New York Food Writer Alison Roman Makes a Comeback — and Brisket for Pesach

April 5, 2023 JTA

Alison Roman: "Part of why I like Passover is because much like Thanksgiving, it’s a time of year when you know what you’re supposed to eat. You don’t have to give it a ton of thought." (Photo via Alison Roman on Facebook)

By Rachel Ringler

What first caught my eye about Brooklyn, New York-based Alison Roman was not any single recipe. It was a photo of her in the New York Times in 2019: Roman was in her tiny kitchen, kneeling in front of her overstuffed and undersized refrigerator. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, her feet were bare and dirty.

I simply loved the messiness, joy and imperfection of it all.

The image accompanied a selection of Thanksgiving recipes written by the young and rising star, first introduced to the Times’ readership just over a year prior as an heir to the late French chef Pierre Franey and his quick-to-prepare foods. Roman’s Thanksgiving menu included a dry-brined turkey, hand-torn sourdough bread stuffing with celery and leeks, leafy herb salad spiked with lemon zest, lemon juice and flaky sea salt.

The recipes were a reflection of the author: approachable and decidedly not fussy.

That anti-perfectionist attitude is a hallmark of Roman’s style, and it’s certainly a theme of her latest cookbook, “Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter). It is her third book (“Dining In” and “Nothing Fancy” preceded “Sweet Enough”) and, according to Variety, pre-publication it has already “shot to the top of bestseller lists.”

This new cookbook is devoted to desserts, although there are a handful of savory recipes, too. Many of the recipes — like her Summer Pudding with Summer Fruit, her bowl of Salted Chocolate Pudding, and her raspberries and sour cream — do not have to be baked nor do they require fancy know-how or special equipment. She even encourages readers to eat these treats straight from the bowl or the pot in which they were cooked.

Roman became an important part of the food conversation in this country in an impressively short amount of time. By the time she was hired full-time at the Times, at age 32, she had enjoyed a meteoric rise at Bon Appetit magazine, where she moved from freelance recipe tester to senior food editor in four years. By then, she had already published her first cookbook and had a cookie recipe that went viral on Instagram.

Her fall from grace in May of 2020 was even faster. In an interview for the online publication The New Consumer, she criticized two prominent women of color, Japanese organizing guru Marie Kondo and Asian-American model, cookbook author and prominent Twitter user Chrissy Teigen, for licensing their names and essentially “selling out.”

In the ensuing weeks, the backlash online was swift and fierce, accusing Roman of everything from inappropriateness to racism. Amid the moment’s perfect storm — the pandemic and the rapid rise of the Black Lives Matter movement — her column at the Times was suspended.

Six weeks later, Roman founded a Substack newsletter, simply titled, “A Newsletter.” She now cranks that out weekly to 229,000 subscribers, and her YouTube channel “Home Videos” has some 213,000 subscribers.

Looking back, Roman describes that post-interview time period as “challenging” but as she told the New York Jewish Week, “it led me to writing more and writing more for myself. And I think that’s a good thing.”

These days, the Los Angeles-born Roman, 37, who describes herself as “half-Jewish,” is about to embark on a book tour. Ahead of the release of “Sweet Enough,” she spoke about her favorite Jewish dishes, food philosophy and what she loves about Passover, which begins this year at sundown on Wednesday, Apr. 5.

How did this book come about?

Roman: I felt there was a need for a dessert book from the perspective of someone who was not a diehard lover of baked goods or dessert — somewhere between indifferent and enthusiastic. I felt like there were probably others like me.

I embrace the fact that the desserts were not designed to be perfect, and they don’t have to be. People accept the flaws of, say, a roast chicken, but if their cake is crooked it ruins their day. I’m trying to normalize the fact that not everything will be perfect, and it’s OK.

You’re originally from California. How has living in New York changed the way you cook?

Living in New York, I have an emphasis on accessibility. I don’t always have access to the best produce; when things are out of season, it becomes more difficult. It makes my work stronger because you have to be resourceful. And since we don’t necessarily have cars in New York, I have to consider, ‘How far do I have to schlep the groceries? Can I do this [dish] with fewer items?’

Are you leaning more into Jewish recipes or foods since coming to New York?

Not necessarily. I just did a new Passover menu, which will come out on Mar. 30 in ‘Passover Home Movies’ and in an accompanying newsletter. I think that the older I get, the more I lean into hosting and doing Shabbat because it feels important to me.

Any Jewish foods that are your favorites?

Matzah ball soup is my favorite food of all time. Otherwise, most popular Jewish deli foods are something I gravitate toward, even before I realized they were ‘Jewish.”’ Latkes, and things like that. I like Jewish deli culture. And I liked that these foods, that my father and I love and enjoy, are connected to my father’s heritage, which is my heritage. It made me feel closer to it.

What’s your favorite Passover dish?

I love my brisket. I don’t love brisket always but I think the one I make is fantastic. I like a really simple Passover menu. Braised meat. Crispy salad with lots of herbs and apples. Crispy potato — this year I made cheese-less gratin with olive oil, potatoes, salt and pepper. You are not grating potatoes or frying anything. It is not eggy like a kugel.

Part of why I like Passover is because much like Thanksgiving, it’s a time of year when you know what you’re supposed to eat. You don’t have to give it a ton of thought.

Have the past three years, following your comments about Marie Kondo and Chrissy Teigen, changed you as a writer and a foodie?

Yes and no. We are all different than we were three years ago. Whether it was time passing or the pandemic or whatever, I think everyone is a bit different. That time was challenging, but it led me to writing more and writing more for myself. And I think that’s a good thing.

How would you characterize your food philosophy?

Unfussy pretty much sums it up. I don’t believe in overthinking too much. The way I cook is very instinctual and very natural. I don’t try to manipulate anything into something it is not. I feel very intuitive. It feels not performative. It feels very genuine to me.

Where did your aesthetic for rustic, carefree, approachable food come from?

I consider myself independent, and most things I do are born from myself and my own intuition. I think like any person, you will be impacted and influenced by the world around you, but ultimately you need to be authentically yourself.

Alison Roman’s website is alisoneroman.com.

This article, Food writer Alison Roman makes a comeback — and a brisket for Passover, originally appeared on the New York Jewish Week. Sign up here to get Jewish news and culture from New York in your inbox.