Air Fryer Burrito

I heard Rosie Kellett’s Taste interview about her debut cookbook, In for Dinner, and decided to try it out. I was interested both because these recipes evolved out of Kellett’s communal living experience in London, and because of the promise of achievable and affordable yet flavorful meals.

I’ve been lucky enough to have a few communal eating experiences, and they’re all good memories. In for Dinner describes communal living as one member cooking dinner for everyone each night, with members also contributing to a shared bank account and sharing chores. My experiences haven’t been quite as sophisticated, but they were still built on intentional sharing and everyone chipping in. For example, when traveling in New Zealand I stayed in houses that shared meals: vegan feasts that we all helped to prepare, pizza nights we chipped in for, or a “Sunday roast” night where one of us cooked Sunday night dinner for everyone. Even though I was traveling alone, I got to eat with other people and try food I wouldn’t have eaten otherwise.

The recipes in this book are flexible: intended to give you ideas and techniques rather than strict instructions. It reminds me of Ali Slagle’s I Dream of Dinner. I sometimes found myself following the spirit of the recipe rather than the exact steps, adapting them for the ingredients and time I had, and who I was cooking for. I also noticed that the affordability of the recipes comes from 1) cooking almost everything from scratch, and 2) buying mostly vegetarian (with some fish). I’m hoping to cook more from scratch, so it’s helpful to learn these techniques. My idea is that the more I do them, the more doable they’ll be when I’m busy or tired. That’s the theory, anyway.

Here’s what I’ve cooked from the book so far, with my adaptations:

Maple-glazed tofu & garlic fried rice

The recipe calls for deep-frying tofu cubes and coating them with a maple syrup glaze, but I air-fried cubed tofu like I usually do and roasted vegetables on a sheet pan. I did follow the recipe for the garlic fried rice: heat a few tablespoons of vegetable and sesame oil in a pan, add at least 3 minced garlic cloves and cook until fragrant but not burning, then add cooked rice and seasoning. I used furikake and broke an egg in to scramble. I also threw in some spinach. I cooked it all for a few more minutes, until warmed through and crispy. Instead of a glaze I topped it with store-bought hoisin sauce.

Autumn/Winter tomato soup

I followed this recipe more closely. Kellett calls it “a wallet-, planet-, and health-friendly lunch if ever there was one!” I usually make a three-ingredient tomato soup like this one, but this was much more flavorful and complex with only slightly more effort. First you roast the “alliums” as she calls them: a couple of halved onions (I used two big sweet onions) and a garlic bulb with the top sliced off. I put them on parchment paper for easier cleanup. Then you put them in a pot (removing the garlic skin) with tomato paste, 28oz whole peeled tomatoes (I used San Marzano), 28oz of water from the tomato can, a can of white beans (not drained), and some bouillon (I used Better than Bouillon). Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, then blend. I had it topped with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of lemon juice, as the recipe suggests. And of course, some cheesy bread to dip.

Tofu larb, lettuce cups, abundant herbs & roasted peanuts

For this one, I looked at the recipe and thought of tofu with peanut sauce in lettuce cups. I didn’t make the larb, which involves cooking and grinding uncooked rice grains, but I did follow the recipe to press and crumble my tofu to resemble ground meat, and fry it until crispy. I combined it with this peanut sauce, roasted and salted peanuts, cooked rice, and chopped green onions in the lettuce cups.

I’m looking forward to trying out more recipes from the book, like the gluten-free buckwheat galette, pasta dishes, and desserts.