Split Pea Salad by Alison Roman

For a long time, actually my whole life, I thought split peas were simply green peas split down the middle. Sometimes things are allowed to be that simple, right? Turns out, I was sort of right. Split peas are green peas that have been peeled, dried, and then split down the middle. Split peas are grown and harvested differently than regular green peas, in a manner conducive to their drying and splitting. Personally, seems like a lot of effort to go into for some subpar grains (they don’t begin to compare to lentils or beans). And, other than split pea soup, does anyone use these split little guys in their regular cooking? I have doubts!

Alas, Alison has found a way to incorporate these oft forgone grains in a delicious salad that’s perfect for packing in school lunches and bringing to barbeques. Honestly, I’m here for it. 

I started by preparing the split peas. They needed roughly 30 minutes in boiling water to soften. I expected their bite to have a tiny mealy center, much like a lentil, but I don’t think that can be achieved without over-cooking them and letting them fall apart into a great green mush. If you want them to maintain their shape, expect their bite to resemble a slightly undercooked lentil. I combined the drained split peas with regular peas (I used frozen and thawed ones). Instead of letting my peas thaw over time on the counter, I stuck them in cold water, and they thawed within a matter of minutes. 

Next, I cooked some bacon low and slow. Ten minutes over medium heat was enough time for the bacon to render lots of fat and still get crispy, just the way Jordan likes it. The bacon fat became my cooking fat for the potatoes, which were baby dutch potatoes, quartered, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Fifteen or so minutes over medium heat was all it took for the potatoes to turn a golden, crispy brown. The trick is to avoid stirring them too much.

Before tossing the potatoes with the peas and bacon, I poured mustard and red wine vinegar in with the potatoes and coated them in the acidic liquids. The whole skillet -- potatoes, cooking fat and all, get tossed with the peas and bacon and create a wonderfully flavorful salad. Topped with fresh chives, this salad is better than any salad you’ll find at a deli counter. It can be served cold or hot, either is delicious. 

I’ve been eating this for lunch all week, and I’ve yet to grow tired of it. 

138 recipes cooked, 87 to go.

Grilled Squid with Spicy, Garlicky White Beans and Vinegared Tomatoes by Alison Roman

I had a dream. That I’d cook all ten of Alison’s recipes intending for grilling with an actual grill. I got so close -- I made it to eight out of ten. Until recently, we lived a short drive away from my in-law’s who graciously let me use their grill for these recipes. I fed them great food, so why wouldn’t they? Then, three weeks ago now, we moved to Chicago. A city I love with all my heart, though it lacks many of the people I love in it. And once again, I’ve found myself grill-less. The last two grilling recipes -- this squid and the shrimp I posted over the weekend -- had to be cooked in a skillet on my stove, which, though a fine substitute, did not deliver the same flavor or texture that a grill could accomplish. If you make either of these recipes, do yourself a favor and find a grill. Even if that means a community grill at your local park. But bring a grill pan. Shrimp and squid will most definitely fall through the cracks! 

The flavors in this dish are right up my alley -- vinegary, a tinge of spicy heat, and the right balance of acid and creaminess between the tomatoes and beans. I got home from my commute around 6:10pm, and we were ready to eat by 6:40pm! This is a quick, satisfying, don’t-need-another-side-dish, kind of meal that’s perfect for a summer night after work. 

One of the very first recipes I cooked for this blog was Alison’s Spicy Garlicky White Beans. That was eight months ago now, and I had forgotten how simple they are! You can read all about them in the link above. I started the beans first before moving onto the squid. 

Want to know about my prep process for squid? Read about it here. Essentially, if you’re going to use a skillet instead of a grill, the tubes should be cut into half inch pieces, and the tentacles cut in half lengthwise prior to cooking. If you use a grill, Alison recommends cutting them after cooking, which makes sense. Squid shrinks quite fast, and it could prove challenging to keep them from falling into the grates.  

In her instructions for both grilling and sauteing, she tells us to look for the squid to turn a golden brown color. I’m not sure what she means. A very pale golden tint, maybe. But golden brown? Not only do I not see my shrimp turn that color, but the picture in her book doesn’t show squid that color either! So if you too don’t see that color appear, don’t be disheartened. Give it the six to eight minutes she instructs, and then move on. 

While sauteing the shrimp in batches till “golden brown,” I sliced the tomatoes. I couldn’t find heirloom tomatoes at my TJ’s, so I used organic tomatoes on the vine instead. They were delicious. (Do your best to find tomatoes that won’t be mealy or watery. That will honestly ruin the dish.) Then I covered them in red wine vinegar, and topped them with the beans and squid.

Like I said, Jordan and I ate this as our only dish for dinner, and nearly finished the whole plate. The tomatoes paired perfectly with the beans (which pack quite the heat!), and the salty squid added the right balance of protein and chewiness. 

137 recipes cooked, 88 to go.

Grilled Shrimp with Crushed Fresh Tomatoes and Lots of Lime by Alison Roman

Shrimp just doesn’t do it for me. That’s what I decided after making this recipe. Don’t get me wrong - the flavors were awesome, and the whole thing was very simple to make. If you like shrimp, you’ll love this dish. But no matter the flavors, shrimp’s chewy texture and less than appealing shape will always be roadblocks for me. I just had to put that out there. 

new Chicago kitchen!

But let’s move on to the recipe itself. Because again, shrimp lovers should definitely make this one. 

It starts with the crushing of a large tomato in your hands. Enjoy it -- this may be the only truly playful moment of your day. Let your hands squeeze every last bit of tomato pulp until no large chunks are left. Then mix in four grated garlic cloves, salt, and pepper. 

Next, shrimp in their shells (my first time buying shelled shrimp!) spend time in a large skillet. Only a few minutes, though. Shrimp cooks quickly! The recipe gives options for a grill and a skillet, but I am sadly grill-less once more. Piping hot and opaque, the cooked shrimp get tossed with crushed tomatoes, and doused with lime juice. And don’t forget, 2 tablespoons of butter get added, too. The steam from the shrimp melt the butter, adding a necessary richness to offset the thinness of the tomato juices. 

I served the shrimp over rice with roasted carrots. It was a lovely meal, but with Jordan and I not loving shrimp, we didn’t finish it, and sadly, chose not to save the leftovers. I hate few things more than wasting food. And I also know myself. I know that that leftover shrimp will never get eaten. So we let it go right away. 

Ultimately, butter, tomato, garlic, and lime juice are good friends. Let them dress your shrimp, your squid, your fish, your tortilla chips. Trust in their friendship, no matter what you pair them with. 

136 recipes cooked, 94 to go.

Sorbet in Grapefruit Cups by Alison Roman

If there’s one dessert I associate with childhood, it’s orange sherbet with chocolate chips. My mom bought this ice cream more than any other flavor. Not because it was any of our favorite’s, but because it was hers. Which delights me. 

On a recent trip home, my family asked me to make them an Alison Roman meal, which was a true treat. I love cooking for anyone and everyone, but especially my family. They’re a wonderful audience. And I had the especially special pleasure of cooking for an additional family guest, my Oma. In fact, I made the meal at her house. 

Our menu included: 

• Crispy Salmon with Spicy Radishes and Green Romesco

• Baked Summer Squash with Cream and Parmesan Bread Crumbs

• A GF pasta salad with lots of veggies

• Kale salad with lemon and toasted almonds

And for dessert: 

• Sorbet in Grapefruit Cups

I prepared the grapefruit cups first, a few hours before dinnertime. Using a spoon, I gouged out the grapefruit halves, discarding the extra layers of pith but keeping the juices and meat of the fruit in a bowl. (If there’s one food I associate most with going to my Oma’s house, it’s fresh-squeezed orange juice. Very Southern California of her, I know. So I just had to save the grapefruits for her next morning’s breakfast.) 

Next, I divided two pints of Talenti sorbet, one mango and the other raspberry, into the cups. The sorbet softened on the counter for 15 minutes beforehand. Alison gives the option of adding fruit to the cups, like grapes, kumquats, or pomegranate seeds. Having none of these, I left it at sorbet. The cups spent roughly 2.5 hours in the freezer before serving. 

I could taste a very faint hint of grapefruit in each bite of sorbet. If I didn’t pay attention, I would have missed it. Otherwise it was just a bowl of sorbet. But it sure looked fun! And it made my family feel special. They all remarked how fun the idea was and how much they enjoyed it. So while the work to make this recipe outweighed any additional flavors or flairs, it was worth it just to say to my family, “I care about you!” 

So, if you like to go *above and beyond* for presentation, this one’s for you.

135 recipes cooked, 90 to go.

Melon with Crispy Ham and Ricotta Salata by Alison Roman

I’ve felt prompted to write about very few dishes immediately after eating them. This salad is one of those exceptions. Just seconds ago, I consumed a plate of juicy cantaloupe, crispy prosciutto, and thinly sliced iberico cheese. Every bite was a delight to eat and orchestrate. With each visit to my plate, I let my fork find the perfect-sized melon cube, followed by a bit of the cheese and a crackly piece of ham, and dragged the artfully designed stack of ingredients through the pool of lemon juice, olive oil, and flaky salt at the bottom of my plate. I love when food commands my attention, sensorily, mentally, even emotionally. And of all dishes to make such a command, it was a salad with fruit and meat. Call me pleasantly surprised. 

I can’t remember the last time I bought a cantaloupe. I’m not sure I ever have before this weekend? I associate cantaloupe with both my college cafeteria and airport food. The cafeteria salad bar always had a daily bucket of fruit. Which is nice in theory, but when the bucket only contained the same kinds of fruit for the 200+ days you eat it a year, you tend to grow tired of said fruit rather quickly. Like all good cafeteria’s, ours tried to be economical. Thus, the fruit bucket repeatedly contained cubed honey dew, cantaloupe, watermelon, and grapes. By sophomore year, I couldn’t eat another bite of melon. Oh, and airport food? You know what I’m talking about -- every food stop that sells to-go food always stocks a plastic fruit cup with, you guessed it, the same cafeteria combo. 

Needless to say, I put this salad off till the end of prime melon season (September). Today, September 19, 2021, my appreciation for cantaloupe was delightfully rekindled. I used half of the melon for this salad, slicing it into thin strips and removing the rind, and cubed the other half for my lunches this week. 

The prosciutto needed roughly 11 minutes in the oven to sufficiently crisp. It made my apartment smell briefly like another feature of my college cafeteria: bacon. Instead of ricotta salata, which I could not find, even at Whole Foods, I used a mild and firm Spanish cheese called iberico. Without ricotta salata to compare it to, I think it worked perfectly. 

Before topping the melon with ham and cheese, I sprinkled the slices with lemon juice and flaky salt. After the ham and cheese joined, I drizzled everything with olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper. I intend to serve this salad many more times, both for a fun snack on a rainy day, and as a sure-to-be crowd-pleaser when guests come over. 

134 recipes cooked, 91 to go.