Bon Appetit - October 2017

prep school

FROM P. 94

THROUGH
THE WRINGER
Amazing meatballs are as much
about what you mix into them as
they are about the meat. The most
important ingredient is bread,
which keeps them light and
delicate by preventing the meat
proteins from binding together
too tightly when cooked. Some
recipes call for dry breadcrumbs,
others fresh, but we found that
this unusual technique produced
the best results. Here’s how we
do it. C.M.

1.

Hold slices of crustless bread

under running water until

completely soaked through but

not yet falling apart.

TEST KITCHEN TALK

“We’ve been telling

people forever to finish

their pasta by cooking

it in sauce. But when it

comes to spaghetti and

meatballs, we ignore

our own advice. Yes, the

pasta spends some time

in the sauce and there is

a touch of cooking liquid

added, but a seminude

pile of spaghetti covered

with a snow cap of

crimson sauce is what

that dish is all about,

not some fancy, perfectly

emulsified sauce.

Three distinct elements—

noodles, sauce, and

meat—create this iconic

dish, and even we don’t

want to mess with that.”

Chris Morocco,

senior food editor

BIG SOFTIE

Unless this is your first time reading Bon Appétit, you know that we love a crispy olive-

oil fried egg more than most things. But when we want to put an egg on soup or, say,

Jack’s Wife Freda’s shakshuka—basically any time we want to avoid cutting craggy edges

with a knife—we go with a super soft, barely cooked sunny-side up egg. This prep gives

you all the visual drama of a poached egg with far less effort, and results in a yolk that

can be easily pierced with a fork or spoon. To make: Crack an egg into a nonstick pan,

cover, and cook over low heat for five minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the whites are

firm and there’s no more wiggly-ness surrounding the yolk. ASHLEY MASON

FROM P. 16

Yolks like us,

baby, we were

booooorn

to ruuuuuun!

FOOD STYLING BY ALI NARDI. ILLUSTRATIONS

: BRUCE HUTCHISON (CAULIFLOWER, PORTRAIT,

BREAD); CLAIRE MCCRACKEN (POTATO).

106  OCTOBER 2017

2.

Using your hands, wring out as

much liquid as possible from

the bread. This gets it ready to

absorb other wet ingredients.

3.

Finely chop the bread so that it

disperses evenly through the mix—

there should be no pieces of bread

visible in your finished meatballs.