Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

by Samin Nosrat

  When making mayonnaise as the base for a sauce, such as Tartar or Caesar Dressing, leave it unsalted and make it as stiff as possible to account for all the other ingredients you’ll be adding that will season and thin it out. On the other hand, to season a plain mayonnaise for spreading, dissolve the salt in a few tablespoons of water or whatever form of acid you plan to add, whether it’s lemon juice or vinegar. If you add salt without dissolving it first, you’ll have to wait a while for the mayonnaise to completely absorb it before you get an accurate idea of how it tastes. If you choose this route, add salt gradually, stopping to taste and adjust along the way.

  To lend a Mediterranean flavor to Aïoli, Herb Mayonnaise, or Rouille you plan to serve with Italian, French, or Spanish food, use olive oil. To make an American-style base to use in Classic Sandwich Mayo or Tartar Sauce, use a neutral-tasting oil such as grapeseed or expeller-pressed canola.

  Basic Mayonnaise

  Makes about 3/4 cup

  * * *

  1 egg yolk at room temperature

  3/4 cup oil (refer to page 374 to help you decide what type of oil to use)

  Place the egg yolk in a deep, medium metal or ceramic bowl. Dampen a tea towel and roll it up into a long log, then form it into a ring on the counter. Place the bowl inside the ring—this will hold the bowl in place while you whisk. (And if whisking by hand is simply out of the question, feel free to use a blender, stand mixer, or food processor.)

  Use a ladle or bottle with a nozzle to drip in the oil a drop at a time, while whisking the oil into the yolk. Go. Really. Slowly. And don’t stop whisking. Once you’ve added about half of the oil, you can start adding a little more oil at once. If the mayonnaise thickens so much that it’s impossible to whisk, add a teaspoon or so water—or whichever acid you’re planning on adding later on—to help thin it out.

  If the mayonnaise breaks, refer to page 86 for tips on how to fix it.

  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

  Classic Sandwich Mayo

  Makes about 3/4 cup

  * * *

  1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

  1 teaspoon lemon juice

  3/4 teaspoon yellow mustard powder

  1/2 teaspoon sugar

  Salt

  3/4 cup stiff Basic Mayonnaise

  In a small bowl, mix the vinegar and lemon juice and stir to dissolve the mustard powder, sugar, and a generous pinch of salt. Stir the mixture into the mayonnaise. Taste and adjust salt and acid as needed. Cover and chill until serving.

  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

  Serving Suggestions: On a BLT or club sandwich, or in Classic Southern Slaw or on sandwiches made with Spicy Brined Turkey Breast.

  Aïoli Garlic Mayonnaise

  Makes about 3/4 cup

  * * *

  Salt

  4 teaspoons lemon juice

  3/4 cup stiff Basic Mayonnaise

  1 garlic clove, finely grated or pounded with a pinch of salt

  Dissolve a generous pinch of salt in the lemon juice. Stir into the mayonnaise, and add garlic. Taste and adjust salt and acid as needed. Cover and chill until serving.

  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

  Serving suggestions: With boiled, grilled, or roasted vegetables, especially little potatoes, asparagus, or artichokes; with grilled fish or meats; with Grilled Artichokes, Slow-Roasted Salmon, Beer-Battered Fish, Fritto Misto, Tuna Confit, Finger-Lickin’ Pan-Fried Chicken, sandwiches made with Spicy Brined Turkey Breast, Grilled Skirt, or Rib Eye Steak.

  Herb Mayonnaise

  Makes about 1 cup

  * * *

  Salt

  3/4 cup stiff Basic Mayonnaise

  1 tablespoon lemon juice

  4 tablespoons any combination very finely chopped parsley, chives, chervil, basil, and tarragon

  1 garlic clove, finely grated or pounded with a pinch of salt

  Dissolve a generous pinch of salt in the lemon juice. Stir into the mayonnaise, and add herbs and garlic. Taste and adjust salt and acid as needed. Cover and chill until serving.

  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

  Serving Suggestions: With boiled, grilled, or roasted vegetables, especially little potatoes, asparagus, or artichokes; with grilled fish or meats. With Grilled Artichokes, Slow-Roasted Salmon, Beer-Battered Fish, Fritto Misto, Tuna Confit, Finger-Lickin’ Pan-Fried Chicken, sandwiches made with Spicy Brined Turkey Breast, Grilled Skirt, or Rib Eye Steak.

  Rouille Pepper Mayonnaise

  Makes about 1 cup

  * * *

  Salt

  3 to 4 teaspoons red wine vinegar

  3/4 cup stiff Basic Mayonnaise

  1/3 cup Basic Pepper Paste

  1 garlic clove, finely grated or pounded with a pinch of salt

  Dissolve a generous pinch of salt in the vinegar. Stir into the mayonnaise, along with the pepper paste and garlic. The pepper paste and vinegar will seem to thin out the mayonnaise at first, but the sauce will thicken with a few hours of refrigeration. Cover and chill until serving.

  Variation

  • To make Chipotle Mayonnaise, substitute 1/3 cup puréed canned chipotle peppers for the pepper paste.

  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

  Serve with boiled, grilled, or roasted vegetables, especially little potatoes, asparagus, or artichokes; with grilled fish or meats; with Grilled Artichokes, fish tacos made with Beer-Battered Fish, Tuna Confit, sandwiches made with Spicy Brined Turkey Breast, Grilled Skirt, or Rib Eye Steak.

  Tartar Sauce

  Makes about 1 1/4 cups

  * * *

  2 teaspoons finely diced shallot

  1 tablespoon lemon juice

  1/2 cup stiff Basic Mayonnaise

  3 tablespoons chopped cornichons

  1 tablespoon salted capers, soaked, rinsed, and chopped

  2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley

  2 teaspoons finely chopped chervil

  1 teaspoon finely chopped chives

  1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon

  1 Ten-Minute Egg (page 304), coarsely chopped or grated

  1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

  Salt

  In a small bowl, let the shallot sit in the lemon juice for at least 15 minutes to macerate.

  In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cornichons, capers, parsley, chervil, chives, tarragon, egg, and vinegar. Season with salt. Add the diced shallot, but not the lemon juice. Stir to combine, then taste. Add lemon juice as needed, then taste and adjust for salt and acid. Cover and chill until serving.

  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

  Serve alongside Beer-Battered Fish or Shrimp, Fritto Misto.

  Pepper Sauce

  Pepper sauces make for great condiments, dips, and sandwich spreads. Many, but not all, cuisines of the world, feature condiments that start with a base of pepper paste. And they aren’t always unbearably spicy. Stir pepper paste into pots of beans, rice, soup, or stew to elevate flavor. Rub it onto meat before roasting or grilling, or add some into a braise. Add some pepper paste to mayonnaise and you’ve got French Rouille, which is perfect for a sandwich made with Tuna Confit. Serve Harissa, the North African pepper sauce, alongside Kufte Kebabs, grilled fish, meat, or vegetables, and poached eggs. Thick Romesco, the Catalan pepper and nut sauce, makes a great dip for vegetables and crackers. Thin it out with a little water for an ideal condiment for roasted or grilled vegetables, fish, and meats. Serve Muhammara, a pomegranate-laced walnut-and-pepper spread from Lebanon, with warm flatbreads and raw vegetables.

  Basic Pepper Paste

  Makes about 1 cup

  * * *

  3 ounces (about 10 to 15 pieces) dried chilies, such as Guajillo, New Mexico, Anaheim, or ancho

  4 cups boiling water

  3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  Salt

  If you have very sensitive skin, put on rubber gloves to protect your finger
s. Stem and seed the chilies by removing the stem and then tearing open each pepper lengthwise. Shake out the seeds and discard. Rinse the peppers, then cover them with boiling water in a heatproof bowl, and set a plate atop the peppers to submerge them. Let sit for 30 to 60 minutes to rehydrate, then drain them, reserving 1/4 cup of the water.

  Place the peppers, oil, and salt in a blender or food processor and blend for at least 3 minutes, until completely smooth. If the mixture is too thick for the blender to process, add just enough of the reserved water to thin out the paste. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If your paste is still not completely smooth after 5 minutes of blending, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve with a rubber spatula to remove the remaining pepper skins.

  Cover with oil, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for up to 10 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.

  Harissa North African Pepper Sauce

  Makes about 1 cup

  * * *

  1 teaspoon cumin seeds

  1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

  1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

  1 cup Basic Pepper Paste

  1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped

  1 garlic clove

  Salt

  Place the cumin, coriander, and caraway seeds in a small, dry skillet and set over medium heat. Swirl the pan constantly to ensure even toasting. Toast until the first few seeds begin to pop and emit a savory aroma, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Immediately dump the seeds into the bowl of a mortar or a spice grinder. Grind finely with a pinch of salt.

  Blend the pepper paste, tomatoes, and garlic together in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add the toasted cumin, coriander, and caraway. Season with salt. Taste and adjust as needed.

  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days.

  Variation

  • To make the Catalan pepper sauce called Romesco, omit the cumin, coriander, and caraway. Instead, finely grind 1/2 cup toasted almonds and 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts in a food processor, or pound together in a mortar and pestle. Set the nut paste aside in a medium bowl and purée the pepper paste, tomatoes, and garlic as directed above. Add to the nuts, then stir in 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 cup toasted Sprinkling Crumbs (page 237), and salt. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust salt and acid as needed. The sauce will be thick, so thin it out with water to your desired consistency.

  Muhammara Lebanese Pepper and Walnut Spread

  Makes about 2 1/2 cups

  * * *

  1 teaspoon cumin

  1 1/2 cups walnuts

  1 cup Basic Pepper Paste

  1 garlic clove

  1 cup toasted Sprinkling Crumbs (page 237)

  2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses

  2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice

  Salt

  Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  Place the cumin seeds in a small, dry skillet and set over medium heat. Swirl the pan constantly to ensure even toasting. Toast until the first few seeds begin to pop and emit a savory aroma, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Immediately dump the seeds into the bowl of a mortar or a spice grinder. Grind finely with a pinch of salt.

  Spread the walnuts out in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Set a timer for 4 minutes and check on the nuts when it goes off, stirring them around to ensure even browning. Continue toasting another 2 to 4 minutes, until they are lightly browned on the outside and toasty when bitten into. Remove from the oven and the baking sheet and allow to cool.

  Place the pepper paste, cooled walnuts, and garlic in a food processor and blend until smooth.

  Add the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, and cumin and pulse until combined. Taste and adjust for salt and acid.

  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days.

  Pesto

  I once worked for a chef who had a marble mortar and pestle the size (and weight) of a small child. Even though it was horribly inconvenient and entirely messy to use, he insisted that we do so to pound all of the ingredients every time we made pesto, “to better connect with our culinary ancestors.” (And in Italian, the word pesto just means “pounded.”) While I’ll let you imagine the countless eye rolls that comment generated, I will say we all took turns distracting him so we could just get the job done in a blender.

  But as much as I hate to admit it, the pounded pestos always tasted better than the blended ones. Nowadays, in the interest of time and sanity, I use a hybrid method and pound the nuts and garlic separately to fine pastes in a mortar and pestle, then blend the basil in a blender and combine everything by hand in a big bowl.

  For the tastiest pesto, don’t skimp on the nuts and cheese. To use as a pasta sauce, spoon the pesto into a large bowl and add just cooked, drained pasta. Thin out with pasta water as needed, and garnish with (you guessed it) more Parmesan. Pesto is the rare pasta sauce that isn’t heated, all for the sake of keeping it green.

  In Liguria, where basil pesto originates, boiled little potatoes, green beans, halved cherry tomatoes, or wedges of sweet red tomatoes are often tossed into pasta al pesto at the last minute. Balance more bitter pesto made with broccoli rabe or kale by adding a few dollops of fresh ricotta cheese after saucing the pasta.

  Pesto is versatile, which is why I’ve included it here, among the sauces, rather than confining it to the pasta category. Some ideas to get you started: stuff pesto under the skin of Crispiest Spatchcocked Chicken before roasting, thin it with a little water and drizzle it over grilled or roasted fish or vegetables, or whip it into the ricotta for Ricotta and Tomato Salad Toasts.

  Basil Pesto

  Makes 1 1/2 cups

  * * *

  3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  2 packed cups (about 2 big bunches) fresh basil leaves

  1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or pounded with a pinch of salt

  1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted and pounded

  3 1/2 ounces Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving (about 1 heaping cup)

  Salt

  The key to blending basil in a machine is to avoid overdoing it, because the heat the motor generates, along with oxidation that can occur from overchopping, will cause the basil to turn brown. So, give yourself a head start here, and run a knife through the basil first. Also pour half of the olive oil into the bottom of the blender or processor bowl, to encourage the basil to break down into a liquid as quickly as possible. Then pulse, stopping to push down the leaves with a rubber spatula a couple of times a minute, until the basil oil becomes a fragrant, emerald-green whirlpool.

  To prevent overblending the basil, finish the pesto in a bowl. Pour the basil oil out into a medium bowl, and add some of the garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan. Stir to combine, then taste. Does it need more garlic? More salt? More cheese? Is it too thick? If so, add a little more oil, or plan to add some pasta water. Tinker and taste again, keeping in mind that as the pesto sits for a little while, the flavors will come together, the garlic will become more pronounced, and the salt will dissolve.

  Let it sit for a few minutes, then taste and adjust again. Add enough olive oil to cover the sauce to prevent oxidation.

  Refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

  Variations

  • Pesto lends itself particularly well to substitutions. Stick to the ratios in the recipe above, but change the greens, nuts, and cheese depending on what you’d like to eat for dinner, and what you have on hand:

  Change the Greens

  Cooked greens: broccoli rabe, kale, wild nettles, chard

  Raw, tender greens: arugula, pea shoots, spinach, baby chard

  Herb pesto: parsley, sage, marjoram, mint

  Allium pesto: ramps or garlic scapes

  Cruciferous pesto: broccoli, cauliflower, Romanesco

  Change the Nuts

  Nuts, from most traditional to least. Use them raw, or lightly toasted:

  Pine nuts

  Walnuts

  Hazelnuts
r />   Almonds

  Pistachios

  Pecans

  Macadamia nuts

  Change the Cheese

  Change up your cheese, which is a great source of salt, fat, and acid in pesto. In the most traditional basil pestos, it’s actually the only source of acid! Pretty much any hard grating cheese will work. The traditional cheeses are Parmesan and pecorino Romano, though Asiago, grana Padano, or even an aged Manchego will work fine.

  BUTTER-AND-FLOUR DOUGHS

  Baking is one kitchen endeavor where precision matters. Everything in a baking recipe is there for a reason, from the temperatures to the carefully measured amounts to the chemical reactions set off by particular ingredients. Instead of changing the crucial particulars of a baked good, put your own spin on things by using different spices, herbs, or flavors.

  This is the time to follow directions as closely as possible. And while I’m not generally one for kitchen gadgets, I urge you to invest in a digital kitchen scale to help here. Start baking with weights rather than volume, and you’ll notice an immediate change in the quality and consistency of your baking. If you prefer to measure dry ingredients by volume, use the spoon-and-sweep method for consistency. Simply fill the measuring cup with a separate spoon or scoop. Without applying too much pressure, run the straight edge of a knife over the rim of the cup to level off the flour.

  Measurements matter in baking—and so do temperatures. If you’re wondering why it’s so important to keep everything chilled when making these butter-and-flour doughs, think of the chilly-minded pastry chef I worked with who made the most ethereal pastries I’ve ever tasted (or flip back to page 88 for a refresher). She knew that for flaky textures, it’s imperative to discourage the formation of excess gluten, and that if butter is allowed to melt, the water it contains will combine with flour to make gluten, leading to tough, chewy pastries. But really, the proof is in the pudding pie.