Sohla El-Waylly’s 40 go-to ingredients
+ dinners from new cookbooks (free for all!)
The first half of 2022, I came out with my own cookbook, but I was also secretly working on two others, which are only now, 1 1/2 years later, hitting bookstores.
My friend Sam Seneviratne hired me to prop-style Bake Smart (out next week), which means I picked out plates and surfaces, crumpled parchment just so—basically created environments that accentuated the deliciousness of the food. It’s easy with Sam’s baked goods, which are full of so many cool textures, I joked that I wanted no props, just food. We got away with it sometimes.
Sam’s love for baking and “don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay” perspective made shoot days so enjoyable, and you can feel that same spirit in her recipes. P.S. The book’s chewy chocolate chip cookies (p. 56) have become my house CCC.
I also tested the recipes in
’s Start Here (out today), which means I would cook through each recipe to ensure it’s replicable for another person in another kitchen with their tools and grocery stores. I’d note moments that might be confusing, where timing or measures seemed off, how to streamline steps and dishwashing, and whether I thought the dish delivered on its promise.Sohla, frankly, is one of the best recipe writers we’ve got. It’s rare that I feel like I can have complete confidence in a recipe, but having full trust in Sohla’s allowed me to triumphantly pull off dishes that have long eluded me. I did the things I never thought I could. If only she could teach me how to like running, too.
On Thursday for paid subscribers, I’ll share my 5 favorite recipes from Start Here. Supporting 40 Ingredients Forever with a subscription helps me help you make dinner. If you can’t afford a paid subscription right now, sign up here; I’m donating 10 passes for every 100 paid subscribers.
But now: Sohla’s 40 go-to ingredients—if she could only cook with 40 ingredients, these would be it…!
I wanted this list because 1) it’s the premise of this newsletter, 2) Sohla cooks with so many ingredients with such ease that I was curious which she found essential, and 3) she’s a new mom and might like some dinner ideas that use the ingredients she always has around, so let’s do that for her in the comments. She’s done so much for me, and I know Start Here will do so much for everyone who reads it.
Sohla El-Waylly’s 40 Forever Ingredients
PANTRY
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
soy sauce
Rancho Meladuco dates
black peppercorns
cumin seeds
cashews
extra virgin olive oil
apple cider vinegar
coconut milk
Castelvetrano olives
pure maple syrup
spicy mustard
rice
spaghetti
FRUITS & VEGETABLES
plum tomatoes
yukon gold potatoes
little gem lettuce
fresh ginger
serrano chilies
lemons
yellow onions
garlic
scallions
fresh dill
fresh cilantro
radishes with tops
cucumbers
broccoli
cabbage
PROTEINS & DAIRY
whole chicken
ground lamb
eggs
whole salmon
dried beans
tofu
parmesan cheese
yogurt
butter
What would you make with Sohla’s ingredients?
4 Dinners using Sohla’s 40
(adapted from new cookbooks)
1. Steamed salmon liboke
Make a foil-wrapped packet like the steamed cod liboke (p. 153) in Simply West African by Pierre Thiam. On individual pieces of foil, stack sliced onion, salmon fillets, chopped tomatoes, minced garlic, grated ginger, fresh thyme if you have, salt, pepper, sliced lemon, and olive oil. Crimp the foil around the fish and bake until tender.
2. Lamb rice
Follow this recipe (p. 59) from The Simple Art of Rice by JJ Johnson, but skip the cinnamon and nutmeg, add double crushed cumin seeds, use salted water instead of stock (unless you made stock with your chicken), use sliced cabbage instead of peas, and trade in cashews for the pistachios.
3. Beans & greens frittata
Inspired by the Friday Frittata (p. 56) in Shabbat by Adeena Sussman, whisk together eggs, Parmesan, dill, cilantro, salt, and pepper. In a large skillet, sauté chopped onions, chopped serrano, and garlic in olive oil, then add chopped radish greens to wilt. Add some cooked beans and the egg mixture, then bake in a low-temperature oven until set.
4. Spicy chicken salad
Barely approximate the fragrant chili oil (p. 45) in Kung Food by Jon Kung—he writes “the condiment that sponsors the majority of my happiness”—by simmering crushed cumin seeds in oil, then stirring in chili flakes, sesame seeds, and coarsely ground black pepper. Then make a spicy chicken salad (p. 75): Toss a couple tablespoons of the chili oil in a bowl with shredded cooked chicken, cilantro and little gem leaves, sliced scallions, soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds, and chopped cucumbers.
P.S. You, too, can have your ingredients Tetris-ed into dinner. Head here.
I'd make Dishing Up the Dirt's warm dates with olive oil, sea salt, and lemon zest. Then, sticky rice seasoned with cider vinegar formed into 3x1" pieces, topped with sliced salmon with maple-hot mustard glaze finished under a broiler & topped with a few Maldon flakes.
I would make ginger chicken and rice soup! It’s one of my go-to soups during soup season because it’s so flavorful and full of warming ingredients like onion, ginger, and chilis. The cashews would be a perfect topping for the soup to add a bit of nutty crunch.