Hi Friends,
When the pandemic began here in New York and the outer boroughs we were all locked inside. I was almost giddy to have an excuse to stay at home and cook all day. I love cooking and I love learning about food. I’m a sponge. I could sit and read cookbooks all day long. And so I did. I would often start first thing in the morning while still in my bathrobe. I have a surplus of high octane energy long before I even brew a cup of coffee (no need to comment here - you know who you are) and was ready to dive in. I re-read my cookbooks at my leisure, rediscovering recipes I wanted to cook and riffing on the tried and true. Sometimes I’d listen to music or the news, sometimes I preferred silence. I was happy and content to just be home doing what I loved. I would work for a while, then stop to prepare lunch.
I live alone, so I often cook enough for 2 or 3 meals. But as time went on I grew tired of the same dish. I would text my friend Val who lives in the neighborhood, and also part of my Covid pod, and bike over and deliver the extras. I was also recording how-to video’s for my best friend Lisa who wanted some easy recipes to cook for her family. I was delighted to oblige.
I maintained this level of optimism almost throughout the entire year of lockdown. Then I hit a wall. An anxiety wall. I lost my appetite. I questioned if this was the new way we were all going to live? I didn’t think things were going to “go back to normal”. I missed dinner parties and cooking with friends the most. Looking back, I guess it was gradual, and normal under the circumstances. But this was likely the new normal and it was lonely.
Before Covid, I used to cook with my friend Steve who is a wonderful cook. Steve and I often cooked together at the house he shares with his husband in upstate NY. It’s worth mentioning that our cooking styles couldn’t be more different. I’m tidy and organized, cleaning as I go. I find prep soothing; almost hypnotic. Steve by contrast enjoys a more explosive style with bags of ingredients spilling everywhere, covering every inch of counter space, as well as a confetti system of foods chopped and strewn about on cutting boards and plates. The floor is littered with debris as if a small tornado powered through their tiny kitchen! We are literally the complete opposite the kitchen. As well as Astrologically - me a Virgo (natch) and Steve a Pisces.
Despite our polarity, we have fun and learn a lot (I mostly from him). I love his free style – no measurements – just flowing ideas. For instance, many years ago he introduced me to Aleppo pepper, which is now quite popular. For those not familiar, it is similar to ancho chili, but it’s a bit oilier and the flakes are larger than your average ground chili. It’s fairly mild in the heat department with a smoky, sweet roundness that slowly builds giving a kick at the end. It’s a staple in my kitchen. I put it on eggs, in yogurt dips, and use it a substitute for standard chili powder. Once you taste it you’ll want it on everything. Steve scatters a handful on top of shaved eggplant, along with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt on a cookie sheet and throws it in a hot oven and roasted until it is golden and caramelized. Divine!
It looks like this summer I will be able to reunite with friends and cook together again. In the meantime I’m compiling recipes and dreaming of reunions, sunshine and lot’s of laughs. I’ll leave you with a riff on a recipe I love using Aleppo pepper in place of sweet paprika. It’s from one of the many cookbooks I am inspired by called “Sababa - Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen” by Adeena Sussman. I love Sussman’s recipes, and her preserved lemon recipe is a staple condiment stored in my fridge.
The recipe below is for Preserved Lemon Paste which she describes as almost like an aioli if you “blast in the blender enough”. Instead of sweet paprika, I used Aleppo pepper for some heat. I add a heaping teaspoon of this delicious paste to greek yogurt for a really tasty dip. I also love it on fish or added to lentils. *I also cut this recipe in half because a little goes a long way. It keeps in the fridge for months!
Preserved Lemon Paste
1 cup preserved lemons (2 large preserved lemons from her recipe - or store-bought), seeds removed, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Combine lemons and paprika in a blender or the small bowl of a food processor, turn on the machine, and drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture is creamy and emulsified, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. If you have a NutriBullet-style blender or attachment, just mix everything together and whirr for about 15 seconds for a super creamy spread; if you want to keep it low-tech, you can chop the preserved lemons by hand as small as you can, drop them in a bowl, add the paprika, then whisk the olive oiling slowly. It’ll be chunkier, and you’ll have to whisk again with a fork before using, but it’s still delicious.
Makes 1 1/2 cups
Recipe © “Sababa - Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen” by Adeena Sussman
FOOD: Kitchen diary
Great post. I am going to make the paste tonight. And thanks again for feeding us all fall and winter (and spring). Everything you cook turns into gold!
Oh I sound like Steve.... explosive in the kitchen!