by Chef Ben Kelly | May 4, 2018 | Cooking Tips
Tomato sauce is one of those items that has been cursed by its commonality. Because the sauce is used so frequently it is often overlooked and prepared with little to no thought or effort. There are a few problems with this. First of all, we don’t just eat tomato sauce. The sauce is used as a component in numerous dishes and so if it isn’t good those dishes won’t be good either. The second problem is more of a philosophical one. If we can’t put in the effort to make something fairly simple the best it can be, what happens when we tackle more complex items?
A great tomato sauce is balanced.
What separates a regular tomato sauce from a great one? The answer is simple. Balance. It is surprisingly rare to find a tomato sauce that has a balance of flavour. Sometimes you can hardly taste the tomatoes for the amount of garlic, or there are big chunks of uncooked onion. Often tomato sauces find themselves being either way too sweet or way too acidic. A great tomato sauce is balanced. There is a touch of sweetness, a hint of garlic, a mild acidity. The flavours should be subtle and leave you wanting more not overpowering and fatiguing on the palate.
The perfect tomato sauce consists of only seven ingredients.
The perfect tomato sauce consists of only seven ingredients. Tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, and olive oil. Becuase there are so few ingredients they must be of the best quality in order to produce the best sauce. It is perfectly okay to use canned tomatoes but don’t buy the discount brand. There is only a few cents difference between good canned tomatoes and mediocre canned tomatoes. I generally use San Marzano tomatoes which are grown and imported from Italy. They are not really expensive, but honestly make a world of difference.
…taking the time to slowly caramelize the onions…means less refined sugar needs to be added…
When making the sauce it is all about pulling the natural flavours out of the ingredients. For example, taking the time to slowly caramelize the onions in olive oil before adding the garlic and tomatoes. The natural sugars that have been drawn out of the onion will add depth of flavour and also sweetness. This means less refined sugar needs to be added to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Cooking the garlic with the onions for a minute or two will draw the natural oils out and add to the flavour as well.
If the sauce is cooked for more than an hour the flavours and nutrients start to be lost.
Once the tomatoes have been added to the pot they must simmer for at least thirty minutes but no longer than an hour. If the sauce is cooked for more than an hour the flavours and nutrients start to be lost. Thirty to forty minutes is kind of the window to aim for. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar prior to letting it simmer. Once the thirty or forty minutes have passed taste the sauce and season again with salt, pepper, and sugar as needed. Remember the sugar is to balance the acidity in the tomatoes and to complement their natural sweetness. The sauce should not be overly sweet.
this sauce is a base used to make many other sauces.
You are probably thinking that this sauce is pretty boring. There isn’t any meat or vegetables. The reason being that this sauce is a base used to make many other sauces. If we wanted to make a meat sauce, brown some meat, deglaze with a bit of wine and add a few scoops of this tomato sauce. We could then finish with some fresh basil. We could also saute some seafood then add a scoop of this sauce and a touch of cream. Because we put the effort in to make the base tomato sauce the best it could be, our derivative sauces will be that much better.
The only separation between a good dish and a great dish is the minor details.
This idea of taking the time to make the sauce the best it can be is really translatable to cooking in general. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right. Right? The only separation between a good dish and a great dish is the minor details. That little extra effort or time that makes all the difference. This really is more of a philosophy than a technique but I promise you will be able to taste the difference. Thinking about food in this way, about taking the time, and putting in that little extra will change how you cook and how well you cook everything.
by Chef Ben Kelly | Jan 31, 2018 | Recipes, salads
A good salad dressing should coat your salad but not make it soggy or heavy. The dressing should be vibrant and compliment your salad, yet not over power it. Choosing the right dressing for your salad is just as important as all the other ingredients. You need to find a balance of flavour. The best way to balance the flavour of a salad is to make your own dressing. It is easy, quick, cheap, and delicious. There is no reason why you should be buying salad dressing, none at all. I would venture to guess that you already have all the ingredients you need to make a great salad dressing on hand. You don’t need to buy expensive ingredients, just use what you have.
There are two main types of salad dressings. The first type is a vinaigrette which is based on vinegar and oil. The second type is egg and oil based like mayonnaise. The two types of dressings have a lot in common. For starters they are both an emulsification of oil and another liquid. Secondly, they are both made in almost the exact same way. Finally, the principles behind both types of dressings are the same. There is one main difference between the two types of dressings. An egg based dressing is a permanent emulsification, a vinaigrette dressing is a temporary emulsification. This means that unless you use commercial binders like they do in store bought dressings, your vinaigrette will eventually separate. This is fine. When it does and you want to use it, just give it a big shake and it will come back together.
What is an emulsification? An emulsification is a mixture of two or more liquids that usually don’t mix such as oil and water. An emulsification is facilitated through the use of stabilizers. In the case of an egg based dressing the stabilizer or binder is actually the egg itself. More specifically, it is a phospholipid in egg yolks called lecithin which acts as the binder. In a vinaigrette, ground mustard seeds, or garlic can do the same thing as the egg yolk in an egg based dressing.
As I said, the process for both types of dressing is pretty much the same. You start with your base. If you are making an egg based dressing, this would be your eggs. For a vinaigrette, you would begin with your vinegar and a stabilizer such as ground mustard or garlic. Now, you add your oil be it olive oil, nut oil, or a neutrally flavoured oil such as canola. The key here is that you it add slowly. If you add your oil too quickly you will over saturate your binder and your emulsification will break. After all your oil has been absorbed you add the rest of your ingredients such as flavourings and seasonings. Alternatively, you can add your flavourings before your oil, but I find it better to do it after.
Vinaigrette –
When making a vinaigrette you have a lot of options of how to flavour it. This flavouring begins with the first few ingredients. You can use different flavoured oils such garlic oil which is a byproduct of roasting garlic. You can use nut oils, or literally any other oil you choose. The same goes for vinegar. Don’t limit yourself to just white vinegar. You can use sherry vinegar, blueberry vinegar, balsamic, cider, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, all of these will drastically change the flavour of the vinaigrette. If you are going to use flavoured oils and vinegars just think about how that flavour is going to affect the rest of your salad and the rest of the ingredients in your vinaigrette.
Basic Vinaigrette Recipe
Yield: about 1 cup
Ingredients:
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard powder
3/4 c canola oil
4 drops Tabasco Sauce
1 drop Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Place the mustard powder in a medium mixing bowl and whisk in just enough vinegar to make a paste. Once you have made a paste add the rest of the vinegar. Now, slowly being to add the oil, a few drops at a time to start with. Once the first few drops have been absorbed you can begin to add the rest of the oil in a slow steady stream whisking constantly. Once all the oil has been absorbed add the rest of your ingredients, plus any flavourings you choose. Season with salt and pepper to tastes and drizzle over your salad.
Egg Based Dressings –
As with a vinaigrette, egg based dressings benefit from the use of flavoured oils and vinegars. Again, it just comes down to what other ingredients are present in your dressing and in your salad.
For egg based dressings, some people will use the whole egg, and some will just use the yolk. I prefer to use just the yolk. If you are not going to use the egg white, don’t waste it. It can be frozen in a small container and thawed when you want to make a meringue or something like that. I find that using just the yolk will give me a thicker, creamier dressing than when using the whole egg. You can try both ways and see which one you prefer. The process is exactly the same either way.
One egg yolk can emulsify about one cup of oil. Now, to be fair an egg yolk can emulsify more oil than that, but I find that one cup is kind of the optimal amount. Anything after one cup and you are risking the structure of your emulsification.
Other than flavoured oils and vinegars, there are lots of things you can add to your dressing to flavour it. Really, just about anything you want. This is where you can get creative. Honestly, add anything you want form pieces of apple, to anchovy, to caramelized onions, to bacon. It really is up too you.
Basic Egg Based Dressing Recipe
Yield: About 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
1 c canola oil
3 tbsp cider vinegar
4 drops of Tabasco sauce
1 drop of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp honey
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Place your egg yolk in a medium mixing bowl. Using a whisk, beat the egg yolk for a minute. Add the vinegar and mix thoroughly. While whisking slowly begin to add the oil, just a few drops at a time to being with. Once these initial few drops have been absorbed by the egg yolk you can begin to add the oil in a slow steady stream whisking constantly. If you notice that some of the oil is not being absorbed stop pouring the oil and mix the mixture until the oil is absorbed then being to add the oil again. Once all the oil has been added and absorbed add the rest of your ingredients and mix them into the dressing. Add whatever flavourings you would like. Transfer the dressing to a container, cover, and place in the fridge for twenty minutes to allow the dressing to absorb all the flavours. Serve over your favorite salad.
I hope that this post has opened your eyes to how easy it is to make a simple salad dressing. The recipes above are simply the bases of the two main types of dressings. Use these bases to create your own dressings. Get creative, and always taste as you go.
A quick note about egg based dressings.
If you are making an egg based dressing and it splits don’t despair. Your dressing can be saved. Starting with a clean bowl and whisk, take one egg yolk and start the process over. Instead of adding more vinegar and oil, simply add your broken dressing as you would the oil in the initial recipe. Doing this will create a new emulsification and will bring your dressing back from the dead.
