‘Triumphant and unfussy’
SMITTEN KITCHEN’S DEB PERELMAN TACKLES EVERYDAY COOKING
‘Ioften call my style of cooking a little bit selfi sh,” Deb Perelman says, “As long as you’re being fairly considerate of the other people at the table, why not just make something that really inspires you?”
Perelman is one of the original food bloggers. Smitten Kitchen, which she launched from her tiny NYC kitchen more than a decade ago, is home to 1,200- plus recipes and an estimated quarter- to half-a-million comments. Her funny and honest take on home cooking has made her one of food blogging’s biggest stars.
While she’s self- taught and “just wanted to cook,” many other first- wave food bloggers were “super foodie,” Perelman says. She describes herself as being driven by pickiness; fascinated with creating what she considers to be the ultimate expression of a dish.
Whether it’s how to make the ultimate grandma-style chicken soup or a new way to turn a can of tomatoes into an exceptional sauce, she says these happy discoveries “have the power to completely change the course of a day.”
It’s in this spirit that she approached her second cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant & Unfussy New Favorites ( Appetite by Random House, 2017). As with her blog and first cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook ( 2012), Perelman shot and styled all the photos. Of the 115 recipes, 101 are new — the remaining 14 first appeared on her blog.
Over the past five years, Perelman came to the realization that going through the “real- life grind” of feeding her family of four made cooking better. She learned when to streamline recipes if steps weren’t worth the added stress — e. g. “Nobody wants to julienne” — but also where a more elaborate preparation or extra ingredient made all the difference in the finished product.
“I didn’t want it feel like drudgery. It’s so easy to get in this trap of, alright, let’s just make some chicken tonight. We lose the enjoyment of (cooking) when it becomes something that needs to be done,” Perelman says. GRANDMA- STYLE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP Broth: ❚1 tbsp ( 15 mL) oil of your choice or butter ❚ 2 large onions, unpeeled, quartered ❚ 2 medium carrots, cut into 1-to-2-inch segments ❚ 2 celery stalks, cut into 1- to-2inch segments ❚ 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled and lightly smashed ❚ A handful of parsley stems (save the leaves for garnish) ❚ 2 tsp (10 mL) peppercorns ❚ 1 bay leaf ❚ One 3 1/4-to-4-lb (about 1 3/4-kg) chicken, either whole or cut into halves so it fits better in your pot ❚ 14 cups (3 1/3 L) water To finish: ❚ 8 oz (225 g) dried egg noodles ❚ 5 celery stalks, in 1/2- to-1- inch chunks ❚ 5 medium carrots, in 1/2- to-1inch chunks ❚ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste ❚ Chopped fresh parsley leaves Make the broth:
1. Heat the oil or butter in the bottom of your largest pot (8 litres is ideal here) over medium heat, and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re browned in spots and a little soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, parsley stems, peppercorns, bay l eaf, and chicken, then the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, mostly covered, for 25 minutes, then use tongs to remove the chicken from the broth, leaving the broth covered on the lowest heat.
3. As soon as the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and pick the meat from the bones, covering it and setting it aside until needed. Return the bones to the stock and bring it back to a simmer. Cook, mostly covered, for 1 to 2 hours; less time will make a fine pot of soup; a longer amount of time will make an even more developed flavour.
4. Pour the soup through a finemesh strainer, wipe out your stockpot, and return the broth to it. ( You should have about 3 litres of stock.) Cook the noodles:
5. Bring a separate pot of wellsalted water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package directions; drain when finished. Finish the soup:
6. Meanwhile, bring the soup broth back to a simmer and add salt and pepper to taste — I usually need at least 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of pepper adds a nice warmth — then add the additional celery and cook for 5 minutes; then the additional carrots, and cook everything together for 7 to 10 minutes more, or until the vegetables are tender.
7. Add the reserved chicken and noodles, taste again for seasoning and adjust as needed, and heat just to warm through. Ladle into bowls and finish with fresh herbs. Makes: 8 hearty servings
HERB AND GARLIC BAKED CAMEMBERT
❚ One 8- to- 9- oz ( 225- to-255- g) wheel Camembert ❚ 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil ❚1 tsp ( 5 mL) minced fresh thyme leaves ❚ 1 tsp (5 mL) minced fresh rosemary leaves ❚ 1/4 tsp (1 mL) kosher salt ❚ 1/4 tsp ( 1 mL) ground black pepper ❚ 1 large garlic clove, sliced very thin ❚ Crackers, preferably l ong enough to dip with, for serving
Heat t he oven to 350° F (180°C).
Assemble: Most Camembert comes in a little wooden crate. If yours does, remove the crate lid and any packaging or wrappers around the cheese, and place it back inside the basket. Yes, it is safe to bake it right in there for the short time that this recipe calls for. If you’re nervous about leakage, you can wrap the Camembert in foil or line the basket with parchment paper as a layer of protection. Place the cheese in the wooden crate on a baking tray.
3. With a thin sharp knife, make gridlike cuts in the cheese, 3 or 4 in each direction, about 1 inch ( 2.5 cm) apart and going about 1 inch ( 2.5 cm) deep into the cheese but without cutting through the bottom rind. Use your knife tip to “open” each cut and your fingers to press a little sliver of garlic into each cut. Combine the olive oil with the thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small dish. Spread thickly on top of the cheese.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is loose inside the rind. Serve immediately with crackers. Makes: 4 servings
WINTER SQUASH FLATBREAD WITH HUMMUS AND ZA’ATAR
Squash: ❚ 4 cups (1 L) lukewarm water ❚ 4 tsp ( 20 mL) fine sea or table salt ❚ 2 1/2 lb (a little more than 1 kg) butternut or similarly firmfleshed winter squash, peeled, seeds removed, and very thinly sliced, ideally on a mandoline
Assembly:
❚ 1- lb ( 455- g) unbaked, fully risen pizza dough ( recipe follows) ❚ 4 tbsp ( 60 mL) olive oil, plus more to oil pans and your fingertips
Spices:
❚ 3/4 tsp (3 mL) ground cumin ❚ 1/2 tsp ( 2 mL) ground coriander ❚ 1/4 tsp (1 mL) Aleppo pepper or other mild chili flakes ❚ Freshly ground black pepper
To finish:
❚ 1/4 cup (60 g) plain yogurt ❚ 1/4 cup (55 g) hummus ❚ A couple squeezes of lemon juice ❚ Salt and freshly ground black pepper ❚ Za’atar, for sprinkling ❚ 3 tbsp ( 25 g) pine nuts, well toasted ❚ Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, chopped
1. Prepare the squash: Combine the water and salt in a large bowl and add the sliced squash. Soak for 25 to 30 minutes, after which the squash slices will be soft and bendy. Drain them in a colander, and press out as much water as you can; then spread the squash out on paper towels to blot it further.
2. Assemble flatbread: Heat the oven to 450° F ( 230° C). Brush either one 13-by-18-inch (33-by46- cm) rimmed half sheet pan or two 9- by-13- inch ( 23- by- 33cm) quarter sheet pans with olive oil. (Divide the dough in half, if using two pans.) With oiled fingertips, press, nudge, and stretch dough to fit the shape of the pan( s). Thin, imperfect dough is just fine here. If holes form, patch them together.
3. In a large bowl, combine 4 tablespoons ( 60 mL) olive oil, cumin, coriander, Aleppo pepper, and several grinds of black pepper. Add the squash and toss to evenly coat. Spread the mixture over the dough( s), going all the way to the edges so that there are no uncovered spots. The edges brown more quickly, so you can make the squash slices a little thicker there.
4. Bake the flatbread( s): Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the squash is golden at the edges but tender and baked through. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
5. Meanwhile, to serve: Stir together the yogurt and hummus, and add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. When the flatbread has cooled a bit, dollop the yogurt-hummus mixture all over, and sprinkle with za’atar, pine nuts, and herbs. Cut into desired shape. Makes: 2 quarter- sheet flatbreads or 1 half- sheet flatbread
A VERY SIMPLE PIZZA DOUGH
Makes: 1 half-sheet (13-by-18inch/ 33- by- 46- cm), 2 quartersheet ( 9- by-13- inch/ 23- by- 33cm) or 2 12- inch ( 30- cm) round thin pizzas; dough clocks in at a smidge over 1 lb ( 455 g) but works seamlessly in recipes calling for a 1-lb dough ❚ 2 1/ 3 cups ( 305 g) all- purpose or bread flour ❚ 1 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast ( from half a 1/4- oz or 7-g packet) ❚ 1 1/4 tsp coarse sea or kosher salt ❚ 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp (190 g) room temperature water, plus more if needed
1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, combine everything until it forms a craggy ball. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to bring the dough together. Reach your hands into the bowl and knead the dough to form a more cohesive mass, just for 1 minute. Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours.