Good morning! Today we have for you:
A stunning fish dish that’s light and bright
Hello, friends. I hope this finds you well and catching the scent of spring in the air. It’s Oscars night (technically, afternoon?) here in Los Angeles and there are plenty of parties all over town. With unseasonably high temperatures, it feels more like summer, and the tail end of citrus season is perfect for breezy dishes. To savor the last of tree-fallen (or supermarket sales of) lemons and oranges, I’m putting together this skillet of fish smothered with tender leeks and citrus slices. Last year, Andy Baraghani created this beautiful dish for Nowruz, the new year celebration in Iran, parts of the Middle East and Central Asia and their diasporas. This year, the annual welcome to spring falls on Friday; it celebrates light and hope, even in dark times. You can taste the new season in so many Nowruz dishes, fresh and bright as they are with an abundance of herbs. Featured Recipe Slow-Cooked Fish With Citrus and HerbsWhat I love about Andy’s fish is that it’s as much a joy to make as it is to serve and eat. There’s a steadiness to slicing fragrant leeks, garlic, lemon and clementine, a rhythm to grinding saffron. Starting the dish on the stovetop scents the kitchen; slowly baking it in the oven offers enough hands-off time to finish the accompaniments. The importance of Nowruz is reflected in an elaborate sabzi polo, the herbed rice capped with a crunchy tahdig, the crust formed from lettuce, rice mixed with yogurt or lavash or another thin flatbread. On Wednesday night, I opted for sheveed polo, a simpler and quicker dill rice, but I can’t wait to nail that crunchy tahdig tonight. It’s an all-time favorite food, one I hope to turn out as well as Andy does. There are more amazing Nowruz recipes here from Andy, Naz Deravian, Samin Nosrat and other brilliant recipe creators. For the rest of the day and week, here are more almost-spring dishes: Baked lemon pudding: I’m starting with dessert simply because I baked this one to serve after Andy’s fish (and to use up more backyard lemons). Also, it’s St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday, and this airy, lemony cross between a soufflé, pudding and cake comes from one of Ireland’s most lauded bakers, JR Ryall. As the head pastry chef of Ballymaloe House in the aching green countryside, he turns out jewels of dessert. This big dish is meant for home bakers. You have to whip whites to form peaks, but that just takes patience. The magic those clouds work — naturally separating the batter into a pudding base and spongy cake top — requires only your sliding the dish into the oven. Orange and cardamom roast chicken: Sundays are meant for whole roasted birds and the last Sunday of winter calls for the warming scent of cardamom and clove. Both of those spices, along with plenty of black pepper, brings out the bittersweetness of orange. Zainab Shah infuses butter with the fruit’s zest to coat the chicken and simmers the juice into a rich sauce at the end. She suggests adding carrots and potatoes to the pan to turn this into a complete meal. I’m definitely going to try that or go with kabocha squash cut into wedges. Deeply roasted cabbage with peanut crunch: There was a time when I would have rolled my eyes at the suggestion of a wedge of cabbage for a whole dinner. And then I ate this stunner from Nisha Vora. Not only does it hit every craving with crunchy nuts, tangy tamarind, hot chiles, sweet dates and charred cabbage, but it’s also shockingly filling. She says it’s just as delicious without the optional fresh curry leaves — and it is — but if you can get them, they deliver a thin chip crackle and woozy pine aroma. Tomato-Braised Bacon Pasta: If my kid comes home from college for dinner tonight (please do!), they will probably text “tomato pasta” when I ask what they want. I know they’ll love this five-ingredient one from Christian Reynoso because they are a chewy bacon person. They didn’t get that from me, that’s for sure, but I may become a convert because of this dish. Christian lets the pieces soften along with shallots and garlic into the crushed tomatoes, enriching the sauce and making the meat meatier. He calls for 12 ounces of spaghetti for a saucier mix, but I throw in the whole box and find the noodles still nicely coated. Plus, I like to reheat leftovers for breakfast and slide a fried egg on top. Spicy tuna tartare in sesame miso cones: Wolfgang Puck shared three of his Oscars recipes with us, including this timeless starter that has been on his menus since 1998. If you’re hosting a watch party tonight, this simple tartare will really impress. When you get to the market’s fish counter, ask to sniff the slab of tuna: It should smell a tad fish-sweet or have no smell at all. If you’re not feeling good about it, you can get “sushi-grade” tuna by ordering sashimi from your favorite sushi spot. Then you’ll also have the wasabi and ginger called for in the otherwise-pantry-ingredient blend. As for the cones, I’ll be honest: Rolling them is not as effortless as Puck makes it look in this fun video. The tuile batter, however, comes together simply and you can leave them as flat rounds after they bake. Or, you know, just buy some crackers. Sesame ones made from rice flour taste great piled with tartare. Lastly, this isn’t a meal or even that practical, but it’s quite the satisfying project: Preserve a lemon. Earlier this year, the specialty store owner Jessica Wang told me she was going to prepare just one hoshigaki, hanging a single Hachiya persimmon in her kitchen window. It was too overwhelming to do any more, but she wanted to engage in the transformation. The sentiment stuck with me, so this past week, I quartered a single lemon and packed it into a half-pint jar with salt, peppercorns, bay leaves and coriander seeds. Looking at that lovely little beauty each day is a delight and I can’t wait to use it once its metamorphosis is complete. Thanks for reading! For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started.
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