Recipes for when you just need it to taste good
Not asking for the world here. Skillet chicken and couscous + pasta with sausage and kale
Hello, chefs.
It’s not you, it’s me!
It’s not that I’ve taken a break from writing this Saturday morning love letter to you; it’s that I largely have taken a break from cooking generally. Or, at minimum, cooking things that I haven’t cooked one million times before.
Sometimes traversing the internet for a handful of recipes that speak to me, making a grocery list from those recipes, and whipping them up after work every day is my favorite chore in the whole world. And sometimes, like the last few weeks, I simply can’t believe that there could possibly be more ways to cook chicken than I’ve already attempted.
But the thing with passion is that it ebbs and flows. Rather than forcing it and spending hours hunched over my phone sifting through recipe archives, I’ve been cooking the classics with more regularity: salmon and cucs, burgers, lasagne. It’s frankly been lovely. It’s my birthday tomorrow, and I realized as I sat down to write my grocery list for the week that I do not, in fact, need to grocery shop at all as I’ll be away for work. It’s the best birthday gift—both the break from cooking, and the near certainty that a week away from a kitchen, stuck in a Philadelphia hotel, will do wonders to reignite my culinary urges.
In the meantime, this week we have one new-to-me recipe that delighted, and one old standby that crushes every time.
-Faith
p.s. For an easy way to save and store the recipes I share every week, save this Notion page. Use the magnifying glass to search.
Skillet chicken with couscous and halloumi
Big shoutout to Yewande Komolafe for writing the only new recipe I’ve made over the last month didn’t taste wildly off to me. Again, that’s a me problem. But this one really hit.
Marinate your halloumi (I used paneer instead and it was great): Tear up a small block of halloumi and add to a small bowl. Add a handful of chopped walnuts, 1 thinly sliced shallot, red pepper flakes, a drizzle of olive oil, the zest of one lemon, and a chopped lemon (use the one you zested and slice off the pith before slicing, removing any seeds).
Pat a package of chicken thighs (about 6 thighs) dry and season with salt. Heat a skillet over med/high and add another drizzle of oil to the pan. Sear your chicken until brown and crisp and remove to a plate.
Add 5 quartered shallots to the pan and lower to medium. When the shallots are softened, add 1 1/2 cups pearl couscous. Stir, then add 1 1/2 cup chicken broth, salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer.
Top the couscous with your chicken and some oregano sprigs, if you have them. Cover and cook just at a simmer for about 20 minutes or until the couscous has absorbed all of the liquid. Top with the marinated halloumi to serve.
Pasta with sausage and cabbage
I love this recipe because it’s simple and adaptable: swap out seasoned ground chicken or white beans for sausage, or do a light ricotta dollop or a bit of goat cheese rather than burrata. The foundation is the same—spicy, caramelized cabbage, slicked noodles, and a creamy somethin’ or other to bring it home.
Boil a pound of pasta of your choice—I like rigatoni here. Save a cup or two of pasta water.
Brown and season a ground meat of your choice in a bit of olive oil over med/high—I like spicy sausage, but you could also do ground chicken or turkey and season the shit out of it with salt, pepper, garlic, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes.
Chop a half head of cabbage into short, thin strips. Do the same with a small onion. When the meat is browned, stir in the cabbage and onion, season with salt and pepper, and press down to the bottom of the pan. Let it sit for about 5 minutes so it gets nice and caramelized on the bottom. Stir and repeat a few times until the whole pan is deeply caramelized.
Turn the heat to low and add your cooked pasta to the pan with a bit of pasta water. Season with salt and pepper and toss until the noodles are glossy, adding more past water as needed. Top with a ball of burrata, a scoop of ricotta, or a bit of goat cheese.