How to substitute ingredients in a recipe?

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Once again, your weekly recipe inspiration newsletter.

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In This Week’s Edition

Try Something New 🤯 — Caesar Salad w/ Homemade Dressing

Throwback Time 🍳 — Make Ahead Carnitas

The Leftover Shelf 🥡 — Carnitas & Zucchini Mac & Cheese

Extra Helpings 🍽 — Pasta chips, substituting ingredients, & more

Try Something New 🤯

The best thing I ate this week.

Caesar Salad w/ Homemade Dressing

If you’ve never scratch made Caesar dressing, you’re in for a treat. This is also the perfect recipe to learn how to use anchovies (don’t be scared) and emulsify oil into a creamy dressing. Plus you can top your salad with any crunchies of your choice — see below for ideas.

Dressing Components

• 1 whole egg yolk

• 3-4 anchovies*

• 2 medium garlic cloves

• 1 tbsp (15 g) dijon mustard

• Juice from 1/2 a lemon

• 2 tbsp (30 g) grated parm

• 3/4 cup (~150 g) neutral oil, like avocado or vegetable oil

• Black pepper and/or salt, to taste

Salad Components

• Romaine, gem, or butter lettuce, washed and chopped

• Toppings of choice: Croutons (make your own with old bread!), fried shallots (just buy these), bacon bits (plz make your own..), crisped carnitas (check out last week’s newsletter), sliced chicken, or leftover anchovies

• Additional grated parmesan and black pepper, to preference

*The dressing won’t taste fishy. Anchovies add saltiness, umami, and complexity — you gotta try it. You could substitute in a tsp Worcestershire or fish sauce, or omit them completely for a vegetarian recipe.

Instructions

1. In a blender or food processor, puree together egg, anchovies, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, and parmesan until smooth.

2. Slowly drizzle in the oil while blending, starting with a very small stream and gradually increasing the flow as an emulsion forms. Pause frequently and check that the oil is fully incorporated into the mixture — the dressing should be smooth and creamy and thicken as you add more oil. Continue blending in oil until desired consistency is reached. If it gets too thick, you can thin it out with water or lemon juice. Add freshly cracked black pepper, and salt if needed (taste it first — these ingredients are naturally salty already)

3. Toss with your choice of prepared lettuce, and serve with toppings of choice followed by more black pepper and grated parmesan.

Pro Tip - If your emulsion breaks (you’ll know — it’ll separate into a greasy mess) you added too much oil too quickly. You can save it by emptying the blender into another vessel, start with one more egg yolk and a bit of lemon juice in the blender. Slowly drizzle in the broken dressing into the running blender until it properly emulsifies.

Throwback Time 🍳

Everyone should know how to prep carnitas — it’s a hands-off 2 ingredient braise that can be made ahead of time, then turned into so many different dishes at a moment’s notice.

Check out the video or read the recipe here.

Making this recipe ahead lets you throw together incredible tacos, sandwiches, and even pastas, as outlined in the video. Here’s one more leftover variation you need to try:

The Leftover Shelf 🥡

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

This week’s move:

Carnitas → Carnitas & Zucchini Mac & Cheese

Get a can of evaporated milk, a block of cheddar cheese, and some pasta from your pantry, and you’re ready to make the quickest and best mac & cheese you’ve had all year (and slightly healthier…)

Components

• 8 oz (226 g) short, dried pasta, like penne

• 6 oz (170 g)evaporated milk

• 8 oz (226 g) Cheddar cheese, grated

• 1 medium zucchini, or vegetable of choice, cut into pieces about the size of a penne piece

• Leftover carnitas, amount to preference

• Salt to taste

To assemble: In a hot pan, crisp up carnitas until browned, then set aside. in the same pan, sear the zucchini with a bit of salt until colored and slightly softened, which should deglaze the carnitas fond and soak up those flavors.

In another wide pot or saucepan, barely cover the dried pasta with water and simmer, stirring frequently, until most of the water is evaporated and the pasta is al dente. Add in the evaporated milk, bring to a simmer, then lower the heat. Add in the grated cheddar and stir vigorously until a creamy sauce forms. Add in your cooked carnitas and zucchini, and adjust with salt if needed.

Variations: You can use any melting cheese. If you have leftover parm from the Caesar, grate or garnish some of that in for complexity. This is a great recipe to use up other veggies or frozen peas!

Extra Helpings 🍽

🚀 Viral Eats

The latest cooking trends explained.

​Pasta chips? Why? How?

A: Pasta chips are made from cooked pasta that is then flavored and crisped by deep frying or with an air fryer, and usually served with a dip. It’s no surprise to us that these have taken the world by a storm, much to the disappointment of Italians everywhere: What’s not to love about a crunchy, savory snack, paired with a creamy condiment?

In reality, pasta chips are no different from other classic chip & dip combos. Humans just seem to love texturally pleasing, dehydrated starch vessels that scoop up cheese and dairy and saucy condiments. Using fun pasta shapes as that starch canvas is just a genius, novel way to get more views on social media.

🤔 Reader Q&A

Q: How do you make tasty recipes but stay healthy? Any suggestions for health-conscious substitutions? Thanks! — Julia F.

A: Great question, Julia. First, you have to define: what does ‘healthy’ mean to you? Are you looking to reduce carbs, or simply increase protein and reduce fat in a recipe? Someone on a keto diet might be looking to increase healthy fats, while someone else might be trying to avoid meat altogether. Set your goals, and then make your substitutions from there.

For my lifestyle, I usually swap out mayo in sauces and dressings for high-protein, non-fat yogurt. You can also buy 93-7 lean ground meats instead of the normal fattier blends. If you want ideas for reducing carbs, check out my recent video where I swap out the rice with shredded lettuce in taco bowls, use low-cal flatbreads in a chicken wrap, and take advantage of specialty high-protein noodles for a quick lunch.

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