Shakshuka is a one-pot wonder that’s equally great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s best served family-style, with the pan set on the table and a big wooden spoon set next to it, ready for scooping and sharing. Serve this with thick slices of toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of flakey sea salt on top, or go the flatbread route with hot torn pieces of pita bread or naan, all for dunking into poached yolks and scooping up sauce.

Chickpea Shakshuka

• 6 to 8 eggs

• One 28 oz can diced tomatoes

• 1 1/2 cups tomato puree or tomato pasata

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 onion, diced

• 5 cloves garlic, crushed

• 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• A pinch of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (optional)

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Optional toppings: greens like arugula or baby kale, chopped herbs like cilantro or mint or parsley, feta or goat cheese

Heat a good drizzle of olive oil a large, shallow pan, adding the diced onion once it’s hot. Cook the onion on low to medium heat until it’s translucent and very fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, spices, chickpeas, and tomato paste. Cook until the tomato paste and onions just begin to brown on the bottom of the pan, then pour in the can of diced tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan, then turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the tomatoes to sweeten and lose a bit of their acidity — I like to stir occasionally and use the bottom of a wooden spoon to smash some of the chickpeas to thicken the sauce. While the sauce is simmering, set out the eggs to that they are brought to room temperature (this helps with even cooking). After 30 minutes or so, create a well in the sauce with a spoon for each egg to cook in and crack the eggs into the holes you’ve made in the sauce. Turn the heat back up to medium and cover, allowing the eggs to poach in the sauce for a few minutes, checking periodically. Remove from the heat when the whites have just cooked through and the yolks are still very runny. Serve with toasted slices of bread, naan, or pita.

Here I am, six months after I posted my last recipe, and the world looks altogether different. Quarantined due to the spread of COVID-19, myself and my nation are all cooped up in our homes with little certainty of what the next few months will look like. There’s so much fear and so much unknown, but sometimes you just have to pause, take a deep breath and haul out that skillet you’ve kept in the back corner of your cupboard because, well, there’s no going anywhere for now and supper needs to be made.

As with many others, I found myself rummaging through picked-through grocery store produce last weekend as I tried to gather ingredients that will last me a while as frequent trips to the store are no longer ideal. It’s not even autumn, when you’d expect to see butternut squash recipes simmering on kitchen stoves, but it’s what was in stock and in a way I think its sweet, warming flavor is just what we all need.

If you happen to have a butternut squash on hand like I did and some arborio rice and stock, make this recipe. Turn on some jazz, pour some wine, let everything fade away for a moment. We’re in this together, all of us.

Butternut Squash Risotto with Fried Sage

• 1/2 large butternut squash, seeded and peeled then chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

• 6 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

• 2 cups arborio

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 white onions, finely chopped

• 1 cup white wine

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 bunch sage leaves, chopped - set aside a few whole leaves for frying later

• 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese, plus more for dusting over the top

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves - one small pinch each

In a small pot, bring the broth to a low boil. Add the cubed butternut squash along with a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves and cover, reducing the heat to a simmer. Simmer the squash in the broth until it’s completely cooked through and very soft. Using an immersion blender, blend the squash and the broth until it’s completely liquid and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and cook on medium heat until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and sage and stir, cooking for about a minute or so. Add the uncooked arborio rice and toast it in the oil with the onion, garlic and sage until the bottom of the pan begins to brown. Add the balsamic vinegar and white wine, scraping the brown bits off the bottom and stirring while the wine reduces. When the rice has completely absorbed the wine, add about a cup of the squash broth liquid and stir, stir, stir. When the rice has completely absorbed all the liquid, continue to add a cup at a time until all of the broth has been used up and the rice has puffed up nicely. Stir in the pecorino Romano and add salt and pepper to taste.

To make the fried sage leaves, heat a splash of olive oil in a small skillet with whole sage leaves. Cook over medium heat until the leaves have crisped in the oil. Serve the risotto with a few leaves, fresh cracked pepper and a healthy sprinkling of pecorino romano.

This honeycrisp French apple tart is simple and seasonal baking at its best. With just four main ingredients — flour, butter, sugar, and apples — this autumnal dessert proves that sometimes less truly is more. Serve slices with a dusting of powdered sugar and a pinch of cinnamon to top it all off.

Honeycrisp French Apple Tart

adapted from Ina Garten’s French Apple Tart

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter for the pastry - cut into cubes, plus an additional 2 tablespoons for scattering on top

• 1 tablespoon sugar for the pastry, plus 1/3 cup for sprinkling on top

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup cold water

• 2 large honeycrisp apples, cored and thinly sliced

• Powdered sugar and cinnamon, for sprinkling

Make the pastry dough:

In a food processor, mix together the flour, the 12 tablespoons of cold cubed butter, 1 tablespoon of sugar and the salt until the butter is the size of peas. Then, while the motor is running, add the cold water and process until the dough just begins to come together. Dump out onto a floured countertop, shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for an hour or two.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take out the pastry from the fridge and roll out into a rectangular shape on a floured countertop, trimming the edges to make it more square if you’d like. Place on a parchment covered baking sheet. Fan out the apple slices on the pastry and sprinkle with the 1/3 cup sugar. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, rotating once halfway through so the pastry is evenly browned.

Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Nine times out of ten, I am asked by friends and family to make these sweet potato tacos when offering to cook dinner. For those hesitant to try a vegetarian taco made of potatoes, it usually only takes one bite for full conversion to take place; a true yet unexpected crowd-pleaser. I make these year round, changing the toppings every time to suit my taste and the tastes of others, but always including my signature heavily-handed spice on the potatoes and roasting them at high heat until they begin to crisp. By no means greasy or heavy but by all means flavorful and healthful and filling, I simply never tire of these and enjoy making them often for myself and those I love.

Sweet Potato Tacos

• 2 lb sweet potatoes (about 2 large potatoes), peeled and cubed into approximately 1/2 inch cubes

• 1 red onion, sliced in thick wedges

• 1 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained thoroughly

• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder

• 1/2 tablespoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

• Olive oil, approximately 1/4 cup

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Toppings, all optional and to taste: crumbled cotija cheese or chèvre, cilantro, greens, avocado, squeeze of lime, sour cream, salsa (pictured here: cotija cheese, baby kale, cilantro)

• Tortillas, flour or corn, broiled or warmed on the stovetop

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, toss the cubed potatoes and sliced onion with a generous amount of olive oil (I generally use around 1/4 cup) along with the spices: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cinnamon, and paprika. Pour out on a baking sheet, making sure they’re spaced evenly and not overlapping. Top with plenty of salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway through to ensure even browning, until the potatoes are cooked through and beginning to crisp.

Warm the black beans in the oven, on the stovetop, or in the microwave. Assemble the tortillas with the beans, roasted sweet potatoes, and onions. Top with the toppings of your choice and serve.