Just the other night I came home to an email from a friend/colleague (she's an end-of-life doula and therapist) which stated: "Yesterday we made Almost Confit, the dark and brooding Onion Soup, and Olive Oil Biscuits. Three meals, no waiting. We love the cookbook and wanted you to know. --Abby"
That cookbook is Radically Simple, named by Cooking Light as one of the 100 most important cookbooks of the last twenty-five years. "Almost Confit" refers to a super-succulent chicken dish that almost makes itself; "dark and brooding" is a reference to my Onion Soup with Apple Cider & Thyme, and the olive oil biscuits are exactly that. They take 2 minutes to prepare and 14 minutes to bake, so you can make them while your soup is simmering.
This morning I decided to look up Radically Simple on Amazon (something I rarely do) and found a wonderful surprise! A book review written on January 1, 2021, more than eleven years after the book was published! What I respected most about this particular review was the reviewer's skepticism: Would the book and the recipes reflect the way we eat now?, she pondered. I love what followed...
I was recently alerted to this cookbook. It was published in 2010, so I thought it might not reflect the way we eat now, but I was proved wrong. The author, Rozanne Gold was clearly way ahead of her time when she wrote this. The intensity of flavors in the dishes she creates is as fresh and new as any by Melissa Clark or Alison Roman. If you like those two chefs' ways of cooking, you will very likely love Rozanne Gold. The ingredients - primarily, spices like za'atar, sumac, and such - that were probably much more difficult to find when the book was originally published, are largely available in many regular supermarkets now.
The first thing was trying to choose which of the delicious-sounding recipes to make. They are all easy and fairly quick to make, and so far have been crazy delicious. And although this is a general cookbook, I have found that most of the recipes fit well into my grainless lifestyle.
I started with the
~ Reddened Steak with Pimiento Cheese. It was so easy. Both the steak and the pimiento cheese sauce were independently outstanding, but together, they were sublime. I recommended this to a friend who made it over the holidays and received raves from her family.
Next, I made the
~ A Radically Simple Chicken Parmesan. It has no breading and was too easy to be as delicious as it was. It was the best thing I've made on a sheet pan in a while. My husband asked for it again two days after first trying it.
~ The "Little Black Dress" Chocolate Cake was a 4-ingredient, flourless chocolate delight. Super easy yet special enough for New Year's Eve dessert. It was like eating a wedge of chocolate ganache truffles. The suggested fresh raspberry accompaniment was the icing on top... without being icing! As a dessert for company, it will be hard to beat.
I have another chicken dish planned for tonight - one with prosciutto, tomatoes and white wine. And a Pork Loin in Cream with Tomatoes, Sage and Gin for Sunday. Or maybe Lamb Shoulder with Figs, Lemon, and Chartreuse. Or perhaps the Miso Chicken with Fresh Chicken. Are you with me yet? The Seafood Dishes and Salads all look amazing as well. Very highly recommended.
If you don't have the book and want any of the recipes, just let me know (rozannegold@mindspring.com) and I will email them to you. The book is slowly going out of print but will thankfully be republished by Lemur Press. This may be the perfect time for something radically simple in your life.
Warmest regards, rg.