In kitchens across the world, focaccia gardens are blooming. On top of the flatbreads, cherry tomatoes open like petals, with long scallion stalks for stems. Yellow-pepper sunflowers stand tall with Kalamata olives at their center. Red onions bud in bushes made from fresh herbs. As pandemic activities on social media go, this one might just be the prettiest. Home bakers decorate their focaccia with bouquets and swirls: The flat, white dough is an easy canvas and just as simple to prepare. During a spring when so many of us are confined, decorating them allows many bakers to bring the outdoors inside by tending these edible gardens. “It’s cathartic and therapeutic,” said Teri Culletto, a home baker in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts,...
I originally came up with this savory skillet pancake as a way to make a dent in the many pounds of zucchini a friend gifted me from her garden, but it is now a perennial favorite. In it, shredded zucchini, the star here, is mixed with just enough egg and flour to bind it into a tender pancake. The batter is poured into a skillet and then is baked, not fried, as zucchini pancakes tend to be, making it more healthful and far less messy than using the stove-top. The trick to making the pancake tender — not soggy — is to salt the shredded zucchini a bit, let it drain for fifteen minutes, and then squeeze as much water...
A medley of fresh fall fruit — pears, grapes and figs — looks splendid on the table and is lovely served as a fruit salad. But roasted together, married with a sweet-tangy glaze, it rises to another level of beauty and lusciousness entirely. The heat of the oven softens and warms the fruit, making it juicier and deepening the flavors, while giving it a true comfort-food allure. It also concentrates and caramelizes the mixture of balsamic vinegar, honey and ginger, used for coating the fruit, ultimately resulting in a glorious glaze that not only adds a layer of exciting flavor, tying the different fruits together, but also gives the dish a beautiful, painterly patina. It is a stunning, satisfying and...
Of all the cooking cultures that have put their own spin on schnitzel, this Israeli-inspired riff might be my favorite. No wonder; it comes from a new cookbook called “Sababa” (Avery), whose Tel Aviv-based author, Adeena Sussman, is a whiz at developing and adapting recipes with a modern sensibility. Like kosher cooks in Israel have done for decades, she pan-fries the pounded-thin cutlets in oil instead of butter, and uses chicken instead of the classic Austrian call for veal. What makes Sussman’s recipe particularly appealing for a crunch fan like me is its seasoned blend of panko and roasted sesame seeds. The coating stays in place, thanks to a brief respite before the chicken hits the pan, and it reaches...
Of all the cooking cultures that have put their own spin on schnitzel, this Israeli-inspired riff might be my favorite. No wonder; it comes from a new cookbook called “Sababa” (Avery), whose Tel Aviv-based author, Adeena Sussman, is a whiz at developing and adapting recipes with a modern sensibility. Like kosher cooks in Israel have done for decades, she pan-fries the pounded-thin cutlets in oil instead of butter, and uses chicken instead of the classic Austrian call for veal. What makes Sussman’s recipe particularly appealing for a crunch fan like me is its seasoned blend of panko and roasted sesame seeds. The coating stays in place, thanks to a brief respite before the chicken hits the pan, and it reaches...
