Leah, what is the dish that:

  1. inspired your love of food:

    The dish that inspired me to love (I mean to really love) food was dumplings. I lived abroad in Mongolia in 2002 when I was doing research for my dissertation. One aspect of my work in Mongolia was to bring together two groups — an Eastern Mongolian community and an ever-changing group of Tourists — to work together to rebuild a Buddhist Monastery, in Khenti Mongolia. Making dumplings is a sensual and satisfying act. I love working with dough. Mongolian dumplings are incredibly beautiful, they fold them in crescents, but it almost looks braided at the seam. But, even beyond the act of stuffing and folding dumplings, the act of cooking dumplings had a magical way of bringing these two groups together. Something about the experience of making dumplings together helped tourists to transcend the “tourist bubble.” It was a really incredible way to connect, learn, and experience through a medium as basic and shared as food. The process itself, was unfamiliar because it was a new skill but also totally familiar because it was food. It served to connect these two groups. And after the shared act of creation, we would eat together. Dumpling making was a way to mediate boundaries. Food is like that.

  2. is your signature:

    Food is culture. And my dish is Hungarian Goulash. My Dad’s parents were from Hungary. My dad used to make goulash for us as kids. He made it so infrequently and with so much excitement that it became a family tradition. He used his mother’s recipe, but with a few additions of his own. The dish is so simple. But also incredibly rewarding. Early on in the cooking process, the ingredients themselves take over and do most of the work. This recipe has been used by my family and modified for generations. By now, it may be more of an American style goulash than Hungarian.

  3. you cook on your night off:

    A very simple salad — I heat olive oil and pour it over fresh spinach. Then I add anything in my fridge that sounds good, and a little bit of blue cheese or goat cheese. A good coarse salt.

Can we have an extra helping?

  • What one new ingredient should I add to my pantry and how should I use it?

    My two current favorite ingredients are cardamom and lavender. There is nothing new about them but they’re fun to play with. I use cardamom to flavor pastry creams (most recently I tried a cardamom and orange cream pie). I also use it in my tea or afternoon coffee. Lavender is totally versatile. It is great to flavor marshmallows (as is cardamom), for ice creams, and also for foul. I love the way it looks. I love lavender with chocolate.

Leah, can you share a recipe for one of these dishes?

Hungarian Goulash

2 lbs cubes beef
3 medium potatoes
4 Tbsp Hungarian Paprika – Use good quality and fresh sweet Paprika
2 Tbsp Flour
1/3rd can of tomato paste or more to taste
2 cups onion
water or beef broth

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix flour and paprika in a paper bag. Shake with cubed beef to coat. Use a caste iron pan (I use mine for everything but especially for this dish). Quick fry onions in oil until tender. Remove and Brown beef on all sides at high temperature.

Meanwhile– Mix tomato paste with beef broth or water to form a sauce. Add coarse salt to taste.

As soon as beef is browned, add the onions, and the tomato paste mixture so that meat is mostly covered but not submerged. Heat through on stovetop then put in preheated oven. Stir goulash every half hour or so and add tomato sauce/broth mixture as needed. Goulash will cook for about 3 hours. Cubed potatoes are added in the last 40 minutes. Top with salt and pepper to taste.

I actually serve this over rice, although boiled potatoes or noodles are the norm. I serve mine with a simple salad.