Eschewing early ambitions to be the next Al Pacino in favor of working at Chez Panisse, Andy Baraghani recalls Cal Peternell advising him to go to college instead of culinary school. Working his way up in professional kitchens around the country, Baraghani applies the simple rules he learned through the years in his new book, "The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress." He received a Beard Award in the General cookbook category.
What's the number one rule in Baraghani's kitchen? Forget consistency. "The lack of consistency — the idea of changing things up, changing the ingredients, changing your technique, changing your flavors — is so essential for me as a cook. It allows me to constantly evolve," he says.
Developing recipes for variants of dishes he learned during his time at Estella and Chez Panisse, Baraghani has a way of making these dishes his own. During the warmer months, when he makes more salads, he dolls up ranch dressing with tahini and uses coconut flakes to sweeten and add toastiness to vegetables and meats.
Vedge Wedge
Serves 4
Loyalists (to what? Blue cheese?!) will blast me for altering too many parts of the wedge salad with my version, but I’m not sorry. The classic wedge has a few issues. That dressing is always too thick and never properly enrobes the entire salad. The croutons are often stale. The occasional scattering of grape tomatoes always feels like a lazy afterthought that doesn’t bring much to the table besides some underwhelming tomato energy. I don’t have a problem with the bacon, as long as it’s in the form of shards and not bits.
I felt compelled to come up with a recipe that solved my problems with the standard wedge. The cold, crisp, refreshing lettuce doesn’t actually need much improving, but cutting it into smaller (read: cuter) pieces allows for more dressing to get between those wavy layers. My dressing is a garlicky tahini-based ranch that has the ideal drizzle consistency.
When it comes to the toppings, I admit that I go extra, and I think it’s absolutely worth it. If you omit one or even two of the toppings, I won’t be upset because you will still love this salad.
Ingredients
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 1 small lemon
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup Tahini Ranch (page 59)
- 2 small radishes, thinly sliced
- ½ small red or white onion, thinly sliced into rings
- 1 cup torn herbs (such as basil, cilantro, dill, and/or parsley)
- 2 tablespoons mixed toasted seeds (such as poppy, sesame, and/or sunflower)
- 1 teaspoon mild chile flakes (such as Aleppo; optional)
- Flaky sea salt (optional)
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
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Remove any floppy or wilted outer leaves from the lettuce. Quarter the lettuce through the core, then cut each quarter into 3-inch-ish pieces. Arrange the iceberg wedges on a serving platter, pulling apart the leaves slightly, so dressing can easily get in there. Halve the lemon and squeeze its juice over the lettuce, catching any seeds with your other hand. Season each wedge with a bit of kosher salt.
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Using a spoon, drizzle the ranch over the lettuce. (You can leave some on the side, depending on how much or how little dressing you want.) Scatter the radishes, onion, and herbs. Sprinkle the seeds, chile flakes, and flaky sea salt over the top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and then set out knives and forks and get to it.
Andy Baraghani shed his early dreams of becoming the next Al Pacino when he became curious about the intersection of cultures in cooking. Photo by Graydon Herriot.
Striving for consistency is one of the first rules to break in the home kitchen, says Andy Baraghani. His new book is "The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress." Photo courtesy of Lorena Jones Books.