Ham El-Waylly on Home Cooking, 90s Nostalgia, and Harnessing ADHD Powers in the Kitchen
Plus his recipe for Toasted Thin Spaghetti with Black Beans and Parm
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Good morning from my deck where I’m enjoying chatty birds and my cheery window boxes, while hearing the faint beep of a rat trap and trying to ignore the dilapidated chain-link fence that’s threatening to totally collapse in my yard. Ah, summer in Somerville.
Before we dive into this week’s episode, there’s one extra I wanted to share: Last week, the segment I did with Tiziana Dearing for WBUR’s morning edition aired, and it was so fun to get everyone’s text messages when they heard me yapping on their morning commute. It’s a lot about the cookbook I’ve been working on, a bit about this show, and tips for cooking with a busy brain. If you’d like to tune in you can find it HERE.
Ok let’s about this week’s guest, Ham El-Waylly ! Don’t miss his recipe for Toasted Thin Spaghetti with Black Beans and Parm at the bottom of the letter.
So what happens when a classically-trained New York City fine dining chef of Egyptian-Bolivian descent, writes a home cooking handbook that is steeped in ’90s nostalgia? Well, you get “Hello, Home Cooking.”
Ham is a chef, a YouTube star, and now a cookbook author. And “Hello, Home Cooking” is his playful new book with craveable recipes like Toasted Thin Spaghetti with Black Beans and Parm, Tahini Roasted Swordfish, and Pita Cinnamon Crunch — an easy-to-make grownup version of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch that I spent my entire childhood pining for. With Ham’s writing, you also get a warm, knowledgeable, and funny companion in the kitchen.
Ham and I talk about how he eats at home these days with his wife, the beloved cookbook author and creator, Sohla El-Waylly. We talk about how he juggles his restaurant Strange Delight with the freelance and media projects he has going on (spoiler alert, he has ADHD), and how healing and fun it has been to write this cookbook and put it out into the world.
Whether you’re already a Ham fan or this is the first time you’re hearing from him, I think you’re going to love this conversation.
Like Me, Ham’s was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but didn’t really embrace doing anything about it until recently. We have similar outlooks on busy brains and he says his ADHD “is the cause and source of the creative powers that I’ve got.” Recently, Ham has developed some strategies and tips that help to keep him on track and organized both in and out of the kitchen.
Stick with a daily routine. “I rarely do the same thing two days in a row,” Ham said, “but if I can keep my morning the same, and keep a very detailed calendar I feel like I can calm the chaos.”
Tidy up your work space. If clutter in your workspace distracts you, set time aside (add it to your calendar) to clean and organize to create a distraction-free zone for you and your creative brain.
Work with your ADHD “ It’s about knowing how to harness its powers,” Ham said. “And I feel like that’s something that I’ve learned to both accept and learn how to do a lot better, because I feel like learning how to harness it is really when you get into a great creative flow and start doing really exciting things.”
Check out Ham’s recipe below for Toasted Thin Spaghetti, Black Beans, and Parm from “Hello, Home Cooking!”
“Toasted Thin Spaghetti, Black Beans, and Parm
Pasta e fagioli meets sopa seca.
SERVES 2
I love pasta e fagioli. I eat it at least once a week. I love the texture of the creamy beans and al dente pasta; throw some weird greens in there, and I’m over the freakin’ moon. This takes the combo of pasta and beans and flies it (coach—sorry, but I used miles) to Mexico. When I was working at Empellón Cocina in New York, there was always some version of sopa seca on the menu. Sopa seca, which literally means “dried soup” in Spanish, is a dish of noodles cooked in a broth until the noodles are fully hydrated and the water in the broth has almost completely evaporated. It results in flavorful noodles coated in a luscious sauce. The key to this recipe is getting the proper toast on the noodles first; this adds a deep, nutty flavor to the dish while allowing the noodles to maintain their texture and chew. This recipe is a great fridge cleaner. Use it as a template and throw in whatever cooked veggies or leftovers you have.
INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons neutral oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon chili flakes, plus more as needed
2 cups chicken bone broth or water
Kosher salt
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch of Swiss chard, stems stripped and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 tablespoons sour cream
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 freshly squeezed lemon, plus more as needed
Freshly cracked black pepper
Place the pasta in a large bowl. Have any lingering Italians avert their eyes and snap the pasta into roughly 1-inch pieces. There is no need to be super precise.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, add the oil. Once it’s shimmering, add the mutilated pasta. Toast, stirring constantly, until it turns a light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and keep toasting, stirring frequently, until the noodles are a deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more.
Add the chili flakes and toast until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the bone broth and a large pinch of salt and bring to a simmer while stirring frequently. Continue to simmer until the liquid is fully absorbed and the noodles are cooked, about 6 minutes. If the liquid dries up and the noodles aren’t yet cooked, add water by the ¼ cup until the noodles are tender.
Add the beans and chard and cook, stirring frequently, until the greens are fully wilted, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the parsley, Parmesan, sour cream, lemon zest and juice and stir vigorously until everything is incorporated. Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, black pepper, and lemon juice as needed. Serve right away.”
“Hello, Home Cooking” Copyright © 2026 by Ham El-Waylly. Photographs copyright © 2026 by Laura Murray. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, A division of Penguin Random House LLC.”
Tune in to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
Not From Concentrate team:
Catherine Smart, Host/Executive Producer
Kevin O’Connell, Audio and Video Production
Allie Miller, Associate Producer
Need to catch up and listen to this one!