Life
14 Meghan Markle-Approved Recipes From Her Old Blog That You Need To Make This Weekend
It’s common knowledge by now that Meghan Markle is quite the foodie; indeed, if the archives of her former website, The Tig, are anything to go by, Meghan Markle’s favorite recipes all center around fresh ingredients and bold flavors. The Tig’s Food section was once chock full of tasty-sounding eats and interviews with notable chefs — and even though food was far from the only topic the site covered, it certainly was a major one. And hey, guess what? A lot of those recipes are still available today.
Markle originally launched The Tig in 2014. Named both for her favorite kind of wine and a word she uses to describe moments when something really clicks into place for her, the site was meant to be “a hub for the discerning palate — those with a hunger for food, travel, fashion, and beauty,” according to text that once appeared as a footer whenever you visited. I say “once appeared” because The Tig is no more; Markle shut it down in 2017, so now, all you see when you visit its former home on the web is a farewell message. RIP, The Tig; we hardly knew ye.
But! That doesn’t mean that The Tig is totally inaccessible. Thanks to the magnificent beast that is the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, you can still see the pages on the site that got crawled — and subsequently had snapshots taken of them — while The Tig was still in operation. Navigating a defunct website on the Wayback Machine can be a clumsy process; not all the features the site used to have will be operational in its snapshotted form, and you can usually only access a tiny portion of all the content that was once available.
So here: From me to you, have some of Meghan Markle’s favorite recipes. They all look delish, and honestly, I’m highly considering adding some of them to my regular cooking rotation.
1Poached Pear In Spiced Orange Juice
Poached fruit desserts don't get nearly enough love. Cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and some unexpected rosemary and basil give these pears a kick, while honey and vanilla add a touch of sweetness.
2Aegean-Inspired Kale Salad
This salad full of Mediterranean flavors hit The Tig in 2015, back when the kale fad was at its height. (Not that it's really gone away since then, but I'd argue that the fervor has died down somewhat.) If you wanted to add some protein to make it more of an entree, I'd imagine that chicken or fish would go nicely with it.
3Crispy Chicken Stew
Markle worked with Kate and Ryan Harvey, authors of The Bare Bones Broth Cookbook, to bring this recipe to The Tig. "We love lemon, artichokes, and olives, so this dish just makes sense to us," wrote the Harveys in The Tig's post featuring the recipe. "We almost always leave the skin on our chicken thighs so we can render out some of the fat and crisp the skin to perfection. If you and your family enjoy Greek flavors as much as we do, then this stew will quickly become a favorite in your household."
4Barolo Braised Short Ribs
This one is... kind of involved; along with the short ribs, there's also polenta and vegetable bundles to prepare if you really want to go all out with it. For the curious, Barolo is a red wine that originates in Italy's Piedmont region, according to Vinepair; it's full-bodied and quite acidic, and frequently associated with scents of rose flower and dried herbs.
5Baked Eggs In Avocado
I mean, it wouldn't be a lifestyle site aimed at millennials if avocados weren't present somewhere in its food archives, right? This one involves removing the pit from an avocado and baking an egg directly inside the remaining hollow; as such, it presents beautiful, and probably tastes fantastic, too.
6Coconut Thai Curry
Who doesn't love a good curry? This one looks relatively mild, but you could always up the spice factor if you like. Also, curries are wonderfully adaptable; indeed, Markle recommends substituting ingredients in or out depending on your own tastes.
You do not need to crack open a coconut in order to make this recipe, but I figured I would use the opportunity to offer forth a photo of Prince Harry drinking coconut water directly out of a fresh coconut. Because... well, just because.
7Spaghetti Alla Chitarra
I'll be honest: I will probably never try this one, because the idea of making fresh pasta terrifies me. (There is so much that could go wrong.) If you're feeling more adventurous than I am, however, Markle's recipe walks you through the whole process, step by step.
8Coconut Chai Smoothie
Looking for something a littler different than your standard fruit smoothie? This spiced coconut number should fit the bill nicely.
9Chocolate Petite Gateaux
Three words: Tiny. Chocolate. Cakes.
That is all you need to know about this one.
10Onion Pizzette With Sage And Goat Cheese
You had me at "goat cheese." This recipe includes homemade pizza dough, but if you've got access to a place where you can get good pre-made dough (this is me waving at the entire state of New Jersey), you can always skip that step and just go right to the topping stage.
11Toasted Oatmeal Brulee
I am not an oatmeal person, but I might be willing to make an exception for this oatmeal. It's full of things like pumpkin seeds and raisins, and you can add whatever else you like to it to finish it off. The best part? The bruleed sugar on top.
12Sweet Potato White Bean Soup
Out of all the recipes I dug up for this piece, this one is the one I'm the most excited about. I love making soup. I particularly love white bean soups. And I adore sweet potatoes. The Tig's recipe comes from health and wellness coach Neda Varbanova, and it sounds spectacular.
13Acai Bowl
I saw this one in the sidebar of The Tig while browsing it on the Wayback Machine, but I couldn't actually navigate to the recipe itself. Thankfully, though, Markle shared it with EyeSwoon last fall. It looks delish; if you're into smoothie bowls, this one might be for you.
14Red Wine Hot Chocolate
Red wine hot chocolate had a moment back in 2016, so I wasn't surprised to spot it on a snapshot of The Tig's Food page from January 2017; alas, though, clicking on it from there brings us not to the recipe, but to the main homepage of The Tig post-shutdown. This means that unfortunately, we can no longer access Markle's own recipe for it.
Happily, though, red wine hot chocolate recipes abound on the internet; look around and you're sure to find some. I like this one from The Kitchn, but there are plenty more available.
