Throughout my schooling and experimentation, I've learned how to read a list of ingredients and be able to combine them to make a delicious dish. This comes in handy when I'm reading a recipe, or if I simply have to make something with the ingredients available in my pantry. Here's a look into my process.
Breaking Down the Recipe:
What if you only had a list of ingredients as a recipe? What would you decide to do with them?
In culinary school, I was told by one of my favorite teachers that the best chefs can read a list of ingredients and know exactly how to combine them into a dish. I was always fascinated by this, and think it is an important step in following any recipe. By closely analyzing what ingredients a dish contains, you can learn a lot about what the final product will look and taste like.
Take this list of ingredients, for example.
onion
carrot
celery
mushroom
bacon
white beans
tomato
chicken stock
What would you make with these ingredients? Is it a casserole? Soup?
How much of each ingredient would you put in the dish?
How would you prep the ingredients....small dice of onion or large?
What kind of each ingredient would you use? Fresh tomato vs. canned tomatoes?
What ingredients could you add to make it more interesting? Fresh herbs or spices?
How would you cook these ingredient...would you simmer/boil/bake/grill/saute?
How much do I need of each ingredient to make enough to feed everyone?
From these questions, you can see how quickly a recipe can turn into many different dishes. If you decide to throw all of these ingredients in a pot, then they become a soup. If you decided to throw them together in the oven, you get a sort of ratatouille casserole. If you decide to cook, then puree them, these ingredients could even be a hot dip!
Once you decide on a dish, then it is important to think of how you'll prep the ingredients. For this case, I decided to make soup, but there were several questions I had to ask:
How big will you cut the veggies?
Will you crisp up the bacon and use it as a garnish or will you saute it and add it into the soup?
Will I puree the beans to make a thick soup or leave it chunky?
Here is my version of this soup. But think of all the combinations you could make!
T.E.A.'s Tomato and White Bean Stew with Bacon
2-3 TB olive oil
1 cup onion, small dice
1/2 cup carrot, sm dice
1/2 cup celery, sm dice
1 cup mushroom, sm dice
10 strips bacon, cut into 1" slices (I used turkey bacon)
1-2 cups white beans
1 28oz can tomatoes, pureed
1 quart chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
Fresh herbs (oregano, parsley, basil), optional
1. Soak white beans overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse, then add them to a pot with enough water to cover them. Simmer about 1 hour or until tender. Drain and set aside. (Or use canned beans and skip this step. Just remember to rinse off the canned beans...that gets a lot of the added salt off. Or buy beans with no salt added)
2. Heat a large soup pot on medium high heat. Add in oil and heat until it shimmers. Add in bacon and fry until browned and crispy. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Pour off any extra fat (if any), but leave enough in the pot to saute the veggies.
3. Reduce heat to medium, put the pot back on the heat and add in all the veggies. Saute until soft and slightly caramelized, about 8 minutes. If the veggies are turning too brown or sticking to the pan, add a little water and reduce heat.
4. Once the veggies are soft, add in beans, bacon, tomatoes, chicken stock, and fresh herbs (if using). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve hot and Enjoy!
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| I used homemade stock that was frozen...and frozen tomato juice! |
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