The cookbooks I turn to most often for inspiration aren’t always those with the sexiest covers or by the most celebrated authors. Rather, they’re the ones that speak to my greatest source of cooking anxiety: the kitchen wreckage that inevitably follows.
I have tried to abide by the clean-as-you-go messages preached by so many culinary authorities. But messy habits die hard.
Elena Silcock feels my pain. A food writer, stylist, and recipe developer for the BBC and various other British publications, she shares “all the tricks that I keep up my sleeve to minimize time spent in rubber gloves” in “One Pan, One Meal” (Hamlyn, $19.99).
All the recipes within this appealing collection are made in either a large, nonstick, high-sided frying pan or a large saucepan with a lid. A few basic tools will cover the rest of the prep. Ingredients focus on a handful of popular pantry staples (substitutions encouraged) and instructions are limited to a short list of concise steps. The result is a complete meal that can be served straight out of the pan to the plate — or a dessert quickly assembled following the same rules (Chocolate Lava French Toast, PB&J Crumble).
Pasta for dishes such as Crab and Rosé Spaghetti and Triple Tomato Rigatoni cook in the same pan as the sauce — no separate pot or colander required. The Perfect Prawn Noodles with Broccoli and Edamame I made was reminiscent of a tasty pad thai, using flat rice noodles that soaked in hot water while I stirred together a simple sauce of tahini, soy sauce and Sriracha.
My husband and I also loved the multi-layered flavors of Best-Ever Chickpea Curry. And just as much, we appreciated being able to retire to the couch immediately afterward, with a clean kitchen and clear heads, relaxed and ready for an episode of “Succession.”
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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