For the past few weeks, I’ve been inching slowly (and sometimes, painfully) back into the robust workout routine that I observed before I got myself involved with all this culinary school business. These new miles of pounded pavement have been making me feel ravenous between meals, and I’ve been on the lookout for snacks that can satisfy, while being tasty, nutritious, and low in calories and fat.

Ironically, when I first encountered this healthy, nutritious snack, I was sitting down to a celebratory dinner of epic and caloric proportions at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant/working farm/theme park for food dorks like me who are into sustainable, farm-to-table cuisine. Tuscan kale chips, artfully suspended above antique wooden blocks by a thin piece of wire, were the first of the parade of amuse bouche that we enjoyed that night. Everyone in our party was delighted by their simple beauty and surprised by how delicious they were. They were the perfect introduction to the flavor and feel of the restaurant.

You can imagine my excitement when, as I was rifling through old issues of Bon Appetit weeks later, I discovered the very same recipe we’d enjoyed at the restaurant. Happily, when it comes to my snacking criteria, these kale chips fit the bill on all counts. Their texture is delicate and crisp, they crumble between the teeth and then dissolve away on the tongue. They have an earthy, nutty flavor, that is well complimented with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper. I think I may even try making them with a bit of Spanish paprika for a little bit of smoky heat. They are fully of vitamins, and the negligible fat that they contain is the good kind.

Best of all, they are ridiculously easy to make. I’ve been bagging these up to take along with me as a mid-day snack, mindlessly nibbling on them while I answer emails, and pushing them on Brian when he whines about being hungry before dinner. I also fully intend to make a batch to stand up in tall glasses next to the cheese and finger foods the next time I entertain, because if these are fancy enough to serve in a classy joint like Blue Hill at Stone Barns, then surely they are good enough for my tiny apartment.

Tuscan Kale Chips
Adapted from Dan Barber’s recipe, courtesy of Bon Appetit, February 2009

I made a few adjustments from the original recipe: I found that they were less likely to have burnt spots if I rubbed the oil into the nooks and crannies and the outer edges on both sides of the kale. Also, after my first batch with salt sprinkled on them came out with visible salty spots, I decided to try sprinkling them with a salt solution instead. These measures add a few more minutes to the process, but they make the results more aesthetically pleasing. Feel free to skip them if you are in a hurry and/or don’t care as much what they look like- taste will not be effected. If bagging up to take along for a portable snack, be sure that there is air in the sealed bag to act as a cushion to prevent them from being crushed.

12 large Tuscan kale leaves, rinsed, dried, cut lengthwise in half, center ribs and stems removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 250°F. In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water with the salt and stir to dissolve. Once the salt is completely dissolved, remove from heat and allow to cool. Toss kale with oil in large bowl and rub the leaves to make sure they are coated evenly. Sprinkle with pepper and the salt water mixture to taste, and shake off excess liquid. Arrange leaves in single layer on 2 large baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes for flat leaves and up to 33 minutes for wrinkled leaves. Transfer leaves to rack to cool.

This post serves as a friendly reminder that healthy delicious cooking need not involve a lot of skill or even recipes. When I’m feeling lazy (more often than you’d probably think), I just dip into the bag of fall goodies from the greenmarket. Chances are there’s something in there that can be sliced and or peeled, seasoned, and roasted.

There are no less than twenty varieties of potatoes available right now, not to mention root vegetables of all colors and sizes.

I even found some fresh lemon thyme and sage. It’s on it’s way out, so I bought extra to dry out and use when the snow is flying.

Next time you are in a cooking funk and ready to hit the speed dial for the Thai takeout guy, remember that there’s still a lot of good, seasonal eating to be had with minimal effort.

And even though these meals may feel a little bit like copouts, I assure you there’s never anything wrong with cooking fresh food at home. Especially when minimal effort yields a lot of great flavor.

Roasted Fall Veggies with Fresh Herbs

carrots (approximately 2 medium-sized per person)
potatoes (approximately 2 small per person)
good olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
minced fresh herbs (dill, parsley, rosemary, thyme, or sage)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash and peel the carrots. Scrub the potatoes and rinse thoroughly. Cut the carrots into 1 inch thick pieces, trying to keep them as uniform as possible for even cooking. Cut the potatoes into wedges about 3/4 inch thick at the thickest point.

On two separate baking sheets, toss the carrots and the potatoes in olive oil and spread them in single layers. Season with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs to taste.

Put both pans in the oven and allow them both to roast for ten minutes, then turn the contents of both pans and return to the oven for another tem minutes. Roast until the carrots caramelize on the edges and are soft in the middle. The potatoes will become crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Top with more fresh herbs and serve immediately.

I’ve been busy climbing the walls, working through what are hopefully the last days of cubicle occupation for the rest of my life. No matter how much I’ve loved or hated the work I’ve done while parked in my cell in various, non-descript office buildings, The thing I will miss least about corporate life is the constant sitting. 

But the thing I will miss most are the friendships that come when you are lucky enough to work with people with whom you instantly click. And while I do not doubt that I will still make friends while at cooking school and in the places I go beyond, I’m not sure that anything bonds new friends so quickly as sitting two feet away from them for most of your waking hours, each and every week. Their trials become your trials. The stuff going on in their personal lives becomes your daily dialogue, as you travel from desk to conference room to the deli down on the corner, to, thankfully, happy hour.

I consider myself quite lucky that at every job I’ve had, with the exception of one (guess why I didn’t last there for very long?) I’ve made great, dear friends for life.

A few weeks ago, as I mentioned a few posts back, Brian and I were lucky enough to be invited to one such friend’s house upstate for a weekend of precious sun and delicious eating, thanks to the trifecta of amazing chefs in her inner-circle. On our last day there, as we savored every sunbeam that we could before heading back to monsoon city, and her brother prepared a simple, crisp slaw made from fresh snap peas, with a spicy-sweet dressing. I went back for seconds and thirds.

I spent a lot of time that weekend asking , “oh my god, what’s in this?”, to the point that I was annoying everyone, but somehow I never asked for this recipe. Then I started craving it with the appearance of snap peas at the green market, and was left to my own devices to cook it from memory. I know that I’m missing something in the chili department, my impulse was to use the less homogenous, sweet Thai chili sauce, but I was out and compensated with Sriracha instead. The results were delicious, a little sweet, a little acidic, quite spicy, and big on crunch.

Spicy Snap Pea Slaw

1 lb. fresh snap peas, washed, with the stems snapped off

3 green onions

1/4 cup rice vinegar

4 tablespoons grapeseed oil, or another light oil

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Sriracha, to taste

sea salt, to taste

Chop the snap peas lengthwise into thin strips, at a slight angle. Chop the green onions into thin rounds, and mix with the snap peas in a large bowl. 

In a separate bowl, combine the rice vinegar, oil, lime juice and brown sugar. Whisk with a fork until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sriracha, a little at a time, until you reach desired level of taste and heat (I used three tablespoons and it was quite spicy). Toss the dressing with the veggies. Add salt to taste and serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, they were still tasty the next day.

I can stop my whining about the lackluster fare at the markets – spring has finally arrived, and at long last, the farmers are toting something fresh and new in the backs of those huge trucks. There’s lettuce and baby greens, ramps, asparagus, the first teeny-tiny strawberries, and so much more! And the best part: once the floodgates open, the produce just keeps getting better and better each week as the balmy weeks of summer unfold.

After all of the excitement of our extended weekend, Brian and I took it easy on Sunday and enjoyed a stroll in one of the smaller markets in the East Village. I have tons of love for the chaotic Union Square market, but with the construction on the park going on, it’s been a bit claustrophobic for me. Luckily, there are markets all over, happening at different times of the week, you need only chose the closest to your home or office, using this amazing map.

We ended up checking out the market at the Stuyvesant Town oval, since it’s really close to the apartment, and never seems to be crowded. I was psyched to discover that there were gorgeous bulbs of spring garlic (aka, green garlic) and even some tomatoes (hydro grown, so not the real deal, but an improvement over supermarkets).

And just like that, our dinner was born.

My favorite thing about the markets of June – November, other than the quality of the produce, is that they provide us with the opportunity to eat a menu dictated largely by nature. During these times, it becomes so freaking simple to pick up a ton of whatever is in season and work backwards from there, dreaming up (or researching) the best ways to use each week’s haul.

Sometimes, we have a lot of fun finding elaborate ways to use the fruits and vegetables, other times, a simple brush with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper is all we need to create a satisfying meal.

This bruschetta recipe falls sort of in-between. It’s very simple, and the mild, juicy spring garlic gives the prefect garlic flavor, without overwhelming you with bite. We grilled our bread, but you needn’t be as fancy, toasting under the broiler or even in the toaster oven will do. Be sure to only add salt right before you are ready to eat to avoid drawing the liquid out of the tomatoes. It’s the perfect accompaniment to other grilled veggies, or a crowd-pleasing starter at any BBQ.

Spring Garlic and Tomato Bruschetta Recipe

Serves 3-4 people

4-5 tomatoes on the vine

1 bulb spring garlic, chopped finely

1 large handful of fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

sea salt or kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 loaf baguette, cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds

Combine chopped tomatoes, spring garlic, and fresh basil in a bowl, gently mix, and refrigerate for at least two hours (no more than to allow the flavors to meld.

When you are ready to serve, remove tomatoes from the fridge and pour off some of the excess liquid, so the mixture is not too soupy but also not bone dry. Prepare your grill or turn on the broiler of your oven. If grilling, place the bread rounds on the grill and toast them on both sides, being careful not to burn them. If using the oven do the same, with the bread up close to the top of the broiler.

Arrange bread rounds on a plate. top each one with a few tablespoons of the tomato mixture, and allow a little of the juices to seep into the toasted bread. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.

Summertime cooking can be so beautifully simple.

How perfect that the seasons that beckon us to stay outside and play until after dark are the same ones that give us my favorite fruits and veggies, that require almost no preparation time or effort, allowing us to run that extra mile, extend happy hour, or take the long way home.

Artichokes are my favorite of all the warm weather foods that fall in this category.

Last night I picked up these globe artichokes, and it was just a matter of trimming them and steaming in a bath of water and a little dry white wine (optional)…

…before we were face first and elbow deep in the business of pure, unadulterated artichoke enjoyment.

I personally like to scrape the tender parts loose from the underside of each leaf using my teeth, saving the meaty hearts for last. There are few other foods that you can devour with such gusto, within the bounds of decorum. 

How to Cook Artichokes
The way my Mom taught me long ago 

1. Trim the stem and top each approximately 1 inch.

2. Steam the artichokes in a pot, with the flowers facing down and the stems facing up on high heat with about 2 inches of liquid (water, water and wine solution, or broth all work) for about 30 minutes, until the stems are tender and easily pierced with a fork.

3. Eat, one petal at a time (squeezes of lemon or a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar are optional), by pulling the petal through slightly clenched teeth to scrape off the tender “meat”. When you get to the heart, scoop out the fuzz with a spoon and cut off and leftover stem and enjoy!

In New York, you’re hard-pressed to meet a person who is completely indifferent to the food that they eat, which is why it’s near the top of my standard list of acceptable questions for getting to know a complete stranger (if you live in the city anyway): “What do you do?” “Where do you live?” … leading to the inevitable… ”Oh yeah? What do you pay per month in that neighborhood?” And soon, I’m out of the boring stuff and jump to, “What are your favorite places to eat?” As this is one of my favorite topics, it basically steers the conversation in a million different directions.

For example, if they say that they never miss weekend dim sum, take long subway rides to the outer boroughs in search of the most authentic representations of world cuisine, and are planning a trip to Thailand to do nothing but eat food from street vendors and be fit for custom-sewn business suits, then we’d start swapping stories and I’d pull out my phone and make little notes, like, “secret underground Chinese food court, Flushing”. 

And even if people are not so hard core, they at least have some important connections with food – how their mother made the best empanadas, or how they are addicted to the Turkish place on their block where they get free dessert when they smile at the cashier, how they met their husband at a hot dog cart, or how a bowl of kasha or meatballs, or sashimi, (or…, or…, or…, or…) and a glass of wine is all they need to forgive and forget a very cruel day. 

And everyone has their places. Their favorite sushi. Their favorite steakhouse. Their favorite tapas. If you disagree, they will passionately try to convince you to change teams with great gusto.

the jackpot for food conversation is, of course, when the person loves to cook him or herself, which prompts the conversation to run until the last bottle has been upended, then leave the party and continue in the Irish bar around the corner, until it reaches its conclusion when the lights come up and we’re booted into the snow at 5AM. That’s how I met Brian.

Why am I telling you this story? Because it was a better way to start the post than a rant about the gospel according to Rachel Ray with her cheerleading for home cooks for feeding their families meals prepared with lots of processed ingredients (and Dunkin Donuts). The point of this post was to talk about how it’s not hard to make meals in 30 minutes at home (completely healthy, non-processed) that are delicious and a bit different, and made from from 100% real food. Take this cauliflower that I cooked up using a few basic Indian spices, olive oil, and whole vegetables. It was delicious, and it only cost me about 4 bucks. There’s no better way to get personally involved with the food you eat than making it for yourself. Now you try! And then we’ll talk about it, endlessly.

By the way – for all you “tweeters” out there, click here to follow East Village Kitchen on Twitter. I’ll be updating with new posts, plus throwing in some random observations from my phone when the mood strikes. All the kids are doing it!

Cauliflower Curry
Inspired by the recipes of Six Spices: A Simple Concept of Indian Cooking by Netta Saluja 

1 cauliflower of average size

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 teaspoon red chili powder (or more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 big pinch salt

1 ripe tomato, chopped

handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Wash and cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the cumin seeds, ginger, chili powder, and turmeric powder. Cook the spices in the oil, stirring, then reduce the heat to medium-low.

Add the cauliflower and stir in the salt. Stir the cauliflower florets well, so each piece is coated with the oil and spice mixture. Cover the pan and cook on medium heat, stirring occationally until the cauliflower looks translucent at the edges and the stems become flexible.

Add the tomatoes and cook for an additional two minutes. If there is liquid left in the pan, raise the heat and cook it off, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot.

How appropo, a green hummus posted, today of all days. And while I had not planned on posting something so strikingly green for St. Patty’s Day, the act of posting something green was calculated and completely deliberate. After madeleines and cake, let’s pause to cleanse our paletes, shall we?

 I first tried edamame hummus at Rice, my favorite lunch spot in Dumbo. Their version is less homogenous, with visible chunks of edamame and little pools of creamy tahini, and I think that their version might also have chickpeas in it. They serve it in tiny dishes with delightful puffed rice crackers.

My version is creamy, with less tahini and a more intense lemon flavor. By the way, this is probably obvious to everyone but me, but head to the peanut butter isle when you are looking for tahini. The Union Square Whole Foods had about 8 varieties, but I’ve always been happy with Joyva brand, which has a nice, toasted flavor and a thicker consistency.

One of the lemons I used was a Meyer lemon, which was accidental but turned out to be a good choice, providing lemony flavor without making the hummus overly tart. 

I’d be remiss if I did not mention that I prepared this as an appetizer for a small dinner party I threw last Saturday, for people who are some of EastVillageKitchen.com’s biggest fans. We had a lot of fun, but that’s all I’m going to say for now, because the party produced fodder for several posts and would it be any fun if I discussed it in detail all in this first one?

Edamame Hummus

1 bag frozen, shelled edamame (approximately 3 cups)

3 tablespoons tahini

1 Meyer lemon 

1 lemon (or 2 if mayer lemons are not in season)

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more more for boiling

1/2 cup water (or more, at your discretion)

1/4 cup olive oil

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large, covered pot. Add frozen edamame and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes.

Place edamame, tahini, water, and olive oil in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Quarter the lemons and squeeze them through a strainer into the food processor. Blend the ingredients in the food processor for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides, and check consistency. If you prefer a thinner hummus, add additional water and add salt to taste. Blend for another 2 minutes until hummus is very smooth and you are not able to see any chunks.

Serve immediately or refrigerate in a covered container for up to two days before serving.

For a quick, nutritious, low-fat, yet filling and satisfying meal for two (with plenty of leftovers for bringing to work) look no further.

I’ve been getting into the Gourmet Everyday Quick Kitchen recipes in a big way during these hectic months of belt-tightening. This recipe, from the March 2009 edition, is absolutely stellar.  I only got my magazine a few weeks go, and already I’ve made it twice. 

The secret is in the spices, which are basic and when combined, give this dish a delicious kick that’s not too overpowering or spicy. I’ve been grinding many of my own (in this case, the dried chilies and the coriander) spices lately in my coffee grinder. This time I threw in the already ground spices as well to create a custom blend.

I’m a huge sucker for tomatoey recipes, and love that Gourmet is embracing one of my favorite adjectives. This recipe works great year-round, just try to use the highest quality tomatoes you can get.

I keep expounding upon the virtues of soaking dried chickpeas (so good, so cheap, etc.), but I’ve been terrible at actually planning ahead. I could do so much better!

The first time I made this I skipped the mint and the parsley and used some basil I had leftover, which worked great.  This time I got the proper ingredients and they made the dish so much more amazing, especially the next day, and especially the mint. If you can, go for it! I also added some rice vinegar for a little tang.

A nice dollop of yoghurt makes this dish super-special. The tangy yoghurt compliments the spices so well, it’s as good as any chickpea curry I’ve had at my favorite Indian places.  The best thing about this recipe: It’s ready in under half an hour and can feed (and satisfy!) you for days.

Tomatoey Spiced Chickpeas
Adapted from Gourmet, March 2009

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Rounded 1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes

1 (1 1/2-inch) piece cinnamon stick

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice

1/4 cup rice vinegar (balsamic would also work)

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then cook cumin, coriander, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and cinnamon stick, stirring constantly, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes with juices, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon, then add chickpeas and vinegar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick.

Stir in parsley and mint. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I was sitting at my desk one evening last week, pondering what quick meal I might be able to throw together from simple ingredients from the bodega that I could grab on my way to the subway,  when I suddenly became nostalgic for black bean veggie burgers. Which *spoiler alert* is not what this post is about.

For me, black bean veggie burgers are sort of an old friend. They were there for me during my first years in New York City. They waited patiently in the freezer for me to come home after long days at work, and even longer evenings at grad school. They were never fussy and were impossible to mess up. They didn’t judge me for eating every single meal standing at the kitchen counter because I lacked both the necessary table and requisite chair in my tiny Upper West Side apartment.

I decided that I could probably wing it making my own fresh version of black bean burgers, dressed up with some Tex-Mex flair. I grabbed the ingredients that I thought would work (including some organic hamburger buns that were made without corn syrup – score!) in ten minutes flat and hurried home to get started on this incredibly easy dinner.

I began by chopping up veggies for pico de gallo. I paused to call Brian and ask him to pick up tortilla chips (because I had forgotten them, natch). I went to the closet to get the can of black beans to combine with some lovely cilantro that I had just chopped, and that’s when I discovered…

I had bought the wrong beans!

Being my distracted self, I hadn’t looked carefully enough at what I had grabbed off the store shelf. Kidney beans. Big, red, and yummy, but just not right for this recipe – too much mush and not enough bean.

I had missed the window of opportunity to call for a second emergency pickup. And then I noticed the chickpeas sitting there, and I thought “Falafel? Tex-Mex burger? Sure, why not!

The combination of chopped cilantro, cayenne pepper, cumin and chickpeas was exactly that – a kicked up falafel patty. There was only one problem – I forgot a very important step in the falafel-making process when I neglected to add something dry (I usually use matzos meal) to hold the darned things together. They were easy to mold for cooking in the pan, but I had to keep shaping them with the spatula.

When I dressed them with the toppings and a generous glug of hot sauce, they looked pristine. But as soon we took the first bite, that aesthetic unraveled. I would have taken a picture to show you, but my hands were full just trying to hold it together as it slid away. We ate half of it by mushing the bun together at the top and cupping the bottom with our hands, and then we scooped the other half off the plate with chips like a dip. It was a delicious mess that I will definitely make again. 

Tex-Mex Falafel Sloppy Joes

14 oz cooked chickpeas, drained

a couple handfuls chopped cilantro

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon jalapeño, minced

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon cumin

salt and fresh ground pepper

4 split hamburger rolls, toasted

olive oil

optional:

sour cream

avacado slices

hot sauce

Step 1: Make pico de gallo by chopping tomatoes, onions and one handful of cilantro. Combine these ingredients in a bowl with the rice wine vinegar and jalapeño. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 2: Place chickpeas, cayenne, cumin, and the remaining handful of cilantro in a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds, until the chickpeas are all smashed but not uniform and cilantro and spices are fully integrated. Remove the mixture from the food processor and form into tight patties.

Step 3: Set a non-stick pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is hot (a drop of water sizzles when dropped in the pan) gently place the patties into the pan, and mold them back into shape with the spatula. After about 3 minutes, GENTLY turn the patties, which will have started to brown. Do any necessary reshaping with the spatula and allow them to cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and gently place the patties on top of the bottom half of the rolls.

Step 4: Top with pico de gallo and any additional toppings and then cover with the other half of the roll. Serve immediately with tortilla chips, for scooping the parts that fall onto the plate.

My mom (i.e. the biggest fan of the blog that only a mother could love) feels that people would be more interested in reading my drivel if I discuss recipes that can help them save money in these lean economic times. And while I am not ready to go about re-positioning my blog, there are many times that my recipes just happen to save me money. Here’s a good example, in word problem form:

Lauren has a bad habit of walking into cheese or specialty food stores primed to entertain, and spending an embarrassing sum on artisanal cheeses, crackers, and other snotty delights. One of her favorite boutique-y brands is Wisecrackers, whose rosemary herb crackers are a NYC steal at $5.29 a box. If Lauren comes to her senses and reminds herself that she is a little bit handy in the kitchen, she would then realize that with $.25 worth of flour and salt, $.25 worth of olive oil and approximately $.50 worth of fresh rosemary, she can make fresh-from-the oven crackers in about 20 minutes. How much money will Lauren save by making her crackers at home?

Now I’ve never been accused of being a math genius or anything, but that leaves just about enough to splurge on a delicious latte on the way home from the store.

There is simply no excuse not to make crackers at home.

Because these crackers are as delicious as my beloved Wisecrackers.

They are also a lot more pretty. And crispy. And fragrant.

They were an absolutely perfect accompaniment to the Butternut Squash Soup.

Also, they look really cool on your cheese table at parties. Your guests will think you are a totally badass baker making your own crackers, when in fact you are just trying to save a buck and barely had to do any work at all.

Crisp Rosemary Flatbreads
Perfect as is from Gourmet, October 2008

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing

Flaky sea salt such as Maldon

Preheat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle.

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin).

Lightly brush top with additional oil and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide round (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flatbread (discard parchment) to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds (1 at a time) on fresh parchment (do not oil or salt until just before baking). Break into pieces.