Hot Takes: Justine Doiron
"The exciting part about learning to cook is witnessing what can happen in a pan over medium heat with a bit of patience."
Hello nearest and dearest of the internet, and welcome back to Hot Takes, Hot Tip’s expert interview series. Given the existential dumpster fire in which we find ourselves right now, I’m particularly excited to bring you something that is purely joyful and fun from Hot Tip pal Justine Doiron. I’ve been watching her meditative, colorful, veggie-centric recipe videos on Instagram for years, and this week, she told me about her end-all-be-all herb, the beachside restaurant in Italy still on her mind, the best tuna sandwich in Brooklyn, and what comfort food means to her.
Justine Doiron is a recipe developer, New York Times bestselling cookbook author, and the woman behind Justine Snacks on Instagram and TikTok, where her plant-forward, innovative, and approachable recipes have amassed her more than three million followers. And if all that wasn’t enough, she’s currently producing a YouTube show, writing her Substack , and, somehow, also making her own wedding cakes. Time traveler? Maybe. Beanfluencer? Definitely.
Food can be such a comfort during tough times, and we’ve certainly been going through it this last, I don’t know, decade? How much does the idea of comfort factor into your recipe development?
Oh god, great question, especially since comfort can be defined in so many different ways. I think about comfort both in the process of cooking, as well as the result. I want to provide people with a healthy habit (that might be a distraction, we need it!!) and a nearly meditative process. I want my recipes to be easy so you feel like you’re accomplishing something while also nourishing yourself. That’s the process of comfort. The end result is always more obvious—food is a natural comfort. There’s something deeply comforting about providing and being provided for.
What’s your go-to rainy day comfort meal?
If it’s full couch-mode, no effort day, it will always be the brown butter tahini noodles from my book. They are so rich it’s nearly appalling, but so insanely good.
In your (NYT bestselling!) book Justine Cooks, you called yourself a “breakfast romantic” – which, same, and thank you for providing me a much lovelier way to describe myself than “breakfast burrito inhaler.” What does your morning generally look like? How early are you getting up, how do you take your coffee, and of course, what are you making for brekky?
You either die a hero or you live long enough to pick up the same morning habits as your mother. I have reached that time. I have accepted it and I am proud.
I’m an early riser, which means I have water and coffee first thing, and it’s my tiny little morning meditation with myself. My coffee used to be black, but I now put 2 tablespoons of creamer per cup (Chobani sweet cream, no other flavor is good.) Then I keep the spoon on a spoon rest because I know I’m going to have one more round—which is exactly what my mother did when I was younger. So. I am her. It all happens so fast.
My breakfast typically happens in that lull time between coming home from the gym and my hair finally drying from the shower. It’s usually either oatmeal or avocado toast. I like breakfast to be mild since my palate can get overwhelmed with testing throughout the day.
How does cooking translate to creativity in other parts of your life?
One of my favorite quotes is: “What you do in here is what you do out there.” I heard it in a spin class—LOL—but I think it applies to my cooking and work so well. If I’m focused, intentional and creative with the recipes I’m putting out, then it feels like my brain is at a rolling boil, and that creativity drips into other parts of my life. Our brains are incredibly plastic so I like to stay in that rolling boil state, it keeps me energized.
Tell me about a restaurant you deeply connected to while traveling – the food, the ambience, the location, the people-watching. What made it so special?
These are always so hard!! I feel like food memories can be poignant for many reasons. The most recent that I rave about is La Tonnarella, a small fish restaurant located off the side of a rock beach near Praiano, Italy. Fish are hanging off the walls, the beach is nearly deserted, and the people watching? Phenomenal. Nothing like waiters delivering boxes of pasta to older Italian men on the beach. It was the perfect combination of feeling truly not a part of a place but also feeling welcome — a rare travel combination. Oh and the red squid pasta is excellent.
Forgive me for this one. You can only cook with one herb for a year; which one are you picking?
My first thought was rosemary but then I realized…I can make basil into anything delicious. So basil. Hate you for this, though.
In the most recent season of The White Lotus, Leslie Bibb’s character says she ‘tricked herself’ into liking beans. As someone who uses a lot of beans in her recipes, were they always a great love? Or did you trick yourself?
I was a baked bean fiend as a kid. I think it was my sweet tooth subconsciously realizing that sweet, salty and smoky could coexist, and I could call it dinner. Beans were such an easy meal staple when I became pescatarian, and I love cooking with them because people don’t balk at them the same way they do tofu. It’s very easy for me to pitch a bean, which is why you see many, many beans in my work.
Which Nancy Meyers kitchen—or any movie kitchen, really—would you like to claim as your own?
I’m so glad you said Nancy Meyers because the kitchen in It’s Complicated??? Are you kidding me!??? I dream of it.
You’ve got friends visiting you in Brooklyn for the weekend. What are the stops on the tour – food and otherwise – you wouldn’t dare miss?
I would not have said this a few weeks ago, but the Radio Bakery that just opened on Underhill is well worth its roses. We’re going there first. Then Agi’s Counter for lunch. Their tuna sandwich calls me on a deep and spiritual level. Sofreh for dinner so I can have a million cucumber margaritas and more saffron rice than I can handle. Or Hart’s for a clam toast and white negroni. Late night will be Sharlene’s while we keep our fingers crossed for a Greta Gerwig sighting (she went there once and I’ll never forget it.) But let’s say Greta is on location somewhere, then I’ll scoop my friend over to Frog in Bed Stuy. It’s near our new home and a new favorite of ours. This is a very abbreviated list. I need at least four days to fill out all my Brooklyn spots.
Any advice for people who want to cook more, but feel intimidated by the prospect? Is there a recipe of yours they should start with?
I’d say start with the gochujang beans in my cookbook. The exciting part about learning to cook is witnessing what can happen in a pan over medium heat with a bit of patience. How fat manipulates a vegetable, how everything sizzles and wears down before caramelizing. The best advice I can give is that this is something you learn from experience. You can’t research your way through it, you just have to start.
On the flip side, what are your favorite slightly more elevated ingredients for someone who is already a decent cook and looking to up their game?
Okay let’s get weird. Black garlic, dried lime, yuzu hot sauce. I wouldn’t call these elevated, just uncommon. But if you are a comfortable cook, you’ll know exactly how to mix these into sauces, dressing, and marinades. Truly delicious stuff.
There is more from Justine’s interview in the upcoming Hot Tip April Mag, which will go to all paid subscribers next week! Click below to get 50% off.
Previously on Hot Tip:
Proud member of the Breakfast Romantics club...loved this, and can't wait to try Agi's too...I never get out!!
Agree about Agi's Counter tuna sandwich. God, it's so good. And their Caesar salad, too.