Samin Nosrat serves up even more ‘Good Things’ in new cookbook

For The Mercury News

Samin Nosrat may be among the most celebrated contemporary chefs. The Persian American, Oakland-based chef, who spent some of her formative years in San Diego, famously trained at Chez Panisse, then penned the bestselling “Salt Fat Acid Heat,” all about how to ditch recipes. The 2017 book was later adapted into a Netflix docuseries by the same name, which she hosted. In the intervening years, Nosrat went on to write recipes for The New York Times and cohost the “Home Cooking” podcast, which started during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now back in full swing.

Now, she’s out with a second book, “Good Things” (Random House, $45), with 125 recipes for home cooks. From her book tour, she answered a few questions about her latest work.

Q: Your first book “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” defies a lot of cookbook conventions by teaching readers how to cook without prescriptive recipes. Meanwhile, your second, “Good Things,” does contain more traditional recipes. How do you see your two books working together to help home cooks improve their craft?

A: After avowing that I’d never write a book of recipes … well, here we are! After “Salt Fat Acid Heat” came out, I regularly heard from readers, “Your book changed my life!” But just as often, people told me they loved a specific recipe, and that it meant something to them. That surprised me, but it also motivated me to offer people more of what will be useful for them. So with “Good Things,” I’ve aimed to do both — offer specific recipes as well as tips, tricks and matrices to help folks become better, more confident cooks.

I’ve been joking a lot that “Good Things” is about lowering standards for home cooks everywhere. What I mean is that I want to help people lower the stakes for their time spent in the kitchen. And that can mean anything from perfecting a braise by applying what they’ve learned in “Salt Fat Acid Heat” or making something as simple as marinated olives or a perfect bowl of popcorn. I believe people will find both books helpful and inspiring. As someone put it to me recently, if “Salt Fat Acid Heat” is for your head, “Good Things” is for your heart.

Q: In the introduction to “Good Things,” you talk about experiencing loss and depression, and how that turmoil spurred new thinking for you on what a good life looks like. How do cooking, food and community fit into that vision for you?

A: I’ve come to rely on our weekly Monday dinners that really weave in cooking, food and community. I talk about it a lot in the book, but having a weekly time set to ground myself and spend time with people I love has become a keystone of my life. It came about completely by accident — I was developing recipes, and after ruining a huge amount of pork, I was upset about having to eat the leftovers by myself for days on end. A friend called out of the blue and suggested we share it with a few other folks. Before we knew it, Monday dinner was born. We now consider the ritual to be holy. Sometimes, dinner is a carefully cooked meal. Sometimes we order takeout. More than anything, it’s about showing up for each other week to week and spending time together.

Q: What are a few Bay Area restaurants, dishes and chefs that have influenced your cooking, and how? I’m guessing Chez Panisse is likely a big one, but what are some others?

A: I lived in North Berkeley for over 10 years and was a regular at The Cheeseboard. I have so many favorites there, but I unfailingly love the Papi Chulo sauce, which I paid homage to in “Good Things.” It’s just the greatest all-purpose condiment out there.

And yes of course, Chez Panisse changed my life! More than anything, working there taught me about the importance of using quality ingredients. Everything starts with that.

Q: Between your new cookbook, newsletter, podcast and book tour, you’ve been doing a lot of talking and writing around food and cooking lately. What’s one big message you hope your audiences take away from your latest work?

A: Time is so precious. While I hope people spend some of their time in the kitchen, what’s on the table is so much less important than the time you spend with the people around it.

The following recipe from chef Samin Nosrat’s new cookbook, “Good Things,” comes from her days cooking monthly dinners at Tartine bakery, where she tried to use its bread in every menu. There, she started scoring bread vertically to allow for a maximal ratio of garlic butter to bread.

“The resulting loaf was so laden with garlic, herb, and Parmesan butter that it was, well, criminally good. Friends soon started calling it pane criminale,” she writes. “This recipe shines when made with a rustic loaf of country bread, but baguettes work well, too. Either way, use the most flavorful, crustiest bread you can find — it’ll make all the difference.”

Pane Criminale

Makes one 1-pound loaf or two 8-ounce baguettes.

INGREDIENTS

10 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 tablespoons (4 ounces/114 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup finely chopped parsley leaves, basil leaves and/or chives

1/3 heaping cup finely grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon garlic powder kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

One 1-pound loaf rustic country bread or

Two 8-ounce baguettes

DIRECTIONS

1: Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat to 400 degrees.

2: Mince 8 of the garlic cloves. Gently heat a small saucepan over medium-low and add the oil and minced garlic. Cook, stirring and swirling constantly, until the garlic is tender and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Do not allow it to take on any color. (If you sense the garlic is starting to brown, remove the pan from the heat and add a few drops of water.) Pour the garlic and oil into a medium heatproof bowl and set aside to cool.

3: Finely grate the remaining 2 garlic cloves. When the minced garlic and oil have cooled to room temperature, stir in the grated garlic, butter, chopped herbs, Parmesan, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.

4: Deeply score the bread in 1-inch slices, but don’t cut all the way through. Use an offset spatula to generously spread garlic butter on one side of each slice, as far down as you can reach. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and place it on a sheet pan.

5: Bake for 20 minutes (10 minutes for baguettes). Unwrap the top of the loaf and bake until the crust is browned and crisp, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Note: You can prepare, wrap and refrigerate the loaf up to one day ahead. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Recipe excerpted from “Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share With People You Love” by Samin Nosrat (Copyright 2025 by Samin Nosrat.) All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.