Dec 02 2008
On Ingredients in Cooking
“As all cooks know, ingredients of the moment are the best guides.”
– Francis Mayers (in ’Under the Tuscan Sun’)
In those who cook, there is either a necessity to follow a recipe, or a call to follow the heart. Or should I say the taste-buds. Cooking has been compared to art — the combining of ingredients - shapes, tastes, textures to create a masterpiece. But the simplest guide to cooking is to use the ingredients of the moment. Whether this is interpreted to mean the ingredients currently in-season, or the ingredients currently in the kitchen, either will work.
With observation and experience, a cook will combine ingredients that work well together. Think to what the master chefs combine, or to what the simplest of peasants mixes in the pot.A few combinations that I like to remember are: spinach goes with cheese; chicken and tofu can be flavored with many different full-bodied flavors; zucchini and tomatoes are companions; combining grains and nuts makes for an interesting dish.
Like a piece of artwork, the subject (or main ingredient) should not be so obscured that it is no longer identifiable. But each stroke, each ingredient, should bring the connoisseur’s attention to the main subject. Each ingredient should enhance the overall pleasure of the piece.
