4 Recipes From Anna Olson’s New Cookbook That Show Off The Baking Star’s Savoury Side
For years, pastry chef, TV host and cookbook author Anna Olson's name has been synonymous with baking. As a Food Network nerd in my early teens, I'd watch her first show, Sugar, while I did my homework. Her camera presence and expertise were so calming, and watching her turn a single ingredient into three different presentations of dessert was so instructive.
Twenty years, a dozen cookbooks and a few more TV series later, Olson is changing things up with a new book that focuses on her style of home cooking—a version of her kitchen life we haven't seen as much of. The dishes in this 125-recipe collection range from quick and efficient weeknight dinners to entertaining-worthy mains—and of course, still plenty of dessert. Here's four favourites from Anna Cooks, out September 25 with Appetite.
Sweet Potato Focaccia with Garlic & Thyme
Fluffy and soft, this focaccia is a delicious partner to the Autumn Roasted Chicken with Stuffing, but it also suits summer dishes and can be sliced and grilled to serve with anything barbecued. Get this sweet potato focaccia recipe.
Carrot, Apple & Five-Spice Soup
After making and enjoying this soup just once, you won’t even need a recipe for it. The addition of Chinese five-spice, with its combination of star anise, fennel seed, Szechuan pepper, clove and cinnamon, really enhances the humble carrot and apple combination, giving it a well-rounded flavour complexity with minimal effort. Get this carrot and apple soup recipe.
Lemon-Roasted Sweet Potato & Beet Salad with Pickled Red Onions & Pecans
"Around the same time that I was developing this recipe, we were planning the menu to cater a friend’s wedding. The beautiful combination of colourful vegetables in this recipe, coupled with the ease of their make-ahead nature, inspired us to make this the starter course for the wedding. If we can make 150 people happy with this salad, I know you’ll love to serve it to your family or friends." Get this lemon-roasted sweet potato salad recipe.
Autumn Roasted Chicken With Stuffing
A good roasted chicken isn’t just for Sundays. By splitting the chicken in half and laying it on top of a loose stuffing-like layer, you can have all the aromas and flavours of autumn in half the cooking time. What I like best about making this stuffing is that it’s not actually stuffed into anything. This allows the bread bits at the bottom of the roasting pan to toast up, adding a delectable caramelized crispy bite here and there when you eat this dish. Get this autumn roasted chicken recipe.
The very best of Chatelaine straight to your inbox.
Chantal Braganza is a writer and editor living in Toronto. She is deputy editor, food at Chatelaine, a cookbook nerd, lover of vintage dish ware, and currently training for yoga teacher certification. Her first book, Story of Your Mother, is out with Strange Light Press.
