Stephen Colbert once tweeted: “Every thirty minute recipe is a lie.”
My immediate reaction was to chastise the famously Catholic late-night talk show host for breaking the ninth commandment, but then I did a little self-reflection and I got where he was coming from.
Too often, we food writers say that a dish can be pulled together in a flash, but then we hear from home cooks who say it took them much longer.
Many factors can influence how long it takes to prepare a recipe, including cooking experience, available tools and appliance variations, but this recipe from “Great British Bake Off” finalist Ruby Tandoh’s soon-to-be-published cookbook, “Cook As You Are,” is the real deal.
All you need are two big-flavored, common ingredients, a little fat and a hot skillet, and in about 10 minutes, you will have a salty, spicy sauce to go with your favorite pasta.
Advertisement
To make the dish, you first put the gnocchi on to boil. Then you spoon capers and chili crisp into melted butter in a skillet and sizzle them together for a couple of minutes. When your sauce is good and hot, you add the cooked pasta to the skillet, with a bit of reserved pasta water if needed, and stir and toss until it is well-coated and slick with the oil.
You scoop that into a bowl, top it with grated parmesan, and you’re off to the races.
I had to pick up gnocchi at the supermarket, but I had everything else I needed to make this dish, including the brand of chili crisp that Tandoh recommends, Lao Gan Ma.
Share this articleShareIf you don’t keep chili crisp at home, consider doing so. It and other flavorful condiments are a key to quick weeknight cooking because they are an effortless way to boost umami and, in this case, add texture, too.
How much do I use it? When our staff picked our favorite condiments in 2020, chili crisp was my clear choice because you can toss it with noodles or vegetables, mix it into eggs and stir-fries, and spoon it over soups, such as the Coconut Corn Soup that recently prompted my colleague Aaron Hutcherson to write a primer all about chili crisp’s history and uses.
In the piece, he explained that the mixture of oil and fried spices has been a staple in Chinese kitchens for generations, and gained traction with home cooks around the world when Lao Gan Ma started selling it in jars in the 1990s. He also names his top four brands, which is helpful because with so many on the market now, you need guidance to get one that’s got just the right spice and crunch for you.
And that cookbook by Tandoh? It will be out in the United States in November. I was tempted by other recipes in the chapters on low-effort cooking, so I may revisit it, but I couldn’t resist sharing this recipe now because it truly is a dinner in minutes.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLOwu8NoaWlqYmR9enuRaWagpp%2BYsKm1jJyfoqSZYrCztdKpZJyZoJq%2Fbr7EnKCpnV8%3D