At home, we want to relieve the pressure. We crave simple food. We don’t want cooking at home to be the breakneck performance it is in the restaurant but rather a small pleasure, relaxed enough that we can enjoy the process as well as the results. We’re not alone in finding this idea appealing. When we mentioned to friends that we were thinking of doing a book of recipes for simple suppers, inevitably they exclaimed, “That’s the one I need” or “Write that book for me.” And so we have.
Everyone needs a few dishes that they like to make over and over, recipes that can be messed with a bit for tasty, comforting, and hassle-free meals. When you ask people what their favorite dish is, most don’t name something elaborate that they can only get at a particular restaurant. Usually the favorite is something simple they’ve had a hundred times at home, something reliable—always good, every time.
When our ideas for this cookbook started percolating, we discussed the meaning of simple a lot. To some it meant a minimal number of ingredients in each recipe, and to others it was a matter of time: 30 minutes or less to get the meal on the table, or not having to make an extra trip to the grocery store. One of us wanted to count the number of pots in the sink at the end of the meal. As our individual ideas began to cross-pollinate, we decided that recipes would qualify for this book in several ways. These recipes have fewer ingredients than our usual, and we’ve made good use of trustworthy convenience products (vegetable broths, salsas, slaw mixes) and nonperishable pantry items (spices, canned beans, condiments). Some of the simplest recipes depend on high-quality fresh ingredients, and with good produce, you don’t have to do much to make a delectable meal.
Not all everyday cooking has to be a race with the clock, but a lot of our recipes are either quick to make or the hands-on time is short, and then you need to do very little or nothing while the dish stews or bakes. (Love those one-pot meals. Fewer pots, easier cleanup.) Some dishes can be prepared ahead of time and then served with very little fuss. A few are designed to be assembled at the table by diners.
Here you’ll find simple recipes that are tried-and-true. And when we have something extra to say, we’ve added ingredient and cooking notes (substitutions or variations, hints about different cooking techniques, tips for cooking ahead, suggestions for leftovers). We try to keep it real about what constitutes a meal, also. You might want to serve bread with a stew or a green salad with pasta, but each of our main-dish recipes can stand alone as a satisfying simple supper. That said, we include serving and menu ideas for when you want to do more or would like to combine dishes for variety. Sometimes a side dish can become a main dish with a little modification. And because everyone needs something sweet now and then, we suggest desserts that we think complement the main dish.
To help make supper simpler, first and foremost we recommend a well-stocked pantry. We’ve made a list of what we find useful to keep on hand in the cupboard, refrigerator, and freezer. In the Guide to Ingredients, Tools & Techniques, we include shopping tips and basic information about ingredients and cooking techniques, and recommend a few kitchen tools.
When we write a cookbook, we test and retest the recipes, trying lots of possibilities. We draw on ideas from everywhere, and then we improvise and adapt. We focus on details and endlessly discuss the fine points with each other, working to get it just right so that we’ll have recipes that really work. Of course, supper doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. We hope that when you’re at home making something to eat, you’ll relax. If you don’t have the pasta shape we recommend, use a different one. If you forgot to restock the nutmeg, oh well—do without. If you don’t have time to make rice, have couscous. Let the seasonal availability of fresh fruits and vegetables be your inspiration as much as any recipe.
The idea of simple suppers strikes a chord within us all. Despite being busier than ever in an increasingly complicated world, people still want to eat well. And even though we want you to come to our restaurant and let us cook for you, we also think it’s important to cook and eat at home. Cooking something good can make you feel good—and then eating something good and feeding the people you love can make you feel even better. We hope this cookbook will help make suppertime a welcome, peaceful time of your day.
Tomato Tortilla Soup, Bean & Cheese Quesadillas
Pasta with Olives Piquant
Often, pasta is what we think of first when we want to make a quick, simple supper. It provides a great canvas for improvisation, and fresh, tasty sauces and toppings can be made in the same time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta itself. Many pasta dishes are complete meals in themselves; others need little more than a green salad to round out the meal.
There is a multitude of shapes and sizes of pasta, and there is a certain logic in pairing sauces and toppings with particular shapes. In general, long strands such as spaghetti and linguine work well with tomato
