All the World’s a (Culinary) Stage
By Adam Kaye | Originally published in Edible Magazine on August 14, 2023. Republished with permission.
Follow Edible Magazine on Instagram: @ediblebrooklyn, @ediblemanhattan, @ediblewestchester, @ediblehudsonvalley. Photography by Lori Pedrick + Sid CeaserFrom Lima and Charleston to Rome and Saigon, entire cuisines have been created from that rare combustible alchemy when frugality collides with ingenuity. Survival, it turns out, is the mother of culinary invention!
If I throw a dart, blindfolded, at a map of the world, there’s a pretty good chance that it’ll land on a region with a deep, rich culinary tradition based on thrift and scarcity in the kitchen. From Lima and Charleston to Rome and Saigon, entire cuisines have been created from that rare combustible alchemy when frugality collides with ingenuity. Survival, it turns out, is the mother of culinary invention!
I’m reminded of this every time I find myself in another country, or another region of this country. Eating around the world has been my pathway to inspiration - a path that led to me co-founding The Spare Food Co. Chilaquiles in Mexico, bubble and squeak in the UK, ribollita in Italy and rice grits in the American South - these regional staples-cum-iconic dishes epitomize the zero-waste ethos, long before such a, dare I say, obvious, notion existed. It makes me think of maverick chef Doug McMaster, of the revolutionary restaurant Silo in London, who declared emphatically that “Waste is a failure of the imagination.” Those anonymous cooks who came up with pot au feu, or its Vietnamese analog pho, certainly weren’t short of imagination. More likely, they were short of food!
“Shakshuques”
A breakfast, lunch and dinner recipe inspired by a fattoush, shakshuka, panzanella and chilaquiles.
2 cups stale pita bread, ripped into chunks
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
⅓ cup olive oil
2 overripe medium tomatoes, chopped or crushed by hand
1 small jalapeno, sliced thin
½ cup roughly chopped parsley and cilantro, stems included
4 eggs
Salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a small cast iron skillet over medium heat.
Add the garlic and pita and saute for 2-3 minutes, until the pita is lightly toasted and the garlic is browned.
Using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove the pita from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
Add the tomatoes and jalapeno to the skillet and stew for 5 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Return the pita to the skillet and stir in the herbs.
Crack 4 eggs over the top of the mixture and simmer for 2 minutes.
Place the skillet under a hot broiler for 1 minute.
Remove and serve hot.