Zaynab Issa
Zaynab Issa is an associate food editor at Bon Appétit. After working on a self-published zine that formalized her family’s East-African Indian recipes, she began freelancing at Buzzfeed and contributing culturally rooted recipes and stories to Bon Appétit and Food52. She’s an avid baker and carb lover. Her approach to recipe development keeps the home cook front of mind, prioritizing ease and flexibility. Zaynab grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Baruch College with a B.A. in Journalism and Marketing. She currently lives in New York and enjoys creating video content for TikTok, scouring thrift stores for platters and purses, and exploring New York’s restaurant scene in her free time.
Mini Knafeh With Rose and Pistachio
When you bake this Middle Eastern dessert in a muffin tin rather than a party-size round, everyone gets as much of the crispy-crunchy, ghee-soaked pastry as possible.
Preserved-Lemon Tea Cake
Preserved lemons rein in the sweetness in this plush olive-oil-based loaf.
Wali Ya Mboga
This is everything we want in a hearty, cozy meal: Tender yogurt-marinated chicken in an aromatic tomato curry, lots of caramelized onion, and fluffy Swiss chard rice.
Sheet-Pan Chicken and Squash Salad
In the mood for a big bowl of leafy comfort? This sheet pan-dinner-turned-salad is a quick fix for any big salad cravings.
Crispy Olives With Calabrian Chile Sauce
Take olives from snack to PARTY snack by coating them in panko and deep-frying them until golden brown and shatteringly crisp.
Maple-Za’atar Kettle Corn
Kettle corn is undeniably delicious, so there’s no reason to mess with it—unless the alternative is utterly showstopping. Enter this maple-za’atar kettle corn.
Curried Egg Tartines
Fried bread is good. A slice of fried bread piled with creamy, curried egg salad is even better.
Peppery Antipasto Skewers
Rib eye makes these antipasto skewers extra special, but there’s lots of room to play around with proteins, cheeses, and briny bits.
Spiced Blood Orange Shrub
Refreshing, alcohol-free (just don’t call it a mocktail), and a noble destiny for that bag of citrus hanging out in the fridge.
Date and Gorgonzola Scones
As good with a cocktail as they are with tea or coffee, these mostly savory scones are perfect for a hair-of-the-dog brunch when the party continues into the next day.
Creamy French Onion Dip
The love child of French onion soup and French onion dip. Need we say more?
Pumpkin Pancakes
These pumpkin pancakes are tall and light, highly spiced, and the perfect way to relish a crisp fall morning.
Mandazi (Mahamri)
This East African snack is fluffy, crispy, and mildly sweet—like the best parts of French beignets and American old-fashioned doughnuts combined into one bite.
Karak Chai
Recipe developer Zaynab Issa’s Karak Chai is richer than most cups of tea, thanks to its generous use of evaporated milk and hints of vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Kuku Paka
This version of the classic East African-Indian chicken curry will help you see your broiler in a whole new light.