The Power of a Recipe Name: Does It Really Matter?

Tingling Gnocchi with Browned Butter Miso Cabbage

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Hello Friends,

This week’s recipe was challenging to name. Of all the things I do as a recipe developer, naming a recipe can be one of the toughest ones. A recipe’s name needs to do a lot of work. It needs to be short, catch attention quickly, and convey enough information to give you a sense of what to expect. In the digital age, this is compounded by SEO and algorithm gods, and I pray and hope my recipe naming strategy works well so people can learn about it.

As you can imagine, it’s easier when cooking and writing about more classic recipes. Dishes like matar paneer or Minnesota hot dish are well-known and don’t require much information in the recipe name unless something has been changed, say if I swapped out tofu for paneer, sweet potato tots instead of potatoes, or if I altered the flavors drastically. Then there are recipes (and I know a lot of mine fall into this group) that are an amalgam of many unexpected ingredients that might not otherwise be used together. Naming these recipes is trickier because I want to try to hit every point I mentioned earlier, but I also want the name to be mature enough to withstand the test of time. If someone came to this recipe 50 years from now, it would make sense to them immediately.

This week’s recipe involves gnocchi with finely shredded cabbage tossed in browned butter and olive oil. I added miso to heighten the savoriness, so every bite is umami-loaded when the parmesan and walnuts are added. And the tingly and numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns. Naming it wasn’t easy.

I started with the following;

• sizzling gnocchi and cabbage

• tingly gnocchi and cabbage

I felt these didn’t convey enough information and were a little mysterious. What if we added “caramelized cabbage”? Maybe “browned butter” and “miso” must be in there, too? Maybe “sizzling” should be “numbing”? But numbing didn’t sound appetizing (to me). I went back and forth. The safest route would be to pick a few key ingredients and write them out as the name;

Gnocchi with Browned Butter Miso Caramelized Cabbage and Sichuan Peppercorns

This might convey all the information, but let’s be honest: It’s maddeningly long and, to a recipe writer/editor, an essay. My cookbook editor, Sarah, at Chronicle Books, would probably return and say, “Nik, make this shorter.” So here’s what I did. I gave each word imaginary scores based on how I thought they would rank based on the criteria that recipe developers consider with recipe naming. The words with the lowest score got kicked out, and this is what I came up with.

Tingling Gnocchi with Browned Butter Miso Cabbage

I felt this conveyed the gist of the recipe and gave a good sense of what to expect. What would you call it? Leave your name in the comments below and let me know.

Have a wonderful week!

xx

Nik

As we move into cooler weather, I crave heartier dishes more than winter squash's sweeter, robust flavors. I want a slow and steady transition, and I still want to eat chocolate (or ice cream) at the end of a meal.

Matar Paneer

One of the classics and a popular dish I grew up eating often at home in India was matar paneer, or paneer with peas. I love this hearty dish’s comforting textures and flavors, so I make it at least once a month. This is an elegant dish to serve at dinners, and I love to serve it with hot naan, flatbreads like parathas, or rice.

Lamb Chops with Chickpeas and Tomatoes

These lamb chops are marinated in a citrusy blend of lime and orange before they go to the grill. The warm, juicy lamb chops are served alongside a refreshing, simple salad made with fresh summery tomatoes and chickpeas with dill. Now, if you like dill as much as I do, I recommend doubling the quantity I recommend using in the recipe. 

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

If you love brownies and cookies, then you’ll love this hybrid cookie that’s crisp and soft in the right spots. This recipe is based on one I found in Food and Wine magazine by Chef Belinda Leong and fell in love with ever since I first baked them. I’ve tweaked it over time, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the depth of the chocolate. Salted toasted pistachios add a supreme level of crunchiness to these brownie cookies. 

This week’s recipe for my paid subscribers is my Tingling Gnocchi with Browned Butter Miso Cabbage.