Umame goodness in Western Cooking

[fredrikegerman]

Two recent recipe successes indicate (in part) the benefits of injecting a bit of umame goodness into western cooking.

For those of you who haven't been keeping track, umame is the recently-discovered fifth flavor. I don't use MSG (which triggers it), but I do think of things like Shiitake mushrooms and soy sauce---along, of course, with regular old meat---as having umame goodness. The other themes here: sauteeing leeks and using evaporated skim milk as a cream substitute.

Cream of Leek and Potato Soup

This was going to be a standard Leek and Potato soup, based on the recipe in Everybody Eats Well in Belgium (a favorite cookbook). Sautee four largish whole leeks in butter, add chopped potatoes, a box of TJs Chicken stock, and random seasonings (I think I used thyme as usual, plus chervil which I'm very partial to and is appropriate to low countries cooking). Then the secret ingredient: a dollop (a couple of Tbsp) of dark miso for umame goodness. Adds that little extra something that actually makes you feel like you've had a meal when you're done. After it's cooked, I ran it all through the blender, then added a can of evaporated skim milk and a bunch of chives.

Leek, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart

I made my first Goat Cheese Tart for nacht_musik and coraline and the assembled mob, and it went quite well -- but I couldn't quite remember what I did. This time I was attending a Scotch tasting and decided to make two tarts, one to take and one to keep. I found a couple of whole-wheat crusts at Wild Oats -- not necessarily great for pies, but perfect for tarts for which I'd have a total of 2 hours of prep time end to end. I brushed 'em with beaten egg and pre-cooked for 15 minutes as is my wont. I diced 3-4 whole leeks and sauteed in butter (in two batches). The batches were added to 3-4 beaten eggs (leftover brushing egg plus 3 more); I should have used 1-2 more eggs. As the leeks went in, I discovered reason to panic: in the store earlier in the week, a bunch of stuff had fallen off the cart. I'd apparently forgotten to pick up the mushrooms when they fell. Result: no mushrooms (they weren't on the receipt either). What to do? Pull out a pile of Chinese dried mushrooms, pull out the stems, and rehydrate with boiling water. After a good soaking, I chopped and sauteed these too. Meanwhile, I added 11oz goat cheese (the large Trader Joe's log), a bit of salt, and a can of evaporated goat's milk to the egg. The latter was a fortuitous find -- I went looking for evaporated milk at Wild Oats, and there was the goat's milk. Score! Was in a hurry, so whipped out the electric mixer and beat everything together. Seasoned with a teensy bit of paprika, plenty of pepper, and a generous dollop of lemon thyme and tarragon. Layered this with the mushrooms in the middle, and put it in the oven to bake.

Conclusion: tasty, but very rich; I got some mixed greens to go alongside, and they're really a necessity if you're eating more than a tiny sliver. Mushrooms add umame goodness. Chinese mushrooms add extra umame goodness. Not quite as much filling as I had planned; the extra eggs should make this up. Also consider another leek, or separating the eggs and folding in beaten whites to lighten things up.

On the Scotch tasting front, 18-year Islay malts have proven once again to be my favorites (Caol Ila, and 10-yr Ardberg when cut). The more medicinal Orkney Scotch was a tougher sell. A revelation: small amounts of room-temperature water clear the alcohol smell and bring out the nose of the malt. Stronger Scotches benefit from more dilution. Indeed, one of the effects of aging a Scotch is to evaporate some of its alcohol, concentrating its flavor.

Comments

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Mmmm sounds so good. Would that nonnihil liked those sorts of things.

[fredrickegerman.livejournal.com]

The Scotch, or things involving leeks and dairy products? :-)

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

The leeks and dairy products. Scotch is kinda vile ;).

[fredrickegerman.livejournal.com]

Uh oh, we may have to revoke his blond hair and pasty white skin...

"The Britons live on milk and meat -- lacte et carne vivunt"

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I think he's mostly a Scot. They live on the blood of their enemies, right? So we're good.

[fredrickegerman.livejournal.com]

Hmm, lowlands or highlands? I think the lowland Scots were the last few Britons left after the Anglo-Saxons showed up... Apparently Robbie Burns-style Scots is believed to be similar to the original language spoken by the Britons. Or something like that.

I don't think Caesar tells us what the Saxons live on...