Finishing
No, we’re not talking about Mortal Kombat. We’re talking about finishing a dish: the final touches that elevate a meal. From sprinkling with flake salt to forming a crust under the broiler, finishing techniques create textural variations, pops of flavor, and brightness.
Why don’t we toss everything into the pot at once? Engaging food has layers. Call it a narrative progression. There are establishing shots, the flavors you encounter first, before diving into the scene. To illustrate, take this week’s Meal Plan: risotto verde with peas, lemon, and mint. The rich core is the risotto: arborio rice infused slowly with stock, wine, and aromatics. Most of the other effects, however, are created at the end.
Color. We taste with more than our taste buds. Visual experience matters. Here a spinach puree creates a verdant green risotto. Both heat and time dull this color. We stir it in off the heat.
Brightness and acid. We treat these two characteristics together because, so often, they both come from citrus. Lemon zest releases aromatic oils to impart brightness. The acidic juice balances out the umami of the rice and cheese. These flavors also diminish with heat and time. A microplane grater and handheld juicer make quick work of lemons.
Texture. Water is your friend. If the risotto feels tight, stir in a little water to loosen it up. Cheese transforms. We melt parmesan cheese into the risotto to increase the creaminess, but we do it at the end so the cheese doesn’t stiffen up the risotto.
Herbs. Fresh herbs. Here we use torn mint. Not gonna lie, washing and picking herbs is a little time consuming. But there is no substitute for the freshness they impart.
Final touches. Parmesan grated over the top of a dish hits differently than cheese melted into it. Finishing salt makes you salivate, ready for the forthcoming flavors. Maldon sea salt is the gold standard, being affordable and widely available, but there are infinite varieties to try.
Furikake, spiced nuts, breadcrumbs, a drizzle of pomegranate molasses. Options abound. As Mac once said to me as I was drizzling olive oil: “More. Make them feel something.”
We’re glad you’re cooking with us.
Cheers,
Sten and Mac
Chef Snacks
Cooking Tip
Add peas at the very end. Peas get mushy. Just like poorly prepared brussels sprouts, peas are famously shunned for their texture. Peas are great. The fault is overcooking. Fresh peas take only a couple of minutes to cook, and frozen peas require even less. If you’re adding peas to risotto, pasta, or anything else, stir them in during the final minutes of cooking.
Kitchen Tools
Microplane grater / handheld juicer / salad spinner. When it comes to finishing dishes, the ROI on these three tools is immeasurable. Not only will the microplane help you finish dishes by zesting citrus and grating cheese (as well as things like bottarga and horseradish), it will also help you earlier in the cooking process by zipping through garlic and ginger. You can wash fresh herbs in any basin, but there’s no substitute for the salad spinner when it comes to drying them.
The ability to finish dishes expeditiously with fresh herbs, citrus zest and juice, and other grated ingredients will enhance your food exponentially.
Around the Sound
We still have a few tickets available for our summer Solstice Dinner at A&K Alder Farm. Want to spend the longest day of the year eating a multicourse meal in a beautiful orchard? Email us for more details!
