The Splendid Table Recipes

The Ultimate Spanish Tortilla

# I’ve been making tortilla española on the regular for decades and at this point I’ve tried just about everything: cutting the potatoes into both chunks and slices, deep-frying them and poaching them, stirring the egg mixture and not. This recipe is the culmination of all that trial and error, to give you the best possible texture and flavor, without driving you crazy with the amount of work involved. The most intimidating part of making a tortilla española is flipping it over. In the traditional method, you cook the eggs on one side and then flip the tortilla and cook it on the other side. I think inverting a baking sheet over the skillet is the easiest way to do this, and it’s okay if you make a little mess. On one occasion, I flipped the tortilla onto a plate and the whole thing slipped out onto the kitchen counter. I scooped it back up and did my best to press it back into the pan and reshape it, and honestly, no one could tell. So if you have trouble flipping the first or second time, you can always smoosh it back together in the pan and the tortilla will still be delicious. For more on this, see the Note below.

50/50 Quarter- Pound Smash Burgers

# This is my creative way of enjoying slightly healthier burgers. The recipe is super simple to put together, but does require 8 hours of resting time to help the tofu and beef meld in flavor and texture (if the process is rushed, you may end up with crumbly patties). It’s very important to use 80/20 beef and nothing leaner than that, since the patties are already half tofu, and you need the fat to prevent dry burgers. The thinly sliced onions caramelize in the beef drippings and add nice sweetness. These don’t (and shouldn’t) taste like 100 percent beef burgers, but once they’re assembled with all the fixin’s, they really can satisfy that burger craving.

One-Pan Alfredo Orzo with Chicken & Spinach

# For the longest time, I honestly thought orzo was just a thicker, chewier version of rice. But fun fact, it’s actually pasta! Once I realized that, everything clicked. I always tossed it into rice dishes, but this time I wanted to try something different. So, I decided to fuse it with a classic pasta dish, fettuccine Alfredo, because at the end of the day, orzo is pasta, whether it looks like it or not. The creamy, garlicky, cheesy sauce clings to each piece in the best way, giving you all the cozy comfort of the original dish, just in a lighter, silkier form.

Seared Gnocchi + Chilli-Garlic Shrimp in Tomato Sauce

# At least 90 percent of the time when I cook gnocchi, I sear it first (also known as pre-searing, see table, A Brief Summary of Fire-Driven Cooking Methods, page 40). It’s my preferred way to cook this pasta before I toss it with a sauce or into a salad (seared gnocchi makes an excellent crouton substitute); the combination of a crispy outside and pillowy-soft inside makes it irresistible. In this dish, the shrimp also get pre-seared, with a hint of smokiness from the Kashmiri chilli. The trick to searing in a skillet is to avoid overcrowding the food, or the moisture released will make the food soggy instead of crisp. This recipe feeds two people well, but you can also stretch it to four if you serve it with a hearty salad such as the Grilled Portobello Mushroom Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette (page 68).

Baba's Clam Chowder

# My dad often made clam chowder around the holidays as a special treat for Thanksgiving or Christmas, which elevated its status in my family. When Dad brought home clams, we always knew what that meant. I’m not exactly sure where or when he learned to make clam chowder, but he did pick up a lot of recipes while he was in the army. I like to imagine that some tough, tattooed cook taught it to him on the sly during mess hall duties. This is a classic chowder, hearty and creamy, and serving it with crusty bread or oyster crackers makes it extra satisfying. All things being equal, though, I really like this over rice, too. You can also make the soup thicker and serve it with linguini like a clam sauce. Try it out!

Roadside Hakka Noodles

# In the tradition of Singapore or Hong Kong–style street noodle hawkers, India’s version of stir- fried noodles is easy, and it’s a straight-up banger. Our instant noodle of choice is the dried Maggi noodle, which is nearly as beloved in India as Maggi tomato sauce (aka ketchup). Simply cook the noodles in water with their seasoning packet, and in a separate pot cook up the vegetables with a bunch of spices and some soy sauce. Combine the contents of both pots to make a thick, salty noodle-y treat (you can thank me later, after you can’t eat another bite).

Poisson en Papillote

# Cooking en papillote (in parchment) is one of those techniques that sounds fancy but is actually foolproof. The paper packet creates a perfect little steam chamber, infusing the fish with whatever herbs and aromatics you tuck inside. My favorite part is bringing the puffed packets to the table, letting each person unwrap their own bundle of fragrant steam. I love adding odds and ends of vegetables to use up—thin ribbons of fennel, cherry tomatoes about to burst, the last few sprigs of herbs.

Double Crumble Apple Crisp

# We’re doubling up on the crisp topping because, let’s be honest, that’s the best part and there’s never enough! The crumbly mix is sweet and golden brown, and the apples are flavorful, tender, and not too mushy. The not-so-secret ingredient is instant tapioca, which makes a jammier filling than that of other apple crisps. It also creates the perfect gooey layer where the apples meet the crisp, which is my other favorite part of apple crisp.

Pasta e Fagioli

# A recipe that instantly evokes the warmth of home, this version of the classic Italian dish was taught to me by my friend Diego, who is a shoe designer and a true Neapolitan. He invited me over for dinner one evening; I had been staying in Milan, shooting a television show, and after a long stretch of restaurants and room service, a home-cooked dinner was exactly what I needed. Pasta e fagioli is like the embrace of a friend: with the very first spoonful, you immediately realize how much you missed them. This dish is wonderful reheated the next day, when it becomes ripassata. To make that, add a little water, olive oil and grated Parmesan and warm the soup gently. When it begins to form a crust, toss it in the pan before serving.

Socca Niçoise

# Socca is a beloved street food from Nice made with chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and salt. Cooked in a blazing-hot pizza oven, it develops a thin golden crust while remaining tender and moist inside, similar to the texture of a crêpe. To be true to traditional socca, it’s important for the batter to form into this ultrathin crust and to develop a nice color. Its rustic charm lies in its simplicity— it’s often served on a paper plate, sprinkled generously with cracked black pepper, and enjoyed warm— and it’s as much an experience as a recipe. The process of scraping it from the pan into shards with a spatula or fish slicer in front of your guests is a real crowd-pleaser.