Four-Bean Salad with Green Romesco by Alison Roman

I had several plans to make this bean salad throughout the course of this past summer. Every time I went to make it, something distracted me or set me on a different course. Maybe I couldn’t find a can of butter beans in the store that day. Maybe that gathering we were supposed to attend got canceled. Maybe the last thing I felt like doing was pulling out my food processor. This salad is, no doubt, a dish meant for the summertime — warmer weather, perhaps an outdoor setting to eat it in. But I finally found myself, in the middle of snowy January making a four bean salad for a group of people in need of some summertime cheer. 

I threw together this salad on Wednesday night. I started by rinsing and draining the three canned bean varieties: butter, cannellini, and black eyed. I try to drain beans as far in advance of using them as I can so they don’t bring extra water/moisture with them. Though a bit harder to find, particularly the black eyed and butter beans, this combination works really well together — especially with their different sizes. 

While the beans dried out, I put together the romesco in my food processor, which eliminated much of the required chopping. I first wrote about this romesco when I made Alison’s Crispy Skinned Salmon (a top recipe from the project). Last time, I used almonds. This time, I tried walnuts, and didn’t notice a major difference. 

I then cut up the fresh green beans and lemon slices and tossed them in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with salt and pepper. Using the bottom of my non-stick skillet, I set about bruising the beans and lemons by whacking the skillet over them with force (but not too much — last time I used this method for a recipe, the bag broke and it made a whole mess.) I didn’t aim for mashed beans, but mildly dented. 

I tossed all of these ingredients together with more lemon juice, salt, pepper, and dill, and put the bowl in the fridge. 

On Thursday, January 13, my parents, two siblings, and husband, gathered in the cold to commemorate my grandmother’s beautiful life by her graveside. She lived 93 years packed with authentic joy, weathered loss, and radical authenticity. I loved my grandmother so much. She was and still will be a lifelong role model for me. Her funeral was an intimate and meaningful time of sharing stories and remembering her life. We went to lunch at her favorite restaurant afterward and I ordered salmon, just like she always did. 

That night, my family came to my apartment to unwind from the long, emotional day. I served them this salad. It was perfect. They each remarked how fresh and lemony it tasted. They liked the crunchy texture of the beans and pops of dill. Each person dressed it up differently, adding Cholula or tortilla chips or feta cheese. The bowl was pretty much gone by the end of the night. I’m glad I inadvertently waited so long to make this salad. 

211 recipes cooked, 14 to go.

Trout Roe on Buttered Toast with Lemony Herbs & Smoked Trout with Mustard and Apples by Alison Roman

For the not-so seafood savvy like me, you might be wondering, what is trout roe exactly? Also referred to as caviar, roe is an unfertilized egg collected from a fish. Not exactly a description I call “appetizing.” I recognize that many people view caviar as a delicacy, but I’m not really a delicacy kind of person. Needless to say, I put this recipe off until I couldn’t any longer. 

Last week, I decided that it was high time to start crossing off the final seafood recipes. So I picked two: trout roe on toast and smoked trout with mustard and apples. Then I marched over to Whole Foods with determination and a tinge of dread. I found smoked trout in a refrigerator next to the seafood counter, but didn’t see the roe. I asked the seafood counter for help, and turns out, the roe was next to the smoked trout, but it was labeled caviar. Clearly I hadn’t done my research yet. They didn’t have trout roe, but Alison says salmon roe will do the trick, so that’s what I purchased. 

I paid for the products reluctantly (caviar is pricey!) and marched back over the bridge toward home. That afternoon, I popped a slice of sourdough in the toaster, smeared a heck of a lot of butter on it, and topped it with dill, lemon zest, flaky salt, and roe. And it wasn’t bad. It’s hard to mess with buttered toast and dill. Roe is very fishy, perhaps too much for my taste. But I could sort of convince myself that it was good. I still have much of the jar left, so maybe I’ll try it with potato chips like Alison does in the video she released today (I swear I’m getting more and more on her wavelength somehow). 

The next day, I pulled out the package of smoked trout and tried a small bite. Again, not terrible, but not something I’d normally choose to eat. This salad is a nice way to eat it though, with plenty of vinegar to balance out the fishiness. Sour cream smeared on the bottom of the bowl, mustard greens (I used arugula) and mustard seeds soaked in apple cider vinegar. Smoked trout, too. All in all a fine combination. Jordan and I ate this for lunch. Now that I’m thinking about, it would have gone nicely with some salty potato chips, too! 

If you like this kind of fishy food, I think you’ll love these recipes. If you don’t, feel free to skip them.

190 and 191 recipes cooked, 34 to go.

Dad's Scotch Gravlax by Alison Roman

There was this bagel shop near my high school that served a freshly baked, toasted sesame seed bagel with cream cheese for $5.50. Besides going to Panera for a cup of their tomato soup, this was my ideal lunch, which I ate often. 

One day in line at the bagel shop, I heard the person in front of me order a toasted bagel with lox and cream cheese. I hadn’t the faintest idea what lox was. Since these were the olden days, and I didn’t have a smartphone to look up quick definitions or Google Image search for clues, I had to use my good old fashioned virtues of paying really close attention. As we all stood by the counter, waiting for our order number to be called, I kept my eye on the lox-orderer. Of course, the last thing I expected to see was cured salmon. When I saw that plate of bagel and cheese topped in fish, I couldn’t help but say “gross!” out loud. To this day, I don’t know if the lox-orderer heard me. 

Also, to this day, I’ve never ordered a bagel with lox and cream cheese. I have absolutely no desire for it, mostly due to texture (can you say slimy?). So when I saw this gravlax recipe, I had two reactions: 1) “what is gravlax?” and 2) “oh no.” 

Answer key: 

1. Gravlax is Nordic salmon dish that consists of salmon cured (never smoked) in salt, sugar, and dill. Alison’s definition adds scotch, lemon zest, and aleppo pepper. 

   1. There are two main steps to making Alison’s Dad’s gravlax. First, you must make the ingredients become intimately acquainted with one another. Start by pouring a tablespoon of scotch over the fish. Then, after massaging the other ingredients listed above into what feels like “wet sand,” rub them on top of the salmon. Second, you must prepare it for curing. This involves tightly wrapping the fish and cure in many layers of saran wrap. Then poking a few holes in the wrapping on the bottom. And finally, placing the salmon on a rack inside of a baking sheet with a plate and heavy skillet on top to press the cure into the salmon. Over the next 3-5 days (I decided on 4), water creeps out of the salmon and it becomes cured. 

2. My worst fears didn’t come true. Yes, the salmon is somewhat slimy, and yes, it was a mental battle for me to get over that fact. But the flavor is so complex and interesting and in your face, that it overrode any focus on texture. Seriously -- the flavors of scotch, pepper, and lemon are so strong, that I couldn’t think of anything else. If I were to make this again, which, who knows, I might some day, I would stop the curing at 3 days for a slightly fresher taste. But I can’t stress enough how much the flavor distracted me from what I was most wary of. 

   1. It helped that I served the fish with other delicious things: gluten-free bagel, almond milk cream cheese, cucumber slices, and lemon. 

To answer your ever-burning question, will I now become a lox-orderer after making Mr. Roman’s gravlax? The answer is, likely not. 

148 recipes cooked, 77 to go.

Crushed Baby Potatoes with Scallion, Celery, and Lots of Dill

Ah, yes, potato salad. A heralded classic of American cuisine. And yet (and yet) I’ve never liked it. Maybe it’s the cold blocks of potato, or the heavy globs of mayonnaise. Or perhaps, it’s the typical lack of noteworthy flavor. It could be the way it sits in its tub, begging the question: how long have you been sitting there, bud? 

Enter Alison Roman. As usual, she’s decided to shake things up with a new spin on potato salad. Or dare I say, an entirely superior way to make potato salad. In this recipe, you’ll see no mayonnaise, crushed potatoes, tons of fresh herbs, and bold, distinct flavor. You may never want a different potato salad again. 

First step is to boil the potatoes. No, we’re not looking for red skinned potatoes, but rather golden ones that are no larger than a golf ball. (Sure, you can use red-skinned potatoes, but don’t. Those are more mealy and less visually appealing, IMO.) The potatoes only take 15 or so minutes to boil until they’re completely tender. Before smashing them with my palm, I let them cool almost completely, and in the meantime, prepared the rest of the ingredients. 

The bulk of the flavor comes from olive oil, #lotsofdill, lemon zest and juice, finely chopped scallions (white and green parts), and anchovies. These ingredients are combined and tossed with the boiled, crushed potatoes along with finely sliced celery stalks. Finally, the salad is topped with chopped celery leaves, parsley, and dashes of salt and pepper, for good measure. 

I made this salad at home before transporting it to my in-law’s home for dinner. The potatoes spent an extra hour in the dressing, which gave them a chance to become better acquainted with the herbs and lemon juice. This dish was a complete hit between the four of us, and I have a hard time imagining anyone who wouldn’t like it. Which means this can and should be brought instead of that store-bought tub of potato salad you normally bring to potlucks. I can guarantee you won’t have leftovers, and you’ll receive way more complements. Plus, Alison says this salad can be made up to 2 days ahead, so you have no excuses.

110 recipes cooked, 115 to go.

isn’t she lovely

Fried Eggplant with Harissa and Dill by Alison Roman

I made seven Alison Roman recipes last week. All of them, except one, were very good. But for whatever reason, this eggplant dish is the one I can’t stop thinking about! 

Through this project, I’ve grown to really like eggplant, which is saying something considering where I started. I used to shutter at the soggy appearance of cooked eggplant in the cafeteria, and wondered how anyone could want to eat it instead of the always-available pizza and salad bar. I now realize that my college cafeteria, as exemplary for the circumstances as it was, did not treat eggplant with the care and flavors that it is due. 

I started to appreciate eggplant for all its creamy and flavor-soaking qualities when I first made Alison’s Long-Roasted Eggplant with Garlic, Labne, and Tiny Chile Croutons. There especially I learned how well eggplant goes with spice. Which is exactly what this fried eggplant recipe does so nicely. 

The eggplant is sliced into ½-inch rounds and fried in a boat load of olive oil (I probably used 1½ cups when all was said and done). The eggplant gets a nice toasted surface and soaks in all the yummy oil. It took about 20 minutes to fry it, since I could only fit so many rounds in my large skillet. Once the frying is complete, the pan is removed from heat and filled with a spicy sauce made of water, harissa paste, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, and vinegar. The sauce immediately bubbles in the pan, inviting the eggplant back into the skillet for tossing. Though 2 tbsp. of harissa and a teaspoon of red pepper flakes are used, the spiciness was quite tolerable and the heat more acidic than dry. The creamy eggplant played well with the tangy spices. Finally, the whole plate is topped with dill and flaky salt. 

I made this dish for dinner on a night when my brother-in-law was coming over. I could see his polite skepticism as soon as I brought out the plate. He reached for only two pieces and began eating the rest of his meal. But after a few bites, I could tell he had changed his mind. He and Jordan both helped to finish off the eggplant, which I count as a real victory. The leftover oily juices also made a lovely dipping spread for sourdough bread. 

70 recipes cooked, 155 to go.