Julia Turshen’s Scrambled Eggs with Cilantro + Coconut Chutney recipe and Cookbook review: Now & Again

#Juliaturshen #nowandagain #chroniclebooks

Julia Turshen’s new book, Now & Again, is absolutely amazing. I love everything about it. In one of her recipes she instructs, “Arrange the mango slices artfully-but not too preciously-on a serving platter.” That really captures the feel of the book. Everything has a breezy elegance to it and nothing is fussy. The recipes are global, and I adore that many of them are off the beaten path. I love being exposed to new things. The book is organized by season, and then menus for all different sorts of get-togethers. The recipes are casual, beautiful, interesting, nourishing, and delicious, and nothing’s difficult. She generally has you serving dishes right in what they’re made in. I’ve had the book in my hands for 3 days and I’ve made 4 meals from it already. <Minus the desserts. I already run 5 miles a day and don’t care to increase that – lol!> It’s a hard book to put down.

I don’t have a copy of her ridiculously popular book, Small Victories <I know!>, so I can’t make a comparison there. This has a gingham print detail running along the spine just like that one, so I’m betting it’s in the same vein. Feed the Resistance is a tiny book of hers focusing on food and activism, and that one’s terrific. And she worked with Gwyneth Paltrow on It’s All Good, another yummy, feel-good title.

My full review of the book with my pics and thoughts of all the dishes we tried so far, is at the bottom. But first I wanted to share with you her recipe for Scrambled Eggs with Cilantro + Coconut Chutney from her Sunday Morning Bangladeshi Breakfast menu.

If you love it, come find me again, or hit that follow button! 😀

---

Reprinted from Now & Again by Julia Turshen with permission by Chronicle Books, 2018

Scrambled Eggs with Cilantro + Coconut Chutney

SERVES 4

Scrambled eggs are probably what I eat most frequently, but they aren’t much to write home about. This chutney is. It takes the eggs from ordinary to remarkable, and, here’s the best part, it is as easy as throwing a bunch of things into a food processor and pressing the button. There’s no cooking, just combining. It keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week (it gets quite a bit thicker and loses a bit of its fresh, herby brightness, but it is still great), and it’s also good on roast chicken, grilled fish, broiled lamb, griddled halloumi cheese, or roasted sweet potatoes. If you don’t like cilantro, substitute fresh mint.

2 large handfuls of fresh cilantro leaves (a little bit of stem is fine!)
1 Tbsp peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger
½ tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin
½ cup [35 g] unsweetened flaked dried coconut
1½ tsp kosher salt
¼ cup [60 ml] coconut milk (full-fat or low-fat coconut milk will work)
1½ tsp fresh lime juice
8 eggs
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

In a food processor, combine the cilantro, ginger, cumin, dried coconut, and ½ tsp salt and pulse until the cilantro is finely chopped. Add the coconut milk and lime juice and pulse just to combine (you want the chutney to have a little texture, rather than be totally smooth). Set the chutney aside.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk until the whites and yolks are well blended. Add the remaining salt and whisk one more time.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the eggs and cook, stirring gently with a wooden spoon or heat-resistant spatula, until they are as set as you like them to be.

Transfer the eggs to a large platter. Serve the chutney either spooned on top or in a bowl on the side.

It’s Me Again
CURRIED SCRAMBLED EGG SALAD
Leftover scrambled eggs can be turned into egg salad. Let them cool to room temperature (which they probably already are if they’re left over), put them into a bowl, and break them up with a spoon. Add a good shake of curry powder and then bind with as much mayonnaise as you like (egg salad is a very personal thing). Or you can use half mayonnaise and half plain Greek yogurt if you want to lighten things a bit. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and curry powder if needed. You can also add a big spoonful of the Cilantro + Coconut Chutney (or maybe it was already on the eggs, in which case, you’re set). Delicious served on well-toasted leftover flatbreads or pita breads.
MANGO CHUTNEY
Combine a finely chopped red onion, about 1 Tbsp peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger, a minced garlic clove, and a little fat (olive oil, coconut oil, unsalted butter, or ghee would work equally well) in a medium skillet. Season with a good shake of curry powder and some red pepper flakes and then cook over medium heat until the aromatics are softened but not browned. Meanwhile, roughly chop the leftover mango. Once the aromatics have softened, add the mango, a large handful or two is ideal (with whatever syrup and pistachios are left), and a healthy splash of apple cider vinegar and simmer everything together for a few minutes to blend the flavors well. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and vinegar if needed. You can leave the chutney as is or you can purée it a little or a lot in a food processor. Cool to room temperature and store in a tightly capped jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. Serve with grilled or roasted meats (lamb and pork are especially nice) or tuck some into a grilled cheese sandwich. It’s also great served on its own alongside a piece of sharp Cheddar for snacking or mixed with equal parts mayonnaise for a turkey or ham sandwich spread.

---

My review of the book…

Now & Again
By Julia Turshen
Edition: Harcover

This book is amazing! It’s organized by season. She tackles one menu at a time, equally perfect for parties and family gatherings. She breaks down what parts of the meal can be prepped ahead of time, and spells out just how far ahead you can do it. The meals are really fun, interesting, and nourishing. After each meal, she gets into the “again” component. She talks about what you can do with leftovers. My family brings lunch with them every day, so I might have to generate leftovers to try some of her ideas. Yeah, they really sound that great!

She’s got a very down-to-earth relaxing tone that’ll have you inspired and at ease. Her sense of humor really comes across in some of the dishes. One of the dinners is “Steak House Dinner for Vegetarians”. That cracked me up. No, the book is not vegetarian. It’s very much an omnivore book, but she sees a party need, she tackles it! And the dinner sounds great. Or how about “A Not-Kosher Jewish Christmas” where she waxes on nostalgically about movie marathons and Chinese food on Christmas and helps you make that dinner happen. She’s just so likeable.

My thoughts and pics of the dishes we tried:
1-5) FALL – Red-Checkered Tablecloth Late Saturday Lunch – p 27. It also works perfectly as a night-before-the-race pasta dinner for runners! This dinner’s fabulous! She has a recipe for polenta and Nutella sandwich cookies, too, but we skipped the sweets.

2) Garlic & Anchovy Butter Toasts – p 31. Love these. The saltiness of the anchovies really makes the garlic bread pop.
3) Italian Flag Baked Pasta – p 33. She squeezes two bags of spinach into the pasta bake, and the meat’s ground turkey. Delicious and slightly healthier comfort food.

 

4) Arugula Salad with Lemon, Pine Nuts, & Pecorino – p 35. Lovely clean fresh taste to balance that decadent pasta.
5) Jody’s Plum Bibonade – p 36. White wine, seltzer, plums, and orange. So refreshing and light.

 

6-9) FALL – Sunday Morning Bangladeshi Breakfast – p 17.
7) Scrambled Eggs with Cilantro & Coconut Chutney – p 19. Wow. These are super interesting and delicious.
8) Whole Wheat and Cumin Flatbreads – p 21. Wonderfully fragrant and quick. Mix, knead for 3 minutes, rise for an hour, and a quick trip across a cast iron skillet.

 

9) Mango with Cardamom Syrup & Pistachios – p 23. We loved this. It’s really refreshing and the cardamom syrup complements the mango perfectly.
10-13) FALL – Card Night Enchiladas – p 41. There’s a recipe for Toasted Coconut Cake for this dinner, but we didn’t try that.

11) Garlicky Shrimp with Tequila & Lime – p 42. Yummy and speedy.
12) Chicken & Roasted Tomato Enchiladas – p 44. Lovely enchiladas. I may double or triple the jalapeno next time for a little heat. After you roast it, it really mellows out.
13) Kale Salad with Pepita Dressing – p 46. Don’t skip this! It’s a really tasty salad and she has you massage citrus juice and salt into the kale before dressing it, so you don’t get salad jaw fatigue.

 

14-17) FALL: Rosh Hashanah Dinner – p 51. There’s a recipe for Applesauce Cake with Cream Cheese & Honey Frosting that we didn’t try. I think this is our favorite so far. The whole house smells amazing, and my youngest closed her eyes with her first bite as she said, “Oh my gosh. Is that ever good!”
15) Celebration Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Dates – p 54. Fantastically moist chicken and perfectly crisp skin. The sweet potatoes and super sweet dates are lovely with it.
16) Baked Saffron Rice – p 55. Lickable. The flavor on this is amazing. I love the technique. The texture’s just right without any attention from the cook.
17) Beet Salad with Poppy Seed & Chive Dressing – p 56. Great salad. The Dijon should be offended that it’s not mentioned in the title because it makes the dressing pop.

 

I started flagging other things I wanted to try and found that I was just flagging everything, so I’ll just give you the list of the meals I haven’t tried yet: FALL: No Stress Thanksgiving * WINTER: Brunch For a Crowd * Chili & Cornbread Lunch * Steakhouse Dinner For Vegetarians * Feast of the Almost Seven Fishes * A Not-Kosher Jewish Christmas * SPRING: Easy All-Green Lunch * Grace’s Birthday Late Lunch * Passover Seder * Tortilla Soup for a Chilly Spring Evening * Just My Type of Dinner * SUMMER: Grilled Vietnamese Breakfast * Simple Backpack Picnic Lunch * Afternoon Tacos * Fourth of July * Middle Eastern Dinner Outside

*I received a copy to explore and share my thoughts.