I really need cooking classes. I know the mechanics of cooking, but don’t know which flavors complement each other and why. Take this recipe for instance. I threw it together with foods lingering in the refrigerator the night before shopping day. I took a bit of a risk in combining them, since many of them have strong, distinct flavors on their own. I had no idea if the end product would be even edible, but it turned out rather yummy.
I followed my basic skillet meal skeleton of pasta, tomato, cheese, meat, vegetable. But was really nervous until the final tasting. It doesn’t even have a name, but it deserves one.
1 tablespoon bacon fat
1 pound mild grassfed bulk pork sausage
8 leaves kale
1/2 jar tomato sauce*
1/2 pound shredded Tomme de Nena cheese**
1 pound penne pasta
beet kvass for garnish
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat skillet with bacon fat, add and brown sausage. Strip kale from stems and chop finely, adding to skillet. Pour in tomato sauce and let simmer. Drain, rinse and re-drain cooked pasta and add to skillet. Return to simmer, add cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes. Top each serving with a few sprinkles of beet kvass.
*Please be careful with cans of tomato products, as nearly all contain BPA, an endocrine disruptor. A safer choice would be sauce from a glass jar. Of course, the best option is fresh tomatoes in season, and the second best would be your own home-jarred sauce.
**Tomme de Nena cheese is a very special cheese I purchase at my farmer’s market from Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese. It’s made from double cream Brie curds and is very rich with a burst of flavor.
I imagine this would also be very good with ground lamb, but I don’t know that for sure! I liked the little bit of tartness the beet kvass added. There were no leftovers, so that’s always a good sign.
Can anyone recommend a good book on how to combine foods for flavor enhancement? Or maybe I should find out if Edible Aria‘s author is available for home classes, since combining flavors seems to be one of the many manifestations of his particular genius.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays, hosted this week by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.
The Dark Side of Fat Loss
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November 25, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Marcy
The Flavor Bible. Elise of Simply Recipes wrote a good review of it. I have it on my wishlist for sure! It’s exactly what you are looking for – you can look up an ingredient and get a list of flavors that complement it. Also helpful and also recommended by Elise is a book called Ratio which gives you the formulas to make your own recipes.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/book_review_the_flavor_bible/
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/michael_ruhlman_-_ratio/
November 26, 2009 at 10:03 am
localnourishment
Thank you Marcy, that looks just like what I need! Now, where did I put my Christmas list??
December 11, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Local Nourishment
Oh my, you are SO right! I picked up a copy at the library and have been using it to balance out the flavors of every recipe I’ve made since. My cooking has improved 100%! I’m making menus for next week today and I’ve already “created” three dishes from scratch to try! I’m so excited!
November 25, 2009 at 10:33 pm
christyisrc
I so want to take cooking classes. I even tried to find some in my area and came up empty. I need a hands on class, not just one where I watch someone cook – that is what food network is for. Your meal sounds very yummy indeed! I love it when a jumble of food turns out!
November 27, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Laurie N
Go ahead and get the book, but I’d just keep experimenting. Taste, smell, blend, repeat – you know your tastes and your family’s tastes better than anyone else.
December 5, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Mallory
Just wanted to chime in with another book recommendation–Aliza Green’s little books “The Field Guide to Produce”, “The Field Guide to Meat”, and “The Field Guide to Herbs and Spices”. There is a flavor affinities section under each entry, which has helped me a lot!
December 13, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I got cooking classes! Review of The Flavor Bible « Local Nourishment
[...] 13, 2009 in Beef, Books, Films and TV, Meal Planning and Recipes, Recipe Redux, Veggies In a previous post, I mentioned that I had NO idea how to combine flavors. Marcy suggested The Flavor Bible which I [...]