Whenever you use lemons, oranges or limes, save the rinds and freeze them. When they are frozen solid, they grate easily and its always good to have some citrus zest on hand.
There`s something about fresh herbs that makes a dish look truly gourmet. You don`t need much to add that special touch to your food and while herbs are great IN the food, they are also a wonderful way to garnish your plate.
To make your dishes look really professional, there are a few tips to follow:
- When using leaves like basil, opt for either a two-leaf pair attached to the stem or the upper bit of the stem, with two baby leaves and two larger ones.
- Don`t be afraid to use flowering herbs. Chocolate mint has lovely flowers that add a great touch to dessert dishes.
- A sprig of rosemary is just fine, but you can also strip the spiny leaves and sprinkle them around the plate or across the food.
- Consider combining herbs with other garnishes. For example, a sprig of mint laid across a lemon slice or a couple leaves of basil tucked into a tomato slice look great.
Fresh herbs are a wonderful way to make your dishes come alive. Just make sure they are really fresh, since wilted leaves just don`t have the same effect.
To save time when cooking, try combining salt and pepper in one shaker. The best ratio is 3/4 cup salt to 1/4 cup pepper.
To make it easy to remove baked potatoes from the oven, try baking them in muffin tins.
Tamarind is one of those bizarre fruits that you see in Asian markets and wonder how it could possibly be used.
This dry looking, bean-like fruit grows in India, Africa and Central America and when you open it up, you`ll find large beans surrounded by a thick paste that is rather sour.
The paste from tamarind is widely available, so many people are already familiar with the flavor. However, if you want to try the actual fruit, there are several ways to prepare it.
First, you`ll need to prepare the pulp. Open up the seed pod and scrape everything out. Use 1/3 cup of warm water for every 2 tablespoons of seeds and pulp. Just dissolve it into the water, removing the cleaned seeds as you go. This mixture can then be used to cook with in any recipe that calls for tamarind paste. If you don`t have fresh tamarind, go ahead and use the purchased paste in the following recipes.
Mexican Agua de Tamarindo
3 tablespoons tamarind paste
1/2 cup sugar
5 cups water
Dissolve paste into the water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Serve chilled.
Tamarind Fruit Sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoon lemon juice
Heat all ingredients, except tamarind in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved. Add tamarind. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until a syrup is formed. This can be used on ice cream or over fresh fruit.
Simple Chutney
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
dash of salt
Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. If you want a chunkier consistency, add some chopped raisins after the fact.
For more recipes, check these links:
