Monday, April 21, 2025

Good afternoon!

• All the great green sauces

• Can you make quiche without eggs?

• Why is dining alone so difficult? [NYTimes, unlocked]

We just returned from a week in Amsterdam for my kids’ spring break and it was honestly perfect — the tulips were at peak, the weather was mild, there appeared to be a french fry truck or shop on every corner (bliss), and when the kids got tired we sent them back to the hotel to veg and ducked into a brown bar. Probably like everyone who has ever visited Holland, I immediately came home and vowed to replace my rusted-out bike with a proper omafiet with a milk crate (so practical!) bolted to the front. I’ll write up the trip soon and share the page here when it’s ready.

Back in NYC, spring was in full swing on my walk this morning with a shower of pink and white petals over some sidewalks and a sea of daffodils in every park. I’m dragging this energy right back to the kitchen with me this week with a collection of spring pastas that feel as fresh as the season. I hope you find a new favorite.

Cheers,

Deb

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers now that flowers are budding and the air is warming? I thought you’d never ask! Try the pea, feta, and mint fritters, toasted ricotta gnocchi with pistachio pesto, baked orzo and artichokes, and fettuccine with white ragù. To finish, I recommend the bee sting bars and the carrot cake with brown butter and no clutter. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby

“J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman’s new podcast gets to not only the heart of how they make their recipes—but also the why behind each decision, too.” — Esquire, The 26 Best Podcasts of 2024

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, is all about French Toast! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more.

bowties with sugar snaps, lemon and ricotta

This pasta is always a massive hit for something so seemingly simple. Ricotta is dolloped in near the end but not stirred or cooked (because we love finding the unmixed pockets later) and then the whole dish gets a six-part finish: olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, parmesan and slivers of mint. No sugar snaps yet? Use anything green you like, lightly cooked.

asparagus, goat cheese and lemon pasta

Turns out, goat cheese makes a shockingly simple but effective creamy pasta sauce with asparagus and lemon, and since it takes only 20 minutes to make, you'll have more time leftover to do anything else.

fresh spinach pasta

Weekend cooking project? Homemade, handmade, old-school fresh pasta with deep green specks of real spinach is doable and delicious. Serve with absolutely nothing save a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan; this is total centerpiece material.

pasta and white beans with garlic-rosemary oil

This pasta is hearty, getting its awesomeness not from the usual crutches of dairy, cheese, or fatty meats, but a finish of sizzling garlic-rosemary oil and crunchy sea salt. Wednesday, now I'm ready for you.

broken pasta with pork ragu

Looking for a special but not too daunting weekend dinner? I credit the bright salad-y finish of parmesan, lemon, and sharp arugula with making this ragu feel spring-like but still cozy.

linguine with pea pesto

This is the dish that converted me to shelled peas, some blended with parmesan, garlic and pine nuts, some left whole, all tangled with linguine for an especially pretty weeknight meal.

pasta with garlicky broccoli rabe

For those of us who never have any idea what's for dinner until it's hangry o'clock, this is our in-house 15-minute 4-ingredient dinner savior. It includes a pound of greens and is willingly consumed by at least 75% of the family, i.e. it’s a miracle.

green angel hair with garlic butter

The greenest thing I know how to make is also the most delicious. It's the cover star of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, my latest cookbook, a celebration of roasted garlic butter and fresh greens, tangled with pasta and it's the kind of recipe we made once then again and again -- an instant classic. Have you gotten hooked on it yet?

carrot cake with coconut and dates

This flourless, dairy-optional carrot cake is hearty, spiced, perfect for the April holidays or really any day of the year, whether brunch or dessert or just because it’s Thursday and the vanilla bean-flecked cream cheese squiggles are calling to you. [Video below!]

carrot cake with coconut and dates

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser (which is back in stock!). For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.

See you next week!