Staying In No. 4

Break out the tahini. We're making hummus, baby.

As one reader (hi Lauren!) pointed out in the comments, last week’s Staying In was essentially a plug for Gregory Gourdet’s Everybody’s Table. This week, I’m plugging Michael Solomonov’s Zahav.

I like recommending cookbooks because, as someone who doesn’t write her own recipes but shares them on the Internet anyways, I feel extra obligated to praise those who do.

Writing a cookbook is no easy feat. Take, for example, this anecdote that David Leibovitz shared in his newsletter this week:

“I once spent a vacation in Sicily staring out of the window of a small room with a desk, watching everyone leave for a day-long excursion while I proofed a manuscript — pondering whether readers refer to dark chocolate as semisweet or bittersweet, and making sure that 1 cup of almonds weighs 130 grams, not 120 grams (and if five extra almonds in a recipe really make a difference?) — reading it through line by line, all 100,000 words of it.”

Anyways, aside from giving credit where credit is due, I also just love a good cookbook.

You know how some people buy a million pairs of shoes? Or have a thing for pajamas? My thing is cookbooks.

Because I can’t bring all of them home, I’m picky about which ones I do. So when I recommend a cookbook, know that it’s one I turn to over and over again. Not one that sits in a closet until it eventually finds its way to Goodwill.

✨ Inspo ingredients for the week: tahini and peaches ✨

DINNERS

• Fried Potatoes with Harissa Tehina| Grilled Branzino Fillets with Fava Labneh Puree

• Sausage Sandwiches | Grilled Asparagus

• Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Mint | Coffee and Fennel Rubbed Steak with Orange Thyme Butter

LUNCH

• Hummus | Pita Bread | Crudité

BREAKFAST

• Eggs in a Basket

DESSERT

• Peach Galette

Notes:

• Peaches are on sale right now at most grocery stores so it’s the perfect excuse to make a galette. You can use pretty much any fruit you have on hand if you’re allergic to stone fruit or something.

• I am including a recipe for tehina sauce, a basic building block of Israeli cooking. You can use this as a base for roasted vegetables, drizzled over meats, in baking, etc. This week, the tehina is the foundational ingredient for the hummus and fried potatoes recipes.

• Do you have a giant container of pickles in your fridge? Are you about to throw out the remaining brine? Hold up. Make this week’s potato recipe instead.

• I’m eating Eggs in a Basket this week because apparently the Internet is up in arms about what to call these. Toad in a hole? Eggs in a hole? Either way, it made me want one. Cut a hole in the middle of your toast, butter the pan and cook the bread until golden brown, crack an egg in the middle, and flip until the egg is runny yet cooked.

• I plan on eating a lot of leftovers this week and supplementing with New Seasons White Cheddar Mac and Cheese, as needed.

• Get your sausages from Scratch Meats! They are at many farmer’s markets and offer free delivery in the Portland area.

Fried Potatoes with Harissa Tehina

Michael Solomonov| Zahav

Pickle brine: it’s not just for picklebacks. Turns out pickle brine makes the perfect seasoning for fried potatoes. All you have to do is pickle the potatoes, drain them, and fry. Serve alongside this harissa tehina sauce (although they’re perfectly fine on their own). Make sure you prep the potatoes the night before you cook them.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Yukon Gold potatoes (3/4 pound), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

• 2 cups brine plus two tablespoons

• Canola oil, for frying

• 1 cup tehina sauce (see recipe below)

• 1/4 cup harissa

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, cover the sliced potatoes with 2 cups of the pickle brine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Make the tehina. Whisk together the tehina sauce (not tahini! You need to follow the recipe below for actual tehina sauce) and 2 tablespoons of pickle brine. Stir in the harissa.

3. When you’re ready to cook, drain the potatoes and pat dry. In a nonstick skillet like a cast iron, heat a thin layer of oil. Working in batches, fry the potatoes in a single layer over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until they’re lightly browned and tender, about 5 minutes per batch. Serve with the harissa tehina.

Basic Tehina Sauce

Michael Solomonov| Zahav

Okay, so this recipe is kind of nuts. The first step calls for putting an entire head of garlic UNPEELED into a blender along with some lemon juice. Sounds bananas, but you obviously strain out the peel, and it really isn’t that much effort considering the payout. The final volume is about 4 cups and the sauce is super versatile. It’s used in like 50% of the recipes in Zahav. You can drizzle the tehina over meats and veggies or use it in baked goods and hummus. You can also freeze whatever you don’t use this week. That’s what I’m doing.

At first, I thought tehina sauce was just tahini. But no. You’re essentially taking tahini and adding lemon, water, and garlic and to make a more liquidy sauce. To note: the sauce will seize up as you whisk but persist. It will be fine. Oh, and don’t use a whisk. Use a fork.

Hummus Tehina

Michael Solomonov| Zahav

Last week I shared the granola recipe to end all granola recipes. Consider this the hummus recipe to end all hummus recipes. You know when you go to a really good Mediterranean restaurant like Shalom Y’All and the hummus is impossibly smooth? This recipe helps you get that consistency at home. It takes a little bit of time and planning, but it will feed you throughout the week and is a worthy weekend project.

Grilled Branzino with Fava Bean Puree

Michael Solomonov| Zahav

I know, I know. Where the hell are you going to buy branzino? If you’re in Portland, try Flying Fish Co., Zupans, or New Seasons. Branzino is also known as European sea bass so just find something along those lines.

The fish here is grilled in under five minutes and paired with a fava bean puree. Fava beans are in season right now, but you should also be able to find them in the frozen aisle. You could also skip the puree and just serve alongside potatoes and a grilled veggie.

Sausage Sandwiches

Alex Cook | Original Recipe

Whenever we invite friends over for a BBQ, this is what Alex makes. It tastes like summer.

INGREDIENTS

• Good sausages

• Good buns

• An onion, thinly sliced

• Green and red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• Olive oil

• A beer, N/A is fine

• Salt

• A good spicy mustard

DIRECTIONS

Either over a grill or a stovetop, heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. If using a grill, have one side of the grill hot and the other on low heat. Add the beer, sausage, and enough water to just cover the sausage. Bring to a low simmer and poach for a few minutes.

Empty the skillet and return it to medium-low heat. Set sausages aside. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When oil is shimmering, add peppers, onions and a little bit of salt. Cook until soft.

Add sausages to pan with the peppers or, if using a grill, add sausages to the cool side of the grill. Cook until you feel like they are done, turning the sausages from time to time. You could also use a thermometer. You can pull them around 150 degrees.

Toast the buns.

Serve. Spread a lot of mustard on the bun, nestle the sausage in there, and top with a whole bunch of peppers and onions. Add some more mustard on top.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Mint

Melissa Clark | New York Times (Gifted Link)

I love snap peas in salad. If you’re looking for something bright, crunchy, and refreshing to bring to your next backyard party, this is for you. It’s honestly so easy and goes with anything. Just slice up radishes and snap peas, toss in a simple vinaigrette along with some mint and feta or another salty hard cheese like ricotta salata (not regular ricotta), and you’re done. It’s nice to switch it up from leafy salads and eat something with a little more bite.

Coffee and Fennel Rubbed Steak with Orange Thyme Butter

The Oregonian

If you grew up in Oregon, you likely read our state’s stalwart newspaper, The Oregonian. You might recall the FoodDay section that featured recipes written by editors, local chefs, and readers. The Oregonian compiled their most popular submissions into a cookbook, and it’s a hidden gem. This recipe is one of my favorites and really elevates your at-home steak game. It involves rubbing a strip or New York steak with a coffee fennel seed blend and then topping the cooked steak with an orange thyme butter that you’ll want to put on everything.

Peach Galette

Melissa Clark | The New York Times (Gifted Link)

Galettes are the dessert of the summer, and one of my favorite things they serve at Bellwether, which I reviewed on Thursday here. Take any berry and fruit that’s in season, wrap them in a flaky dough, and you’re done. Here’s a foundational recipe from Melissa Clark (who is also responsible for the snap pea salad above!).