Recipes you should know volume 1
A pearl couscous salad, a lush but light pasta, hash browns as toast, and more from July
If you don’t follow me on Instagram, you might not know that I post tons of recipes/meal inspo that never makes it to my newsletter. In an effort to give these recipes a permanent home and share printable PDFs for each (which I am always getting requests for), I’ll be sending out a monthly newsletter featuring the dishes you might’ve missed. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.
My Mom’s Potato Salad
I share this every year around Fourth of July because it just *feels* like one of those festive, all-American recipes that must be consumed under the light of fireworks, but truth be told it’s excellent all summer (and year) long. My mom wasn’t breaking the mold here, but her addition of black olives will always hold a very special place in my heart. Call me biased, but it’s my favorite potato salad.
Russet potatoes, boiled till just fork tender and cooled
Sliced black olives
Chopped onion
Chopped dill pickles
Chopped celery
Chopped hard boiled eggs
Mayo
Yellow mustard
A splash of red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
A sprinkle of cayenne pepper if you like heat
Mix everything together in a bowl. This is very much a make-it-your-own recipe, so feel free to play with the amount of each ingredient based on how much you like.
Farfalle With Guanciale, Peas, and Alllll the Lemon
This recipe was developed in partnership with Gratsi wine and is the perfect summer pasta if you want something lush but still light. The lemon adds such an irresistable zing, and I love guanciale here for its meatiness.
Serves: 2-3
Cook time: 15 minutes
8 oz farfalle or other short pasta
4 oz guanciale, cut into cubes
1⁄2 large shallot or 1 small shallot, diced (about 3 tbsp total)
2⁄3 cups fresh peas
4 tbsp lemon juice (from about 2 lemons, depending on how juicy they are)
Zest of 1 lemon
1⁄2 cup grated parmigiano, plus more for serving
Bring a medium pot of very salted water to a boil and add your pasta. Cook according to package directions until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat a medium-sized skillet over high heat. Add your guanciale and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the fat has rendered and the guanciale is crisp. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon, leaving the rendered fat in the pan. Reduce heat to medium and add your shallots. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for 2-3 minutes, until shallots are golden. Add your peas and cook for 2 minutes. Add your lemon juice, zest, cooked pasta, and grated parmigiano, along with cooked guanciale and a ladleful or two of pasta water. Stir to combine. You want a glossy sauce that coats the pasta, so you might need to add more pasta water to achieve this. Serve with more parmigiano on top, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.
Cantaloupe Salad With Queso Fresco and a Chili Crisp Dressing
A near-perfect combo of cold, sweet, salty, spicy, and crunchy. The chili crisp sounds like an odd addition but trust me when I say you can’t have just one bite.
For the salad:
Cantaloupe, cut into bite-size pieces
Queso blanco, crumbled/cut into bite-sized pieces
Cilantro, finely chopped
Toasted pepitas
Flaky salt
Arrange on a plate or serving platter. How much of each ingredient you need will depend on how many you are serving. This recipe is very loose and forgiving — feel free to add more cheese for creaminess, pepitas for crunch, etc.
For the dressing:
Chili crunch
Honey
Lime juice
Olive oil
Salt
Whisk together equal-ish parts chili crunch, honey, lime juice, and olive oil with a pinch of salt. Drizzle over salad and enjoy.
Lebanese Green Beans and Tomatoes
This is my dad’s version of a classic Lebanese dish. I’m sure there are about as many recipes as there are cooks who make it, but I love the addition of finely chopped red bell peppers here, both for the texture and the taste. This tastes just as good hot as it does at room temp, so it’s perfect to make ahead.
Serves: 4
Cook time: 35 minutes
For the rice:
3 tbsp butter
1 cup vermicelli
2 cups rice, rinsed
2.5 cups water
Salt
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When melted and bubbling, add vermicelli and cook, stirring frequently, until vermicelli is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it and stir it often, as vermicelli can burn very easily. Once golden brown, add in rice and stir. Toast rice for 3 minutes. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Leave covered until ready to serve.
For the green beans:
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 lb tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup tomato sauce
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cleaned salt
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent and just starting to caramelize in some places, about 5-7 minutes. If your onion is browning too quickly, turn the heat down. Add your garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, just until very fragrant. Add in your tomato paste and stir to combine, then add in your bell peppers, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Season generously with salt. Bring everything to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook covered for about 20 minutes, until the green beans are soft. Stir every few minutes to ensure nothing sticks or burns. Serve Over rice and enjoy.
BLT With Cacio e Pepe Mayonnaise
I’m a firm believer in sauces being able to take a meal from boring to brilliant. Not that there’s anything boring about a BLT, but a little extra something-something never hurts. And in this case, that something-something is a homemade olive oil mayonnaise infused with lots of freshly grated parm and freshly cracked black pepper à la cacio e pepe. Together, they add an undeniably delicious umami flavor to this an already great classic sammie.
For the mayo:
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Sea salt
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp freshly cracked pepper
1 cup freshly grated parmigiano
Add all ingredients to a wide mouth jar. Place your immersion blender firmly at the bottom and turn on, letting it emulsify the oil and eggs together. Slowly lift it up and inch and down and inch once you see movement/emulsification slow. Once most of the oil is emulsified, slowly lift the blender out of the jar. Add in 1 tbsp freshly cracked pepper and 1 cup freshly grated parm and mix.
Roasted Carrot + Shallot Pearl Couscous Salad
I love pasta salad, but I might love pearl couscous salad more. The chewy texture and nutty taste is such a good base for your favorite pasta salad additions, but this combo of sweet roasted carrots + shallots with a zingy dressing is really just so good. This recipe was developed in partnership with O Olive Oil and Vinegar, whose Citrus Champagne Vinegar I use in the dressing.
Serves: 4-8
Cook time: 45 minutes, plus chilling
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
4 shallots, peeled and quartered
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 420. On a baking sheet, toss carrots and shallots with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, mixing halfway through, until carrots and shallots are starting to caramelize.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup pearl couscous
1.5 cups chicken or veggie broth
Heat olive oil in a saucepan and add couscous. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until couscous is golden brown and very fragrant. Add broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.
1/2 cup chopped mixed herbs (I used dill + cilantro)
1/3 cup chopped pistachios
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tbsp O Olive Oil and Vinegar Citrus Champagne Vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Flaky salt
Mix roasted veggies and pearl couscous with all ingredients. Chill until ready to serve.
Cannellini Beans With Tomatoes, Burrata, and Breadcrumbs
A stunner of a meal when you’re short on time and want something cheap but good. We use onions, garlic, tomatoes, and white wine to zhuzh up a humble can of beans, and top it all off with some homemade toasted garlic breadcrumbs (make extra of these — they taste good on everything) and a ball of burrata cheese. Also perfect as an appetizer. Serve with lots of crusty bread for dipping.
Cook time: 25 minutes
Serves: 2 for a main, 4 for a side/appetizer
For the garlic parm breadcrumbs:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmigiano
sea salt
In a large skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat until butter is melted and foamy. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, just until fragrant and starting to brown. Add breadcrumbs and cook, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and toasty. Turn off the heat and stir in the parm and a pinch of sea salt. Remove from pan to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out pan.
For the beans:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup Gratsi white wine
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sliced castelvetrano olives
1/2 cup water
sea salt
1 ball burrata
Heat olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat, then add onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent. Add in garlic and cook just until fragrant. Add in cherry tomatoes along with white wine and a generous pinch of salt and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes until tomatoes begin to break down. Add in cannellini beans, olives, and water, and season again with salt. Cook until beans are very soft and tomatoes are jammy, about 10 minutes. If it looks too dry, add a splash more water.
To serve, top with burrata and breadcrumbs. Serve with crusty bread.
Tomato Mayo Hashbrown Toast
Less of a recipe and more of a suggestion to make your favorite savory toasts on crispy, crunchy, golden hash browns. Promise you won’t regret it — and might never go back.
2 hash browns, cooked according to package directions (I always use my air fryer here)
Your favorite plain or flavored mayo (I used a homemade garlic basil one)
Thick slices of tomato
Red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper
Spread hash browns with mayo, top with tomato slices, and drizzle on red wine vinegar and olive oil. Finish with salt and pepper and enjoy.