You rely upon any first-hand experience to bring the kitchen scenes to life? In the Kitchen vividly thrusts the reader into the sweaty, frenetic,Īlmost pirate-ship-like world of the kitchen in a major urban restaurant. (Add extra crunch with store-bought fried shallots as a garnish, if you’ve got ’em.Monica Ali discusses her third novel, In The Kitchen, which is set in the frenetic, almost pirate-ship-like world of the kitchen in a major urban restaurant (Q&A contains potential plot spoilers). It’s eggless (but a soft-boiled egg over top would be lovely), easy to make ahead and reheat (and even tastier a day later), oat-free, and it has nubby rice, soft squash and crunchy bits if you garnish with chile crisp. Meg needs a savory, egg-free breakfast for her partner Melissa and Kanika need a savory make-ahead option Anna needs the same, but without oats and Rene would prefer a savory porridge with plenty of texture.Īll five of them should start their days with Hetty McKinnon’s butternut squash congee. Last week’s breakfast newsletter inspired a number of follow-up requests. For Mattie, who simply wants “meat and potatoes, but in a vegetarian way,” I could think of no better option than Samantha Seneviratne’s vegetarian shepherd’s pie, which swaps in lentils and mushrooms for the meat, keeps the traditional peas and carrots, and tops everything with a beautifully browned layer of creamy mashed potatoes.įor Cora, who’s searching specifically for a main to pair with a potato-y side, look no further than Ali’s portobello “steak” au poivre, which would be delicious with some luxurious, aromatic and make-ahead friendly beans for protein. Several of you wrote in to express various cravings for heft and heartiness. Or pair roasted vegetables - cruciferous or otherwise - with a vegan dressing of nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, lemon juice and olive oil, and serve it all over your favorite grains à la this hearty bowl from Ali Slagle. Smoky red pepper romesco is plenty saucy, great as a dip or for pouring over florets of lightly burnished cauliflower and broccoli. Stephanie and Ann should give Yewande Komolafe’s roasted vegetables with cashew romesco a spin. “Broccoli and cauliflower … beyond trees and clouds with cheese sauce.” - Ann Vegan matches would be preferable.” - Stephanie “My roasted vegetables are tired of always being paired with hummus.

If I didn’t get to yours, fear not! I’ll do this again, and I’ve pocketed a few requests (like cooking for kids!) for a newsletter to come. So many of you wrote in with cooking queries big and small below, I’ve tackled just a small slice of them. Last week, I set out to revive Recipe Matchmaker, a series I used to host on New York Times Cooking’s Instagram in which I matched followers with recipes from our database based on their very specific requests.

Books by monica ali