Cooking with the Elements

Plus coffee & chile braised short ribs

When I say the name Samin, is there something that comes to mind? For me it’s four words; Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.

If you don’t know who I’m talking about, it’s the amazing Samin Norsat who wrote a game changing book of the same name; Salt Fat Acid Heat which also became a Netflix series where we got to follow Samin all around the world in search of flavour and beautifully showing how each of these elements are the basis for all cooking no matter where you are.

The reason this book was such a game changer is because it’s more about a cooking philosophy than the recipes. It’s about thinking of these elements when you’re cooking and understanding how they impact your ingredients. This is the thing that gets me fired up most because I don’t think it’s talked about enough. Learning how using elements and understanding basic techniques is the foundation of good cooking. And it’s never out of reach no matter who you are or what you think your skill are in the kitchen.

Samin writes in her books introduction,

“You can cook anything and make it delicious. Whether you’ve never picked up a knife or you’re an accomplished chef, there are only four basic factors that determine how good your food will taste: salt, which enhances flavour; fat, which amplifies flavour and makes appealing textures possible; acid, which brightens and balances; and heat, which ultimately determines the texture of food.”

Good cooking comes from knowing your elements, knowing how to use them in ways that enhance ingredients, and ultimately makes them better. It in turn allows you more freedom and creativity in the kitchen. It’s where you learn that how to make this little tweaks to take a dish from good to great! To make it really sing.

What if that’s what you think about more than anything else? Let me tell you it opens up so much possibility and yes, deliciousness.

If you can use these as a guiding light instead of being tied to recipes and anything super structured cooking gets to be way more fun. Which is how it should be, something that gets to flow with your mood, your motivation, your inspiration and you creativity.

I highly recommend you add Salt Fat Acid Heat to your cookbook collection if it’s not there already - the illustrations and explanations are the ultimate resource to keep coming back to. In the meantime, here’s my quick and easy cheat sheet for each element and things to think about:

Salt - Always think about when and how much. For example if you’re cooking a tougher cut of meat, the salt helps flavour and tenderize it so it handle a hit of salt the night before you cook it so it can do it’s thing. Where as if you’re blanching green beans, because it’s only going to be in the water for a few minutes you can go overboard (like make the water taste like sea water) so the beans still get the seasoning they need from the salt. The biggest thing when it comes to salt is taste, taste and taste again. Salt is what enhances the flavour of whatever you’re cooking and the only way to learn what that sweet spot is is to taste and adjust, taste and adjust.

Fat - Adds flavour, it always rounds things out. The right amount of olive oil in a pesto or vinaigrette adds to the mouthfeel and just balances the flavour, a splash of cream in mushroom soup makes it perfectly smooth and creamy plus balances the earthiness of the mushrooms. Fat also adds texture which is what keeps our tastebuds interested; crispy, creamy, tender, flaky and light. It’s about how you use the fat that makes the textures happen.

Acid - This is the thing that brightens everything up. Think about a squeeze of lemon on freshly grilled fish. Or a splash of wine at the last minute adds that much needed zing to a butter laden risotto.

Heat - Transforms ingredients, adds complexity and flavour. How and what kind of heat to use is always a key decision in good cooking. Slow and low or high and intense - is it that tougher cut of meat that need the time to get to it’s most tender or is it something that does better with intense high heat like a stir fry? Small decisions like what kind of heat to use and having the patience to get heat right is key - wait for that pan to get to the right heat before you put anything in it!

If you want to learn how to cook better in this way, come on into The Creative Kitchen!

What’s Cooking This Week: Coffee & Chile Braised Short Ribs

I love this recipe because it uses all the elements:

Salt seasons and helps bring out the flavour of the meat. The fat of the olive oil helps to get that caramelized flavour when browning the meat while the marbling in the meat keeps the meat moist and balances out the sauce. The acid from the wine and coffee helps brighten up the flavours. High heat at first adds to the flavour of the meat and helps seal everything in, then the low and slow gives the meat time to get to that beautiful fall off the bone tenderness.

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 6 large or 10-12 small short ribs

• Salt and pepper

• 1 large onion, roughly chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 1 dried pasilla chile, stemmed and broken into small pieces

• 1 dried chipotle chile, stemmed and broken into small pieces

• 1 cup dry red wine

• 1 cup strong coffee

Season the short ribs liberally with kosher last and refrigerate at lease a few hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 300*

When ready to cook, drizzle the ribs with oil then heat a large dutch oven to medium heat. Add the ribs to the pot and brown ribs well, adjusting heat as necessary to get a dark crust. Take your time, and season with salt and pepper as they cook. Remove them to a plate and turn heat to low.

Add the onions, garlic and chilies to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 15 minutes. Add wine and coffee and reduce over high heat by about half. Return ribs to pot, cover, and transfer to the oven for 2 to 3 hours. Cook until very tender — beyond when meat falls off the bone — turning every hour or so. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve over polenta, rice or mashed potatoes.

And here’s one of my favourite recipes from Samin’s book is Buttermilk Roast Chicken. It’s so easy and is a great example of how simple using the elements can be; marinating the chicken in buttermilk uses both the salt and acid to season and tenderize the meat and the right heat transforms the chicken to the most beautifully browned, delicious roast chicken you’ll ever eat.

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