Cooking from a crop of delightful new cookbooks

Boston Globe

03-06-2025

Both Catalano and Roustaei are first-time authors. London-based Sodha has written three previous books, but she's relatively unknown here.
I found
The cover of 'By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear' by Hailee Catalano.
'By Heart' has a sweet cover illustration by
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Catalano, who grew up in the Chicago suburb Elmhurst, spent every Sunday at her grandmother Tina's house, where meatballs and gravy were often on the menu, and sometimes stuffed fresh artichokes. You'll also find Chicago-Style Braised Italian Beef Sandwiches (think '
Hailee Catalano, author of 'By Heart'
Emily Hawkes
Tina's Chicken Bake begins with potatoes, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts from a jar or can (the ones in brine, not in a marinade). She sets chicken thighs on the vegetables and bakes it for an hour. During that time, all the chicken juices soak the vegetables. At the end of cooking, Catalano removes the chicken pieces from the dish, runs the vegetables under the broiler to char, and serves the dish with a fresh herb sauce. It's simply wonderful.
Her Spanish Zucchini Tortilla is also outstanding and soon I'll be making her branzino with anchovies or her creamy corn orzo and other summery dishes.
Beef Stew with Poached Eggs, an Iranian dish called Bij Bij, from 'Bitter & Sweet' by Omid Roustaei.
Weldon Owen
But it's not summer yet, so I snuck in one of the last hearty dishes of the season, this from 'Bitter & Sweet.' Roustaei's Beef Stew with Poached Eggs, called Bij Bij, comes from the
He simmers ground beef, chunks of potatoes, and tomatoes, with turmeric as the single spice; the other seasonings are garlic and unripe grape juice called ab ghureh (or lemon juice if you can't find it). He tops servings with a poached egg. The recipe is a gem.
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Omid Roustaei, author of "Bitter & Sweet: Global Flavors from an Iranian-American Kitchen."
Sama K Rahbar
Roustaei, who was raised in Tehran and was 12 during the
To that end, you can discover Iranian ingredients such as the unripe grape juice in his beef stew; sumac, a lemony spice ground from red berries of the same name; dried fenugreek leaves.
"Bitter & Sweet" by Omid Roustaei.
He offers recipes for roasted carrots served on a spread of feta whirred with sumac, he makes sour cherry rice that goes with tiny meatballs (the cherries come fresh and frozen), and cooks chicken with pomegranate molasses and ground walnuts.
Meera Sodha is well-known in London, where she writes 'The New Vegan'
Meera Sodha, author of 'Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the Most Important Meal of the Day'
David Loftus
'The ability to put a good dinner on the table has become my superpower. I believe it's a potent tool we all possess to make a positive change to our days, to our relationships and to our lives, and so I want it to become your superpower too, every night of the week.'
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Her meatless repertoire is very appealing. She simmers lentil soup with harissa and preserved lemon; seasons a potato and spinach curry with mustard and cumin seeds, coriander, and chile powder; shapes falafel from chickpeas, carrots, and chickpea flour.
Meera Sodha's 'Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the Most Important Meal of the Day.'
A recipe for Crispy Oyster Mushroom Skewers is pretty wonderful (though 1¾ pounds of oyster mushrooms does add up). Tossed in honey, soy sauce, and grated ginger, then threaded onto skewers, the mushrooms are meaty and delicious after 20 minutes in a very hot oven. She adds a lovely side salad of raw, thinly sliced bok choy, cucumber, and celery in a soy sauce and rice vinegar dressing.
I think Sodha is right that putting a good dinner on the table night after night is a real achievement. When that dinner is something you never made before and you're delighted with the results, it turns what might be a chore into real pleasure.
Crispy Oyster Mushroom Skewers from the cookbook 'Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the Most Important Meal of the Day' by Meera Sodha.
David Loftus
Sheryl Julian can be reached at