In her new cookbook, Good Things, former Chez Panisse chef and Netflix star Samin Nosrat shares smart tips, including a recipe for amazing roast chicken.
Samin Nosrat
Trained at legendary Californian restaurant Chez Panisse, Samin Nosrat taught home cooks the fundamentals of cooking in her wildly popular book and Netflix series, Salt Fat Acid Heat.
So when a friend suggested the next book should be a collection of the simple things she cooks at home for herself and her friends, Nosrat was torn.
Aya Brackett
In the introduction to her new book, Good Things, Nosrat admits it felt like a betrayal to write a book of recipes after her first was a “manifesto designed to free cooks from relying on them”.
The turning point came when she realised she could write a book sharing the things she loves and has learned – not just about cooking, but about how it brings meaning to our lives.
Freeing herself from the expectation that home cooking should aim to replicate restaurant dishes, she’s written a cookbook stuffed with culinary wisdom and practical tips, including this gem about how to peel boiled eggs.
“If eggs don’t peel readily, I’ll crack them gently against the countertop and return them to the water bowl for 10 minutes. I’ve found that letting water penetrate the shell membrane for a little while helps the shell slip right off.”
Brilliant, right?
There’s plenty more solid-gold kitchen advice where that came from, along with recipes you’ll want to cook immediately. Here are a few to get you started.
– Roslyn Grundy, Good Food recipe editor
Miso and labne onion dip
A few small tweaks to the classic sour cream and onion number yield this truly exceptional dip. A little miso paste and vinegar take caramelised onions – already rich in character – to a whole new level. The salt, sweetness, umami, and acid balance out the onions’ earthiness and dark caramel notes. Labne offers a welcome tangy counterpoint to the robustly flavourful onion mixture without sacrificing creaminess. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to hoard this dip at your end of the table. And though it’s best served with potato crisps, this dip also works beautifully as a sandwich spread or alongside steak, roast chicken, and roasted vegetables.
INGREDIENTS
- 55g extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- 2 brown onions, thinly sliced
- kosher salt (see note)
- 2 tbsp white miso
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or aged sherry vinegar
- 335g labne
- 1½ tsp onion powder
- 3 tbsp minced chives, plus more for garnish
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar (optional)
- potato crisps, pita pockets, crudites, or crackers, for serving
METHOD
- Set a large frying pan over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the oil. When it shimmers, add the onions and season with salt. Cook, stirring the onions and scraping the pan regularly, until the onions begin to brown. After about 20 minutes, once the onions have cooked off most of their water, bare spots in the pan might cause onions to start to stick and burn. Add a splash of water as needed to loosen any bits that are cooked on. As long as they’re not burnt, you can scrape and stir them back into the onions. If they are burnt, don’t add any water and instead scrape everything but the blackened bits into a new pan and continue cooking – you may also need to add another tablespoon or so of oil.
- Continue cooking and scraping regularly until the onions are very well caramelised, 45-55 minutes total. Turn off the heat and stir in the miso and vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and vinegar as needed.
- Allow the onions to cool, then chop them finely. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and add the labne, onion powder, chives, and a few grinds of pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt. Add sugar, if needed, to balance out the salt and vinegar. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with more chives.
- Serve with potato crisps, warm pita, crudites, or crackers. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week.
Makes about 625g
Note: Samin Nosrat used the kosher salt brand Diamond Crystal exclusively to test the recipes in Good Things. If you can’t find it in Australia, substitute coarse sea salt, Australian sea salt flakes from brands such as Olsson’s, or Maldon sea salt flakes.
Joojeh kabob roast chicken
Growing up, my family didn’t eat out very often. But when we did, it was almost always at a Persian chelo kababi, where we’d each order a humongous platter of buttery saffron rice topped with two skewers of grilled meat and a grilled tomato. We each had our favourites, and mine was invariably joojeh kabob – tender, tangy pieces of saffron-and-yoghurt-marinated chicken.
Joojeh kabob was so deeply ingrained in my food memories that years later, it was a primary source of inspiration when I developed my recipe for buttermilk-brined roast chicken. And because it’s just about the best roast chicken I’ve ever tasted, I used that recipe as the starting point for this one. The chicken still brines overnight in a flavourful, well-seasoned marinade of yoghurt or buttermilk, but this time, saffron, onions, lime, garlic, and a little tomato puree are layered in to deliver the precise combination of acidity, sweetness and umami that makes joojeh kabob so irresistible. It requires marinating overnight.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 whole chicken (1.6kg-1.8kg)
- kosher salt
- ½ tsp saffron threads, ground and bloomed (see note)
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 4 tbsp freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
- 365g natural yoghurt or buttermilk
- 1 brown onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
METHOD
- The day before you plan to cook, spatchcock the chicken and generously season it with salt on both sides. Let the chicken sit at room temperature while you prepare the marinade.
- In an extra-large press-seal plastic bag, whisk together the bloomed saffron, tomato puree, and lime juice until evenly combined. Add 2 tablespoons (18g) kosher salt and the yoghurt, onion, garlic, and pepper. Add the chicken, seal the bag, and squish the yoghurt all over the chicken. Place it on a rimmed plate and refrigerate. If you’re so inclined over the next 24 hours, turn the bag so every part of the chicken gets marinated, but it’s not essential.
- An hour before cooking, remove the chicken from the yoghurt and scrape off any aromatics. Bring the chicken to room temperature.
- Adjust an oven rack to the centre position and preheat to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional).
- Arrange the chicken, breast-side up, on a wire rack set over a baking tray (line the tray with parchment to make cleanup easier). Cook until the chicken is a dark golden brown and the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh, about 45 minutes. (Loosely cover the chicken with a piece of foil for the last 10 minutes if the skin is getting too dark.) Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 4
Note: To get the most out of precious saffron, grind it and then bloom it in hot water before adding it to food. Use a small mortar and pestle to grind the saffron threads into a fine powder, adding a pinch of salt. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of boiling water and allow the saffron to steep for 10 minutes. Carefully add the bloomed “tea” to your recipe, using a little more hot water to swirl every last drop of saffron from the mortar.
Variation: To barbecue joojeh kabobs, marinate 900g-1.4kg of seasoned boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 4cm pieces overnight. Remove them from the marinade and thread them onto metal or bamboo skewers. Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through and gloriously charred and golden on the surface, about 5 minutes on each side.
Preserved lemon and labne cake
I spent three years testing lemon cakes before I thought to make one with two of my beloved kitchen staples. Labne offers tang and contributes to the cake’s tender crumb. Replacing fresh lemon with preserved Meyer lemon paste not only streamlines the preparation but also provides the salt, acid, and welcome hint of funk that make this cake an undeniable pleasure to eat. And the simple lemon-turmeric glaze brightens both the colour and flavour of the cake.
INGREDIENTS
For the cake
250g white sugar
180g labne, soured cream, or Greek yoghurt
110g neutral oil
80g preserved Meyer lemon paste (see recipe)
30g (2 tbsp) water
2 medium eggs, at room temperature
180g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the glaze
1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅛ tsp ground turmeric
125g icing sugar
pinch of kosher salt
METHOD
- Adjust an oven rack to the centre position and preheat to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional). Coat a 23cm round cake tin with nonstick cooking spray, line the bottom with a round of parchment, then spray the parchment and set the tin aside.
- To make the cake, in a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, labne, oil, Meyer lemon paste, water, and eggs.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture until smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and smooth it out into an even layer.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until an inserted toothpick emerges free of crumbs.
- Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, in a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon lemon juice and the turmeric, then let the mixture sit for a few minutes to bloom. Whisk in the icing sugar and salt until smooth, adding more lemon juice as needed to get a drizzly consistency.
- Spread the glaze over the cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides. Allow to set for 30 minutes before slicing the cake.
- Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Makes a 23cm round cake
Preserved Meyer lemon paste
Stir a spoonful of this bright yellow paste into a chicken or lamb braise, swirl it into whipped tahini, garlic and herb labne, or any dish where you’d like to add a bit of salt, funk, umami, and floral acidity from Meyer lemon.
This will keep for up to 1 year in the fridge, as long as you’re careful not to cross-contaminate – always use a clean utensil and don’t double-dip!
INGREDIENTS
- 10 Meyer lemons, preferably organic and unwaxed, washed
- kosher salt
- 2.5cm piece fresh turmeric root, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
METHOD
- Halve 8 of the lemons crossways and use the tip of a paring knife to remove the seeds (the remaining lemons will be for juicing). Slice into each lemon half from the cut side towards the end, leaving the two pieces connected by about 1.25cm of fruit.
- Working over a bowl to catch run-off, rub a generous amount of kosher salt (about 2 teaspoons/6g per lemon half) over all the exposed lemon flesh, then reshape the lemon halves.
- Reserving the bowl of excess salt and juice, tightly pack the lemons into a sterilised wide-mouth 1-litre glass jar, breaking them apart as needed to fit them all in. If using turmeric, layer slices in as you go.
- Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the reserved bowl of salt and top the jar off with the salty juice. Use a chopstick to remove air bubbles from between the lemons, gently tap the jar on the counter to let the juice settle, and add more lemon juice if needed to ensure the lemons are submerged, leaving 1.25cm of space at the top of the jar. Seal the jar with a sterilised lid (if using a metal lid, wrap it with plastic wrap to prevent corrosion).
- Leave the jar at cool room temperature out of direct sunlight, shaking the jar daily and checking that the lemons remain submerged. The lemons are ready when the rinds are tender, about 3 weeks in moderate climates (in a cool climate, this can take up to 1 month, while in a warm climate, the lemons may be ready in about 1 week).
- Reserving the brine, transfer the lemons and turmeric to a blender or food processor. Pulse to blend, adding a splash of brine if needed to encourage things along. When the lemons have mostly broken down, taste the paste and, if desired, add some or all of the brine to taste (otherwise, you can save the brine in a separate jar). Continue blending to achieve your desired texture – I prefer a smooth puree and usually end up using all the brine. Transfer to a sterilised jar, cover with a sterilised lid.
Makes about 1 litre
This is an edited extract from Good Things by Samin Nosrat, photography by Aya Brackett. Published by Penguin Random House, RRP $65.
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