1 recipe Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough (below), or your favorite
2 1/2 pounds (5 small-medium or 3 large) zucchini or summer squash, trimmed
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 cups (8oz) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese
2 to 3 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough
2 cups minus 1 tablespoon (250g) all-purpose or bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons (5g) instant or active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon (heaped) fine sea or table salt
2/3 cup (150g) room-temperature water
Heat your oven to 500°F with a rack in the center. Brush either one 13×18-inch rimmed half-sheet pan or two 9×13-inch quarter-sheet pans (as I do) with olive oil. Divide your dough in half and use oiled fingertips to pull, stretch, nudge and press the dough across the bottom of the pan. The dough will be thin and imperfect; just try to get it even. If holes form, just pinch them together.
Use a food processor with a grater attachment or the large holes of a box grater to grate the zucchini. In a large bowl, toss together the zucchini and salt. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes (more, if you have the time), until the zucchini has wilted and released its water. Drain the zucchini in a colander and then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as possible, a fistful at a time.
Back in the large bowl (wiped out if still wet), toss the zucchini with the gruyere shreds, being sure to break up any clumps of zucchini. Taste the mixture; it should be seasoned enough from the salt, but you can add more, plus ground pepper or pepper flakes if desired.
Spread the zucchini mixture over the dough(s), going all the way to the edges of the pan and piling it a bit thicker at the edges, where it will brown first. Sprinkle messily with the bread crumbs.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the topping is golden. Remove from oven, cut into squares and dig in.
Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until well blended, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours. Continue using instructions above.
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In oven, melt butter in a 9-inch pie plate, about 6 minutes.
2. In a blender, combine milk, eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla. Add melted butter and blend mixture until smooth, 30 seconds.
3. Distribute berries evenly in pie plate and pour batter over top. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar and bake until slightly puffed and just set in middle, 20 to 25 minutes. Heat broiler and broil until top is deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve warm.
onion sliced into strips or 1 leek sliced into thin rounds
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound asparagus, tough ends removed, thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
Ground nutmeg
9-10 inch pie crust
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (4 ounces)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lowest position. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium. Add onion and asparagus; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until asparagus is crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes; let cool. Watch:
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, 1/2 teaspoon salt, teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Place pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with cheese; top with asparagus mixture. Pour egg mixture on top.
3. Bake until center of quiche is just set, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
8 ounces green beans or Chinese long beans, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), cut into 1/2-by-2-inch sticks
3/4 cup veggie stock
1/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
3 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon palm or granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 package (14 ounces) extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 cups cooked jasmine or basmati rice, for serving
Fresh purple, Thai, or regular basil leaves; fresh bean sprouts; and lime wedges, for garnish
1. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until just starting to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add curry paste; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the green beans and zucchini; cook, stirring, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in stock, coconut milk, and lime leaves. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Stir in fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice. Simmer 1 minute.
3. Stir in the tofu, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook until vegetables are tender and tofu is heated through, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately over rice, garnished with basil, bean sprouts, and lime wedges.
In a bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add tofu, and toss to coat.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg-white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and tofu, and set aside (reserve skillet).
4. Add snow-pea mixture to skillet. Cover; cook until snow peas are tender and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat. Serve with rice.
To prepare sauce: In a small saucepan over medium-high, combine first 8 ingredients. Bring a boil; cook 20-25 minutes or until reduced by half and thick enough to coat back of a spoon. Remove from heat; discard garlic and ginger.
Soak 6-8 wooden skewers. Preheat grill or grill pan.
Soak sprouts in a bowl of water 5 minutes. Drain; toss with oil and salt. Arrange on skewers with cut sides all facing same direction. Place cut side down on grill; cook 3-4 minutes (on grill), 7-8 minutes (in grill pan), or until charred, basting with sauce after first minute. Turn and grill 2 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer to a platter; slather with sauce. Sprinkle generously with furikake and cilantro; serve hot.
2 tablespoons pitted, halved and very thinly sliced black olives
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Zest and juice from half a lemon (if you’ve got one of those sad, juiceless lemons, use both sides for juice)
Couple good pinches of salt
A few grinds of black pepper, and/or pinches of red pepper flakes
A few glugs of olive oil
Mix everything but the olive oil in a small-to-midsize bowl. Very lightly smash the chickpea mixture with the back of a fork or a potato masher. You’re not looking for a hummus-like puree but something closer to a coarse chop with a few smaller bits to hold it together. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, a glug or two of olive oil, mix it lightly and enjoy.
This is also awesome as a sandwich on toasted bread. Technically, it needs nothing else on it. But, if you want to doll it up, here are some ideas: A slice of roasted red pepper (‘wichcraft’s way), a slice of pickled garlicky red pepper (our way), and a few leaves of sharp greens, such as watercress or arugula. Or, as shown right above this recipe, on an open-faced slice of toast first schmeared with a tahini dressing. Make tahini dressing with a big spoonful of tahini, one minced garlic clove, a squeeze of lemon juice, and thinned with water to a loose but spreadable consistency. Season well with salt and pepper.
Three more delicious ingredients to add, if you have them: Harissa, mixed in, or dolloped on top. A small spoonful of minced, preserved lemon. A larger spoonful or two of olive tapenade, in place of the chopped olives.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 8 inch round cake pans with flour-based baking spray, or grease and flour.
Place the cranberries in a medium bowl and add brown sugar; toss to coat and set aside. Combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until incorporated. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg, sour cream, melted butter, and almond extract. Beat until well blended. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix together on low speed until just combined. Use a large spatula to scrape down the bowl and fold batter together to make sure no pockets of flour or wet ingredients remain.
Divide half of the batter between the two prepared pans. The batter will be thick and sticky, so coat a rubber spatula with cooking spray and use it to press the batter evenly into the pans (re-spray as needed). Top each pan of batter with 1/4 of the brown sugar-coated cranberries. Cut almond paste in half and crumble one half of the paste into each pan over the cranberries. Divide the remaining batter between the two pans. Spread evenly with a greased rubber spatula. Divide the remaining brown sugar-coated cranberries between the two pans; sprinkle with the sliced almonds.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cakes are golden brown on top and a toothpick tester inserted into the centers comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to the skewer. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing, stir together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and almond extract in a medium bowl. Add additional milk if needed to thin. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cakes. Serve.
Refrigerate leftovers. Bring cake to room temperature or warm in the microwave or oven before serving.
