What you’re looking at looks pretty elegant, doesn’t it? Some might even call it ostentatious in this current climate. But what you’re actually looking at is a handful of pantry staples, the end of a yogurt container and a few egg yolks. This Tuna Tahchin with Green Lentils and Preserved Lemon is my pantry’s take on the classic Iranian dish – Tahchin. Tahchin is a sort of rice cake bound together by yogurt and eggs and seasoned with saffron. It can stay as simple as that and still be called a tahchin. But most versions include a layer of protein, most often chicken, in the center. I made it with tuna, lentils and preserved lemon because that’s what I have in my house right now.
If you think the recipes on this blog are a window into what I eat in my daily life, you’re sorely mistaken. Sure, there are dishes that work their way into my weekly rotation. But no I’m certainly not hand pleating dumplings on a Tuesday night. I want the food that appears on this blog to be special. ‘Company’s coming’ kind of food. Or ‘I feel like puttering around and being cozy in the kitchen’ kind of meals. So, when I call for deep frying, please believe this is not an everyday occurrence in our house. I don’t do it effortlessly on a daily basis. So yeah, I don’t ask you to deep fry something lightly. But when I do call for it in a recipe, you best believe it’s for a good reason and these Za’atar Potato Chips are a VERY good reason.
Scotch eggs, in their original form, are among my favorite guilty pleasures. For the uninitiated, a scotch egg consists of an egg enrobed in sausage meat, rolled in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried for good measure. It’s a fairly debaucherous snack to be sure, but oh so worth it for every greasy bite. But for the vegetarians in the crowd, the scotch egg is a no-fly zone. And I think that’s too bad because, to me, the sausage meat in a scotch egg is far from the main attraction. The mark of a good scotch egg, in my books, is a crisp exterior matched with a gloriously runny yolk. So, I nixed the sausage meat and replaced it with a homage to another British classic – mushy peas. And boom! These Vegetarian Scotch Eggs were born.
Ah, the cauliflower. Is there anything it can’t do? It’s the culinary understudy for so many things – rice, mashed potatoes, pizza dough, and even chicken wings. Or at least, that’s what Pinterest and the like will have you believe. There is no denying that the cauliflower is as magical as it appears but, let’s be honest, you won’t be mistaking it for a chicken anytime soon. No, the beauty of the cauliflower doesn’t lie in its ability to imitate, it lies in its ability to disappear. Shred-it, boil it, rice it, or fry it; unless you’re adding to a crudites platter, you’re probably doing everything in your power to conceal it. And you know what? That’s okay. The cauliflower is a blank slate, and that’s precisely why these Pomegranate Cauliflower Wings are so dang addictive.
