Omid Roustaei, The Caspian Chef

Registration link is on my blog:
https://thecaspianchef.com/cooking-classes/

As autumn settled in, I drifted toward a quieter rhythm and found myself spending more time in the kitchen. With my scale, measuring tools, a notepad and pen, and plenty of imagination, I began cooking. Shorter days in Seattle meant limited daylight for photography, but I still managed to capture a handful of dishes on my back porch.

Every recipe is plant based. Many are brand new, some draw inspiration from dishes around the world, and a few are classic Persian favorites that I reworked into plant based versions.

Here are some of the dishes I made:

Chickpea stew with cornmeal dumplings
Roasted vegetables in homemade green curry
Roasted squash and radicchio salad
Kuku Sabzi burger
Tortilla de patatas with sweet potatoes
Creamy tangy potato curry with tadka
Butternut squash and red lentil soup
Quince and mushroom pie
Creamy cauliflower soup with za'atar chickpeas
Fennel, mushroom and orange salad
Meatballs
Persimmon and squash salad
Persian abgusht
Roasted cauliflower and potatoes with herby tahini yogurt sauce
Persian barley, cannellini and carrot stew
Meatballs with homemade vegetable curry sauce
Roasted veggies and chickpeas with tangy green yogurt sauce

For me there’s something special about the arrival of fall and the gentle shift of the seasons. This year, autumn has brought a new rhythm with it, a slower and more peaceful flow after what has been a busy and exciting year filled with wonderful adventures following the publication of my first cookbook.

Through it all, I’ve also had the gift of grounding myself in my garden, tending to the vegetables I’ve grown.

These are the last of this year’s tomatoes, harvested earlier this month as the weather cooled and fall settled in. Most of the tomatoes were enjoyed fresh off the vine, while others were pickled to savor in the weeks ahead.

This final batch was brought in green and tucked into a paper bag with bananas and apples to ripen indoors.

Today, their journey is complete. They’re now beautifully ripe and ready to be transformed, some into a rich sauce and others to be gently dehydrated, much like they would have been under the warm sun, soaking in its vibrant energy and deepening in flavor.

Saved the best for last, as they say. This past September, I had the incredible privilege of teaching a class at Milk Street in Boston and filming two cooking shows with the wonderful team at Lex Media.

What made these experiences especially memorable was the chance to work closely with the renowned Iranian author Marjan Kamali. Together, we shared stories of our upbringing and heritage, giving attendees a glimpse into what it’s like to live on the hyphen as Iranian-Americans.

I couldn’t have asked for a better way to wrap up my Bitter & Sweet book tour, which spanned 40 events over seven months. From teaching Persian cooking classes to joining bookstores for author events and collaborating with restaurants to serve recipes from my book, it was an unforgettable journey celebrating Persian cuisine and culture

At last...✨

I have saved the best for last with just three more events left in promoting Bitter & Sweet 📚

It has been nothing but sweet traveling across the country, with 40 events over the past seven months at bookstores, festivals, cooking schools, restaurants, and TV appearances.

Each stop has been a chance to share this beautiful cuisine and culture, while also telling my immigrant story.

Along the way, I’ve been touched by so many connections, shared laughter, tears and the simple joy of bringing people together through food and stories.

A heartfelt gratitude to my publicist for supporting me in this journey! 🤍

24 hours in LA, and it was all for 4 and a half minutes on KTLA’s Taste This! I brought plates, bowls, props, and a few of my favorite ingredients, then cooked up five dishes late into the night at a friend’s place. First thing in the morning, everything was styled, plated, and ready for the cameras. Such a joy to showcase recipes from Bitter & Sweet and share a little taste of my kitchen on live TV. After the segment? Straight to the airport and back home!

Here's the link:
https://ktla.com/video/taste-this-persian-flavors-with-omid-roustaei/11003592/