The Essence of Flavor

The word flavor comes from an old French word meaning “odor.” Taste and smell are irrevocably intertwined. The sense of smell excites the sense of taste, and when both senses are excited, the food we eat tastes better.

The addition of an aromatic herb or spice can enhance flavor. In the following recipe for beet soup, fresh dill is used for its fragrance to make up for the lack of aroma in strongly flavored beets.

But more is not necessarily better. Adding too many herbs or spices in the same dish muddles the palate. The addition of caraway seeds to a beet soup already flavored with dill will give the beets an unpleasantly musty flavor. (It also shows that you are an indecisive cook.) The problem isn’t the combination of dill and caraway; the problem is that combination with the already potent flavor of beets.

When added to mild-flavored veal, pork, chicken or rabbit, however, dill and caraway are terrific. White meats are too subtle to interfere with strong-flavored ingredients.

In the summertime I make a chilled soup of pureed beets and watermelon. The melon adds a special aroma that makes the beets taste even sweeter than they normally would. Beets add a flavor to what is really only an aroma--watermelon.

Sometimes an aroma saves a flavor. Palates that are unaccustomed to fiery hot foods tire quickly when stimulated by capsicum, the chemical that makes chile peppers burn mouths. Mexican and Central American cuisines use cilantro, also known as Chinese parsley or coriander, to add aroma to some fiery hot dishes. With the mouth on fire, the palate is out of commission and the sense of smell takes over so that we can still taste.

Curry powders, which supply the heat in Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines, are very aromatic and excite the nose in a similar fashion.

The addition of strongly aromatic spices to dishes prepared with cream transforms them from subtle to seductive. Cream and butter add lusciousness to dishes, but they also coat the palate, making it more difficult to taste the food. Add a spice such as nutmeg, not only to a cream stew such as veal blanquette or chicken fricassee but also to cream of turnip soup or vichyssoise.

We often forget that desserts can offer more than simple satisfaction for a sweet tooth. The most interesting desserts are aromatic as well as sweet and flavorful. Spices such as nutmeg, allspice, cloves and cinnamon are indispensable in many fruit desserts. In general, you can get away with using less sugar in a dessert if you add ingredients that excite the nose as well as the palate.

BEET SOUP WITH DILL AND YOGURT

1 tablespoon oil

1 medium onion, sliced, about 1 cup

1 pound beets, peeled and coarsely diced, about 4 cups

1 quart chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup plain yogurt

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Heat oil in saucepan over low heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, about 12 minutes. Add beets and cook, covered, about 35 minutes or until beets are falling apart, stirring occasionally. Add stock and salt. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Strain and reserve liquid. Transfer beets to blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return puree to pan and add reserved liquid.

To serve, decorate each soup bowl with 2 tablespoons yogurt and sprinkle yogurt with chopped dill. Pour hot soup into tureen and ladle soup into bowls in front of guests. Makes 6 servings.

DILL AND CARAWAY PORK

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 pork tenderloins (about 3 1/2 pounds total)

1/2 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Heat oil over high heat in large skillet. Add pork tenderloins and cook on all sides over medium heat until light golden brown in color. Mix together stock and Dijon mustard. Add to skillet. Cook, covered, 5 minutes. Remove cover. Turn pork over. Add whipping cream and caraway seeds and cook 10 minutes longer.

Remove tenderloins to platter. If sauce is too thin, continue to cook to consistency that will coat back of spoon. Slice meat and arrange on serving platter. Add dill to sauce and spoon over sliced meat. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

CHICKEN FRICASSEE

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon oil

3 1/2 pounds chicken pieces

1 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 pound button mushrooms

1 cup whipping cream

Heat butter and oil in Dutch oven over low heat. Add chicken pieces and cook without browning, about 7 minutes.

Remove chicken from Dutch oven and discard fat. Return leg and thigh pieces to pan and add stock, garlic, nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Bring to boil. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees 15 minutes. Add chicken breasts and mushrooms. Bake, covered, 15 minutes more or until tender.

Remove pan from oven. Transfer chicken and mushrooms to platter and place in turned-off oven to keep warm. Add whipping cream to Dutch oven. Boil liquid on stove to consistency that will coat back of spoon.

Remove chicken and mushrooms from oven and pour any juices into sauce. Arrange chicken and mushrooms on serving platter. Spoon sauce over top and serve. Makes 4 servings.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg or mace

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup Madeira

1 pound pineapple, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, core removed

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

Cream together granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in mixer bowl until smooth. Lower speed and add vanilla, nutmeg, eggs, yolks and milk. Mix until incorporated. Add baking powder and salt, then flour and cornmeal, mixing until fluffy.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup butter, Madeira and pineapple in heavy 10-inch oven-proof skillet. Cook over medium heat 20 minutes. (Pineapple will release much liquid.) Remove pineapple with slotted spoon and reserve. Continue cooking until liquid is reduced nearly to glaze. Add brown sugar and cook until mixture becomes smooth, about 2 minutes.

Arrange pineapple slices back into syrup. Pour cake batter over fruit. Bake at 375 degrees on middle rack 20 to 25 minutes until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Place large platter over skillet and turn upside down to remove cake from skillet. Cool before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.