Every once in a while I come across a recipe that feels as familiar as if I’ve been eating it my whole life. These roti pizzas (which I usually make on whole wheat tortillas) from Priya Krishna’s cookbook Indian-ish, combine the types of food I loved as a teenager, a mixture of grilled cheese sandwiches and Indian food from Rajun Cajun, the best (and only) Indian takeout spot in Hyde Park. These pizzas – with the brightness of red onion, the saltiness of sharp cheddar cheese, and the tang and spice of cilantro chutney – bring together my favorite childhood flavors in a weekday work-from-home lunch (or dinner or snack). 

One underrated ingredient in this – and most – recipes is salt. Salt is fascinating, such a minor but important ingredient in all food. It is key to everything we eat, yet we rarely think about it. It not only gives food its own salty flavor, but it also brings out the flavor in other ingredients. James Beard once asked: “Where would we be without salt?” To which Samin Nosrat answered: “Adrift in a sea of blandness.”