Anna Olson Interview: Savoury Recipes & Cooking Tips

“I don’t cook the way I bake.” Those are the first words readers will encounter in Anna Olson’s new cookbook, Anna Cooks. That may come as a surprise to those who primarily know the Canadian culinary darling for her baked goods (though she also trained as a chef) through her numerous award-winning cookbooks and feel-good TV shows, but it’s true.

“My baking brain is a straight line – it’s very linear and methodical. Measurements are key and respecting technique is key,” she says from her home in Welland, Ont., coming across every bit as warm and kind as she does when sharing her recipes onscreen. “The way I cook is more of a wavy line. Some people, when they put olive oil in a pan to start cooking something, will put a big glug. Some will put the tiniest drizzle. I want you to just do whatever works for you, and that’s not going to compromise [these new] recipes.”

That delineation between Baking Anna and Cooking Anna comes across clearly in Anna Cooks, which emphasizes Olson’s savoury side. The pro designed the book as a full menu, curating an inviting collection of 125-plus recipes that cover every meal of the day, from breakfast and lunch-ready soups and salads (like the comforting Slovak Chicken Noodle Soup, inspired by her great-aunt) to simple (often single-pan) dinners and, of course, sweet treats (think Lemon Meringue S’mores Pie). Some recipes are household favourites, and others are inspired by her travels, but they all reflect how Olson cooks and eats at home when it’s just her and her husband, chef and culinary educator Michael Olson.

“Sometimes I cook for weekend dinner parties, but, you know, I also eat dinner on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” she says. “It’s not always fancy, but I do want it to be nutritious and delicious because, as we know, I also tend to have a lot of desserts in the fridge at the same time.”

Q. Why did now feel like the right time to share more savoury recipes in a book?

“My last book, Baking Wisdom, was such a deep dive into the technical world of baking, so I wanted to lighten things up and clear out the cobwebs in my mind by sharing the way I cook at home. That was the motivation as well as [sharing] the key influences of the way I cook at home: seasonally and, as I live in a smaller town, [according to] access to ingredients. I don’t have fancy butcher shops or gourmet stores to go to, so I wanted to share with people that you can do a lot with everyday ingredients.”

Q. In the introduction of Anna Cooks, you write about how you want people to make these dishes their own. What advice would you give to encourage them to be a bit loose when approaching the recipes?

“A key part of every recipe is this acronym at the bottom: DLTSY, which stands for ‘Don’t let that stop you.’ As the cook, you might look at the recipe and think, ‘Oh, I don’t have this ingredient’ or ‘I don’t feel like making it this way.’ So with DLTSY, I’m trying to read your mind. For example, I have a recipe for a savoury steel-cut oatmeal with homemade pesto and Parmesan, but are you going to make pesto from scratch at 8 o’clock in the morning? Maybe not. So I am totally going to give you permission to use a store-bought ingredient or make substitutions.”

Q. What do you think the book is actually saying about the way you cook at home?

“I’ve realized that I don’t like leftovers – well, I don’t mind them, but I don’t like them to look like what they were the first time around. I also watch my portions; my recipe tester has three well-grown boys, so we go back and forth over what a portion size is. But I like to keep it reasonably modest, and that’s because dessert is part of my life and balance is important. I’ve learned that I love snacks and nibbles. This book didn’t start out with a whole chapter devoted to them, and now it’s one of my favourite chapters in the book because I like having a really good recipe for buttery, hot and spicy cashews or for a couple of really good dips that aren’t like anything you can find in the grocery store. And I’m a salty-crunch person by nature, so I wanted those crunchy nibbles. I’m a big fan of a ‘girl dinner’; just give me an assortment of things on a plate and I’m happy.”

Q. What is Anna Olson’s girl dinner?

“Cheese is always involved. I do like a good dip; the vegetables become your vehicle for the dip, and then you get your vegetables in. And I don’t just go with regular carrots or celery sticks. I love radishes—I have a recipe for radishes with sumac butter, which is based on the French tradition of just putting out good French butter. It’s simple things that deliver on crunch, saltiness or creaminess that, to me, make a fulfilling girl dinner.”