March 21, 2022
Baraghani, formerly of Bon Appétit’s viral test kitchen videos, debuts with an enthusiastic if unwieldy collection that melds the flavors of “the Persian food I grew up with, the restaurants I’ve worked at, or dishes I’ve tasted while traveling.” With a generous dash of insouciance, he touches on everything from personal anecdotes about singing Alanis Morissette in drag to the resemblance between baked egg whites and snot. A section titled “Mind Your Veg” features a digressive ode to the elusive cardoon—a thistle that’s essentially “concentrated artichoke”—with instructions for preparing it, and broccolini with warm anchovy dressing. In a chapter on snacks, barely-there recipes such as fruit sprinkled with nori and sesame seeds are saved by more substantial offerings like garlicky fried tomato toast. While Baraghani draws on his Iranian heritage for such dishes as crusty rice and herby kuku sabzi (don’t call it a frittata), he goes further afield with pork larb from Thailand, a riff on Vietnam’s cha cá lã vong (cod with turmeric noodles), and panna cotta in a slim chapter of desserts. Unfortunately, recipe introductions can often ramble—the kuku sabzi is a two-pager—and are rife with sarcasm and interjections (“Then call your mother and tell her you love her”) that distract more than entertain. It’s a dizzying spin through a bright culinary mind.