Olive Oil on Ice Cream?

Welcome!

Here is your weekly recipe inspiration newsletter. We hope you're not too stuffed from Thanksgiving to give these a try.

If you have a well-loved cast iron pan at home, this edition features two great recipes to put it to use. Time to show off that seasoned, shiny surface!

A full grocery shopping list in Notion is linked at the end of this email.

In This Week’s Edition

Try Something New 🤯 — Kitchen Sink Frittata

Throwback Time 🍳 — Keema Matar (the ground meat dish everyone should know how to make)

The Leftover Shelf 🥡 — Indian Shepherds Pie

Extra Helpings 🍽 — Olive Oil on Ice Cream?

Try Something New 🤯

The best thing I ate this week.

Frittata (with anything you have!)

We’ve been making a lot of varying recipes over the past few weeks. Here’s the perfect way to use up whatever you got in the fridge.

Components*

• Eggs: 4-12, depending on the size of pan you will be using

• Milk (optional — makes for a fluffier frittata): 1/4 cup per 4 eggs.

• Aromatics, diced, like onions, garlic, or herbs

• Vegetables of choice, chopped to your liking

• Meat of choice, diced

• Cooking oil & salt

• Optional additional garnishes: crumbled cheese, more herbs, chorizo, sour cream, hot sauce, you name it.

*Amounts depend on your serving size and ratio preferences. See note in step 1.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Beat together eggs and milk with a strong pinch of salt. Pick an appropriately sized oven-proof pan (Small pan for 4 eggs, large pan for 12, etc. *Note: Use your spatial reasoning here: you’ll want the egg mixture to come up at least 2/3 of the way up the sides of the pan)

2. In your chosen pan, saute your veggies, aromatics, and meat, if using, over high heat until cooked through and browned. Pour in your egg mixture, and shake or mix the pan until everything is evenly distributed.

3. Slide the pan into the preheated oven and cook for approximately 15-20 minutes until the eggs are fully set. Usually the frittata will puff up a bit around the sides.

4. Allow to cool slightly, slice, and garnish with whatever your heart desires.

Pro Tip - Cast iron pans are the way to go here. Naturally nonstick, oven safe, and won’t scratch when you’re cutting slices to serve.

Throwback Time 🍳

Keema is described by Madhur Jaffrey as the first Indian dish that all Indian students abroad learn how to make. We can see why: First, it’s flat-out delicious and probably reminds them of home. Second, it’s quite easy. Go dig up that frozen ground beef (or lamb!) and try it.

Check out the video, or read the recipe here.

You can also make this recipe in a fairly large batch and use the ground meat mixture as a base for so many dishes throughout the week. Here’s one way to do that:

The Leftover Shelf 🥡

Leftovers are back in style…if you know how to use them.

This week’s move:

Keema → Indian Inspired Shepherds Pie

Get a bag of potatoes and your leftover keema and you’re basically ready to make Irish-Indian fusion. Ever heard of that combo?

Pie Components

• Leftover keema matar

• Aloo masala mash, see below:

Mash Components*

• 1 lb of Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 30 g (2 tbsp) butter

• About 50 g (1/4 cup) of milk, to desired consistency

• 50 g (1/2 cup) aged Gruyere, shredded - reserve half for topping (substitute: aged cheddar or gouda)

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) oil

• Salt to taste

Optional — Flavor your mash like aloo masala:

• 2 g (1/2 tsp) cumin seed

• 2 g (1/2 tsp) black mustard seed

• 1 small green chili, minced

• 1 garlic clove, grated

• 1-inch piece of ginger, grated

• Sprinkle of turmeric

  • Most of these ingredients overlap with the keema recipe. If you’re missing something, don’t sweat it. Use what you have!

*Only have potatoes or want to go dairy free on your mash? Instead use olive oil & water when mashing to reach your desired consistency.

To assemble:

1. Set a pot of water over medium-high heat and add the potatoes along with 2 large pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and cook the potatoes until a fork easily slides through about 10 minutes. When done, strain the potatoes and mash them in the pot.

2. Set a pan over medium-low heat, and add the oil. Once hot, add the mustard seed and cumin seed. Toast for 10-20 seconds until the mustard seeds start to pop. Add the green chili, garlic, ginger, and a sprinkle of turmeric, and saute for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the riced potatoes.

3. Add butter and milk to the potatoes. Look for a smooth consistency, but do not over-mix. Sprinkle in half of the grated gruyere and fold in with a spatula. Taste the potatoes and add more salt, butter, or milk as needed.

4. In a baking pan, add a layer of the leftover keema, then top with the mash. Spread smooth, and then roughen up the top with a fork. Sprinkle over the remaining Gruyere.

5. Bake the ‘Shepherd’s Pie’ in a preheated 425 F oven until the top has browned and is slightly crisp about 20 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes to firm up before slicing and enjoying.

​Watch the video of this leftover assembly here.​

Extra Helpings 🍽

🚀 Viral Eats

The latest cooking trends explained.

Q: What’s up with olive oil on ice cream?

A: First the olive oil cake rose in popularity. Now it’s olive oil on ice cream. What dessert will be next?

Drizzling olive oil on a sweet actually makes sense for the same 3 reasons olive oil gets drizzled on a pizza, pasta dish, or ricotta toast.

1) Fat transports flavor molecules (as we belabor on the YouTube channel) and keeps them on our tongue for longer, meaning the olive oil actually allows you to better taste and enjoy all of the sugary flavors of the ice cream.

2) You would think olive oil on heavy cream would be overbearing, but fat-on-fat combinations often make for our favorite dishes, especially when it’s two different textures of fat. We dip greasy NY pizza into ranch, or garnish with dry parmesan. A burger patty can have up to 30% fat, but it still tastes better with melted cheese and a slathering of mayo. You get it.

3) Finally, the olive oil provides contrast, which makes for a more pleasing and interesting bite. La Cucina Italian put it best: “A sweet, creamy treat bathed in earthy, viscous olive oil feels like a grown-up alternative to chocolate syrup and provides an entirely different world of texture, flavor, and health benefits.”

While you’re at it, make sure you’re buying the right kind of olive oil.​

🤔 Reader Q&A

Q: What’s up with people still using mortar & pestles? Why not just use a food processor? It’s the 21st century…Thanks! Nilen P.

A: Great Question, Nilen. While you certainly can use a spice grinder, food processor, or even blender for most tasks, there are reasons why pro-home cooks keep a mortar and pestle (or a molcajete) around.

Electric blade tools slice instead of crushing and pulverizing. Spices (and aromatics like ginger and garlic,) get most fragrant when the maximum amount of cell walls are crushed, and their flavor compounds are released. On a molecular level, mortar and pestles crush and destroy more cell walls than a spinning blade that just cuts cleanly through, say garlic, into a tiny mince. Thus, mortar and pestle junkies argue that the extra elbow grease leads to a more pungent and flavorful dish. But even if that isn’t true, I’d still rather just wipe out my mortar and pestle than have to clean my whole food processor, even if it takes a bit more time on the crushing end.

🏆 Dinner Winner! Reader Photo Submission Contest

We have a bit of a competition brewing. Reply with a picture of the best meal you made this week for a chance to be featured in a future email.

🤤 More Yummy Content

A Read: Pairing food with cocktails​

In a Minute or Less: One ingredient butter (language warning)

What We’re Watching: How to cheat when making sauces​

Food Science: Why your home salads suck​

Improve your feed: Connect with Ethan everywhere.​

Ready to shop? 🛒

​Shopping List 11/27