Cookbook author Meera Sodha lost her love of food. Her new book 'Dinner' helped her rediscover it.
Plus, a recipe for portobello mushroom pancakes with hoisin sauce
I am beyond thrilled to share an intimate interview with the cookbook author Meera Sodha in today’s newsletter for paid subscribers. I have been a huge fan of Meera’s since her first book Made In India came out ten years ago, and her book Fresh India lives on my cookbook top shelf, lovingly turmeric-stained from years of avid use. Her newest cookbook, Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the Most Important Meal of the Day, came out in the U.S. on April 1, and is chock-full of highly appealing, flavorful, and low-effort recipes.
Like many others, I was moved and touched by the Guardian article she wrote last summer titled, “I was a bestselling recipe writer - then burnout killed my appetite for food, and life. This is how I found my way back” about losing her love for cooking. This book is the story of how she reclaimed her joy of cooking, and I am deeply thankful to Meera for talking with me about depression, perfectionism, and other topics you’re all well familiar with around these parts, and how they have affected her relationship to food and cooking.
Meera also kindly let me share one of my absolute favorite recipes from her book with you all: Portobello Mushroom Pancakes with Hoisin Sauce. It’s like a vegetarian take on Chinese Peking duck wraps, but with meaty roasted portobello mushrooms in a sticky peanut butter-hoisin sauce, topped with refreshing slivers of scallion and cucumber. “Scrumptious” is not a word I use often, and this recipe reminded me I should use it more, because that’s exactly what it is.
Finally, I’m trying something new this week! Paid subscribers have the option to listen to the audio version of Meera’s and my conversation at the beginning of this Q&A. We talk about a lot of stuff that didn’t make it into the condensed and edited version, and I also know many folks prefer to listen these days. I hope you enjoy it (and if you do, will you please let me know, so I can better know what you’re liking around here.)
And now, onto our chat!
