Brunch
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Buckwheat Crepes
A few years ago, my parents started a tradition of cooking a big breakfast every Sunday. Whenever I was home, I thrilled at the idea of pancakes and a peaceful moment during the morning, as the sun shines into the kitchen, shimmering on the countertop. After being home for many of these Sundays during the pandemic, I began to experiment. Eggs and pancakes are great, but variety is essential. The challah I like to make never lasted until Sunday for French toast, and I still haven’t found a frittata I love. That’s where these buckwheat crepes came in – they are simple, fast, and pretend to be healthy.
I found this recipe through a circuitous route. Like everyone else, I hopped on the sourdough bandwagon in the early days of the pandemic. In Sarah Owens’ fantastic cookbook, Sourdough, there is a recipe for buckwheat crepes – inspired by one of my favorite food bloggers, David Lebowitz. After hunting down the original recipe on his blog, I knew I had to try it. The crepes are thin but have a deep nutty flavor that tastes great with maple syrup, fruit, or jam.
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Hummus Two Ways
As 2020 comes to an end, I want to close out the year on an upbeat note. It’s been a difficult time for so many, and we are all eager to start the new year – one in which vaccines will be rolled out, the terrible orange man will no longer be in charge of the United States, and we can all (eventually) gather with friends and family once again. While this New Year’s will be unlike any other, I think we all owe it to ourselves to celebrate the hell out of the end of 2020.
This recipe – for hummus topped with caramelized onions and roasted garlic – is part of my New Year’s plan, which includes other fun finger foods: stuffed mushrooms, bacon-wrapped dates, and cheese and prosciutto. This recipe is for the famous hummus from the cookbook Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, the Israeli-Palestinian duo that have made ingredients like tahini mainstream for American and European cooks. This hummus is superb, less like the packaged hummus from a grocery store and more like the hummus from my favorite hummus restaurant in Berlin (Azzam, I hope you are still around when I get back to Germany) or the hummus you find in Palestine. Plus, for those of you who already make fresh hummus and follow recipes that involve carefully peeling the skin off of each chickpea, this recipe eliminates that hassle.
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Chickpea and Spinach Shakshuka
Last summer I was studying for the bar and decided to stay in my law school apartment – with no air conditioning. It was fine for the first four weeks, but in the few days before I moved out the real New England summer hit. It was in the mid-90s and humid, and my apartment seemed to suck in all the heat from the street. I dripped with sweat just sitting in my kitchen, as I re-learned contract law and tried to understand what a secured transaction was. One night, desperate for decent food but too lazy to go buy any, I looked around my kitchen and found a jar of tomato sauce, a can of chickpeas, and frozen spinach. I went to my computer, googled “tomato sauce chickpeas spinach” and this recipe popped up. In that moment, I was hoping for a mediocre dinner and instead I got this.
This is a simple recipe. It’s made using a jar of tomato sauce (for my European friends, I’d suggest cooking down about two cans of tomatoes into a sauce with onions and basil), chickpeas, and spinach – the perfect pandemic dinner. But despite its simplicity, the milk provides a creaminess that makes the tomato sauce richer. And let’s be honest, yolky eggs in just about anything are delicious.
