are separated by just one or two degrees.

So I’d invite comedian Bowen Yang and playwrights Tony Kushner and Jeremy O. Harris.

Playwrights make good guests because they know how to make conversation.

What is on the menu?

It’s best to serve food that has emotional meaning and reveals something personal about you. Whenever I go home to Hawaii, I always ask my mother to make kook soo, a Korean dish she makes with rice noodles in a pork broth.

She tops it with chun (in Hawaii this is mostly made with vegetables like zucchini versus everywhere else, where it’s made with meat), shredded pork tossed in shoyu and green onions, and cucumber namul.

I’d also try to trick her into

making her mandoo: I folded 500 of them this summer and developed a tic in my hand.

Where do you host this gathering? Your home?

No, I’d host it at the Park Avenue Armory in New York: a vast space with high ceilings and a table for six in the middle (rectangular, not round). It would be lit with hundreds of black taper candles but still quite dark.

There’s no soundtrack, no music. The waiters will wear all black, with black shrouds over their faces like the puppeteers in Bunraku theater. The plates will be the snake pattern by Laboratorio Paravicini. I think the food should be humble and the space grand, or the space should be simple and the food very elevated.

What’s the talk of the night?

If you invite the right people, you get to just sit back and listen to them.

You also get to invite one character from your new novel, To Paradise, a threepart epic taking place in alternate past, present, and future versions of NYC. Who?

Dr. Charles Griffith, from the third section of the book, which takes place in the year 2093. He’s a virologist in a time of pandemics and has had to make certain moral compromises—I’m always interested in people who in good faith make decisions they later live to regret.

Where would you dine the next day, to reward yourself for all the hard work?

I’d go to Pho´ Tô-Châu in Honolulu’s Chinatown—it’s the best pho I’ve ever had in America. The restaurant is run by three elderly siblings, and they always remember my order: the No. 1, with raw steak on the side and extra culantro, plus spring rolls and their house-made lemon soda.

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