On the evening of Valentine's
day, I cooked dinner for my harshest critic. The entrée was a potato salad. In
this post, I shall describe the dish, and discuss the flow of thought behind
the architecture of the dish.
Construction:
There are five layers in this
dish, listed in ascending order:
1. Potato
2. Spiced mayonnaise
3. Minced red onion
4. Bits of chorizo
5. Lime juice vinaigrette
Deconstruction:
In this section, I describe the
preparation of each layer and its contribution to the dish.
1. Potato: Small potatoes are
boiled for a few minutes, skinned, thickly sliced and then crisped on a frying
pan with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil.
There are several points to be
noted in the ingredient and method described above.
a. The size of the potato -
small
If you use bigger potatoes,
they will not get cooked evenly when boiled. The bigger the potatoes, the
longer it will take for boiling, to cook them in the insides. And by the time
the inside starts to get done, the outer layer would already be overcooked and
mushy. You want to avoid that at all costs.
b. The potatoes are boiled skin
on.
Boiling the potatoes skin on
helps you retain the starch content of the potatoes thus making them creamier.
c. Potatoes are cooked twice -
boiled and crisped
Crisping them will allow you to
achieve a few things. You have the opportunity to season the potatoes now,
which is almost impossible to do while boiling them. You can finish cooking the
potatoes thoroughly and add a bit of texture to the dish by crisping them up.
But, one does need to ensure that the potatoes are not overcooked. You can
achieve this by using medium high heat and a short cooking time. Potatoes must
be placed in a single layer so that there is no steam build up and the potatoes
do not turn soggy.
d. They are thickly
sliced
Slicing them thickly ensures
that the slices retain their shape through the crisping process and the
assembly later on. Thicker slices will allow for easier manoeuvrability on the
frying pan.
The end product should be a
layer of thick creamy, well-seasoned potatoes with a thin crispy outside.
This is the layer that is going to provide the volume of the dish
2. Spiced mayonnaise: This is
the first layer of dressing of the salad. I used mayonnaise folded with
sriracha chili sauce and red chili powder.
a. The mayonnaise provides a
creamy seasoned base for the dressing. It is an ingredient that coats the other
elements on the dish very well, and helps other chunky elements like potatoes
and chorizo come together in your mouth. Remember, this is the container of the
flavor and taste of the dish, it needs to be bold and spreadable enough in your
mouth so that it defines the baseline of the flavor profile. This is the
dominant taste that will hit you.
b. The chili powder is added to
spice it up from the "vanilla" mayonnaise, and the sriracha sauce
adds a tang, a kick.
3. Minced red onions: This adds
two components to the dish: pungency and crunch. Make sure to mince it finely,
so that it only adds the crunch but not extra effort to chew them. The main
component to chew should be the chorizo bits.
4. Chorizo bits: This is the
protein element of the dish. I broke it up into small bits and then tossed it
with some fennel seeds on high heat for less than a minute.
a. Chorizo is a spicy sausage
with strong aroma and decisive flavor.
b. Small bits ensure that it
takes a short time to cook and is easier to chew. Since the other components
are soft and creamy, having large chunks would mean that it will stay back in
the mouth due to its longer chewing time even after other parts are swallowed.
c. Tossing in a frying pan on
high heat ensures a crispy outside without overcooking the meat and thus making
it tough.
d. Fennel seeds add an extra
layer of aroma that is well co-ordinated with the strong aroma of the sausage
5. Lime juice vinaigrette: Lime
juice whisked with some extra virgin olive oil. The lime juice adds a bit of
freshness to the salad and the extra acidity helps you cut through the elements
with stronger personality like the chorizo. You can also use just lime juice
without the olive oil. But, a good extra virgin olive oil takes you that last
extra mile.
Finally, note that the whole
dish is presented layered, and not mixed up. This ensures a little variation in
each bite and allows you to savor each component when they all come together in
your mouth.
Very interesting post. I especially liked the way you highlighted potential pitfalls. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThere is one dish that that this post reminded me of. It too has potatoes for the base, it has a crunchy element, it is always topped with something acidic and it is always layered, never mixed. But the layers are spherical: Fuchka!
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