This is the first thing I’ve made from it.
A few recipe collections available online:
This is a sleeper hit. I mean, it’s insanely delicious and I don’t know why he hasn’t bottled it and made lots of money from it (if only in service of WCK). I mixed just enough for a serving, and regretted that immediately.
It would be easy bypass the individual spices if you don’t stock them all by using good harissa from a tube and adding crunchy bits.
For the crunch, I used fried shallots and fried garlic chips (and forgot the sesame seeds again even after taking them out of the cupboard).
Would give a welcome boost to many things beyond the lamb chops I used it on and the eggs in the recipe linked.
Bottle it, Jose!
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BROCCOLI WITH GARLIC, PEPPER FLAKES AND BASIL (Milk Street)
This isn’t a fancy broccoli prep, but it’s a tasty one, and it’s always nice to have another easy way with everyday vegetables.
Seasonings are butter, garlic, red chilli flakes, bay leaves, pepper, and basil. (I skipped the basil because it was incongruous with the rest of my meal.)
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SKORDALIA (Zaytinya cookbook)
I’ve eaten this garlicky potato dip / spread many times, but somehow never thought to make it. The juxtaposition of garlic and vinegar would hold up beautifully against any protein (aside from the usual which is a lovely dip for pita) – it was fantastic paired with lamb as a mashed potato variation.
There are a few variations suggested which I also want to try — salmon (mixing in smoked salmon for a fancier dip) and squash (yellow is mentioned, but I think I’d use butternut and roast it first — that version calls for chickpeas to thicken the mix, though a milder white bean might work better for me).
The recipe is in the book photo in the middle of this page:
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This one was also from the Zaytinya cookbook – haven’t hit a dud yet, which isn’t surprising given that I’ve always enjoyed the food at the restaurant.
GRILLED LAMB CHOPS WITH HARISSA CHILLI CRISP (Zaytinya cookbook)
'+ SKORDALIA (Zaytinya cookbook)
'+ BROCCOLI WITH GARLIC, PEPPER FLAKES AND BASIL (Milk Street)
And asparagus, because 'tis the season (but I ran out of steam, so I didn’t get to the Romesco sauce yet).
Winner of a dinner.
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The World Central Kitchen Cookbook kindle edition is on sale for 4.99 – the recipes are global, collected from the many places they have provided aid.
Made in Spain kindle edition is on sale for 6.99.
We Fed an Island – not a cookbook, but the story of WCK’s efforts in Puerto Rico – kindle edition is on sale for 1.99.
Change the Recipe – also not a cookbook – is available on Kindle Unlimited at the moment.
(Turns out many libraries have his books, so the only one I’ve purchased so far is Zaytinya, when it was on sale.)
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PIYAZ / GIGANTES BEAN STEW
(The Zaytinya Cookbook)
I love gigantes beans / butter beans and am always in search of a new way to eat them.
I am puzzled as to why the recipe has you cook the beans with onion and potato that are then discarded — I could see the onion possibly flavoring the beans, but what is the potato doing? Adding starch? The beans have plenty of starch for me, so I skipped it. I soaked the beans overnight and then cooked them in the pressure cooker as usual. Gigantes always take much longer than I expect, and it was no different this time — about 35 mins, having checked after 20 and 30.
I couldn’t find my sun-dried tomatoes (because I can’t remember the last time I used them — turns out they were safely in the back of the fridge, discovered after I finished cooking), so I used a bit of tomato paste. Last swap was cilantro for dill, for preference.
The dish tastes pretty flat until the ladolemono at the end — the lemon juice and honey bring everything together. Not sure that a dressing needs to be made unless you want to use it for something else, the individual ingredients could as easily be added.
This is a nice gigantes bean variation, and pretty easy if you cook the beans another day, or use canned beans. Would also work well with any white bean or chickpeas, if the jumbo beans are harder to source.
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FASSOLAKI LADERA / BRAISED GREEN BEANS IN TOMATO SAUCE
(Vegetables Unleashed)
This is a pretty classic version of Turkish / Greek / similar regional stewed / braised green bean dishes — garlic, onions, tomatoes, plus a dose of chilli (unlike the Turkish recipe from a friend that I usually make).
This version also includes potatoes, which I skipped, and the origin provides a variation that includes zucchini.
I need to try this with flat / broad beans sometime, which are delicious, but I have never made other than as Indian preparations.
Such a tasty dish for so few ingredients, and I love how silky and tender the green beans become!
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By flat or broad beans, I assume you mean what are commonly called romano beans here rather than favas.
I was referring to the beans pictured in the linked recipe, which I know as papdi or valor, and fall under the general description of broad beans. They are available fresh or frozen at indian stores. I’ve never bought romano beans, but they are probably the same family. Guvar would also probably work, those are called cluster beans I believe.
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The Brits call favas broad beans, so that’s my association with that term.
yep, needs lemon and salt!
I use a medium white bean imported from Greece. One DC doesn’t like Gigantes.
CHICKEN CROQUETAS
These are irresistible, crispy and savory. I found them here–
Here Is Chef José Andrés Chicken Croquetas Recipe! The Business Of Fine Dining With “Dollar Bill!” – Bite! Eat! Repeat!
Chef J A makes his croquettes the size of wine corks! Mine are not as dainty, but still delectable little barrels. I pan fried these in peanut oil. He uses Spanish EVOO and deep fries. Deep frying in olive oil is a splurge for me, even though this was just a half recipe. I’ve loved croquettes since forever.
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I pan-fried some croquetas de bacalao yesterday, but the store was out of the manchego croquetas I really wanted, so you are inspiring me to make some again!
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