The Washington Post - USA (2022-01-19)

E2 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19 , 2022

oven, when the noodles and vegetables retain their wonderful textures, but it was delicious cold from the refrigerator the next day, too. This recipe is an excellent way to use up bits and pieces of produce. McKinnon also suggests Asian greens as a substitute for the broccoli and sugar snap peas in place of asparagus. Dried or fresh thin egg noodles are best because they crisp so well, she said, but if crispness isn’t essential to your enjoyment, any noodles will do. She recommends ramen noodles, adding that you can make the dish vegan by using wheat noodles, too. McKinnon made a promise in her cookbook, noting “The recipes in this book are accessible, familiar and comforting, but will also challenge you to think differently about the possibilities of cooking modern Asian flavors at home.” This one made me do just that. [email protected]

Have you ever
seen a recipe title
and thought: Say,
what? Then,
considered the
source and
immediately
wanted to try it?
That’s how I
felt when I came
across Sheet Pan
Chow Mein in
Hetty McKinnon’s latest book,
“To Asia, With Love,” which
made our list of favorite
cookbooks of 2021.
McKinnon, who also wrote
“Neighborhood” and “Family,”
was born to Chinese-immigrant
parents in Australia, so in her
cookbook, she describes her
recipes as “A sian in origin, but
modern in spirit” and the flavors
as “A sian-ish.”
Would I consider making
chow mein this way without her
guidance? Unlikely. Under
McKinnon’s tutelage, however, I
could see how it would come
together. She writes: “Cantonese
chow mein is well known of its
contrasting textures — crispy
fried strands tangled with soft
noodles, tender-crisp veggies, all
smothered in an umami-rich
sauce. While the wok is still the
traditional (and arguably the
best) cooking vessel for chow
mein, a humble sheet pan is also
a handy way to rustle it up with
minimal effort.”
I, along with a busload of
other food writers and home
cooks, have sung the praises of
the sheet pan for years, because
as McKinnon points out you
“simply throw everything on the
sheet pan and let the oven do the
work for you.” Still, I was
delightfully surprised by how
well this reinterpretation
delivered the expected flavors
and textures of chow mein. It’s a
great solution for folks who don’t
have a wok.
McKinnon starts by sheet-pan
roasting bell pepper, broccoli
and carrots drizzled with sesame
and olive oils until they soften.
While they cook, you boil your
noodles until al dente, drain and
pat them dry, so they’ll crisp.
Then, you push the softened
vegetables to one side of the pan
and add the noodles, baby corn
and asparagus to other side and
return the pan to the oven until
the noodles are crispy where
they touch the pan and a bit on
top.
Quickly whip up a sauce of
toasted sesame oil, soy sauce,
vegetarian stir-fry sauce, white
pepper and garlic, and when the
vegetables and noodles are
where you want them, remove
the pan from the oven, pour the
sauce over it all and toss it
together. You can then sprinkle
scallions, cilantro leaves and
sesame seeds over, if you like.
It tastes best fresh from the

Ann
Maloney

DINNER IN
MINUTES

Chow mein,

made less

challenging

Sheet Pan Chow Mein 4 servings Cookbook author H etty McKinnon recommends substituting sugar snap peas or snow peas for the asparagus if it isn’t available; and ramen wheat noodles in place of egg noodles if you want to make the dish vegan. If you cannot find the vegetarian stir-fry sauce, she suggests omitting it. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Thin dried egg noodles and vegetarian stir-fry sauce are available at Asian markets and online. Active time: 20 mins; Total time: 45 mins Adapted from “To Asia, With Love” by Hetty McKinnon (Prestel, 2021).

Ingredients For the chow mein l1 bell pepper, (any color, about 9 ounces), thinly sliced l1 carrot, scrubbed and thinly sliced diagonally l1 broccoli head (about 6 ounces), tough stems removed and cut into florets l1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil lExtra-virgin olive oil lFine salt l9 ounces dried thin egg noodles l1 (8.8 ounce) can cut baby

corn, drained l5 ounces asparagus, woody ends trimmed and cut into 2- inch pieces l1 scallion, thinly sliced lHandful of fresh cilantro leaves l2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds For the soy seasoning l1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil l^1 / 4 cup low-sodium soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos l1 tablespoon vegetarian stir-fry sauce (optional)

l^1 / 4 teaspoon ground white pepper l1 small garlic clove, minced or finely grated

Steps lMake the chow mein: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. lPlace the bell pepper, carrot and broccoli on a large, rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with the sesame oil and a splash of olive oil, and lightly season with salt. Toss to coat the vegetables, then roast for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. lMeanwhile, bring a large sauce- pan of salted water to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook according to the package direc- tions until al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and cool under running water. Drain well again and pat dry with a clean tea towel. lMake the soy seasoning: In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil; the soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos; stir-fry

sauce, if using; white pepper and garlic until combined. lRemove the baking sheet from the oven and push the vegetables to one side. Add the noodles, corn and asparagus to the other side. Drizzle just the noo- dle mixture with olive oil, l ightly season with salt and toss well to coat. Return the baking sheet to the oven and continue to roast for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the noodles are crispy on the top and bottom — you are looking for a combination of crispy and non-crispy noodles. lRemove the baking sheet from the oven, drizzle t he soy seasoning all over and toss the ingredients well to coat. Scatter the scallion, cilantro and sesame seeds on top and serve family- style, or portion into shallow bowls. Nutrition | Per se rving (1^1 / 2 cups chow mein): 431 calories, 14 g protein, 59 g carbohydrates, 16 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 32 mg c holesterol, 1,096 mg s odium, 9 g dietary fiber, 7 g sugar Recipe tested by Ann Maloney; email questions to [email protected]

SCOTT SUCHMAN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; FOOD STYLING BY LISA CHERKASKY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

grains or toasted torn bread like a panzanella. Just try to remember how you make the most of your summer

vegetables and do that here — now. Summer cooking is all about i mmediate gratification. [email protected]

Ingredients l2 (8-ounce) balls burrata cheese l8 cups shaved or thinly sliced crunchy raw fruits or vegetables, such as beets, radishes, turnips, apples, pears, carrots, kohlrabi, shallots, cauliflower, fennel, celery, cucumbers, scallions, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard stems, Brussels sprouts or parsnips l^1 / 4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed l1 lemon, finely zested and juiced (about 2 tablespoons of juice) l1 tablespoon poppy seeds l2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, plus more to taste lFine sea or table salt

Steps lDrain the burrata and set aside at room temperature to soften, about 2 minutes.

lMeanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the vegetables with the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, poppy seeds, vinegar and a light sprinkling of salt. Toss with two spoons or your hands until evenly mixed and the vegetables are slightly softened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Ta ste, and season with addi- tional oil, vinegar and/or salt as needed. lDivide the burrata between 4 plates, turning the casing i nside-out so the soft, creamy middle is exposed. Drizzle with more olive oil and season lightly with salt. Top with the vegetable salad and another drizzle of olive oil, and serve. Nutrition | Per se rving (about 2 c ups), using beets, radishes, apples and carrots : 559 calories, 23 g protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 39 g fat, 18 g s aturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 372 mg s odium, 6 g dietary fiber, 19 g sugar Recipe tested by Ann Maloney; email questions to [email protected]

BY ALI SLAGLE

Here’s something recipe devel-
opers don’t often share: We work a
season ahead. When you’re gorg-
ing on tomatoes, I’m roasting tur-
keys. My time with tomatoes hap-
pens when the streets are snowy; I
hunt for deep-red specimens that
have any scent of summer (and
usually settle for beigey-pink).
This flip-flopping can be jum-
bling, like visiting South America
in December, but it keeps my b rain
nimble. In summer, our cooking is
mostly at the cutting board, chop-
ping, tossing, mixing; we give the
stove a rest because a lot of sum-
mer’s p roduce doesn’t r equire heat
to taste its best. In the winter, the
meditation shifts; we are posi-
tioned by the stove and oven so
that their heat can extract sweet-
ness from vegetables, brown meat
and soften legumes. As I write this
in the summertime, I wonder w hat
it would look like to apply our
summer rituals to cold-weather
ingredients. What if we gave the
oven an extended vacation (to
A rgentina?) and didn’t cook hardy
winter crops?
This crunchy, raw salad is one
idea. It’s a l ittle showy and requires
little effort, especially considering
that it’s built on root vegetables. It
can be made ahead and accommo-
date many of the winter vegetables
we know to cook and cook and
cook.
To keep it from being a jaw
exercise, the vegetables are soft-
ened using n ot heat but salt. Think
about how cabbage transforms
from crunchy slaw to sauerkraut
or kimchi with time and salt. Or
how kale slumps with salt and a
massage. As salt removes mois-
ture, the vegetables wilt, no longer
taut from t he water that was f illing

them out. This method (and this salad) works w ith any number of crunchy vegetables and fruits, including beets, radishes, turnips, apple, pears, carrots, kohlrabi, shallots, cauliflower, fennel, celery, cucumbers and/or scallions. Other perhaps surprisingly delicious ingredients to eat raw include sweet potato, Swiss chard stems, Brus- sels sprouts and parsnips. Thinly slice them into bite-size pieces with a sharp knife or mandoline. Toss them with salt, acid and olive oil. The acids used here are lemon and white wine vinegar for a mix of sweet and puckery, but you could swap in lime, grapefruit or another kind of vinegar. The longer the

vegetables sit, the softer they’ll be. That said, while the vegetables will be relaxed, they’ll still involve chewing; a piece of cauliflower will never have the jamminess of a late-August peach, no matter how many head m assages it gets. So the salad needs something plush to add comfort to each bite — burrata, cut open and turned inside-out to expose its ricotta-soft middle, is just the thing. Beyond this simple combination of shaved raw vegetables, a ssertive dressing and creaminess, feel free to embellish as you wish, perhaps with red pepper flakes or soft herbs. The recipe includes poppy seeds. Have you ever really tasted a poppy seed? It’s floral,

nutty and earthy; fresh ones smell almost dewy, like the wet dirt where your winter vegetables grew. They complement root vegetables nicely and add a surprise crispiness to everything they touch. Because poppy seeds spoil quickly, use t hem in large handfuls and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. In addition to being a starter, this salad can be a topper to a chicken cutlet or piece of tender fish, such as salmon or cod. With- out the burrata, it can mimic a relish or pickle and provide crunch and spunk to an egg or turkey sandwich. It can become a main- dish salad with the addition of legumes, toasted nuts, whole

Apply a summer mind-set to a salad that’s all about winter

Shaved Vegetable Salad With Creamy Cheese 4 servings This mix of crunchy shaved vegetables, soft cheese and the floral pop of poppy seeds makes for a salad showy enough for guests. It can accommodate any number of raw winter vegetables, be made a few hours before serving and provide a speedy solution for using up all those cold-weather root vegetables. Use a vegetable peeler or a mandoline to cut them into thin slices or matchsticks. Do not make long ribbons as they may turn limp and soggy. Total time: 25 mins MAKE AHEAD: The salad can be made and refrigerated up to 3 hours before serving. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, depending on the vegetables used. From recipe developer and food writer Ali Slagle

SCOTT SUCHMAN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; FOOD STYLING BY LISA CHERKASKY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

The Washington Post - USA (2022-01-19)

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