seared steak with herby zhug-marinated tomatoes
a bonus recipe from Carolina Gelen's new cookbook!!
Guys! Today’s an exciting day! Because today I get to share an absolutely gorgeous sneak-peek recipe from my friend Carolina Gelen’s new cookbook on the eve of its pub date.
If Carolina’s name sounds familiar to you, it could be because she shared these easy and delicious honey chipotle salmon tacos two years ago during my maternity leave with Cashel (and it’s his second birthday today! dang he was a big baby, 9 pounds 4 ounces of pure sugar!!!). Or it could be because you’ve cooked one of the many recipes she’s developed for NYT Cooking and for Food52. Or, you could be one of the 1.3 million people who follow her on IG, where she shares gorgeous recipes like this sesame chicken pot pie and this campsite apple cider apple crumble.
Carolina’s debut cookbook, Pass the Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes, comes out TOMORROW, and I’m so thrilled to share the COVER GIRL recipe with you today!
Keep reading to get to know Carolina — who lives in Utah and was born and raised in Transylvania, Romania — and to learn more about Pass the Plate and the epic steak dinner we’re all about to cook.
To skip the Q&A and get straight to the recipe, download it here.
Carolina! Hi! Give the What To Cook crew your spiel. Who are you, where do you live, where are you from, what's up with you?
Hi everyone! I’m a cookbook author, food blogger, and recipe developer whose recipes can be found in NYT Cooking and Food52, amongst others. I also love sharing adventures in thrifting, my kitchen, and the outdoors. l was born and raised in Transylvania, Romania and immigrated to the U.S. to pursue a cooking career full time. I fell in love with the mountains of Utah and after previously working in Park City resorts and restaurants, decided to settle there. Right now, I’m spending most of my time planning my upcoming cookbook tour and creating recipes for NYT Cooking while trying to grow tomatoes in my garden.
Give us an ideal day of eating in your area. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Where are we eating, and what are we ordering?
I’m not a big breakfast person but occasionally love a hot fresh donut from Judy’s Donuts. I’m either getting a classic glazed and a hot cup of coffee or their surprisingly great porridge oats. You wouldn’t expect a donut shop to have such outstanding porridge oats but they do.
Lunch would be at Hidden Peak Provisions Deli. Their sandwiches are incredible, but the true stars are the sides. My favorite is their asparagus carrot salad with peanuts and curry dressing. So flavorful! Sarah, one of the owners, is as much into thrifting as I am, so it’s always a joy stopping by and seeing what new dishes she thrifted for the restaurant.
I’m going to The Pizza Yard for dinner because who doesn’t love a good pizza and a salad with ingredients sourced from local farms? I’m partial to a classic margherita and you can’t go wrong with any of the innovative daily specials.
After pizza, I am grabbing an ice cream for dessert at Dairy Keen, not to be confused with Dairy Queen. They make really, really good, old school soft serves and shakes. I’d get their chocolate cone or pineapple vanilla swirl. Great texture, super rich and creamy, and not too sweet!
Favorite thrifting finds of late?
I recently thrifted this massive crochet blanket for $30, it’s so vibrant and full of color. It’s very unique and doesn’t have a brand tag on it — you can tell someone spent a lot of time making it just out of love for the craft. It has a lemon crochet pattern going around the blanket that’s just so cute.
I also thrifted this table and chairs (separately) and painted them yellow, which brings so much color and life to my garden.
Most fun thing you've done lately?
I finally set up my garden! Growing up in a small one-bedroom apartment, I never experienced the joy of having a garden. Now that I finally have one, it’s the highlight of my day. Hanging out early in the morning watering my tomato plants or drinking wine after dinner next to the smell of my fragrant herbs while I watch the sunset is pure bliss.
Favorite kitchen tool?
Probably a bench scraper or a microplane. I use them alllll the time.
Breakfast, lunch, or dinner — what’s your favorite meal to cook?
100% dinner. I’m not a big breakfast person, even less of a lunch person, so dinners are my joy.
Playlist you can't stop listening to?
I’ve recently been into any playlist that has Patrick Watson and Fleetwood Mac in it!
Greatest vacation you've ever been on: Who were you with, and why was it the best?
Greece! It was so memorable and one of the most beautiful countries to visit. It was one of the first vacations I took as a teenager and I was there with a Greek family friend and his family for 10 days. The food was incredible, always fresh and simple, but ever so flavorful! The people were welcoming, and all the sights seemed out of this world.
What do you cook when you don't feel like cooking?
It needs to be something with minimal prep time, so my go-tos are: seared steak, a stir fry, meatballs (they always come together faster than you think), a can of beans tossed in a sauce, or some sort of soup made with leftovers I have on hand.
Pass the Plate — give us the scoop! How long have you been working on it, and what are you most proud of or excited to share with the world throughout its pages?
At my heart I’m a recipe developer. It’s my love language, and creating good food is what I am most proud of! I love creating recipes, cooking for people, and hosting. There’s nothing like gathering around a delicious meal with your loved ones, and I hope the book encourages people to do more of that.
No matter if I develop a recipe for NYT Cooking or my local craft club, the goal stays the same: Get someone to enjoy life a little more and gain confidence in the kitchen while sharing that infectious joy with others.
I’ve been working on the cookbook for more than two years. It’s a satisfying labor of love that’s rewarding in itself but also a journey full of surprises that’s sometimes sprinkled with a little anxiety and stress. My favorite part of the cookbook process was the recipe development, as well as seeing everyone try all 100 recipes during the photo shoot. I can’t wait for people to share the recipes they make from the book!
To get more Carolina in your life, follow her on IG, subscribe to SCRAPS (her Substack newsletter), and/or buy her book!!
Now onto the recipe. But first, a WTC-spirited note…
Carolina’s sharing her Seared Steak with Herby Zhug-Marinated Tomatoes with us today. Zhug is a spicy, bright, and herby condiment native to Yemen, and Carolina’s recipe teaches you how to make an authentic zhug (also spelled zhoug) by grinding and toasting whole spice seeds, then giving them a whirl through the food processor with fresh herbs, oil, lemon juice, and jalapeños.
I hope you’ll make it just as she’s written it because 1) it’s a tried-and-tested work of art, and 2) toasting freshly ground spices is a delightful experience and worth the effort on a day when you have the time and ambition. That said, here are a couple WTC-ified ways to achieve similar flavors in less time and effort:
SHORTCUT OPTION #1: Buy a store-bought zhug. Trader Joe’s sells Zhoug Sauce (it’s the one Carolina recommends!), Whole Foods sells a Zesty Cilantro Sauce that would yield similar results, and Blank Slate Kitchen’s Zhug Sauce is available on Amazon (I could get it by tomorrow!). It will not be the same AT ALL, but you could also buy a store-bought chimichurri and use that in place of the zhug.
SHORTCUT OPTION 2: Swap in ground spices. Skip the grinding and toasting step and use ground spices instead. See the substitutions section for specific swap options!
By Carolina Gelen in Pass the Plate (formatting adapted slightly to be WTC-style)
Serves 2
Cook time: 55 minutes total (prep time: 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes chilling; cook time: 10 minutes)
While intimidating at first, a steak is one of the easiest things you’ll learn to cook in your home kitchen, and it makes a decadent, yet quick and simple, dinner. You don’t have to go all out and splurge on a bone-in rib eye on a random Tuesday night; save it for a special occasion. You can still try this recipe with a thinner rib eye or other preferred cuts. I like to pair my medium-rare steak with zhug — a spicy green Yemenite sauce packed with fresh herbs and spices — that I serve on top of the steak and use to marinate the tomatoes too.
Tools:
Mortar and pestle (OR paper towels and a rolling pin — or even a wine bottle!)
Ingredients:
For the steak:
1 1/2 pounds bone-in rib eye (1 large or 2 small steaks), about 1 inch thick
Kosher salt
For the zhug-marinated tomatoes:
Seeds of 4 green cardamom pods
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 small jalapeños, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled but whole
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
Neutral oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed
Flaky salt, for serving
Prepare the steak: Place 1 1/2 pounds bone-in rib eye on a piece of parchment paper and season generously on all sides with kosher salt. Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes; up to 1 hour.
Make the zhug-marinated tomatoes: In a mortar and pestle, combine the seeds of 4 green cardamom pods, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds. Crush them roughly, but no need to make a powder. (You can also do this by putting the spices between layers of paper towel and going over them a few times with a rolling pin.)
Transfer the crushed spices to a small dry skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until slightly smoky and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
Transfer the toasted spices to a food processor and add 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley, 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 small roughly chopped jalapeños, 3 peeled garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of kosher salt. Pulse until the zhug reaches a chunky, loose consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, lemon juice, or oil as needed.
In a medium bowl, add 1 1/2 pounds sliced tomatoes and about 1/3 cup of the zhug and gently toss to coat. Set aside to marinate while you cook the steak. Reserve the rest of the zhug for serving.
Pat the steak dry with paper towels. Season on all sides with kosher salt (not as much as you used the first time, just a regular pinch).
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat until it starts smoking, about 5 minutes. Add about 1 tablespoon of neutral oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Carefully lay the steak in the pan, laying it down away from you to keep the oil from splashing in your direction. If you have a grill press or a smaller skillet, set it on the steak to weight it down and increase contact with the hot surface. Cook, undisturbed, until the underside takes on a beautifully caramelized crust, 5 to 6 minutes.
Use tongs to carefully flip the steak and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. The perfect medium-rare steak will measure 120°F at its thickest point; cook the steak to your desired temperature. Transfer the steak to a plate, and let it rest for 8 to 10 minutes.
Slice the steak against the grain. Top with flaky salt and dollops of zhug, and serve with the tomato salad.
Feeding kids: Zhug is spicy! If you’re feeding littles or people sensitive to spice, you can discard the jalapeño seeds and/or one — or both! — jalapeños.
Prep ahead/love your leftovers: Leftover zhug will stay good for up to a week stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The oil will separate in the fridge; to reincorporate it, let it warm up on the counter, or you can microwave it for just a few seconds, then stir to combine. If you have leftover zhug, it’s delicious on pita, falafel, eggs, and roasted vegetables. You can swirl it into hummus for a snack or use it in place of hot sauce in pretty much any recipe. From Carolina: I often find myself making a triple batch at the beginning of the week and using it on my dinners, salads, and everything in between. Here are a few WTC meals that a drizzle of zhug would be an amazing addition to:
Save time: From Carolina: Do you just want to put dinner on the table without chilling the steak ahead? Do it, I won’t tell anyone. I can’t tell you how many times I cooked a steak straight from the fridge and it still turned out great. Also, if you skipped the intro of this email, go back up and read the “gimme a shortcut” section under the Q&A for more time-saving tips!
I don’t have a food processor: You can use a blender. Add a small splash of water or extra EVOO if needed to get it going.
Vegetarian: Zhug — and a side of zhug-marinated tomatoes — would be great with falafel, crispy tofu, a frittata, or any other vegetarian main or side. I absolutely love it with roasted vegetables.
GF/DF: The recipe is both!
Bone-in rib eye: Any other steak cut will do the job. If beef is not your thing, try lamb, chicken, or fish instead.
Cardamom pods: 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds or 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon or cumin
Coriander seeds: 1 teaspoon fennel seeds or 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Cumin seeds: 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, turmeric, fennel, or caraway seeds
Fresh cilantro: Can be substituted with parsley (or other fresh herbs of choice)
Fresh parsley: Can be substituted with cilantro (or other fresh herbs of choice)
Jalapeño: Can be omitted or substituted with a small serrano pepper
Garlic cloves: Swap for 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 3 cubes of frozen minced garlic, or 3 sliced scallions
Lemon juice: Lime juice or a mild vinegar
Beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes or other veggies like cucumbers or zucchini
Reprinted with permission from Pass The Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes: A Cookbook by Carolina Gelen. Copyright © 2024 by Gelen Media LLC. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Nico Schinco. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Newsletter editor: Molly Ramsey
This arises a series in me. Trader tricks, loving the shortcuts! It'll be here 👉 https://www.makepurethyheart.com
Why aren’t there more comments on this recipe?? I made it last night 10/10. DELISH!!