Want the most out of your weeknight meals without the hassle? These five flavorful tips have got you covered.
- Invest in Quality Ingredients – Want maximal flavor with minimal effort? Opt for quality ingredients. A rich tasting cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, for example, will have much more richness and dimension than say, a standard olive oil. Heirloom tomatoes in season will yield a much bolder flavor than a roma tomato in the middle of winter. And while it may seem more expensive to invest in a quality ingredient, you’ll actually be saving more in the long run because you will need less of it.
- Fat Makes Everything More Delicious – Ok, I’m talking about that good fat. Ghee, grass fed butter, avocado, olive oil – the godfathers of healthy fat cooking. Aromatic ingredients when cooked in fat begin to release their flavor (it’s some strange catalyst and I’ll spare you the sciency details) so foods like tomato sauce, many Indian dishes, aything requiring sauteed onion or garlic needs fat to allow their full profile of flavor. The key is using the right kinds of fat.
- Add the Right Herbs and Spices – Just like how offee makes chocolatey taste more chocolatey, certain herbs and spices elevate the flavor of others. My favorite is cardamom paired with berries – it makes the berries taste more like berries.
- When Gives You Lemons, Use the Whole Dang Fruit – A great way to enhance the flavor of most dishes is to add acid. Lemon does just that while adding a beautiful brightness to your dish, and can substitute for salt, in some occasions if a low-sodium diet is part of your regimen. The zest. The Juice. Charred. Preserved. The possibilities really are endless.
- Take it Slow – Ever wonder why certain foods taste so good and seem to melt in your mouth? When a food cooks low and slow compounds are broken down and released that alter flavor. That’s why some dishes require hours of cook time before they reach the dinner table. Not to fear though, tools like a crockpot can help you achieve that sweet smokey flavor without slaving over an open pit or worrying your house may burn down because you left the over on.