When it comes to food, most New Year’s resolutions begin and end with losing weight, drinking less or sticking more closely to the elusive USDA Food Pyramid.
Not for us. This year, we resolve to eat more. More adventurously, that is.
Let 2008 be the year you too try something new.
Black rice
“Our perception of food is greatly influenced by texture. Black rice, for example, has a distinctive smoothness all its own.” — Pierre Gagnaire, “Reinventing French Cuisine”
Juniper
Buy a dozen juniper berries, then crush with salt in a mortar and pestle. Rub the mash into a venison shoulder, then slow roast it until supple.
Cactus
Seek out nopales cactus at your local Latin market, perhaps Avanza or Rancho Liborio. Dice and simmer in salted water for 15 minutes, then toss with a salad.
Grapefruit
Warm up this breakfast staple this way: Drizzle honey over halved grapefruits and cook 3 minutes under the broiler.
Seitan
Seitan is a chewy wheat-gluten cake, high in protein and nutrients and neutral enough to take on subtle flavors. Use it in a hearty cholent stew.
Lavender
Use too much, and your dish will taste like soap. Employ this powerful flavoring sparingly, in delicate tuiles to serve with tea.
Squid
Buy cleaned squid from your favorite fishmonger, then grill it for a simple, exciting appetizer.
Tempeh
A kissing cousin to tofu, tempeh cakes give a unique meatiness to vegetarian dishes, above. Use in a mole.
Sherry vinegar
Stir a tablespoon of this robust juice into mayonnaise for a silky alternative to shrimp cocktail sauce.
Skate
Ask your fishmonger to order some skate wings, which you will dredge in flour and saute for 8 minutes before topping with chopped golden raisins and parsley.
Sweet vermouth
Save the dry stuff for your martinis, but use sweet red vermouth to gently poach chicken breasts or fish fillets. Serve with bitter greens to cut the sweetness.
Salsify
Peel and cube salsify root before adding it to carrot-ginger soup for an artichoke-like note (and extra fiber).
Cardamom
Buy fresh cardamom pods, above, from your favorite spice shop, then bruise and steam the savory-sweet pellets with bananas and coconut.
Sorrel
Lightly saute a bunch of tangy sorrel leaves until they disintegrate into a paste, then stir into a potato-leek soup for a brilliant shot of color and flavor.
Mint
Chop mint leaves into a rustic chiffonade, then toss them with roasted fingerling potatoes, sweet cream butter and salt.
