Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

Michael Pollan, one of my favourite food writers, wrote the introduction to the book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and revealed Samin gave him some cooking lessons, and he taught Samin how to write about food.... What a great pairing!

Pollan also writes,

"Taste, taste, and then taste again," she would tell me, even as I did something as simple and seemingly boring as sauteing an onion. Yet there was an intricate evolution unfolding in that pan as the rectangles of onion went from crisply acidic to clean and sweet to faintly smokey as they caramelized and then bittered slightly as they browned. She showed me how half a dozen distinct flavours could be teased from that humble ingredient, all depending on how you managed principle number four, heat - and deployed your senses, for each stage in the onion's evolution carried it's own distinct and learnable aroma.

While I do tend to flip back and forth in recipe books, this one is meant to be read as an approachable guide to deepen appreciation for how the elements are featured in cuisines around the world. Especially helpful are the fold out flavour wheels for each element. What a fantastic reference book.

Taste. Trust and educate your senses. Have fun. Explore. Tour the world.

The sentiments very much align with the Epitourists. Every time I get together with these women I am sure to learn something about food, cooking, or wine.

Caroline chose the book as a basis for a feast, with each Epitourist challenged to bring a dish to illustrate one of the elements.

I jumped at the chance to play with Heat. 

At the end of every one of her Heat classes, Samin shares a finished braise with her students. The book dedicates more than a few pages on classic braises and stews from around the world, however the dish I ended up preparing was a braise of pork in milk: Maiale al Latte, as it seemed we were trending to Italian flavours. Slow cooked over two and a half hours, the aromas wafting from the oven created a wonderful background to festivities.

Caroline's kitchen was able to accommodate us all as we prepared our dishes, with its generous island, multiple ovens and lots of counter space.

We took a break in late afternoon for a craft cocktail: Caesars with a choice of rimmers, including the less traditional option of bacon to round out the elements.

After dessert and before the cheese course, Caroline put together a wine tasting to demonstrate the effects of terroir at Australia's Dandelion Vineyards, featuring Shiraz grown under different conditions: Lionheart from the Barossa Valley and Lioness of McLaren Vale. Although one was not clearly superior to the other, there were definite differences.

The evening ended with us gathered by the warmth of the fire as Hero the German Shepherd kept us company. After a good sound sleep, we reconvened in the same chairs, sipping coffee and enjoying a snowy, sunny morning.

Breakfast of fresh eggs from Caroline's hens, homemade yoghurt, sourdough bread, fresh coffee, cheeses from the night before, more Amalfi tart...... and some champagne to toast another memorable gathering of friends.

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Menu

Champagne

Salt (Kaarina)

Pasta Puttanesca 

wine: Zinfandel (Seven Deadly Zins, Lodi)

Acid (Caroline)

Roasted beets, yogurt and preserved lemon salad with smoked mackerel 

wines: Champagne + Sancerre (Les Baronnes, Henri Bourgeois)

Fat (Laura)

Roasted Squash, Sage, and Hazelnut Saladwine: 

wine: Pinot Noir (Maison Roche de Bellene Bourgogne Cuvee Reserve)

Heat (Diane)

Maiale al Latte

wine: Anselmi (San Vincenzo)

Acid (Caroline)

Amalfi lemon tart pour déssert

wine: Greco di Tufo (Benito Ferrara)

A cheese plate:

Blue (salt) 

Melted Camembert and Moca D'Or Gouda (Heat) 

Citrus Feta and aged Cheddars (Acid) 

Brebirousse d'Argental (Fat)