Episode 5: White Fra-chili-ty (With Sam Sanders)
We’re back! The pandemic has extended its run, so we have, too! But now, it’s hot out and everyone’s sweaty and no one wants to turn on their ovens. That’s okay, we have ideas. Plus, the wonderful Sam Sanders (@SamSanders) joins us to tell us about his impressive Struggle Frittata!
For a transcript of this episode, click here.
Food ideas discussed in this episode:
Salvadoran fermented cabbage with carrots, jalapeños and oregano
Here’s a recipe!
Beet kvass
Put sliced beets in a jar with water and salt. Optionally, add ginger and lemon zest. Seal and leave on the counter until it starts to fizz. Here are a couple recipes to get you started if you need more guidance.
Kuku sabzi
Persian greens fritatta with caramelized onions and cooked-down greens. Here’s Samin’s recipe, but feel free to add in whatever else you’ve got on hand, like summer squash, poblano peppers, corn, bell peppers, potatoes or roasted eggplant.
Few for All
In Los Angeles. Pasta delivered to your door!
Hrishi’s summer pasta
Fresh pasta with lemon-garlic tuna sauce. If you need a recipe, this one looks good!
Cold soba noodles
With whatever add-ins you like - for example, zucchini, corn, basil and serrano peppers, or smoked salmon, cucumbers, peanuts and lime.
One-ingredient banana ice cream
Freeze ripe bananas. Blend!
Granita
Freeze a liquid of your choice (coffee, lemonade, fruit puree+water) in a baking pan. While freezing, scrape with a fork every hour or two.
Sicilian breakfast
Coffee granita with whipped cream on a brioche.
Gazpacho
Make gazpacho according to your favorite recipe. Consider adding cubed bread toasted in olive oil. Here’s Samin’s recipe.
White Gazpacho
Blanch almonds; add a little bit of bread, water, olive oil, and garlic, maybe cucumbers. Puree and top with chopped cucumbers or green grapes. Try this recipe.
Cold cucumber soup
Experiment with different recipes for cold cucumber-yogurt soup. Or try doogh, a cucumber-yogurt drink with fizzy water.
Slow-cooked salmon
Place salmon skin-side down in a baking pan on a bed of fig leaves (shiny side up), or herbs, or parchment paper. Cook at 250°F until translucent and flaky.
Nicoise salad
Cooked, but cold, green beans, potatoes and boiled eggs. Add tomatoes, olives, and tuna. Dress with a mustardy vinaigrette.
Hrishi’s banana shake
Freeze a very ripe banana. Blend it with 10 oz of oat or almond milk, and a heaping tablespoon of raw cacao powder. Protein powder optional.
Parsi deviled eggs
Find Niloufer’s recipe here.
Nori “taco”
Make sushi rice. Wrap in a nori sheet with vegetables of your choice, or a little cooked chicken or fish.
White chili
Make chili with white beans. Leave out the tomatoes. Ta-da! White chili!
Homemade pasta without a machine
Take one cup of flour, one egg, and one egg yolk. Make a pile of flour on your countertop with a well in it, and then crack the eggs in the center and work them in with a fork. Err on the side of wetness, adding more egg yolk if needed. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then roll it out until it is thin enough to see the light through. Here’s Samin’s recipe.
Sam Sanders’s frittata
Crack 12 eggs and grate parmesan into them. In a cast iron skillet, sauté onions in butter with vegetables of your choice until they are tender. Add meat and sauté until cooked. (Samin’s version: add toasted bread and goat cheese.) Pour eggs and cheese over the vegetable mixture. Keep on the stove top until it begins to set, then cook in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes, maybe broil it for the last two or three.
One-handed pasta
While cooking pasta, count backwards from the time the pasta will be done to decide when to add some vegetables (e.g. frozen peas or corn) to the boiling water. Cook them along with the pasta and drain all together, then add sauce of your choice.
Rice cooker khichdi
We love this recipe from our friend Tejal Rao. Feel free to use a rice cooker instead of a pot on the stove.
Illustration by Mamie Rheingold