Eggs and Kale Fried in Chicken Fat by Alison Roman

I love fried eggs. I have since the morning in college that I saw Sarah (a personal hero of mine) dip her toast into the runny egg yolk pooling on her plate. I grew up in a household that cooks egg yolks until very dry. So I had subscribed to the dry egg yolk idea myself. Until Sarah unashamedly revelled in the goodness of a runny yolk and declared it her favorite breakfast. All of my assumptions about eggs went straight out the window. If Sarah can enjoy a bright yellow pool of yolk, you bet I can too. From that day on, I’ve made only over-easy fried eggs, and I always have them with toast. 

Alison Roman has succeeded in upping over-easy fried eggs’ ante by swapping the typical olive oil or butter with chicken fat. To my fellow fried egg lovers, let me tell you, this substitution will rock your egg world. 

“Where does one acquire chicken fat?,” I initially wondered. Never fear, Alison’s got you covered. Yesterday I posted about Crispy Chicken Legs with Tiny Potatoes. Well, the cup and a half of olive oil used to cook the chicken legs can be strained and saved for this very purpose! This leftover oil can be used for other cooking needs as well. For example, I used it to make a batch of Alison’s Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Bucatini a few days ago. 

Just the act of re-heating this oily fat in the pan releases so many irresistible smells - salty chicken, poached garlic, a hint of rosemary. My mouth watered before the eggs were even cracked from their shells. Both the kale and eggs are fried in the fat separately. The kale only spends about 4 minutes in the pan, until it begins to crisp at the edges. The eggs spend about 3 minutes over medium-high heat, making sure the yolks remain full of runny goodness. 

I can’t recommend enough the power of a piece of homemade sourdough bread to drag across the yolk. I imagine a homemade english muffin would have the same effect. 

The crispy chicken recipe yielded about 1 cup of fat. This egg and kale recipe only requires 4 Tbsp, so there is enough for several breakfasts more. I will savor every drop.

42 recipes cooked, 183 to go.

Crispy Chicken Legs with Rosemary, Tiny Potatoes, and Sour Cream by Alison Roman

Truthfully, I don’t know where to begin. How to describe the very best chicken leg you’ve ever tasted? How to communicate its delicate tenderness? How to memorialize the scents of garlic and rosemary wafting from the kitchen to the living room?

I believe a song is in order. 

me circa 2010

Just kidding, I won’t do that to you. I was just so moved by this meal. I’ll do my best to paint its picture. 

The ingredients are few and require very little prep. Chicken legs, which include both thigh and drumstick, took a little searching for me, since Trader Joes doesn’t carry them. I found some at Whole Foods. The chicken is covered with salt and pepper and placed in a deep baking dish. A head of garlic cut crosswise, several sprigs of rosemary, and tiny potatoes join the chicken. Alison says the potatoes should be no larger than a quarter, but I couldn’t find such small potatoes. Instead, I cut my baby dutch potatoes in half. And as is customary with Alison’s chicken recipes, the pan is absolutely drenched in olive oil. (Thank goodness my mother-in-law shares her Costco membership with me. I’m going through so much olive oil these days.) 

The pan is baked for 1.5 hours over a low temperature. By the time it was done, the smells of garlic and rosemary had fully permeated my entire apartment, and I could barely stand waiting any longer for the meal, but I resisted digging in for one more crucial step -- to crisp up the chicken skin by searing the legs skin-side down in a pan over high heat. The extra effort and wait is so worth the crispy exterior to such fall-apart, tender meat underneath. 

The garlic cloves turn soft and buttery, ready to spread over each bite of chicken before dipping it into sour cream. I will eat this meal over and over again for many years to come. Such little work, and a good deal of patience, creates a truly inspirational meal. 

41 recipes cooked, 184 to go.

Chicories with Anchovy Bread Crumbs (and Egg Yolk) by Alison Roman

Before making this recipe, I had no idea what radicchio, endives, or chicories were. I couldn’t pick them out of a line-up if I tried. 

Okay, now I’m imagining a bunch of vegetables all standing in a long line and making small talk with each other... 

Celery: “Ey Tomato, why you gotta be so short?”

Tomato: “Don’t make me get red in the face!” 

---

Cucumber: “Hey there, gourdgeous!”

Gourd: “Well you’re lookin’ mighty cuke yourself!” 

---

Radicchio: “Endive, why are you so bitter?”

Endive: “I could ask you the same question!”

Radicchio: “Is it because we’re both in the chicory family?”

Endive: “Could be… but what’s chicory ever done to you?”

---

I’ll stop. But honestly I did have to Google these leafy greens to know what I was searching for. And good thing I did because neither radicchio NOR endive, both of which belong to the chicory family, are green! 

This may be one of the more aesthetically pleasing salads I’ve ever assembled, but sadly that didn’t mean it was the most tasty. Both radicchio and endives are quite bitter, which means I would personally pair them with a vinaigrette that’s on the sweeter side for balance. Instead, this recipe calls for an equally bitter dressing made of olive oil, lemon juice and mustard. For Jordan, the bitterness was simply too overpowering and he chose not to eat it. 

The dressed leaves are topped with anchovy bread crumbs and raw egg yolks. Now, if you read the Kimchi-Braised Pork essay, you’ll know that raw egg yolks are not my thing, so it would be no surprise that I skipped them here, too. 

Homemade bread crumbs, on the other hand, are most definitely up my alley, and will never be skipped if I can help it. These bread crumbs have an added twist: before adding the freshly pulsated crumbs to the frying pan, several anchovies and some olive oil are cooked down into a paste, which then soaks into the crumbs. This gives them an extra umami; a slightly fishy but wonderfully salty edge that makes them contribute more than simply adding texture. I really enjoyed this crumb recipe twist. However, a slightly fishy bread crumb paired with a very bitter salad, is not my ideal combination. 

Would the called-for addition of egg yolk have changed my mind? I don’t think so. Looking back, I do think the fix could have been as simple as adding a bit of honey or sugar to the vinaigrette. I did eat my full plate of salad, but I can’t say it was enjoyable. Nevertheless, there are several more, what Alison calls “knife-and-fork” salads, left to make, and I have hope that I’ll find success with at least one of them. I mean, they’re from Alison Roman. How could I not?

40 recipes cooked, 185 to go.

Salmon with Soy and Citrusy Charred Scallions by Alison Roman

What can I tell you about this salmon? First, I can say that it took me 3 weeks to write this -- I made it that long ago. Second, I can tell you that I spent most of this morning avoiding writing by dancing in my living room and reading emails and attempting to pickle some turnips that were about to go bad in my fridge. Third, I can say that salmon is a nostalgic food for me because I associate it with my Oma. 

Oma means grandmother in Dutch (& Korean, too, coincidentally). My Oma and Opa (grandfather) immigrated to the United States in 1964, with four young children, and a fifth on the way. Their fifth child was my mother. They moved to Southern California, where a large Dutch immigrant community lives, to start their “American Dream.”

Being a lover of plants, my Opa started a business selling flower seeds after arriving in the States. (Fun fact: Vis Seed Company still exists today and is run by my Uncles.) My Oma raised 5 children, and taught them how to laugh in the face of struggle (she loves to laugh) and be resilient. My Aunts, Uncles and mother have a particular inner toughness that I really admire. 

My Opa passed away before I was born, and my Oma has lived on her own ever since. She cooks her own meals and tends to her beautiful backyard garden in the afternoons. She is one of the strongest, most inspiring women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, much less being related to. She has 15 grandchildren and already 16 great grandchildren. Her heart is big. 

My Oma likes to make salmon every week. She’ll make a large portion and then eat it over several days. Whenever I make salmon, I think of her. 

This salmon, while it doesn’t beat Alison’s “best salmon ever” aka Slow Salmon with Citrus and Herbs, the final result was still flavorful, tender fish. Admittedly it is more fussy than the “best salmon ever” too, but not without cause. 

The fish is cooked in the oven with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, which is not enough to cover it. Once again, the fish took longer than directed (10-12 minutes), but this time I was prepared for that to happen. While the salmon bakes, several scallions are charred in a cast iron skillet and then chopped. Mix them with a bowl of chopped raw scallions, orange and lemon juice, soy sauce, spices, and more olive oil. This sauce becomes the flavoring of the salmon that is then drizzled over the fish just before serving. 

The scallions, while a nice touch, didn’t feel necessary to me, and added an additional pan for washing. I would have been just as satisfied with only the juices and soy sauce to add flavor. The marinade/sauce can be used for roasting veggies (broccoli!), or drizzled on rice, which I served with the salmon. I’ll definitely make this one again, but will likely skip the scallions. 

39 recipes cooked, 186 to go.

Frizzled Chickpeas with Onions and Feta by Alison Roman

They’re not sizzled. They’re not fried. They’re frizzled. And they’re delicious. 

There are so many recipes for crispy chickpeas in the world. Even Alison has more than one. Most of them use oven roasting as the crisping method. A few use the pan fry. But Alison has declared, with reasonable assurance, that the way to cook chickpeas is the frizzle. (And all the Magic School Bus fans say, AMEN.) A cooking method of frying chickpeas in sizzling oil. 

The best feature of this dish--the crispiness of the chickpeas-- is only rivaled by the crispiness of the sliced red onion. Who doesn’t love crispy onions? 

The process is straightforward. A half cup of olive oil (yes, you need that much) is heated over medium-hight in a large skillet. First the onions and garlic get sizzly and soft, before the sprigs of fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, and two cans of chickpeas join the party. The frizzle method still takes a bit of time. I probably left them on the skillet for at least 15 minutes, shaking frequently so they didn’t burn. The final touch is my favorite dairy topping, feta cheese. 

I’ve made this dish twice now, once with Alison’s One-Pot Chicken with Lemon and Dates and the other time with Alison’s Skillet Chicken with Olives and Sumac. It’s a reliable side that would go well with pretty much anything. And I usually have the ingredients on hand, so it’s an easy fix if I need one more piece to a meal. I also think it would make a lovely snack.

38 recipes cooked, 187 to go.