Recipes from SAVEUR issue #141, including Malaysian curries, traditional Sukkot dishes, fermented foods, and more.
Plum Strudel
This satisfying pastry layers plum preserves and walnuts for a gooey, crumbly cake.
Tahini Dip (Techina)
Brightened with lemon and garlic, tahini becomes a bright, creamy dip—try it with warm pita, or sliced vegetables.
Za’atar Dip
The Middle Eastern spice blend za’atar (which combines sumac, oregano, sesame, hyssop, and other spices) flavors this simple cilantro-and-garlic dip. It’s ideal served alongside roasted meats, or slathered on fresh-baked pita.
Bubble and Squeak
A hearty vegetable hash couldn’t be more perfect for using up Thanksgiving leftovers, including mashed potatoes.
Beet It
This fresh, bright cocktail marries beet juice with bourbon and Esprit de June, a floral liqueur distilled from grape blossoms that’s available at most high-end liquor stores.
Bourbon Cider
This apple-and-bourbon cocktail is perfect for fall.
Brown Derby
Named for the famous hat-shaped restaurant, this simple cocktail of bourbon and grapefruit was the signature drink at LA’s 1930s Vendome Club.
La La Lola
This riff on a cherry cola uses cola ice cubes to keep the flavor robust.
Manhattan
Few cocktails are more classic than the Manhattan, a mix of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and angostura bitters.
Sazerac
This anise-perfumed cocktail is a New Orleans classic.
Whiskey Sour
This tart, warming cocktail is perfect all year.
Roasted Potatoes
Seniard Creek cook Clarence Bratton’s method for roasted potatoes, which calls for cooking them at a high temperature, turns them golden brown on the outside and creamy within.
Popiah (Fresh Spring Rolls)
Fresh, crunchy shrimp- and tofu-filled spring rolls are a popular street snack in Ipoh, Malaysia’s capital city. See the recipe for Popiah »
Rendang Ayam
This flavorful chicken curry is a braise in reverse: The chicken is cooked in coconut milk flavored with spices and begins to brown when most of the liquid cooks away, creating a beautifully caramelized exterior. See the recipe for Rendang Ayam »
Chile Fried Fish (Ikan Sumbat)
In Malaysia, this pan-fried fish dish is typically made with stingray filets, but any six to ten-inch whole fish will do.
Sour Pickles
Most commercial pickles are preserved with vinegar, which is the product of one kind of fermentation. But sour pickles develop their complex flavor thanks to lactic fermentation, the process by which the naturally occurring bacteria Lactobacillus transforms and preserves foods, usually in a brine. The balance of salinity is key: You want enough salt to get a nice, crisp pickle and to prevent the growth of pathogens or mold, but not so much that the pickles are unpleasant to eat.
While vinegar-making microflora will spontaneously gather on your wine, you may choose to kick-start the process with a mother of vinegar culture. This red wine vinegar is flavored with star anise and cloves, and makes an excellent all-purpose seasoning for everything from salad dressings to marinades.
Concord Grape Soda
This sweet, fizzy Concord grape soda is set to bubbling with a purchased culture of champagne yeast, which gives it a pronounced effervescence.
All around the world, fermented cabbage has been a life sustaining bridge between the fall harvest and the first green shoots of spring. There’s Eastern Europe’s sauerkraut, Korea’s kimchi, and Latin America’s lightly fermented curtido. This spicy slaw is a riff on that last condiment; it’s sweet but not too funky, and perfect alongside grilled fish or as a condiment for tacos.
