#mina stone

Mina Stone’s Chickpeas

Ingredients

1 lb. dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, drained

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 3x1" strips lemon zest

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oilKosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Combine chickpeas, onion, garlic, lemon zest, oil, and a couple big pinches of salt in a large pot. Add 2 quarts water and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally and replacing any water that evaporates, until chickpeas are tender, about 2 hours. Taste and season generously with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Step 2

Do Ahead: Chickpeas can be made 6 days ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill.

When I cooked my dried chickpeas for recipes (they’re so much better than canned; revelatory) I used the “Method for Stovetop, Uncovered” here, and dropped half an onion and a few cloves of peeled and smashed garlic into the pot when it was time to cook them. - Emily Nunn

https://food52.com/blog/25464-how-to-cook-dried-chickpeas

Stovetop, Covered & Stovetop, Uncovered

Method For Stovetop, Covered

Soak 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas for 12 hours.

Drain, rinse, and add to a pot. Cover by a few inches with water, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook at a simmer until tender, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Method For Stovetop, Uncovered

Soak 1/2 cup dried chickpeas for 12 hours.

Drain, rinse, and add the soaked chickpeas to a pot. Cover by a few inches with water, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook at a simmer until tender, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Results

I conducted both the stovetop, covered and stovetop, uncovered trials simultaneously, and was flummoxed by the subtle differences in the final products, insofar as one can be flummoxed hours into a chickpea cooking marathon. The covered batch somehow ended up less salty than the uncovered batch, but with skins that were much easier to remove. Texturally, the covered chickpeas were a hair silkier, whereas the uncovered ones were starchier, like tiny mashed potatoes.

Recipe: Chickpea Salad with Onions and Paprika (slada hummas)

Serves 4

This delicious and easy salad is from the 2008 book Flavors of Morocco, by Ghillie Basan, who points out that chickpeas, beans, and lentils are eaten daily in rural Morocco. This dish can be served at room temperature or warm. I took the liberty of quickly frying/frizzling half the onions, to create contrasting flavors and textures. If I were making this for a dinner party or lunch, I’d have all the ingredients prepped, then bring out the chickpeas to warm them before assembling the salad. You can eat it at room temperature, but the way the heated chickpeas wilt the herbs and melt the cheese a bit is really nice.

4 cups cooked chickpeas (just cooked or re-warmed)

1 medium-small red onion, cut in half lengthwise then in half crosswise and sliced with the grain, divided (you’re going to leave half of them raw and fry the other half)

2 large cloves garlic, grated (you may use up to 4)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 to 2 teaspoons paprika (I used two; it seems like a lot, but it’s not, especially when the cheese goes in and mingles with it all

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Juice of one lemon

Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Small bunch of cilantro, coarsely chopped

4 oz goat cheese or feta, crumbled (I used goat, and it was absolutely dreamy; you may leave out the cheese, but I don’t recommend it)

Flakey sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bread, to serve (I had whole wheat pita)

In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive over medium-high heat. Add half the sliced onions and fry, stirring occasionally, until beginning to blacken in places. Stir in a pinch of the paprika, remove from heat, and set aside.

I Think My Taste Buds are Changing | Spicy Chickpea Stew | One Cook, Two Books

One of two things is going one. One: Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, one ingredient that I use very sparingly, is not as spicy as it used to be. Two: Crushed Red Pepper Flakes are no longer as spicy because I am more accustomed to spicy food, so I am able to use more of it in my cooking.   I’m thinking it’s closer to the second option, because even with the jalapenos in all of Mina Stone’s recipes it…

Each issue, The Coda introduces you to interesting individuals who inspire us. This time, we sat down to talk with Brooklyn-based personal chefs, Mina Stone and Alex Eagleton, a couple of brilliant culinary artists that cook for the likes of art world luminaries including Gavin Brown, Urs Fischer, and Elizabeth Peyton. If you're lucky, they'll even pack their aprons and secret (kitchen) weapons and travel to faraway Hellenic Republic to cater your wedding, 600 guests and all.

Last week, Mina and Alex met up with us at Lincoln Center for a mini photo shoot. Afterwards, we shared stories (about food mostly, of course) over a light meal at indie food and wine. In a very recent past life, Mina was a contemporary womenswear designer, dressing cool "it" girls including Sofia Coppola, Rashida Jones, and Jessica Stam. When he's not braising lamb or making a raw cauliflower dish out of five simple ingredients, Alex is also an artist—he's a painter and sculptor. Both self-taught cooks, they look to their shared Greek heritage for "…inspiration, comfort, and the freedom to drown anything in olive oil."

"A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness." —Elsa Schiaparelli (For as long as we've known Mina, this is her ultimate food quote from one of her favorite designers.)

Our interview with the dynamic duo below as they discuss their mutual love of lemons and how underrated and nonexistent (good) Greek food is in New York City.

The Coda: How did you two meet?

Mina: Long story short, we met six years ago in Fort Greene.

TC: What is your cooking background? What or who inspired you to become a chef?

M: We are both not formally trained. We both just really liked to cook which is why I think we work well together. I started cooking to support myself while having a clothing line and decided I liked cooking much more than fashion. I also think we both had people in our lives (on the Greek side) that loved to cook and that we reference. For Alex, it's his great grandma and for me, my grandma.

TC: Mina, what is Alex's signature, fail-proof dish that is stuff of legend and lore? Alex, Mina's legendary dish?

M: This amazingly delicious beef lemonato. That dish has really taken us places.

Alex: Mina makes a Greek dish with artichokes, peas, potatoes, dill, lemon, and olive oil. That's currently my favorite.

TC: You both cooked for Urs Fischer's team and over 1,500 volunteers spanning a period of six weeks for his "Yes, 2013" show at The Geffen Contemporary, MOCA. What was that experience like? 

A: Crazy and fulfilling.

M: For me, it taught me many things: It taught me how to work well as a partner, and it taught me how to get organized and cook every single day for 150 volunteers. It was also an overall amazing experience to be a part of the project and to see it from start to finish. It was certainly a unique project that I'm very grateful to have been a part of. Also, LA? Too many juice bars.

TC: Mina, you are currently working on a cookbook to be published by Urs' publishing company, Kiito-San. What has that process been like?

M: It is very fun and exciting to work on a book of your own and with someone I respect as much as Urs. On the other hand, it is also a challenge to figure out exactly how we want the book to be. What I realize is that the process is teaching me more and more about how I feel about food and cooking, and therefore, how I'd like the recipes and process to be presented to others.

TC: How do you come up with original recipes? What does that entail?

M: I can't explain it other than it must be the same thing as with people who are good at math. It is something that makes sense to me, and recipes and dishes evolve sometimes alone and sometimes as a part of a greater menu. It is an equation of ingredients that makes sense in my mind.

A: I try to imitate something I once ate. In failing to recreate a particular dish, I make up for it by trying to make it taste delicious.

TC: Alex, you are also a painter and sculptor. How does the art world intermingle with your culinary adventures? 

A: There isn't much crossover. Maybe some organization methods learned from cooking have made their way into my studio. Of course, the art world has financed my cooking and therefore supported me. I'm grateful to be doing both. Daniel Boulud said this: "I believe then, it's easier to be an artist…for example a real artist don't really, um…he create once and he pass on to the next thing. I think for us we constantly perpetually recreate what we do."

TC: What is your philosophy on cooking?

M: My philosophy on cooking is to keep it simple!

A: Enjoy it.

TC: The most challenging and fulfilling cooking job thus far? 

A: There was a wedding Mina and I did in Greece...

M: Yes, the most challenging and fulfilling cooking job was when we cooked for a 600 person wedding in Greece. I had a moment where I saw the sea of people waiting to eat and I realized we were feeding the equivalent of a small village. I still can't believe we managed to do it, and most importantly, do it well. It made me feel like we could cook for 100 people with our eyes closed.

TC: If you could cook a lavish dinner party for anyone, who would it be? 

M: Kim Kardashian, I wanna hang.

A: My mother and Keith Richards—a blind date.

TC: The ultimate album to cook to? 

M: Reasonable Doubt

A: Talk radio gets me in the mood.

TC: What was your first cookbook? Are there any cooking bibles that you keep coming back to?

M: My first cookbook I really fell in love with was Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. I never fully followed a recipe, but I learned about pairing ingredients and making dishes beautiful from that book. I still open it to get inspiration.

A: I think my first cookbook was a Jamie Oliver book. I like The Family Meal by Ferran Adrià. It's really great for those who don't want to read much. Its simple and efficient layout is perfect for the impatient type who just wants to get started. 

TC: What is the most underrated ingredient? The most overrated?

M: Most underrated is lemon juice. I put it on almost everything. My most overrated ingredient is anything truffle-related. No, thanks.

A: Underrated: lemon; overrated: bacon

TC: What five things can we always find in your refrigerator and pantry?

M: Olive oil, lemons, salt, avocados, salami

A: Salami, lemon, salt, olive oil, beer

TC: Cooking blogs, cooking shows, foodies, the locavore movement, etc. have all exploded in recent years. What do you think about how democratized the culinary world has become? 

M: I think on one hand it is very cool and we have so much information available to us. On the other hand, I feel like that information can be very overwhelming and hard to sift through. Sometimes I use organic produce, sometimes local, and sometimes frozen. 

A: I think that much like the rest of the sectors affected by the internet, some real talent gets exposure. On that note, the less talented also get the glory. Regardless, it's great that more people are cooking and sharing. It's pretty primal...

TC: Speaking of blogs, what are some of your favorites floating around the world wide web?

M: Des Hommes et des Chatons

TC: You are both proud Greeks! How does your heritage and culture lend to your cooking style?

M: It is sort of my safe haven. Where I go to for inspiration, comfort, and the freedom to drown anything in olive oil. You also can't find good Greek food in New York.

A: I started cooking the food I couldn't find anywhere outside of Greece. I try to continue this. Also, real Greek cuisine is one of the most underrated out there. But that's a whole other story.

TC: Favorite neighborhood dining spots when you're too tired to pick up the and pan and the thought of washing dishes makes you weep?

M: Academy Diner. And we also go to Roman's a little too much. 

A: Mike's

TC: Jay Z, Led Zeppelin, or ZZ Top?

M: Jay Z

A: Led Zeppelin

TC: Do you have any favorite memories or experiences at Lincoln Center or the Upper West Side?

M: Women in the World was one of the most amazing things I have attended. Also, who doesn't love Zabar's?

A: Big Nick's Burger is all I can say.

Words by Doris Ho-Kane