Cultivate Flavors

Cultivate Flavors
Showing posts with label Dips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dips. Show all posts

Friday, April 29, 2016

Masto Khiar in 3 Steps


This blogpost is the fifth installment of the Chef Table's series.
To read about Chef Massimo Bottura's episode click on Butter Chicken's recipe.
To read about Chef Barber's episode click on Som Tum's recipe.
To read about Chef Francis Mallmann's episode click on T-Bone Steaks' recipe.
To read about Chef Niki Nakayama's episode click on Shahi Tukray's recipe.
To read about Chef Ben Shewry's episode click on Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas recipe.

Episode 6: Magnus Nillson - Faviken in Jarpen, Sweden
Ranked 25th in the World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards, 2015

Chef Magnus Nillson, after spending a few years in Paris, returned to his hometown to discover his own culinary identity. In Paris, he felt that he was making someone else's recipes, and his dishes were not a true representative of his identity. About his hometown he said, "It's exactly the same place, it's just that I see it differently." Sometimes it takes some time to embrace our own cultural identity.

Chef Nillson employs ancient Nordic techniques in his cooking, with his own modern twist. He believes, the only way we can keep traditions alive if we adapt. I have talked about this evolution in the Bihari Kabab recipe. My grandmother used to incorporate the same ingredients with a mortar and pestle, whereas I recreate her recipe with the use of a Vitamix. 

Nillson points out that food and cooking provide a connection between our heritage and our present. If we stop cooking at home from scratch, we will lose in touch with our family heirlooms. Pre-packaged foods are convenient, but their abundance is not only bad for our health and environment, but they are also diminishing the connection we have with our ancestral family recipes.

Speaking of traditions, here I present to you a Persian yogurt and cucumber dip, called Masto Khiar. In my case, the Persian recipes are a true amalgamation of my heritage and local ingredients that are easily available here. In California we are blessed with delicious dairy, fresh cucumbers and walnuts. You can garnish the dip with dried rose petals, which alludes to the beautiful and aromatic flavors, present in this exotic, yet simple, yogurt dip.

You can serve this dip as an appetizer with bread.




Saturday, June 27, 2015

Guacamole in 1 Step


O Guac, Guac, what should I say about thee that hasn't been said before? Guacamole is a nutritious dip and a topping. And, for those of us who live in California we are lucky to have the local avocados in abundance. But, before the avocado becomes extinct because of the drought (fear-mongering, anyone?) give this quick recipe a try, and you would never go back to having store bought guac. I use this guacamole for mahi-mahi tacos, portobello burgers, and any other sandwich, or wrap I can get my hands on.