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Washington Post •

Column | You have to break a lot of eggs to make a Spanish tortilla. Or do you?

The first time I traveled to Spain, on a glorious two-week trip with my sister almost two decades ago, I followed an omnivorous diet, which was helpful in the land of jamón Ibérico and gambas al ajillo. The second time, I was vegetarian, so the menu was shorter — but still plenty satisfying: I enjoyed my fill of vegetable paella, escalivada, pan con tomate (sin anchoas, por favor) and, most ubiquitous of all, tortilla española.The latter dish, an icon of Spanish cuisine, is little more than eggs...
Washington Post •

Vegan Spanish Tortilla

By Joe YonanThis vegan version of a classic Spanish potato tortilla uses two types of tofu instead of eggs for creamy texture, plus kala namak (black salt) for eggy flavor. Resist the urge to skimp on the olive oil: It is a big part of what makes this beloved dish so distinctively silky. Serve as a main course with a salad or soup, or as an appetizer (or tapa, of course).Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.Where to buy: Kala namak (black salt) can be found in Indian markets, natural foods stor...
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Column | These ‘tuna’ melts show vegan cooking can be about abundance, too

Jenné Claiborne has me thinking about Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor and the idea of vibrations.Claiborne, who just turned 38, writes about vegan cooking from her home in Atlanta under the brand Sweet Potato Soul. Smart-Grosvenor, who died in 2016 at age 79, was the Geechee poet, broadcaster and culinary anthropologist who wrote the seminal 1970 book “Vibration Cooking.” (In it, she wrote, “When I cook, I never measure or weigh anything. I cook by vibration.”)I met Smart-Grosvenor more than a decade a...
Washington Post •

Carrot and Chickpea “Tuna” Melts

In this vegan take on a tuna melt, finely shredded carrots and mashed chickpeas join forces with seaweed flakes, dill and other ingredients that help evoke the flavor of tuna salad. Cookbook author Jenné Claiborne was inspired by the carrot “tuna” at Tassili’s Raw Reality, a restaurant in Atlanta. The mixture is also great on a cold sandwich, without the cheese.

Storage: Refrigerate the salad for up to 4 days.

Where to buy: Ume plum vinegar and dulse seaweed flakes can be found in Asian market...
Washington Post •

Column | Yes, you can fry soft tofu — and give it the salt-and-pepper treatment

I and others have written previous columns, articles and recipes attempting to counter all of the above. Today I’m offering a recipe that aims to correct another tofu misunderstanding: the idea that the only tofu suitable for frying is the absolute firmest you can find. If you’ve never tasted fried soft tofu, with its unbeatable textural contrast between crispy and custardy, I can’t wait for you to try this recipe.We have an excuse for all the misconceptions, by the way: Tofu is complex, with di...
Washington Post •

Salt and Pepper Tofu

Fried soft tofu — crispy on the outside and custardy inside — gets the Chinese salt-and-pepper treatment, a flavor combination that includes floral white pepper and a pinch of five-spice powder, plus garlic, ginger and chiles. The addition of MSG, which is optional, makes this dish extra savory. If you thought only firm or extra-firm tofu should or could be fried, this recipe proves otherwise.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Where to buy: Soft tofu, five-spice powder and MSG (monosodium...
Washington Post •

Column | This pasta dish makes Brussels sprouts taste positively indulgent

In Barrow’s case, the objects of his affection were an appliance his parents had given him almost a decade earlier and the food it could help him make: fresh pasta. Barrow had worked as a pastry chef and bread baker until last year, and he sees a tight connection between the two hands-on disciplines. As he puts it, “You need to feel everything properly.”Almost five years and tens of thousands of Instagram followers later, pasta has become Barrow’s brand. The 25-year-old turned his posts featurin...
Washington Post •

Orecchiette With Shredded Brussels Sprouts

By Joe YonanThis pasta dish turns Brussels sprouts — shredded and cooked with a generous amount of butter, nutmeg and sage — into something almost decadent. In testing, this recipe produced outstanding results whether vegetarian or vegan, so both options are listed in the ingredients.Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Adapted from “The Monday Pasta Club” by Ed Barrow (Kyle Books, 2024).Ingredientsmeasuring cupServings: 2-3 (makes about 4 1/2 cups)1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed8...
Washington Post •

Column | This rustic tofu cacciatore gets a nonna’s stamp of approval

Giuseppe Federici has plenty of things to be proud of: He’s got hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, he runs marathons, and his debut cookbook is now out in North America. What is he proudest about? “That I wrote the cookbook while my grandparents were still around,” the Londoner tells me on a Zoom call. “I mean, it’s an achievement to write a cookbook, let alone with your 85-year-old grandmother.”In fact, his grandmother, Marianna Sgarito, is so central to the project that he nam...
Washington Post •

Column | Vegan chili with beans, lentils and edamame floods the protein zone

Recently, I started a diet and exercise program that came with a big challenge: Increase my protein intake to about 135 grams a day. As anyone who has played with the balance of macros knows, the strategy to control the ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat, along with a weightlifting regimen, aims to result in the loss of pounds without the loss of muscle.I’ve long preached that the obsession with protein was overblown, and that for vegetarian and even vegan eaters, the world of vegetables, l...
Washington Post •

Kidney Bean, Lentil and Tempeh Chili

By Joe YonanThis vegan chili is packed with protein-rich ingredients, including red kidney beans, lentils, tempeh and seeds. Serve with saltine crackers. If you’d like, you can adapt this into an all-purpose vegan crumble to use on grain bowls and salads, in tacos and more places; see Variations.Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.From Food and Dining editor Joe Yonan.Ingredientsmeasuring cupServings: 8 (makes about 12 cups)2 tablespoons olive oil1 medium red onio...
Washington Post •

Column | Smart shortcuts coax big flavor out of a speedy chickpea noodle soup

You may not know Julia Turshen personally, but read one of her recipes — or, better yet, one of her cookbooks — and you’ll feel like you do. Turshen is one of those food writers who seems to always be saying, in one way or another, “You got this,” and you immediately believe her.

You may not know Julia Turshen personally, but read one of her recipes — or, better yet, one of her cookbooks — and you’ll feel like you do. Turshen is one of those food writers who seems to always be saying, in one wa...
Washington Post •

Chickpea Noodle Soup

This quick soup stars chickpeas and noodles, in a base that gets much of its flavor from a potent seasoning paste (made by Better Than Bouillon) and a finishing touch of raw garlic and herbs. If you’d like, you can double down on the chickpeas and increase the protein (while making this gluten-free and vegan) by using chickpea noodles (see Substitutions).

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. The soup will thicken in storage as the noodles absorb the broth; add wa...
Washington Post •

Column | Gather around Vedge’s rutabaga fondue for your next cocktail party

The first time I ate at Vedge, one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia, I started with a cocktail. It came to the table glistening in its coupe, a concoction of gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice and a touch of grapefruit bitters, all of them in perfect balance. But what struck me before I even took a sip was something I had never seen before: a whole sage leaf floating on the surface.

The first time I ate at Vedge, one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia, I started with a cock...
Washington Post •

Rutabaga Fondue

This smooth vegan fondue uses nutty-tasting rutabaga, plus potato, miso and nutritional yeast, to capture the essence of cheese. One of the most popular dishes at Vedge restaurant in Philadelphia and the now-closed Fancy Radish in D.C., the fondue gets much of its creamy texture from vegan sour cream, which also helps keep it smooth even at room temperature. Serve with baguette slices, soft pretzels, or raw or lightly steamed vegetables.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Let sit at room te...
Washington Post •

Column | Make masa an everyday ingredient with these bean and cheese gorditas

I know the word “masa” means dough, particularly corn dough, but it might as well be short for “miracle,” because the process of producing this staple of Mexican (and other Central and South American) cooking is pure alchemy. Dating back to Mesoamerica, nixtamalization (derived from an Aztec phrase) involves boiling field corn with an alkaline substance to soften its hull and make it more nutritious, then grinding it into a dough that can become a variety of traditional products.

I know the wor...
Washington Post •

Vegan Bean and Cheese Gorditas

These Mexican street treats are named gorditas (“little fat ones”) because, unlike tortillas or quesadillas, they are made from thicker disks of masa, which are griddled and then split and filled. That also makes them easier to put together, because you can pat them out by hand without a tortilla press. This recipe keeps things simple with refried beans and vegan cheese. Although these are considered antojitos (snacks) in Mexico, you can turn them into a meal by serving them with rice and a sala...
Washington Post •

Column | Indian food layers spices masterfully. This pumpkin dish shows how.

Make a Romy Gill recipe, in my experience, and you end up marveling at two things: the straightforward ease and the surprisingly complex flavors. The key to both is the layering of spices and spice mixes, often in different forms (whole and ground) and at different points in a recipe.The last time I wrote about her, the subject was her second book, “On the Himalayan Trail,” and the dish that captivated me was paneer in yellow gravy, where nine spices mingle to create what she called “a bowl of g...
Washington Post •

Stir-Fried Spiced Pumpkin

This simple Bengali dish infuses pumpkin or other winter squash with layers of warming Indian spices and fiery heat. The skin is left on the squash, and it softens when cooking, adding texture and color to the dish. Eat as a side dish, or as a main course with flatbread or rice.

Save the seeds from the squash to roast for a savory snack.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Where to buy: Panch phoron, a mix of whole spices, can be found in Indian or international markets, or online.
Washington Post •

Phyllo-Wrapped Celery Root With Cider Glaze

By Joe YonanEncasing roasted whole celery root in phyllo and glazing it with a sweet-and-sour apple cider syrup takes the humble vegetable into dinner-party-worthy territory. Diced apples and walnuts add more flavor and crunch. This makes a vibrant centerpiece for vegetarian and vegan eaters at a holiday meal, or you could serve it as an appetizer or side dish.Make ahead: The celery root needs to roast for up to 2 hours before you let it cool slightly, then glaze and wrap it in phyllo. If you wa...
Washington Post •

Instant Pot Black Bean Soup

By Joe YonanThis speedy Instant Pot riff on Cuban black bean soup infuses the legumes with the aromatic vegetables common in a traditional sofrito, along with wine, vinegar and a little sugar for depth and balance. Skipping the soaking of black beans results in a richer flavor and color, but you can soak them if you’d like to speed the cooking up even further; see Notes. See Variations for how to make this on the stovetop if you don’t mind the time. The soup is traditionally served with a scoop...
Washington Post •

Veggie Phyllo “Pizza”

If you like your pizza super-crisp and light, you’ll love this decidedly nontraditional but simple method using phyllo instead of pizza dough. The toppings are minimal: cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, scallions and olives, with no sauce and a small amount of cheese (mozzarella plus a little feta). By assembling it in a sheet pan and brushing some of the phyllo sheets with oil, you create those characteristic flaky layers. This makes a great lunch or dinner with a salad and tofu or another protein...
Washington Post •

Column | Instant Pot black bean soup lets the flavors of Cuban cooking shine

When she was growing up in Miami, Ana Quincoces tells me, every day “instead of an alarm, I woke up to the sound of the pressure cooker.” She makes a hissing noise and smiles.Quincoces, 58, is Cuban American, so you can probably guess what was in that pressure cooker: black beans. And to her, they represented just about everything that she loves about the food of her parents’ homeland, and still do: They’re comforting, and especially when made the Cuban way, they boast deep, satisfying flavors....
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