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Food52Naan, which means "bread" in old Persian, is a delicious fermented flatbread that is traditionally cooked in a tandoor oven. It is said to originate in Mesopotamia, was brought to India by the Persians and was considered a delicacy in the Imperial courts of the Mughal dynasty around 2500 years ago. It is now ubiquitous to North Indian food and one can find it everywhere from fancy restaurants to streetside dhabas (shacks). Sourdough also has its origins in Egypt and traditionally naan was made with wild yeast as there was no commercial yeast available. Sadly, most restaurants in the South Asian subcontinent and in the US make naan with commercial yeast or baking powder. Making naan with sourdough starter is not only the real deal but also results in a greater depth of flavor and a better tasting naan. Of course, combine that with a tandoor or wood burning pizza oven and you are in heaven; but to my great joy it is pretty good when made at home too! I developed this recipe for a pop-up restaurant that I was running in Gowanus, Brooklyn. They had a pizza oven, though sadly not a wood burning one. I developed the dough recipe and my cook, who is a tandoor chef, showed me how they make the dough balls in restaurants with a hollow inside. If we had any dough balls left over, we would cover them with plastic wrap and leave them in the refrigerator to use the next day. But you must bring them back to room temperature before rolling out. You can add a tablespoon of yogurt to the dough for a little extra tang, but it’s not imperative as you do get some tang from the sourdough starter. What I love about this naan is how it is slightly crisp yet pillowy and chewy and with amazing depth of flavor. It’s actually pretty simple to make. The only tricky part I found was sliding it into the oven. You can make it on a hot cast iron skillet on the stove and char the top on a naked flame, but my preference is to cook it in the oven.Food.comI have been making this for years. I got the idea from a recipe in the old Joy of Cooking and just modified from there. This is great comfort foodFood52I've never been a big fan of frosting; to me, it detracts from the main attraction: the cake. But when boiled icing (also known as 7-minute icing or Italian meringue) finally entered my life (in the form of the Old-fashioned cupcake by local bakery Miette), I started to change my tune, at least where boiled icing is concerned. It has a slick sheen, which makes is elegantly beautiful. It's billowy and light but has a gratifying stickiness that makes it almost impossible to eat without getting it stuck on your lips. When I looked up a recipe to make boiled icing on my own, I was bummed to find out that I needed a candy thermometer (my relationship with candy thermometers can be somewhat strained, but that's another story). Eventually, I stumbled upon a recipe for an uncooked boiled icing, which I was totally skeptical of at first, but when I saw it come together, I'm sure I jumped for joy. This icing is a bit lighter and airier than the cooked kind, but it's still smooth and satisfying. I add cacao nibs for an even more adult flavor and a little fun with texture. It works well lightly torched or not, but who doesn't look for an excuse to break out the propane kitchen torch? Make the frosting as close as possible to serving time because like any boiled icing, it will weep and fall after a while; keeping it from getting too warm will help make it last.