40 Ingredients Forever is devoted to recipes that are abundant in flavor and joy yet streamlined in process and shopping—because they’ll all be made using my 40 go-to ingredients.
When I was making this recipe, I was thinking about Lily, a new subscriber who wrote to say that she’s a new college grad “with my first adult money and I want to put it towards making good meals for myself!”
Huge heart emoji.
She continued: “I can cook but I’m not always super confident in my abilities and I tend to flounder when I don’t have a recipe” and “I’m hoping to learn how to better utilize ingredients multiple times and gain confidence in the kitchen!”
I was touched that she trusted me to help her in the kitchen. I also, truthfully, felt the pressure. I want your first dollars, first time using an ingredient, and first time feeding yourself to feel delightful, doable, worth it so that Lily (and everyone) cooks forever and ever.
This recipe is for her but also for anyone who needs something solid to cling to. It does not have any bells and whistles. There isn’t even lemon.
It takes 20 minutes, a pot and pan, and five ingredients (not including oil and salt). But what comes of it is food cooked well: salmon with tender meat and shattery-crisp skin; bright-green asparagus with frilly singed buds; savory, creamy, brothy beans.
Each element is a staple you can repeat for a lifetime. But together, they’re a meal. You’re getting a protein, starch, and veg, but more importantly, they hit many notes: savory (salmon and beans) and fresh (asparagus and dill); crisp (salmon skin and asparagus) and soft (beans and salmon).
They are enough—and a good place to start.
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