Recipe Zest

Ingredients 140g bucatini (any long pasta will do) 130g pancetta, chopped into 1/4" cubes 50g peas 2 bunches ramps 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup chicken stock Method Bring pot of unsalted water to boil and add pasta.  The less water there is the more concentrated the starchy water will become  Fry pancetta in skillet until browned and crispy Wash ramps and cut into leaves, stems and whites Cook the ramp whites in a little bit of the fat from the pancetta.  When softened, add the white wine and cook until the wine has cooked off.  Turn heat to low Add chicken stock, purple parts of ramps, cooked pancetta and peas Add some of the water from the pasta to the ramps, and then salt the remaining pasta and water, and finish cooking the pasta Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the other ingredients.  Add the ramp greens and toss until the greens have wilted.  Ideally there will be just a small amount of liquid remaining, which will be absorbed by the pasta after plati...

Ingredients Pork chops Paprika New potatoes Mushrooms Pearl onions 1 tsp Soy sauce 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 sprig thyme 1/4 cup red wine 1/2 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup sour cream Parsley Method Salt pork chop and let sit at least one hour on rack in fridge Boil potatoes until done (about 10 minutes).  Set aside Cut mushrooms into quarters and cook at medium heat with butter until nicely browned.  Don't over-stir Add pearl onions to mushrooms and cook until softened Add soy sauce, Worcestershire, Dijon and thyme and stir, about one minute Add red and continue cooking until almost all the liquid has evaporated.  Turn off stove. Discard thyme Rub paprika over pork chops and grill over high heat until done (145F), then let sit Bring chicken broth to boil, and then drizzle into sour cream while whisking, until all the chicken broth has been incorporated into the sour cream (a Serious Eats trick) Add chicken broth & sour cream mixture to mushroom...

Ingredients 1 lb ground lamb 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped 1 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp cinnamon 3 cloves, ground 3 pods cardamon, ground 1/2 tsp salt Method Mix all the ingredients in a bowl Shape into koftas Grill at high heat until interior reaches 160F Notes We've also made with other ground meat, such as beef You can do steps 1 and 2 ahead of time and then refrigerate until later in day

Ingredients 2 cups rice 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp turmeric Currants Almonds, slivered Method Simmer onion and garlic in olive oil until onion gets a little browned around the edges Add in spices and stir.  Add in a little bit of water to help the spices get into a paste Add rice to pot and stir, cook over heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally Transfer rice to rice cooker, add water, and cook as usual Fry almonds in butter until golden brown; remove and then fry currants until heated Serve rice with currants and almonds Notes We use raw almonds and don't peel them.  You could get fancy and soak and then peel them, but we don't notice a difference I did not know that turmeric had the 1st 'r' in it I add a touch more water than usual when cooking the rice to compensate for the dryness of the spices

In microwaveable bowl, combine 1/2 cup oats with 1 cup water. Microwave 1 minute. Stir, then microwave 30 sec more. Cover bowl with small plate, let stand to cool. Alternatively, if you are having oatmeal for breakfast the day you are going to make the bread, make an extra 1/2 cup and save. Third option is to just stir the oats and water in step 4. Mix in large lidded bowl: 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 Tbsp yeast 1.5 tsp salt Fill 1 cup glass measuring cup with cold tap water. Add as much as needed to bring oatmeal temp down to 32 - 36 degrees C. Microwave any remaining water to same tepid temperature. Add watered oatmeal and any remaining water to flour mixture. Stir to produce a fairly stiff dough, then knead a little bit to bring bread together. Cover bowl and set aside overnight or for 8 hours. If leaving for more than 24 hours, put in fridge. If cooking on the BBQ, measure a piece of parchment paper to fit using fire bricks or pizza stone. 1 hour before you ...

Ingredients 2 branzino fillets 2 sprigs thyme 2 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 12 cherry tomatoes 12 kalamata olives 2 tbsp capers 1/2 medium red onion Method Preheat grill to high Place herbs inside fillets, and then grill until internal temperature reaches 160F, around 5 - 7 minutes a side Bring salted pot of water to boil, and then blanch potatoes for 1 minute Arrange sliced potatoes, tomatoes, olives and capers on baking tray, and bake at 400F until potatoes start to brown around the edges Serve potatoes topped with branzino, and wedge of lemon Notes Salted capers work better Also calle Branzino al Forno con Patate, Pomodoro e Olive It's more traditional to cook the fish in the oven on top of the potatoes, but we prefer to cook separately Loosely inspired by a recipe by Chefbikeski (which I think is supposed to be read as three separate words, chef, bike, ski)

Ingredients 1 lb trout 1 fennel bulb, sliced 1 tangerine 12 cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tbsp capers (for salad) 2 tbsp capers (for rice) 1 cup rice Parsley 1/4 cup butter Lemon wedges Method Heat grill to high for at least 10 minutes.  Rub trout skin with olive oil and then place skin-side down on the grill.  Cook until internal temperature reaches 125F.  Flip and grill for 30 seconds then remove Toss fennel, tangerine, tomatoes, capers with olive oil and lemon  Heat butter over medium-low until bubbling and then browned.  Add capers and stir for 15 seconds, then add parsley for 10 seconds.  Remove and drizzle over rice Notes I think we made up this recipe based on what was in the fridge, but it turned out okay!