The best cold weather meal (It's soup!)
Plus, two excellent brunches
Hi friends,
Welcome to This Needs Hot Sauce. Yesterday I was excited/surprised to see this very newsletter on a list of the best food newsletters on Substack! If you agree, I’d love it if you shared today’s edition with a friend. It’s a free gift!
Now, let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
Soup was on my mind after eating my delicious batch of tortilla soup from last week. The recipe yielded 5 generous servings and I didn’t get sick of it (toppings were key so make sure you have enough tortilla strips and lime, avocado, and queso fresco/feta).
Julia and I made our old faithful broccoli and egg fried rice before some parties on Saturday. It’s such a good recipe and quite quick if you take a shortcut and buy rice from your local takeout spot. Top with chili crisp!
My students made shakshuka this week and an Israeli teen helper made the best pita ever. He drizzled the pita with olive oil and sprinkled it with paprika and salt. Toast at 350 for 10-15 minutes.
After a Sunday trip to Trader Joe’s, I made a big pot of coconut lentil soup (it was on my mind after reading all of your favorites, included below). Bon Appetit has two very similar recipes (I’ve made this one in the past and liked it) but I tried a new one for the first time and it was even better! The soup is nice and thick and the spinach and tomatoes add some nice color (no picture because lentil soup is so ugly delicious).
For dinner last night, I made us mushroom risotto using this recipe. It’s so good and the lemon at the end adds much-needed brightness. Use good parmesan so you get that salty edge.
Something to order:
Dale and I love brunch at Mesa Coyoacan. The salsa selection is on point (they make four in house and we have our personal rankings set), they usually have huevos divorciados and the crowd is a good mix of cute neighborhood kids and twentysomethings. It opens at 11 and you can pretty much always walk right in and get seated.
Morgan was in town from DC and Julia and I met her for breakfast at 12 Chairs in Soho. We went early (10:15) and sat right away. At 12 Chairs, always get a dip and an egg dish (shakshuka or eggs siniya). If you’re there on a weekend, try the jachnun, a layered Yemeni bread baked overnight with date syrup. It’s so good.
It’s not fancy, but I have to shout out the ever-expanding Williamsburg Pizza. They know how to make a good slice (and they deliver to my apartment).
Something to read:
Tis the season…to read up on the history of sparkling wine
I definitely want to visit Airs Champagne Bar soon.
Wow, I can’t believe Penn students have Dizengoff and frozen labneh on campus.
In this Alaska town, caviar is so abundant that babies can eat it.
A fun interview with Kia Damon of Cherry Bombe (plus this site has the cutest merch)
My parents have so many portmeirion dishes and I didn’t realize they were popular in the Korean community.
If you’re looking to cook or meal prep more in the new year, you should pre-order my friend Erica’s ebook. I can’t wait to get mine.
I did a big Instagram story about natural wine this week, based on a reader question. I’m going to be sharing more about wine soon, so make sure you’re following on IG.
Now, let’s talk about soup. It’s been on my mind this week as I ate lots of tortilla soup and made a batch of lentil soup for this week. It’s a busy time of year, work-wise and it was great to be able to heat up a satisfying lunch every day. Self-care is (sometimes) making yourself a pot of soup. Most soups freeze really well—follow Julia’s lead and freeze it in single portions for busy nights. And if you like lots of textures in your food, make sure you use toppings! A little cheese or yogurt or some herbs or flakey salt or citrus or hot sauce goes a long way.
Alex’s favorite soup is vegetarian, Mexican and satisfying: Love this!! My favorite soup recipe is for a vegetarian green pozole that Martha S. published years ago! It's the perfect balance of substance (chewy pozole and beans) and bright flavors (tomatillos, lime, cilantro)
Zoe knows a secret soup spot: Soup spot on 31st across from MSG! (You already knew this though!) I used to work right near here and it’s such a hidden gem. No seating, but over 20 kinds of soup daily.
Frida knows what she likes: fave soup is an easy one: pho. i turned my parents onto this in el paso (which has had an explosion of vietnamese places in the last few years) and to me it's the perfect meal. in new york i am super picky, but if i can't trek out to lower manhattan for these noods when i'm craving them, the aptly named pan-asian place in my neighborhood has them (it's called MISC.) little mo in bushwick does too, but iirc, they only serve the beef pho on weekends (chicken and vegan options are avail during the week though). and i believe longtime this needs hot sauce reader CLARE made pho recently, so i hope she drops the recipe! Clare, please share this recipe!
Sarah is right about Guatemalan soups: I am obsessed with the Guatemalan soups/stews at Ix Restaurant, right by the Prospect Park B/Q stop. Guatemalan soups are low key *the best* - so filling and comforting and delicious. Also, a bunch of the soups can be made vegetarian/vegan! (And they deliver)
Hilary’s kitchen is full of incredible soups, I’m so impressed: One of my old favorite, go-to soups is the Lucky Peach hot and sour soup recipe). I skip the meat and add a slurry of a few teaspoons of cornstarch at the end. A soup that recently surprised me and won my heart for both phenomenal taste despite few, humble ingredients and ease of prep is the Smitten Kitchen Vidalia onion soup with wild rice. Lastly, since I do make a soup every week during the winter and cold months, I dabble in chili from time to time. I found a blog called Prevention RD and she runs a chili contest every year and ends up featuring a handful of delicious, tested and often pretty unique chili recipes sent in by readers My favorite over the years from that is the Jamaican jerk chili (I make with tofu).
This week, let’s talk about food you hated growing up and eat now. I never really tried mushrooms growing up (my dad hates them), but I love them now. I also didn’t like coconut but now I do, mostly in savory contexts like a spicy curry. Reply to this email and let me know what you’ve come around to!
Happy eating and thanks for reading.
xo, Abigail
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