SMASHED BEEF KEBAB WITH CUCUMBER YOGURT

My first recipe for New York Times Cooking!

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Before we get into the recipe, a quick note: I hope to keep this newsletter free for as long as possible, so it would mean so much to me if you supported my work by ordering my cookbook, Third Culture Cooking, which features 100+ flavorful recipes that reflect my third culture perspective. Find signed copies here.

I’ve been dreaming of contributing to the New York Times Cooking archive for as long as I’ve been cooking professionally. It has the one thing serious recipe developers care about most: a community of people who actually cook. When it comes to developing recipes for social media, the majority of viewers are just that—viewers. I do share my recipes for views, but I develop recipes to serve people who actually cook. All I ever want is for my recipes to be made and enjoyed.

And yes, it is The New York Times, but to me, it’s a community of good cooks who love to cook, just like me.

Back in August 2020, fresh out of college and having just published my zine cookbook, Let’s Eat, I tried to pitch the section. I never heard back, followed up, received three short sentences in reply to acknowledge my outreach, and once again, never heard back.

I’m glad I was ignored. I should have been—at the time I didn’t even have any formal recipe development training. But, I’ve always believed in the saying, “if not now, then later” and the idea that opportunities only present themselves when you’re actually ready for them.

Fast forward four years, and the right combination of experience, connections, and kismet brought me exactly where I’ve always wanted to be.

I’ve since developed ten or so recipes for the site, although this is the only one that’s been published so far. If you’re a serious cook, you really ought to subscribe; their app, archive, and search functionality are so impressive and user friendly. I’ll always share gift (free) links to my recipes, but a subscription unlocks the entire library.

NYT Cooking asks their developers to write headnotes in 3rd person, so I can’t offer too much personal context about my Smashed Beef Kebab With Cucumber Yogurt recipe there. But, here I can:

I love Persian koobideh kebob and would eat it 3x a week if I could. That constant craving inspired this dinner: a very simply seasoned ground beef mixture that gets a hard sear so it’s deeply browned and crispy on one side. The cucumber yogurt is inspired by mast-o-khiar, another Persian favorite of mine. Serve the sizzling hot beef over the cold, refreshing yogurt with some pomegranate molasses (balsamic glaze is a good substitute) drizzled over top alongside pita or rice, and that’s dinner in less than 30 minutes (yes, actually). A lot of commenters spiced the meat mixture more heavily, which is certainly an option, but koobideh is really quite simple and there’s so much beauty in that simplicity. My advice: try it as is (you might love it with less effort), and then play around with the recipe—like any good cook would.

You can find the recipe here.