Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Farro and Watercress by Alison Roman

For the past 8 months, the vinegar-braised chicken recipe  has sat unwritten in my blog’s Google Doc. Every time I saw the title sitting there, unaccompanied, I opted to write about another recipe. I didn’t have much to say about this chicken when I first made it, but now I’ve really put myself in a pickle because I can’t remember anything about how I made it or how it tasted. All I know is that I made it on April 5, 2021 because there’s photo evidence that tells me as much. 

What I can deduce from all of this is that the chicken wasn’t a ton to write home about. I had to skip on the farro because of my gluten-aversion, which left only watercress and a simple roasted chicken to try. This recipe also has one of the shortest ingredient lists of all of Alison’s main course dishes, leaving the burden of flavor to just salt, pepper, vinegar, garlic, and a tablespoon of Yuzu Kosho. 

Now hear me out, there are plenty of tasty chickens that use the same small amount of ingredients for flavor. But such a short list is off brand for Alison. One of her defining features is bold, in-your-face flavor. She doesn’t hold back. Which is why this recipe felt like a departure from her normal routine. 

Perhaps I’d find this chicken refreshing if I made it again. I’ll probably give it a try! If you’re reading this and felt differently, please tell me? 

216 recipes cooked, 9 to go.

Cold Soba with Cucumbers, Watercress, and Sesame by Alison Roman

Most of Alison’s recipes, while relatively easy to make, can’t qualify as a “quick weeknight dinners.” Right now, I have the time in my life to accommodate the ingredient shopping and recipe planning that her meals require. But a few months from now, I’ll be looking for more quick-fix options that take 30 minutes or less and can be made with what I have on hand. In other words, I’ll be looking for recipes like this cold soba dish. 

The thrust of this recipe is just cooked noodles tossed in sauce, topped with toasted sesame seeds and veggies. It can be modified with different vegetable toppings and it makes great leftovers. I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh and slightly spicy combo of Persian cucumbers with watercress, and I’d want to stick to vegetables that contribute similar strengths to the dish. 

The recipe calls for soba noodles which, Alison explains, are the best kind of noodle eaten cold. I’ve had cold soba noodles at a Japanese restaurant before and agree that they are the right texture and chewiness for cold noodle eating. However, soba noodles are made of buckwheat, which means I can’t eat them. Instead, I opted for TJ’s Brown Rice Spaghetti noodles, and had good success. A tad on the overly chewy side, but just barely so. 

Once I drained and cooled the noodles, I tossed them in a sauce made of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, yuzu kosho paste, and finely chopped watercress and scallions. Then the noodles were ready for plating. The toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top really brought the dish home, unifying the noodles and veggies and adding a nutty dimension to the flavors. 

If you or someone in your family is adamant about having protein with dinner, I can recommend a poached chicken breast, thinly sliced to pair with the noodles and sauce. Jordan really appreciated the combination. This is one I’ll be making regularly when my life schedule fills up, and I’m hoping to find more like it. 

102 recipes cooked, 123 to go.

Lemony Watercress with Raw and Toasted Fennel by Alison Roman

Raw fennel and I started out on rocky ground. I wanted to like her, but found her crisp structure a little too firm for a salad and her flavor a little too potent on its own. Fennel has a lot of licorice and anise type notes, which can either add depth to a dish, or overpower everything. 

The other partakers in this salad would probably argue that the raw fennel fell into its overpowering role. I, however, felt differently. For me, the key was the thinness of the fennel slices. I focused really hard on shaving the fennel with my knife, so that each slice was practically transparent. By slicing the fennel as thin as possible, it seemed to complement rather than control the dish. Each bite had only hints of licorice. Which made it all the more exciting to me. 

It was clear that I was the only one who loved it, because I was the only one who reached for seconds, and offered to eat it the next day as leftovers. But that’s alright. Not all salads can please all people. 

If the fennel didn’t scare you off by now, I’ll tell you about the rest of the salad! The other major player is watercress, which I found at Whole Foods (surprise, surprise). The greens are dressed with a very simple dressing made of toasted fennel seeds, finely chopped shallot, lemon juice and thinly sliced lemons. I let the dressing sit for about 45 minutes on the counter ahead of the meal, which helped to soften the lemon slices. There, too, I tried hard to keep the lemon slices as absolutely, painfully thin as possible. Because no one wants a mouth full of thick lemon. 

Just before serving, the salad is tossed with the dressing and drizzled with olive oil. And I’ll tell you what. The leftovers were even better. The lemon and shallot further softened and the juices had time to really marinate the raw fennel, making it sort of slaw-like in a very balanced way. 

I served this salad with Alison’s Skillet Chicken with Olives and Sumac, and Madeline contributed a powerful gazpacho made with cantaloupe and jalapeño by Melissa Clark. Oh, and Lemon Shaker Tart for dessert! That post is forthcoming. 

69 recipes cooked, 156 to go.