Dining out yesterday, I had the most lackluster piece of salmon. Good fish doesn't need much, but it needs SOMETHING. Maybe some salt to bring out the sweetness of the flesh. Maybe some citrus to combat the richness of all those Omega-3's. At any rate, this restaurant decided plain-Jane style was good enough. I found some hot sauce on the table and did my own seasoning, because I prefer a lot of flavor.
Getting a lot of flavor isn't that hard. In fact, you can probably do it with items you already have in your pantry. I've thrown together a list of my can't-do-without spices and condiments. Used alone, or in combinations with one another, you can create a whole lot of flavor with relative ease and economy.
Here's my personal pantheon of the flavor gods:
1. HAIN IODIZED SEA SALT: I love this stuff because it has a delicious saltiness (I love that a little goes a long way) and it has a very fine texture, dissolving easily into whatever you are cooking.
2. FRANK'S RED HOT SAUCE: Spicy without being too hot, Frank's has the most incredible piquant flavor and pairs well with so many things.
3. NATURAL NUT BUTTER: My default is sugar free peanut butter, but I do change things up with tree nut butters from time to time. Calorie and nutrition dense, nut butter can actually double as a meal replacement. Gives the most interesting flavor to exotic sauces.
4. GARLIC POWDER: The foodie elite, chopping their fresh cloves of garlic, collectively gasp, "Garlic Powder?!!!" I love fresh garlic, too...but the fine powder is more effective as a pre-cooking sprinkle. I love it on roasted veggies. Easy enough to sprinkle on meats when you are just too lazy to chop whole cloves of the stuff.
5. LEMONS/LIMES: The juice, the zest...the appeal! I love the light, bright flavor of citrus in so many things from cocktails to osso buco.
6. AGAVE NECTAR: Healthier than cane sugar (your body metabolizes it more slowly so your pancreas doesn't flip out) and less-assertive than honey. This is a nice, mellow sweetener to have on hand.
7. DIJON MUSTARD: Great straight as a condiment on meats and cheese or emulsified into sauces and dressings, I consider Dijon to be a very important staple.
8. CUMIN, CORIANDER, CRUSHED RED PEPPER: The three "C's" of the spice drawer. Cumin gives complexity, coriander gives freshness, and crushed red pepper gives heat. Yum....
9. SOY SAUCE: I actually don't much like soy sauce straight. I find it heavy and salty. But a drop of soy into another sauce, (lots and lots of UN-Asian sauces, too!) lends real depth.
10. FIVE SPICE POWDER: "What IS that flavor?" I like this seasoning because it is different. It takes plain meals and gives them an unusual taste. Slightly sweet, it's wonderful with a little lime zest on grilled fish.
How about you? What are your favorite flavor staples??
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My husband loves to use 5 spice powder in his BBQ rub. my staple i got from my mom. in an old Worcestershire bottle i put vinegar and garlic cloves. i use it in a lot of things. she used it for anything from slaw to salad dressing. i like to use it when sauteing vegetables. i also use some of the things you listed. we are often slim on groceries so onions and some spices especially madras curry powder can make anything great, oh and a splash of vinegar.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those that believe that pesto should be a condiment. The flavors are just too perfect. Also, I try to keep an aioli handy, usually garlic or wasabi. It spruces up rice dishes and vegetables and you can add other flavors to it, especially the garlic.
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