Sweet potatoes drizzled with a tahini-spiked dressing. Photograph by Chris Leaman.
One of our readers was inspired to request the recipe for the miso-glazed sweet potatoes served at Teaism—and apparently a lot of others are enamored with the side dish, too. Michelle Brown, co-owner of the trio of teahouse/cafes, says the Penn Quarter location goes through about 200 pounds of it every day. The recipe, an adaptation of a classic Japanese dish, was developed ten years ago by longtime chef Arpad Lengyel. To give it a twist, he adds tahini, which is traditionally used in Middle Eastern cooking. Its nutty flavor paired with sugar and sweet mirin wine is something we’re now enamored of, too.
Serves 8 as a side. Bake the sweet potatoes:
4 large sweet potatoes Canola oil, as needed
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into 1½-inch chunks. Toss with enough canola oil to coat the potatoes lightly but evenly. Add the potatoes to a small baking pan; you want to crowd the potatoes in the pan to help them steam. Bake for 25 minutes, then let cool.
Art and Soul, chef Art Smith’s restaurant on Capitol Hill, greets every table with a warm welcome—a deep cast-iron pan of skillet bread. The recipe for the buttery, dangerously addicting pull-apart rolls comes from Smith’s 91-year-old grandmother Mabel—he’s just added butter and a sprinkle of chives—and is a reminder of his childhood. “Growing up in the South,” Smith says, “every table of my family was graced with homemade yeast rolls and biscuits. It’s not about being fancy; it’s about tasting good.”
Makes two skillet breads or 12 rolls
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees) ¼ ounce active dry yeast (one package) ¼ cup sugar 1 large egg, beaten 1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil, plus a little more for brushing ½ teaspoon salt 3 cups all-purpose flour 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 tablespoons chopped chives 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Learn how to prepare Susur Lee's crunchy, colorful signature dish.
The Singapore Slaw at chef Susur Lee’s new restaurant, Zentan, is an eye-popping twist on a lo hei salad, traditionally eaten during the Chinese New Year. The slaw is served at all of his restaurants, including Madeline’s in Toronto and Shang in New York. In the video below, Susur shows how to prepare his crunchy and colorful creation and demonstrates the proper way to serve it (among friends, with lots of chopsticks). It’s not very difficult to prepare, but does involve a fair amount of shopping (and chopping). Seedlings can be found at some specialty markets, but if you can’t find them, Lee suggests substituting an array of julienned herbs.
One of the most popular dishes at Zaytinya, José Andrés’s Mediterranean mezzeteria in DC’s Penn Quarter, is the garides me anitho—shrimp with dill—so it’s no surprise that a reader requested the recipe. Andrés took inspiration from traditional Greek flavors: According to chef de cuisine Mike Isabella, dill is the most widely used herb in Greece. Isabella, currently a contestant on Top Chef, says the kitchen turns out nearly 50 plates of the buttery shellfish everyday. Slow-poached in a pan sauce with a dash of mustard and lemon juice and garnished with piquant white pepper, the shrimp take on a lot of flavor. How can you be sure your version is as good as Zaytinya’s? “Fresh dill is essential,” Isabella says.
In our video tour, the Redwood chef gets inspired by heirloom tomatoes and stone fruit, then gives his recipe for bean salad with tomato vinaigrette.
Redwood chef Blake Schumpert loves local ingredients. Lucky for him, the Bethesda Central Farm Market is just outside the restaurant’s door. We tagged along as Schumpert and sous chef Ben Wishnoff picked up a few items for a recent evening’s menu: baby lima beans for a bean salad, Stonyman Gourmet Farmer cheese for the cheese plate, and stone fruit for a fruit soup. Take a tour of the market in the video below, then try Schumpert’s bean-salad recipe for yourself.
Although outdoor-barbecue season is coming to an end, we couldn’t help obliging the reader who asked for Rocklands’ Texas-corn-pudding recipe. After all, says proprietor John Snedden, the creamy stuff is popular year-round: On Super Bowl Sunday, the company’s four locations collectively mix up about 30 gallons. Snedden says lots of customers requested the pudding when Rocklands opened in 1992, and Stephen MacLeod, the second manager at the Glover Park outpost, offered his family’s recipe. But MacLeod is from Salisbury, Maryland—how did Snedden give it a Texas flair? After testing lots of barbecue—and sides—in Houston and Austin, he decided jalapeños and extra onions would do the trick.
Look for creamed corn that’s low on sugar—Snedden suggests Bird’s Eye or Green Giant—and, to achieve a fluffy, soufflé-like texture, mix the batter just before you’re going to bake it. Here’s another secret: “Put a lot of love in it,” says Snedden. “Did I include that in the recipe?”
Pick and prod all you want. If you’re trying to find the best produce, you have to sink your teeth into it. That’s CityZen chef Eric Ziebold’s approach to the farmers market. On a recent Friday, he showed us around the US Department of Agriculture Farmers Market (12th St. and Independence Ave., SW, in the USDA parking lot; open 10 to noon), just a few blocks from his restaurant. Ziebold shops there nearly every Tuesday and Friday. Check out his tips on picking out corn, cantaloupes, and peaches in the video below, then try his easy recipe for corn soup.
Though Ann Limpert graduated from Connecticut College with a degree in art history and creative writing, she spent most of her time in New England debating the merits of warm, buttery lobster rolls vs. cold, mayo-y ones. She spent two years covering the internet for Entertainment Weekly magazine (highlights include interviewing the Beastie Boys and dancing to "Livin' la Vida Loca" with Penn Jillette), then left to hone her kitchen skills at the Institute of Culinary Education. She has worked as a cook at several New York restaurants, researched and edited cookbooks, and now writes about food and restaurants for the Washingtonian.
more
Kate Nerenberg
Kate Nerenberg started as an editorial intern at The Washingtonian in January 2008 and became an assistant editor in September 2008. A native of West Hartford, Connecticut, she spent the first half of her writing life as a sports reporter, and was the editor of the athletics section for the newspaper and student-run magazine while at Middlebury College. A joint Spanish and Art History major, Kate graduated in 2005 and took off on a year-long journey around the world. After tasting everything from fried crickets to lavish Turkish breakfasts, she realized she wanted to devote herself to writing about food, a lifelong passion. She lives with three roommates just east of Logan Circle in a house that's often filled with the smell of sauteed garlic, warm banana bread, or fried bacon and eggs.
more
Rina Rapuano
Rina Rapuano's English degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond put her on the path to becoming a managing editor of a weekly business magazine; a freelance copy editor; and assistant managing news editor—and later the lifestyles editor—at a weekly paper in Maryland. But she realized her true calling when her descriptions of meals to friends and colleagues always seemed to end with the same statement: “You're making me hungry.” Frankly, it was making Rina hungry, too. She chucked her day job in 2006 to become a full-time freelance writer focusing mainly on food, and now works as assistant food and wine editor at The Washingtonian.
more
- Recipes
