How Alison Roman Does Thanksgiving

"The recipe that Alison Roman may be best known for today is her caramelized-shallot pasta, published in 2020 when she was a food writer for The New York Times. It became the defining recipe of the early pandemic in part because its ingredients-except for the anchovy fillets-are pretty basic. And there are only 10 of them, including the pasta and salt. For Roman, the mega-viral recipe came to embody her signature "Stone Soup style": familiar ingredients magically transformed."

"Recently she published a new cookbook, Something From Nothing, which continues the tradition of using the existing pantry as its primary inspiration. This episode of Radio Atlantic is a live conversation with Alison Roman, recorded at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C. We talk about her family Thanksgiving, why she makes her own baby food, and what's wrong with quinoa."

Alison Roman's caramelized-shallot pasta became an early-pandemic signature by using ten basic ingredients to create a highly transformative, comforting dish. The recipe exemplifies a "Stone Soup style" of cooking that turns familiar pantry items into something greater. Subsequent years brought public controversy, a cooking show, marriage, and a child. The new cookbook Something From Nothing continues a pantry-first philosophy focused on simplicity and resourcefulness. A live event at Sixth & I covered family Thanksgiving, homemade baby food, critiques of quinoa, food trends, and the realities of working as a solo creator who must self-assign projects. A blind pantry challenge demonstrated the book's practical approach.

Read at The Atlantic