Three Things I'm Eating Right Now with Clare Langan
Stop. Drop. Make this Sun Gold Risotto!
Welcome to a new little series we’re kicking off here — part snack diary, part recipe inspo, part peek into the kitchens of food people I love. Every so often, I’ll be asking friends, fellow cooks, and all-around excellent eaters to share three things they can’t stop making, buying, or craving right now. Think of it as a quick kitchen mood board with some of the flavors and cravings shaping the way we’re eating this very minute.
To kick us off, I’m thrilled to hand the mic to Clare Langan, a professionally trained chef, culinary educator, recipe developer, and content strategist whose résumé reads like a culinary highlight reel. She’s been the Content Director at Williams Sonoma, held culinary roles at the Feedfeed, Cost Plus World Market, and Sur La Table, and even served as Culinary Producer for A&E’s award-winning series SCRAPS. Clare and I met years ago in New York City and didn’t get to spend nearly enough time together but I’ve admired her sensibilities from afar for ages. Clare now calls the San Francisco Bay Area home — where she’s dreaming up recipes, teaching classes, and generally making this summer look like the best tomato fever dream.
If anyone knows how to make a short list of three foods feel like a full, satisfying feast, it’s Clare. Let’s see what she’s eating right now.
Summer is my high season. As a longtime tomato girl, I cram as much peak-season produce into what I’m making at home, for my private chef clients, and in the content I create for brands. It starts with early summer berries and cherries, and continues through September with zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, corn, peppers and melons. We’re spoiled here in the Bay Area with California-grown produce all year long, but there is nothing better than in-season and locally-grown when it comes to flavor. My approach to cooking when everything looks good is to do as little as possible by taking the Italian approach – very little peeling, blending, or general messing around with what’s already perfect. Here are three dinners I made recently that reflect the type of cooking I do at home. Lots of vegetables and a little something rich to make it feel special. There’s another theme here: rice! I keep a few varieties on hand to turn into risotto, coconut rice or crispy rice salads. Embrace summer for as long as you can. We’ll have plenty of time for pumpkin later.
Sun Gold Tomato Risotto
Until I moved to the Bay Area, I never considered cozy summer recipes. It turns out this summer has been one of the coldest on record in the Bay. My favorite way to channel Strega Nonna Summer vibes is with my Sun Gold Tomato Risotto. This is the perfect recipe to pull out during shoulder season this Fall when the internet says pumpkin but you’re still swimming in tomatoes. I pop on a podcast, pour an Athletic N/A IPA and get to work, stirring Arborio rice with aromatics and a pint of Sun Golds. A pinch of turmeric adds a nostalgic Kraft Mac color and tomato paste adds depth and a bit more tomato flavor. We made it a date night at home with seared scallops and corn for an accidentally all-gold dinner. Leftovers reheat surprisingly well with a splash of stock or water for lunch the next day.
Recipe:
Grilled Pork and Peaches
I’ve been embracing the grill this summer like never before, and I love a grilled pork chop moment when they’re on sale. If you love the combination of pork + apples, you have to try pork + peaches (or plums, or nectarines, any stone fruit works.) Cumin, Aleppo-style pepper and mint take this into a really nice direction when paired with pork and sweet, smoky grilled peaches. What I love most is that all the cooking is done on the grill, making kitchen cleanup easy. I don’t have a dishwasher, and I’m always thinking about ways to clean less! We ate this with a crispy rice salad with kale and a honey-lemon dressing. I baked day-old rice at 400F for about 40 minutes, then tossed it with shredded kale, cucumber, radish, snap peas, shallots and a quick Mason jar dressing of coconut aminos, lemon juice, honey, grated ginger and garlic. I threw in some toasted sesame seeds and peanuts for more crunch. If you can’t be bothered, Trader Joe’s garlic naan and a salad kit on the side would also be great. We’re headed to a rental house near Yosemite in August with friends, and I’m thinking this will be a great vacation house meal.
Recipe:
Turkey and Eggplant Skillet
I’ve been riffing on this old BA recipe for Stir-Fried Eggplant for years and I think I unlocked something with my latest iteration. Instead of stir-frying, I roasted the eggplant with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and garlic powder in a hot oven at 450F for about 20 minutes until browned and tender. Yes, it heats up your kitchen, but it’s way more efficient than standing over the stove cooking in batches. Eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge, and oven-roasting allows you to use a bit less. While the eggplant roasted, I browned a pound of ground turkey in a cast iron skillet. The roasted eggplant went in, along with chopped scallions and a quick sauce of tamari, coconut aminos, honey, garlic and thinly sliced jalapeno. The ratio was about 50/50 meat to vegetables, which I am always aiming for these days. I paired it with my favorite coconut rice: 1 cup rinsed jasmine rice, ¾ cup coconut milk, ¾ cup water, a pinch of sugar and salt, brought to a boil, covered and simmered for about 15 minutes until tender. I had a random stalk of celery on the counter left over from lunch, so I sliced it paper-thin and scattered it on top, along with roasted peanuts and a few more jalapeno slices. Sesame seeds, fish sauce and basil or cilantro would have been nice here, too, but the couch and Season 2 of Sullivan’s Crossing (so bad, so good) was calling me.
If this doesn’t make you want to simmer together something golden, grill something juicy, or crisp up some rice… I don’t know what will. I’m going straight for the turkey + eggplant + coconut rice skillet — it’s giving weeknight dinner meets late summer vacation so I’m taking the turkey out of the freezer stat.
Follow Clare for more recipes you’ll want to eat straight from the pan:
Clare’s Substack On Cooking | IG @clarelangan | TikTok @clareinthekitchen
Now your turn! Which one’s going on your stove (or grill) first? Tell us in the comments so we can live vicariously through your summer kitchen, too!
Yay for Clare. Love her recipes 🙌
It’s really the best time of year for eating.