Immediately, in The New York Occasions, I confess my barely unhinged love of jam, and my enjoyment of lugging dwelling jars of it as candy souvenirs from my travels. As soon as that sticky assortment within the fridge begins edging out the milk, although, you realize it’s time to cull. That’s when the baking begins, these edible mementos changing into desserts, pies, puddings and tarts to share. They’ll get you far more likes IRL than any trip photographs you might have posted.
I had a good time creating two new recipes for my column: a puffy lemon pudding, and a sugar-dusted, one-bowl jam-filled Bundt cake that appears like a large doughnut.
The pudding is a riff on a traditional lemon pudding cake, with crushed egg whites and loads of citrus juice and zest. So as to add coloration and sweetness (and since I had a spare half-jar), I scattered dollops of blueberry jam throughout the highest, which speckle it with fairly purple puddles. It’s tart and wonderful, and whereas you need to use any form of jam to make it, darker colours will pop extra on the yellow, curdlike floor.
Featured Recipe
Baked Lemon Pudding With Blueberry Jam
Talking of lemon curd, Ali Slagle has discovered a superb and stunning method to make use of it: She slathers it on an entire rooster earlier than roasting. The sugar within the curd helps the rooster pores and skin caramelize whereas the fats retains the hen good and juicy, and the lemon provides its attribute tang. It’s a easy stunner.
You may catch that vibrant acidity in a jar by salting lemons and letting them ferment till they’re soft-fleshed and gorgeously funky. Preserved lemons are, in fact, a staple of Center Japanese cuisines, and Yotam Ottolenghi steadily makes use of them to sharpen mellow, carb-filled dishes, together with his aromatic butter bean dip with frizzled onions. The dip is flavored with toasted cumin and thyme, and Yotam suggests serving the earthy, velvety combine as a aspect dish, or as a filling for shawarma. However I find it irresistible simply as a lot as the main target of a meal, with some lower greens and pitas.
Tamarind paste is simply as pucker-inducing, although with a molasses edge, and it provides its energetic notes to dishes each savory and candy. In her weeknight-friendly roasted fish and broccoli with tamarind and black pepper, Yewande Komolafe pairs mild coconut milk with tamarind to easy its snappy chew.
On the opposite finish of the preserved-fruit spectrum, dried dates are all sweetness and no tang. Yasmin Fahr balances their caramel richness with salty crumbles of feta cheese in her pleasant roasted eggplant pasta. The eggplant chunks are roasted with cumin, oregano and crimson pepper flakes till they collapse into golden pillows, after which get tossed with the pasta and cheese. A handful of torn mint or cilantro added proper on the finish lends a freshness and a contact of wanted coloration to make this dish completely shine.
Or flip your dates into dessert in Ali’s virtually ridiculously simple ice cream with olive oil and dates. It’s a near-instant recipe that transforms a pint of vanilla ice cream into an elevated deal with. Don’t skimp on that garnish of flaky sea salt; it makes all of it very refined with none additional work.
Additionally, a notice to Bay Space of us! As a part of the tour for New York Occasions Cooking’s “Simple Weeknight Dinners” cookbook, Emily Weinstein and I might be internet hosting an occasion with Metropolis Arts & Lectures on Monday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. We’ll be speaking with MacKenzie Chung Fegan, restaurant critic for The San Francisco Chronicle. Get your tickets right here. Please come say hello!
And as all the time, you’ll must subscribe to get the recipes (and we thanks should you already do). Be aware that should you stumble upon any technical issues, you possibly can ship an electronic mail to cookingcare@nytimes.com for assist. And I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you wish to say hello. I could not be capable of reply all of the emails I obtain, however I learn each one.
That’s all for now. I’ll see you on Monday.