3 Broths and a Dangerous Tart
It was cold, rainy, and a Friday. I’m only making dinner on most Fridays, I’ve done a lot of shopping for the weekend, and I’m ready to go. I definitely wanted to make some kind of soup or broth, but wanted it to be the centerpiece of the meal. When I’m doing this for a group of people I like to give options. So I decided on 3 Broths, to which could be added any number of proteins, vegetables, or starches. I’ll draw a map.
Everybody gets a warmed bowl with these barely cooked vegetables pictured below. I have extra bowls ready for mid-meal changes and inspirations from the diners. Roasting chicken pieces first gives the broth a real depth and character that boiled chicken stock lacks. I barely skim the stock, and just use a hand blender at the end to emulsify it. Its cloudy, rich, and really satisfying. The beef broth is clean and light with some earthiness from shiitake mushrooms. The curry is spicy, sweet, and slightly funky. All of these broth recipes are detailed in the Big Ideas section. The combinations that these ingredients yield are endless and mostly all work. I personally like to mix everything except the pasta.
Zucchini, Celery root, Daikon, Carrot, Kohlrabi
Now for the dangerous tart. I love Tart Tatin for many reasons. It’s a simple and fast prep, and needs a lot of attention and expertise to get right. And some bravery. When I’m sure that is deeply colored and caramelized, its about 80 percent of the way there. Every time I make this I inevitably put it back in a hot oven or on a stove top for a final darkening while shaking my head muttering “well this is too much, it’s going to burn”.
It has never burnt but one pictured below came the closest. I’d say 10 percent of it was over-cooked, but the other 90 percent was perfect. It’s the trade-off for this dessert. To get the inside part where I want it, a little of the outer rim gets too dark. (This one has a chocolate puff pastry base, that is why it is so brown).
