#simple-recipes

#simple-recipes

There are dishes that take a lot of time, effort, and expertise to pull off (like the peak crispiness of Peking duck, perfectly airy brioche donuts, or a really excellent croissant, where the luscious layers are so beautiful, you just want to sink into them and melt away with the butter). These are places where shortcuts either don't work at all or, if they technically do, they don't yield anywhere near the same result.

In his debut cookbook, What Can I Bring? Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life, author Casey Elsass features this apple cake that seems like the poster child for fall. A simple batter made entirely by hand is packed with chopped apples and turned into a cake pan. Elsass mentions the addition of apple cider vinegar in the batter as a unique addition, but we think it's the topping that truly sets this apple cake apart from all others.

Pan con tomate (bread with tomato) proves it doesn't take a long list of fancy ingredients or complicated cooking techniques to create a mouthwatering dish. Known as pa amb tomàquet in Catalan, this simple tapa hails from Catalonia in northeastern Spain. It's said pan con tomate originated as a way for peasants to moisten dry bread while utilizing the region's abundance of tomatoes and keep hunger at bay between meals. Nowadays, it's regarded as a traditional tapa in both Catalan and Spanish cuisine, working just as well as a homemade snack as it does in a fancy establishment.