Off Duty is a series of lively conversations with influential people, from CEOs to celebrities, on life, work and the art of taking time off.
Sohla El-WayllyIllustration by Photo Illustration by The Globe
Sohla El-Waylly wears many hats: The New York Times recipe developer is a judge on the cooking competition show The Big Brunch, the host of Ancient Recipes with Sohla on the History Channel and has her own series, Cooking 101, on NYT Cooking’s YouTube channel. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she gave birth to her bestselling debut cookbook and an actual baby last fall.
With bite-sized instructions, nerdy deep dives and an amusing “What the Hell Happened” section to troubleshoot possible bumps along the recipe road, Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook oozes with El-Waylly’s effortless charm. While the New York-based chef assures us that making mistakes is all part of the process, putting it into practice is still a work in progress. “I tell people to be prepared for mistakes, but I am still not prepared myself,” she said. “There are always mistakes, no matter what you do or how long you’ve been doing it.”
The Globe spoke to El-Waylly about her approach to crafting recipes, the wisdom she has gleaned from kitchen failure and adjusting to life as a new mom.
Start Here gives savoury and sweet chapters an equal amount of love. Do you have a favourite recipe from each side?
I love the Baklava. After pouring the syrup, you give it a second bake, which completely transforms the texture. It gets sticky, chewy and crunchy and becomes more like candy – it’s cool how one extra step can change so much. The one I make the most is the Chilled Green Tahini Soba with Green Zucchini. You put a bunch of herbs and tahini into the blender. The sauce itself is so flavourful and you can make it in advance – I think about that stuff now with a kid. It is a great thing to have in the fridge because you can put it on fish or noodles and dip vegetables in it. If that’s the kind of dinner you have time for, sometimes that’s all you need.
Now that your book is six months old, are you surprised by what readers are trying?
Publishers and editors always tell me to go for easier recipes: 30-minute meals, stuff you can whip up on the sheet tray. But my cookbook has a lot of more advanced recipes, and I’ve been really surprised that those are the ones people are drawn to. The Monday Chicken for Winners sets you up to make an entire dry-brined roast dinner by prepping on Saturday. People are also making Tahdig [a crispy Persian rice dish], which is the most advanced dish in the grains chapter, because you need specific equipment, and it’s technically quite difficult. It’s not always perfect, but I know they’re gonna make it again. I believe in them.
So, what ingredient is always in your fridge?
Ever since I was a kid, I needed yogurt with every meal. A little salted yogurt – if there’s time, raita – but usually, I’ll put a dollop of plain yogurt next to whatever I’m eating, even if it doesn’t fit culturally. For me, it’s indispensable, the ultimate dip.
Is there a cookbook that keeps drawing you back?
I go back to BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts by Stella Parks a lot. The recipes are wonderful, but I love food history, and she goes into the history of American classics like Oreos and Cracker Jack. It’s comfort reading for me.
What ingredient has pleasantly surprised you on Ancient Recipes or your Mystery Menu show with NYT Cooking recently?
Durian is something I hadn’t worked with a lot and had mainly seen people react to it in videos negatively, like “Oh, it smells like socks,” “It smells like feet,” “It smells like a rotting body” – and it’s none of those things. It made me realize how a lot of food content comes from this very white perspective. It had the complexity of a really fancy French cheese, but that coming from fruit was throwing people off. Once you get past that, it’s a fun thing to cook. It has one texture when it’s raw and another when it’s cooked. It fully transforms when you play with acid, spice, salt and durian, bringing out different flavours. So, it was eye-opening to work with something that I’ve only seen get a bad rap.
Have you dabbled much with your daughter’s food?
The things I think she’ll be into – that I’ll get excited to prepare for her – she hates. Initially, we were getting her all the healthy market stuff – fancy blueberries – but she’s a weird baby and she actually likes spice. The first thing she really liked was this spicy doenjang [soybean paste] stew. I was like, “Let me give her a bite and see how she feels,” and she loved it. We’re doing baby-led weaning. It’s the first time in her life that I don’t have control. It’s making me realize how hard it is to let go, let her make a mess and get no food in her mouth – and I have to stand there and watch.
With a new addition to the family, are days off different now?
We don’t really have days off. We didn’t before, and even more now. We work a creative, fun job, so sometimes, I plan a day off and then get excited about a dish. Then I’ll be in the kitchen all day, but in my mind, it’s still a day off. Balancing the baby is hard. We don’t have child care, but I feel lucky to have a flexible job, and I can also take her on set. It’s tough because it’s New York City. We don’t have a car – putting the car seat in and out of Ubers and dragging a stroller down subway stops, but we’re making it work. I’m trying to appreciate every moment because there are a few years before the majority of her day will be at school. I’m spending as much time as possible with her without turning down too much work.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
One in a regular series of stories. To read more, visit our Inspired Dining section.