Janine Farzin

Breakfast Tongue Tacos

November 13, 2023 By Janine Farzin Leave a Comment

Breakfast tongue taco on a plate with a blueberry smoothie to the side

Tongue tacos are definitely a thing. Because tongue is a super fatty, meltingly tender meat. And it’s mild in flavor. And it could easily win over even with the skeptical consumer. But why be limited to the second half of the day? If Americans are enjoying cold cereals morning, noon and night – then I advocate we flip that and bring our favorite dinners to the breakfast table. Breakfast Tongue Tacos are a great way to start your day. Plus, it better aligns with the ‘savory, sour, fermented and tepid’ elements we see in breakfasts around the world. …

Persian-Inspired Brain Frittata (Kuku-ye Maghz)

October 31, 2023 By Janine Farzin 1 Comment

Persian-Style Brain Frittata (Brain Kuku) in a pan coming out of the oven and sizzling with butter

Brains and eggs are a great combination since they have similar textures. This version of Persian-styled Brain Frittata (or Kuku/Kookoo) feels like an improvement on simpler single-dish servings. I simplified a recipe I found by skipping the poaching and mixing raw brains directly into the raw eggs. Of course, every time I make kuku, it reminds me of a celebratory New Year’s dinner several years back. Brain Kuku has all the love and delight of that meal and will have a repeat performance in our home….

Cozy Chicken Heart Soup with Ginger and Rice

October 18, 2023 By Janine Farzin 5 Comments

Cozy Chicken Heart Soup served in a bowl on the counter shown with a ramekin of chopped green onions to the side

Cozy Chicken Heart Soup is perfect for boosting nutrient density as the weather cools. Our family seemed to be on the verge of getting sick this week and I have been focusing on cozy favorites like braised roasts, our favorite Pho, marrow, and simple soups. We started this week with this Chicken Liver Mousse, so I didn’t think we needed more liver, but was still focusing on nutrient-density as I scoured my freezer. I found one lone bag of chicken hearts and knew that now would be a good time to use it….

Tripe (Pasta) with Fennel, Anchovies, and Pine Nuts

September 30, 2023 By Janine Farzin 3 Comments

Tripe pasta with fennel, anchovies and pine nuts in serving pot

Tripe Pasta with Fennel, Anchovies, and Pine Nuts is the meat-based / low-inflammation version of an old favorite. My sister emailed me a version of this recipe in 2005. On the Standard American Diet (SAD) diet at the time, I promptly made it with pasta and it was a favorite. Alas, it was in remission for many years after adopting more of an ancestral diet, but I never forgot the flavors. This is the perfect comeback….

Cold Sweetbread Terrine

August 30, 2023 By Janine Farzin Leave a Comment

Sweetbread Terrine served with cheese, pickles, and mustard on a plate

Even while many organ meats have strong flavors and unfamiliar textures, sweetbreads are white meat and easy to love. How to improve sweetbreads? Besides bacon or a lot of butter, seasoned ground pork will do. In this dish, we combine herbs, pistachios, aromatics – along with the meats – into a heavy cooking vessel. There is nothing complicated about Sweetbread Terrine, but it does take a few days and several fun steps to pull it all together….

Chicken Feet with Ginger and Honey

July 24, 2023 By Janine Farzin 3 Comments

Prepared Chicken Feet with Ginger in Honey in the pan at the end of cooking with rich, gooey gelatin

The body doesn’t lie. When I started eating a whole-foods, nose-to-tail diet, changing from the standard American diet, my body quietly rejoiced. Inflammation went down, mental clarity went up. The list of specific improvements is almost too long to recite. Persistent cold sores went into remission, but they remain a reminder to this day of stress imbalances in my own life. The amino acid lysine can resolve these quickly; gelatinous skin and bone broths are great real-food sources. For me, Chicken Feet with Ginger and Honey is an old favorite that serves well in these situations….

Braised Sweetbreads with Mushroom Sauce

June 20, 2023 By Janine Farzin 2 Comments

Braised Sweetbreads with Mushrooms is classic French cooking. A modern cook might simplify and combine steps, but by attending to detail, flavors are perfected along the way and complement the simple sweetbreads. Alas, the mirepoix, bouquet garni, flavorful ham, and broth elevate this dish to rich comfort food. Braised Sweetbreads with Mushrooms are tender, succulent and flavorful. As usual, Mastering the Art of French Cooking does not disappoint. …

Mondongo, a Latin American Tripe Stew

May 2, 2023 By Janine Farzin 1 Comment

No doubt there are as many versions of Mondongo as there are families who make it. Along with the tripe, potatoes, carrots and oregano seem to be the foundation. As usual, many versions will supplement the broth with trotters or hooves or other bones (adding gelatin and minerals). After reading several versions, I adopted the spices and vegetables that worked for us….

Steak Tartare

April 27, 2023 By Janine Farzin Leave a Comment

A serving bowl of Steak Tartare, garnished with parsley, alongside a plate of Carpaccio

When I learned that traditional cultures included some of their animal foods raw, it made sense to me. But it still seemed very foreign. I grew up in a home with well-done steaks and London Broil cooked all the way through. Yet, after I leaned into this idea, I realized that cultures the world over still enjoy raw meats and it wasn’t as odd as it originally seemed. One of the easiest appetizers to adopt in our home was Steak Tartare. …

Saffron-Spiced Tongue

April 4, 2023 By Janine Farzin 7 Comments

Saffron-Spiced Tongue in a bowl with rice on the side (butter on top) and parsley garnish

When my father-in-law travels to Iran, we are the beneficiaries. He often brings us large bags of pistacios and tiny sacks of saffron (and if my husband is lucky, a box of gaz – Persian nougat with pistacios). Over the years, I’ve grown to love the flavor of saffon. Too much and it’s almost metallic, too little and you’ll miss the essence of it. But saffron adds such earthy-sweet, delicious flavor to dishes that I knew from this start that Saffron-Spiced Tongue would be great. …

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