When cooking with fruit, let simplicity be your guide. Honest cooking begins with fresh, flavourful ingredients. It’s easy to improve almost any dish by tasting the ingredients first. In the case of fruit, this means tasting for ripeness and flavour. In the opinion of a dear friend who’s a sommelier, the best way to learn about wine is to drink it. This principle applies to food as well – tasting frequently and registering the taste in your mind is a meaningful lesson in becoming a good cook. By doing so, you awaken your senses to freshness and quality.
What do we mean when we say that something tastes delicious? Wine experts discuss aroma, body, temperature, texture, acidity and how they interact. I believe the same can be applied to cooking with fruit (after all, isn’t wine made from fruit?). By thinking critically about these characteristics, we can learn how to respond to them while cooking.
I encourage you to taste and discover how fruit changes with the seasons, as well as how it’s altered by cooking. These lessons will build your confidence in the kitchen and over time, your reliance on recipes will fade as your intuition grows.
Fig anchoïade
Anchoïade on toast is an aperitif’s best friend. The sweet addition of figs puts it firmly into summer and tempers the intensity of the anchovies. In addition to aperitif hour, these toasts can be served next to a green salad with sweet peppers or green beans, or with grilled
