Friendo,
If you’re here, I’ve most likely already fed you or thought about what meal I’d make you at an imagined dinner party. The last few years of my life have been built around food: I research it, talk about it, work in it, and obviously make and eat it (ideally, for pleasure, but occasionally as a chore). i was cooking is a culmination of the years I spent learning how to do what I now do best, and with it I aim to share with you food that is aspirational but doable, accessible and adaptable.
I’ll share with you why we cook the way we do, how to save time and chop vegetables safely, the best produce in season, versatile spices and where to find them, how to store your fresh food for maximum shelf life, and how to ease into cooking more and cooking new cuisines.
My 2020 began with a packed living room full of people over for A Lamb Dinner on Armenian Christmas (January 6), which I thought would set me on a trajectory of regularly having more people over for more complex dinner menus throughout the year. 2020 decided otherwise, and, because I cannot for the time being have you over for dinner, I invite you instead to cook, eat, explore, learn, and share with me in this digital food experience. Thank you!
Five weeks ago I started running and my brain started craving potatoes. Beautiful, simple things that I used to eat so regularly as a child but now rarely buy, having convinced myself I need “a reason” to consume a potato (bullshit). This week, I had a reason: I missed my mom. And it was summer. And I wanted to go to a party. And in the summer, mom makes potato salad for parties.
Everyone has their own potato salad preferences but I promise you, this one truly delivers. It’s light because it doesn’t have mayo, bright because it is bathed in lemon juice, comforting because it’s starchy, fresh because of the parsley and onion. And it’s so easy, so multipliable, you can whip it up in 20 minutes flat no matter how many guests you’re feeding. Eat it alone, alongside Samira’s Homemade stuffed grape leaves for lunch, or as I did, alongside panko-fried chicken breast and roasted Brussels sprouts.
Mom usually uses floury potatoes to make this salad but with the variety of potatoes available in Boston I opted on using both waxy and floury potatoes. Waxy potatoes such as new potatoes (🥔) and fingerlings maintain their shape after being boiled and tossed in the salad dressing and maintain a firmer texture. The addition of a floury potato (such as a russet or Idaho) ensures that some cubes will break down, their starch mixing with the dressing and turning it creamy. Floury potatoes are also better at absorbing the flavour of the dressing and onions. This is not an overly important aspect of the recipe and for ease, you can go with whatever potato calls to you, especially the common Yukon Gold potato, which has a medium starch content and works in every potato recipe.
🥔 new potatoes are literally any potato that just got dug up from the ground. you can tell a new potato by touching its skin: if the skin peels with ease off the raw potato, you’ll know it’s new. all regular potatoes are cured by being left in a cool environment for about two weeks before being delivered to supermarkets. this thickens their skin and allows them to have a longer shelf life than new potatoes.
Maral’s lemony potato salad (makes 3-4 servings)
(vegan, gluten free, without nuts)
the stuff:
1-1.5lb of potatoes, around 4 medium ones. Aim for a mix of 3 waxy, 1 floury, all peeled and cubed
½ cup parsley leaves, washed and stems removed
½ onion cut lengthwise and sliced*
juice of 2 lemons
4 tablespoons olive oil
¼ tbsp paprika, Aleppo pepper, or marash pepper
salt and pepper to taste
the way:
Bring a salted pot of water to boil. Add potatoes, reduce to a simmer, cook until a cube is easily pierced by a fork but not falling apart. Drain but don’t bother rinsing, as this washes away the starches that will turn the dressing creamy. Use the boiling time to slice your onion of choice, juice the lemons, and rough chop the parsley so the pieces are small enough to cling to the potatoes.
In a medium bowl, throw in the drained potato cubes and add half the lemon juice as well as all the olive oil, pepper, paprika, onion, and parsley leaves. Toss, gently, to coat the potato cubes evenly. Adjust the tanginess by adding more salt and lemon juice and enhance the creaminess with more olive oil. Serve at room temp or cold.
Keeps in the fridge, covered, for up to four days.
*I found fresh spring onions at the market and fell head over heels. A regular yellow onions work great, as would a sweeter red onion, a milder shallot, and wilting chives and scallions in the corner of your vegetable drawer.
Food storage tip: not sure what to do with the remaining bunch of parsley? Stand up the bunch in a cup of cool water, wrap loosely in a paper towel, and cover with a plastic bag. This guarantees your parsley will stay fresh for around two weeks in the fridge. Add the leaves to your pasta dishes, atop your fried eggs, or over any leftovers to give them some life and added flavour.
stuff to do:
cherish the last of the local peaches and plums, maybe make a plum torte (dm me for deets). i found that sad wilted berries and less-than-great plums work perfectly here
ask the new coworker you want to get to know better to go on a nature walk
call your older family members
support your local book stores and arts organizations struggling to get on their feet again
listen to Shamir’s “On My Own”
make a list of safe fall activities to do alone or with friends while the weather still allows
cry over the loss of sunshine while swapping out your summer wardrobe for your winter sweaters
eat at Jamaica Mi Hungry’s original location or the new pop up in Lower Allston at 182 Western Ave. try: Ernie’s rice and beans, jerk chicken, sweet plantains, mac & cheese