Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook (12 page)

1 cup 150 grams
all-purpose flour

1½ cups 225 grams
corn flour
or fine cornmeal

2 teaspoons 12 grams
baking powder

½ teaspoon 2.5 grams
baking soda

1 teaspoon 6 grams
fine sea salt

2 tablespoons 40 grams
cane syrup

2½ cups 600 grams
cultured buttermilk
,
homemade or store-bought

1 cup 260 grams
whole milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the cane syrup, buttermilk, and milk and whisk until it comes together as a smooth, thin batter. Let rest for 15 minutes and it will thicken as the flours hydrate.

Preheat your waffle iron and make waffles according to the manufacturer’s directions, being sure to make at least 1 waffle per person with a few extras. Waffles may be kept warm on a wire rack in a low oven until you are ready to serve.

GRILLED LEEKS VINAIGRETTE

TOMATO & NORI SALAD

CUCUMBER KIMCHI & POTATO SALAD

KALE SLAW WITH RUSSIAN DRESSING

KAMUT TABBOULEH SALAD

THAI BEEF SALAD

GRILLED LEEKS VINAIGRETTE

A RUSTIC SALAD, THIS RECIPE EMPHASIZES THE SWEET FLAVOR
of the leeks. Instead of steaming them—as in the classic leeks vinaigrette—we grill them to soften their texture and add a slightly smoky flavor. Paired with a bright citrus vinaigrette and some fresh tarragon, they make a great warm salad that will go with almost any dish. We especially like the salad alongside a juicy
Butter Burger
or with Slow-Cooked
Hanger Steak
.

SERVES 8 AS A SIDE DISH

8 medium
leeks

6 tablespoons
/
90 grams
fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon
/
6 grams
fine sea salt

1½ teaspoons
/
6 grams
sugar

4 tablespoons
/
56 grams
lemon olive oil

4 sprigs
tarragon,
leaves only, chopped

Rinse the leeks thoroughly in cold water. Remove any damaged exterior leaves and trim off any roots, leaving the core intact. Trim off the dark green leek ends and split the leeks in half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, the cores, leaving the two halves attached. Soak the split leeks in cold water for 30 minutes, periodically swishing them around in the water to help rinse and remove any dirt from between the layers. Take the leeks out of the water and pat them dry. Inspect the leeks to make sure there is no dirt on them; if necessary, rinse and dry them again.

Put the leeks in a baking pan or baking dish just large enough to hold them. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, salt, and sugar until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the citrus oil and stir to combine. Spoon some of the vinaigrette into the center of each leek, allowing it to seep between the layers. Spoon the rest of the vinaigrette over the leeks, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours to let the flavors marry.

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat (400°F/205°C). Put a large sheet of heavy-duty foil on the countertop and top the foil with a piece of parchment paper. Put four whole leeks in the center of the parchment paper and fold the parchment over the leeks, crimping the edges to enclose them in the paper. Top the leek package with a second piece of foil. Line up the edges of the top and bottom pieces of foil and fold them together, sealing the edges and creating another package around the wrapped leeks. Repeat the wrapping with the remaining leeks. Transfer any leftover vinaigrette from the pan to a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Put the leek packages onto the grill and close the lid. Cook the leeks for 20 to 25 minutes. The packages will swell with steam. To check the leeks, remove one package from the grill and carefully unwrap it. The leeks should be tender and lightly charred.

Remove the packages from the grill and let the leeks cool for 10 minutes. Open up each parcel and remove the leeks. Cut them into 1-inch (2.5 cm) slices and put them in a bowl. Add the chopped tarragon leaves to the leeks along with the reserved vinaigrette. Toss the leeks, taste for seasoning, and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve warm.

HERBS & SPICES

We love working with herbs and spices in the kitchen; dried spices add depth of flavor, while fresh herbs add brightness with a slight bitter undertone. Many spices are known to add a bit of stimulation as well. Peppercorns, chiles, ginger, cinnamon, alliums, mints, mustards, anise, and horseradish—these are all ingredients that prickle the tongue and wake up your senses. Herbs and spices add essential oils that can help slow down oxidation, aid digestion, and make your food taste better.

There are certain spices that we always have at hand. For baking we like cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger, ground cardamom, and vanilla beans. Boyajian makes some wonderful citrus oils that have intense flavor, and we have tiny bottles of lemon, orange, and lime oils in our refrigerator. We are big fans of using Aftelier essential oils (available from Williams-Sonoma) in both sweet and savory recipes for the intense flavors that they can add in small doses. We love granulated garlic and onion powder. They are not a substitute for fresh; rather we often use the fresh and dried together in a dish to intensify their flavor. Other spices we like to have on hand are a variety of peppercorns, single varietal chile powders, sweet and smoked paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, ground cumin, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, star anise, and mustard powder. Beyond that our spice cabinet ebbs and swells according to what we are craving and cooking at any given time.

It’s rare for us to use a single spice in a recipe, preferring instead to build a combination of flavors that work together to support a dish. You don’t necessarily have to have a large number of flavors to make an impact, although there are many cases where spice blends involving many ingredients, like curry, are the backbone of a dish. Two or three supporting flavors are usually enough to make the primary ingredients sing. Think of building cocktails and how a dash of bitters can make the difference between something ordinary and something truly worth savoring.

When stuck for inspiration, we will open up a bunch of spices and smell them while thinking about the dish we’re working on. It’s an odd habit that always seems to work. The aromas are a guiding hand for what flavors will go well in the dish. Some ingredients trigger an immediate positive or negative reaction while others need to be sniffed a few times, perhaps in combination with spices we’ve already chosen before we decide.

There are some wonderful spice blends out there that have done the work for you. You’ll see some of them in various recipes throughout the book. Most of them can be found in good supermarkets or gourmet stores like Williams-Sonoma, and occasionally even in a HomeGoods store for a fraction of their original cost. If you don’t cook often enough to warrant a full spice cabinet, since spices do not last forever, a few good blends are a great addition to your pantry. We like to have a version of the North African ras el hanout on hand because its blend of sweet and savory spices and seasonings works well in a wide range of dishes, giving them a slightly exotic edge that we enjoy. One great curry powder, usually Japanese, is always in our cabinet because we just don’t use enough to keep all of the ingredients on hand to make our own curry blends. And of course, no pantry is complete without Old Bay, that classic American seafood seasoning that is equally at home on blue crabs or potato chips.

TOMATO & NORI SALAD

THE KEY TO REVITALIZING THIS FAVORITE SUMMERTIME STAPLE
is a unique seasoning. Tomatoes and nori are both rich in naturally occurring glutamates, which boost the umami qualities in food. Bringing them together in this salad gives it a savory flavor that lingers on your palate. This particular combination of earth and sea is surprisingly harmonious; once you’ve tasted it you’ll swear that tomatoes and seaweed were meant to go together. We like to use small tomatoes in this salad because they have a great flesh-to-seed ratio and a nice texture, but you can easily substitute your favorite sliced tomatoes instead. Shichimi togarashi, often labeled simply togarashi, is a widely available Japanese chile pepper blend that may contain up to seven different ingredients, including sesame seeds, citrus zest, and dried nori to balance and enhance the flavor of the chiles.

SERVES 6 AS A SIDE DISH

18
small tomatoes
(not cherry), each about 2 inches
/
5 cm in diameter

1 teaspoon
/
6 grams
fine sea salt

½ teaspoon
/
1 gram
togarashi

6 sheets of
nori

36 fresh
basil leaves

2
limes

1 medium
jalapeño

2 tablespoons
/
28 grams
lemon olive oil

Fill a large bowl with ice water. Set a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Use a slotted spoon or spider to lower 3 to 4 tomatoes at a time into the boiling water to blanch for 15 seconds and then transfer them to the ice water bath. Let the tomatoes cool for 5 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and pat dry. Use a paring knife to peel off the tomato skins. Reserve the tomato skins and put the tomatoes in a shallow baking dish. Season the tomatoes with the salt and togarashi and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour. The tomatoes will exude some of their juices.