When a recipe goes awry…. fixing mistakes in the kitchen…
Mistakes happen even to the most experienced chefs but that’s how new recipes get made… Recently I was cooking for a client, who does not eat garlic or onions. So I explored a new spice combination to enhance the flavor of the dish. I wanted to do something Ethiopian since I was cooking with Teff. After looking at several recipes in an Ethiopian cookbook, I decided on using a combination of cardamom, cayenne, and fenugreek… I sauteed the teff in extra virgin coconut oil with the spices. I think I got a little over zealous with the cayenne even though I only added a little bit …I guess the cayenne was hotter than I thought… when the dish was finished it tasted a little too spicy for me… so what was the fix?
Rule number one don’t add salt…that will increase the heat!
Add fat, something sweet, sour or water… So I decided to add a little more coconut oil, and cinnamon, a sweet spice to cool the heat. It took a few tries to get the cinnamon just right. Thank goodness, I didn’t have time to start over!
It came out great and I now can add a new recipe to my repertoire… This reminds me of another time when I was teaching where the balsamic vinegar had lost its label and a student mistook it for tamari and added it to an Asian vegetable stir fry… Oops!
So how did we fix that? What a wonderful teaching moment! To fix the sourness of the balsamic vinegar we needed to add fat, or something salty or sweet. We added a little maple syrup and tamari, a group of students and I tasted it again. YUM! That dish became one of our favorites at lunch! I think all the students actually learned more about cooking that class as they learned how to engage their senses vs. just following a recipe!
Cooking tips- Recipe first aid!
How to fix overzealous seasoning to bring out the best flavor of a dish. Here’s what you can do:
Too spicy – add fat, water, or something sweet or sour…
Such as an oil or a sweet spice like cinnamon
Too Sweet- Add salt, fat or liquid
Too Sour- Add salt, fat, liquid or something sweet
The only thing that can’t be fixed is burnt!
Call Leslie at 413-259-1695 or email her at leslie@lesliecerier.com to talk about private Hands on Cooking Classes for individuals, dietitians, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free personal chef services and chef trainings
Luscious Organic Lifestyle Retreats immersed in Nature at Leslie’s beautiful, passive solar, country home, , in Western MA or invite her to your home: Contact Leslie for available dates leslie@lesliecerier.com
Also contact Leslie for Skype, Phone and in person coaching and consulting: culinary nutrition counseling tailored to your specific diets to reach your health & wellness goals: leslie@lesliecerier.com
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Thank you so much for these very handy tips. All of us who cook and teach cooking classes experience mishaps in the kitchen from time to time. It’s really nice to have these handy tips to alter those boo boos that set us into panic mode. Now, not more panic–just a quick fix.
Health and Joy, Zel and Reuben Allen; Vegetarians in Paradise