Hello, s!
I’m pleased to announce the launch of our new weekly recipe column, In Good Season, by our terrific new test kitchen manager, Fatima Khawaja.
Born in the UAE and raised in Pakistan, Fatima is a classically trained chef with an extensive restaurant background. She began working closely with me during peak pandemic and quickly became our lead freelance recipe tester. While remote testing presented plenty of challenges, she took to the task in unflappable stride, falling into the rhythm of sourcing, testing, editing, styling, and shooting all of our recipes from her Williamsburg apartment like the boss that she is. The whole team loved working with her so much that, earlier this year, we brought her on full time to run our test kitchen.
Fatima studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Upstate New York and San Antonio, where she earned her bachelor’s degree and a certificate in Latin American cuisine. She then worked in some of the best kitchens in town, including Cosme, Bouchon, and DeMaria, where she was Camille Becerra’s sous chef. She’s also a busy mom with a keen interest in food that’s fresh, seasonal, and sustainable.
All this will inform In Good Season, where each week we’ll present one of Fatima’s original recipes—developed just for you and featuring the ingredient she’s most excited to find at market that week. The local greenmarkets are packed with asparagus right now, so today, she’s kicking us off with a platter of crisp and snackable Asparagus Pakoras. Rolled in a simple chickpea batter, fried, then dunked in sweet tamarind chutney, they’re my new favorite finger food, suitable for fancy cocktail parties, family dinners, and everything in between. (And hey, they happen to be gluten-free, too!)
I hope you’ll enjoy Fatima’s recipes as much as I do. When you make them, tell us what you think on Instagram by tagging @saveurmag, and use the hashtag #ingoodseason so you can see what everybody’s cooking as harvest season kicks in.
—Kat Craddock, Editorial Director
