Food
is complicated. Many parts make up a whole dish. It can however be easier to
understand with three basic points. Once you understand food, you can make your
food better. I also like to use these principals to deconstruct completed
dishes. It's an interesting challenge for both palate and brain that also
serves as a learning experience.
The
first thing is knowing your main ingredients inside and out (proteins, fruits
veggies, and starches/grains.) This serves as a starting point: a concept. The
second point is knowing your techniques such as frying, roasting sautéing, and
poaching to name a few. The third thing you need to understand are the flavor
weapons at your disposal. Herbs, spices, and ingredients like capers and
sun-dried tomatoes fall under this umbrella. When you combine this knowledge
effectively, you can create a complete, flavorful meal that satisfies.
Most
of this knowledge comes with time and is sometimes hard to teach effectively,
but in future posts I will try to discuss points 1 and 3
It may be of interest to note that I chose to use
ingredients (flavor) as my first step as opposed to technique, when technique
is the foundation of good cooking. This was not meant to be a post on “Cooking
101.” It was meant to be about food construction, which is something entirely
different. Constructing food starts with ingredients. From there, you can add
technique to the equation to achieve your concept. Without good flavor and
vision, technique means little. That is where food construction and cooking
separate. This is my blanket philosophy of how I approach food.
One
recipe that exemplifies the food construction concept beautifully is penne a la
vodka. I don’t have my own recipe, but I have found one that appears to be
authentic.
You
can find the recipe here
I would add some grilled chicken, crispy pancetta, and maybe a
little spinach to this. I’ve had a similar dish that way, and I love it.
