Balancing the Bite
I don’t really believe in Zodiac typology. However, ever since I learned I am a Libra, I have become obsessed with seeking balance in my life, whether that is in my lifestyle, my diet, my relationships, or the things that I create. It’s no surprise that the search for balance plays a huge role in my everyday cooking and any recipes I develop.
I’m not alone in this: chefs and recipe developers all over the world strive to create perfectly balanced food every day. The question that I’ve come to focus on is: how?
For me, there are two different approaches that you can take to achieve balance when creating anything. The first approach is very safe: you can achieve balance by keeping all your creative elements plain and subdued so that no single element will stand out and ruin the harmony. The second approach is more difficult: you can try to combine multiple bold elements so that they perfectly offset one another. This is risky, but if you can make it work, you’ll have a creation ten times more stunning than anything you could make using the safe route.
When I’m in the kitchen, I prefer the second approach. Cooking should be exciting, challenging, and fun, and I’m always pushing myself to create food that is interesting and fresh. Boring ingredients or muted flavors may reliably produce a “dish that works,” but if I’m bored, my time is wasted, and the dish is a failure. For me, a balanced dish is only successful if it is balancing many bold and interesting components.
What does this have to do with tartines? Everything. To me, a tartine perfectly encapsulates that balance that I try to create in all my food. One bite must contain powerful flavors that work together perfectly, as well as contrasting textures, bold colors, and brilliant seasoning. Not only that, it has to be assembled very deliberately, so that the person eating the bite gets the exact sensory experience that I want them to have.
Achieving this balance is not easy—ironically, I found out that when you are making something “simple” it is especially challenging. But if you focus on three or four key considerations, you can do it! Below are three categories that I considered when trying create bold but balanced tartines. Spoiler: they’re worth considering no matter what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Texture. A good dish will have multiple textures that play off and balance one another. For example, the crunchy baguette against the smooth creamy goat cheese spread against the juicy tomato in the crostini recipe below. We all crave this textural contrast: it’s the reason we love a crunchy ice cream cone with our ice cream, or nuts in our salad. It’s also why we think baby food is disgusting.
Color. Creating an aesthetically pleasing dish does not always guarantee it will be delicious, but a dish that looks appealing will definitely make us want to eat it. In addition, colorful food often means that the ingredients are fresher and more varied, which usually leads to a more exciting dish. The next time you see an all-brown plate, think about what you could add to make the plate “pop.” Some chopped herbs? Fresh tomato? Add the visual color and see if the flavors don’t brighten on your palate too!
Seasoning and Acidity. Salt preserves flavor, enhances the process of cooking, and makes our palates more receptive to tasting all the flavors of the dish. An unseasoned dish will always be boring, no matter what else has been added to it. And acid, whether it’s a squeeze of citrus or a dash of vinegar, will always brighten a dish as it contrasts with all the other flavors. Whether sweet or savory, any dish without acid risks being boring as well.
Composition. Even the best dish will fail if it isn’t thoughtfully composed so that the person eating it gets the appropriate blend of flavor and textures on their tongue. It’s not enough to just throw the different components on the plate together. If there’s too much avocado on half of the tartine, or the beet hummus is unevenly spread, the entire balance of that particular bite will be thrown off for the person eating it, and the experience of eating will have failed.
Whether you are cooking Gordon Ramsay’s beef wellington or assembling a salad, you should always try to create a balanced bite. I hope the tips above will help you think about how you can add more balance into your cooking—no matter what your zodiac is.
Enjoy!
Avocado and Beet Hummus on Multigrain Bread
(Makes enough hummus for 4 whole tartines or 8 triangle halves)
For the beet hummus:
1 medium beet
3 garlic cloves
¼ cup walnuts
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
To assemble:
Multigrain bread, sliced into ¼-thick slices
Beet hummus
Avocado, sliced (1/2 avocado per slice of bread)
Feta cheese, crumbled
Lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste
Special equipment: food processor or blender (optional)
Method
For the beet hummus:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub the beet well under cold water—no need to peel—and slice off the very tops of the garlic cloves, so the top of their flesh is exposed. Lay the scrubbed beet and garlic cloves on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with vegetable oil, and wrap tightly to seal. Place the foil packet on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 60 minutes, or until the beet is soft enough to be pierced by a fork. Remove from the oven. Once cool enough to handle, peel both the beet and the garlic cloves and place in a food processor (or a large mixing bowl).
Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Spread walnuts out on a baking sheet and toast for 15-20 minutes or until golden in the middle. Remove and let cool.
To the food processor holding the beet and garlic, add the toasted walnuts, tahini, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and cumin. Process in short pulses until the mixture has homogenized.* Taste and add more salt or lemon juice, if needed.
To assemble:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place multigrain bread on a baking sheet and toast 2-3 minutes on one side until the top is toasty. Remove and allow to cool.
Spread each bread slice with beet hummus and a few slices of avocado. Season the avocado with salt, then finish the tartine with a sprinkle of feta cheese and a dash of freshly cracked black pepper. You might also like to add a squeeze of lemon as a bright finisher!
*If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop the walnuts by hand and mash the beet and garlic with a fork, then stir everything else together using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. This will take some considerable elbow grease, but it’s definitely doable!
Roast Beef with Herbed Goat Cheese on Baguette
(Serves 4)
For the herbed goat cheese spread:
4 ounces goat cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
4 tablespoons chives, minced
3 garlic cloves, roasted (see beet hummus recipe for roasting instructions)
Salt and pepper to taste
To assemble:
Baguette, sliced ½-inch thick slices
Herbed goat cheese spread
Cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
Deli roast beef, thinly sliced
Chives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
For the herbed goat cheese spread:
Combine cheeses in a bowl and mix until combined. Add minced chives and roasted garlic cloves (don’t forget to remove the skins!) and stir until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and toast 2-3 minutes, flipping half-way through, or until both sides are crispy but the center is still soft. Remove and allow to cool.
Spread a layer of herbed goat cheese on each baguette slice and top with a slice of roast beef. If you can artistically pile the beef so it lies in folds, it makes for a nicer presentation, but don’t put on so much that you overwhelm the crostini! Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and top with a slice of salted tomato and more chopped chives.
Originally posted October 5, 2019.
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