what’s up, food-and-wine,
This week it’s all about taste. With half a cup of olive oil missing from our Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake (Kitchen Garden, Aug. 24), my Food and Wine Editor, Karen Hardy, received over a dozen calls from readers and I had 26 emails looking for the crowd . I could smell it almost anywhere in Canberra, and the best taste on my lips was a gift slice with a layer of lemon curd added to it as the cake cooled. Reader’s versions of the flat cake: Margie added lemon icing, Rebecca suggested drizzling lemon juice and sugar over the warm cake, Alison and son Rory said delicious, Jennifer added a drop of cream, Pauline used her “loud Kenwood” and home-grown chicken eggs and served with Greek yogurt. Coincidentally, Beth made a gluten-free version for her celiac husband who gave him “a big thumbs up” and Richard made a gluten-free version that got “two thumbs up” from his son and wife. My question: which olive oil did our amateur chefs use? By far the most popular was the Australian Cobram Estate, followed by the Spanish Moro, a traditional base olive oil for cooking, the Australian Red Island, the Italian Bertolli and the Spanish Remano. Molecular biologist Nik Sharma explains in The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking (Hardie Grant Books, $ 65) the science of cooking, and this weighty cookbook explores the sensations of taste, sight, aroma, sound, mouthfeel, and emotions with a chapter on each. Sharma’s photography is exciting. Following his Saveur Best Food Blog Award for A Brown Table and the author of Season, the New York Times’ best cookbook in 2018, Sharma’s work as a writer, photographer, and recipe developer has gained widespread recognition in the United States. Sharma grew up in Bombay, but lives in America and lives in Los Angeles, hence “taste” – no U – in the title of the book. He says the top six notes that you are looking for are fullness, brightness, depth, warmth, saltiness, and sweetness. Many of the over 100 recipes get their heat from chilli and the first recipe in “Brightness” is grilled romaine lettuce with chilli pumpkin seeds. He gives the anatomy of a seven step recipe through roasted cauliflower in turmeric kefir and in the richness chapter he explores all of the oils by adding olive oil in a crab tikka masala dip, roasted eggplant raita, and in cucumber and roasted Lamb’s lettuce used. The edible that embodies spring is asparagus, so we share a recipe, “an explosion of aroma and taste”, from the “Bitterness” chapter of Sharma’s book. The author says tastes have personalities and we have developed bitter aversions, but most of us appreciate (and some of us are addicted to) coffee and chocolate, both bitter. We have a copy of The Flavor Equation by Nik Sharma (Hardie Grant) to give away. Send me an email with your name and address at bodenparsons@bigpond.com and tell me what your favorite vegetables are for their taste and why. Ingredients 60 ml extra virgin olive oil plus a little more for brushing the pan 455 g asparagus, hard ends cut off and discarded 1 tbsp fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon lime peel sea salt flakes 1 tbsp Sharma’s gunpowder nut masala (see below) 1 tbsp chopped coriander or flat parsley 1 lime , cut into quarters (optional) Method 1. Heat a grill pan or cast iron pan over medium heat. Brush the grids with a little oil. Place the asparagus on a large plate or baking sheet. 2. Drizzle with a tablespoon of oil and rub in well. Place the asparagus in the hot pan and cook for five to six minutes, turning with kitchen tongs, until it turns light green and develops charred or grill marks. 3. Place the asparagus in a serving bowl and drizzle with the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil and the lime juice. 4. Sprinkle with the lime zest, salt flakes, gunpowder-nut masala and coriander and serve immediately with the quartered limes as a side dish. For 4 people, ingredients 100 g raw cashews 1/2 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 10 g dried red chillies 20 fresh curry leaves 2 tablespoons white or black sesame 1/2 teaspoon asantida Method 1. Heat a small one. Dry pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the cashews, pumpkin seeds, chillies, curry leaves and sesame seeds and roast for four to five minutes until the kernels turn brown and the leaves curl slightly. 2. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. After cooling, grind the mixture with the Asantida in a food processor or blender to a coarse or fine powder, depending on your preference. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Makes 1/2 cup.
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September 7, 2021 – 12:00 p.m.
This week it’s all about taste. With half a cup of olive oil missing from our Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake (Kitchen Garden, Aug. 24), my Food and Wine Editor, Karen Hardy, received over a dozen calls from readers and I had 26 emails looking for the crowd . I could smell it almost anywhere in Canberra, and the best taste on my lips was a gift slice with a layer of lemon curd added to it as the cake cooled.
Reader’s versions of the flat cake: Margie added lemon icing, Rebecca suggested drizzling lemon juice and sugar over the warm cake, Alison and son Rory said delicious, Jennifer added a drop of cream, Pauline used her “loud Kenwood” and home-grown chicken eggs and served with Greek yogurt. Coincidentally, Beth made a gluten-free version for her celiac husband who gave him “a big thumbs up” and Richard made a gluten-free version that got “two thumbs up” from his son and wife.
My question: which olive oil did our amateur chefs use? By far the most popular was the Australian Cobram Estate, followed by the Spanish Moro, a traditional base olive oil for cooking, the Australian Red Island, the Italian Bertolli and the Spanish Remano.
Molecular biologist Nik Sharma explains in The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking (Hardie Grant Books, $ 65) the science of cooking, and this weighty cookbook explores the sensations of taste, sight, aroma, sound, mouthfeel, and emotions with a chapter on each. Sharma’s photography is exciting.
After receiving his Saveur Best Food Blog Award for A Brown Table and authoring Season, the New York Times’ best cookbook in 2018, Sharma’s work as a writer, photographer, and recipe developer has gained widespread recognition in the United States.
Sharma grew up in Bombay, but lives in America and lives in Los Angeles, hence “taste” – no U – in the title of the book. He says the top six notes that you are looking for are fullness, brightness, depth, warmth, saltiness, and sweetness. Many of the over 100 recipes get their heat from chilli and the first recipe in “Brightness” is grilled romaine lettuce with chilli pumpkin seeds.
He gives the anatomy of a seven step recipe through roasted cauliflower in turmeric kefir and in the richness chapter he explores all of the oils by adding olive oil in a crab tikka masala dip, roasted eggplant raita, and in cucumber and roasted Lamb’s lettuce used.
The edible that embodies spring is asparagus, so we share a recipe, “an explosion of aroma and taste”, from the “Bitterness” chapter of Sharma’s book. The author says tastes have personalities and we have developed bitter aversions, but most of us appreciate (and some of us are addicted to) coffee and chocolate, both bitter.
Nik Sharma’s equation of taste. (Hardie Grant Books, $ 65)
We have a copy of The Flavor Equation by Nik Sharma (Hardie Grant) to give away. Send me an email with your name and address at bodenparsons@bigpond.com and tell me what your favorite vegetables are for their taste and why.
Charred asparagus with gunpowder and nut masala
60 ml extra virgin olive oil plus a little more to coat the pan
455 g asparagus, hard ends cut off and discarded
1 tbsp Sharma’s gunpowder and nut masala (see below)
1 tbsp chopped coriander or flat-leaf parsley
1 lime, cut into quarters (optional)
1. Heat a grill pan or cast iron pan over medium to high heat. Brush the grids with a little oil. Place the asparagus on a large plate or baking sheet.
2. Drizzle with a tablespoon of oil and rub in well. Place the asparagus in the hot pan and cook for five to six minutes, turning with kitchen tongs, until it turns light green and develops charred or grill marks.
3. Place the asparagus in a serving bowl and drizzle with the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil and the lime juice.
4. Sprinkle with the lime zest, salt flakes, gunpowder-nut masala and coriander and serve immediately with the quartered limes as a side dish.
1/2 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
2 tbsp white or black sesame seeds
1. Heat a small one. Dry pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the cashews, pumpkin seeds, chillies, curry leaves and sesame seeds and roast for four to five minutes until the kernels turn brown and the leaves curl slightly.
2. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. After cooling, grind the mixture with the Asantida in a food processor or blender to a coarse or fine powder, depending on your preference. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
