More suited to a cocktail party than a baseball game, this riff on Cracker Jack by Atlanta pastry chef Taria Camerino is sweetened with agave nectar and spiked with tequila. Slow-baking turns the popcorn-nut mix fabulously crunchy.
The noodles strike a satisfying note thanks to a garlicky Thai-inspired sauce and toppings of warm tofu and vegetables that shift with the seasons. The salad-like garnish is precisely the cool, crunchy counterpoint those chewy noodles need.
This soup is loud. Beefy, spicy, smoky, textured and complex, ten times better than I even knew pumpkin soup could be. It has no cream. It is thickened by coarsely-pureed black beans.
The chicken is tender and flavorful from simmering for hours in the sauce, and the sauce itself has a lovely balance of sweet and savory instead of the near-cloying sweetness you might be used to.
This recipe is so easy that I threw it together for a quick weekday lunch. I loved the flavor. I loved the consistency. And I loved the fact that they weren't really noodles.
