Not all survival is subsistence living and just barely scraping by. To prove it, I will post a occasional “Provident Gourmet” diary – a dishes that can be made from mostly home grown produce and stockpiled foods. The sole exception is the meat, which can be dispensed with and the meal would still qualify as “gourmet”.
A gourmet dish can be quite simple. What defines gourmet as opposed to food is the attention to details, the technique, and the final flavor. It must be well-prepared, well-presented, and above all, delicious. A simple syrup delicately scented with rose elevates it from plain to gourmet. Asparagus, picked fresh, cleaned, peeled, if needed, and steamed to the right degree of doneness, where it becomes greener, more flavorful, with just a touch of give when bitten and chewed is gourmet, where asparagus steamed into submissive limpness is not. Timing, taste, texture, mouth feel, aroma, and visual appeal all contribute to transforming a dish from food to gourmet food. It’s not the ingredients that makes the dish gourmet, it’s the technique, preparation, and attention to detail that elevates it.
And even the most poverty-stricken of us can transform our meals into gourmet delicacies.
Let me offer this small insight. My daughter likes making angel food cakes from scratch because she likes experimenting with flavors – nutmeg angelfood, chocolate angelfood, almond angelfood* She was always impatient in the preparation and would sift the flour just once, until a friend mentioned once that his grandmother always sifted hers 5 times. My daughter scoffed at him, until the day she decided to try it. Her angelfood cakes were good. After she sifted them 5 times, they were better than good, they were sublimely good. Now, she always sifts her angelfood cake 5 times. That one small difference made a significant difference in the end result, a good cake became a gourmet cake. Attention to the details makes the difference.
I make a yeast-based coffee cake I learned to make from my grandmother. For years, I was frustrated in being unable to re-create the cake in my kitchen when I could always produce perfect results in hers. One day, I stumbled upon her secret: old yeast. She used her oldest yeast to make the coffee cake, resulting in a dense, yeasty cake the sucked up the hot coffee or cocoa without falling apart. The old yeast rose, but didn’t rise far or well. Using less yeast to try to get that flat dense cake made for a heavy, damp cake even the dogs avoided. But old yeast that was slow to rise until subjected to high heat, then bloomed densely in the oven led to a cake that was firm, dense and baked all the way through without becoming as light as a loaf of bread. From that day to this, I’ve always been able to bake a coffeecake as delicious as my grandmother’s. It’s not something that can be conveyed in a recipe, and it’s those details that make the dish gourmet.
This is also an illustration of why a person can meticulously follow a recipe and end up with results that are so different from the creator of the recipe’s dish. The attention to the details and the process can make or break a recipe, which is more than just a listing of ingredients and the order in which they are combined. The difference between a light hand and a heavy hand, between cold fingers and warm ones, can make a tremendous difference, too.
Few recipes are written in the detail needed to alter a dish from good to sublime. Many chefs who share their treasured recipes don’t consider that the average home cook hasn’t had their years of training and experience so while the recipes they share contain all the ingredients, and even some of the techniques, they lack that tip or hint or “chef’s intuition” that makes the dish unique.
In sharing provident gourmet recipes, I will try to convey to you the nuances that change the dish from ordinary to extraordinary. Don’t be fooled by the ingredient list – a short list doesn’t mean the dish will be plain and bland, nor a lengthy list guarantee the dish will be overwhelming.
I’ve chosen as the focus of this diary a gourmet meal for 4 costing less than $10. Now, that “less than $10.00″ means the price here in Oklahoma. Prices vary even within Oklahoma, so you may not be able to make these dishes for $10 in your area - it could be higher or lower - and lower still if you grew most of the ingredients yourself. Still, there’s no reason why you can’t eat a nice gourmet meal without spending a fortune on it.
First off, scrap the idea of making meat the centerpiece of the meal. Meat is a condiment, an enhancement, not the focal point of the meal. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are cheaper than out-of-season. If you use out-of-season, expect to use canned or frozen (preferably ingredients you canned or froze yourself). With those points in mind, let’s proceed to the Provident Gourmet.
This time of year is truly a bounteous time. All kinds of luscious, yummy foods are ripening. I have several small gardens that are harvestable right now, so that reduces the amount of food I’d buy to prepare a gourmet meal. The meal I’m offering today is one that I can make using produce from my garden and pantry items. I generally bake my own bread, too, which further reduces the cost and ups the gourmet factor.
If you have to buy all the ingredients (except pantry items – which are items you can use for multiple recipes, things like cooking oil, vinegar, spices, dried herbs, etc.), it should still cost you around $10.00 to make this meal for 4 people.
It consists of a flank steak salad with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette, a roasted red pepper soup with zesty sour cream and basil coulis garnish, and a crusty loaf of bread. If, like me, you can harvest most of this for your meal, you can spend the difference on fruit and cheese for a nice dessert.
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
1 red bell pepper
12 plum sized meaty tomatoes, like Roma (approximately 3 pounds)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon diced green bell pepper
3 tablespoons diced onion
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (1 clove)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups broth
1 sprig of thyme
2 teaspoons each of basil, chives, and dill
water
If you garden, all but the lemon, oil, and broth may have come from there, thus costing you only pennies to make this soup. If you have to buy all the ingredients, it should cost less than $3.00
To make the soup, first you have to can the tomatoes. These are last season's tomatoes - this year's tomatoes are just beginning to ripen.
Canning tomatoes improves their flavor and licopene level. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Set a pot of cold water aside. Place the washed tomatoes into a wire basket and lower the basket into the water. Leave the tomatoes in the water until the skin starts to crack, Remove from the boiling water and dip immediately into the cold water. The skins will loosen, so peel them off and remove any green portions and the stem. Place the tomatoes in a saucepan and barely cover with water. Boil gently for 5 minutes, then carefully pack into sterile canning jars, leaving ½ inch head room. Ladle the boiling tomato water over the packed tomatoes. Slide a rubber spatula or tongue depressor between tomatoes and jar and press gently to release any trapped air. Repeat this 3 or 4 times around the jar. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice per pint of tomatoes. Carefully wipe the rim and threads clean, then place a jar lid on top. Tighten it down gently with a threaded band. With tomatoes, use a pressure canner, but if you’re going to use the tomatoes right away, a water bath will do.
To seal the tomatoes with a water bath: Fill the canner with water, less what will be displaced by the jars when they are in it. Bring the water to a boil, lower the jars in a canning rack into the boiling water, making sure there’s at least 2 inches of water above the jars as it boils. Place the lid on and let the tomatoes boil in the canner for 35 minutes in pint jars and 45 minutes in quart jars. Timing begins when the water returns to a boil after putting the jars in it.
To seal the tomatoes with a pressure canner: Place the rack in the bottom of the pressure canner, then add 2 inches of water. Heat the water to a low simmer before adding the hot jars. Add the jars in so they aren’t touching each other or the walls of the canner. Fasten the lid according the manufacturer’s instructions. Heat the pressure canner on the stove top, leaving the petcock open and allow steam to escape for 10 minutes before closing it carefully. Let the temperature climb to 10 pounds and watch to keep it adjusted for 40 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the pressure return to 0. Open the petcock to release any steam. Carefully remove the canner’s lid. If you can, wait at least a couple of hours before taking the lid off to allow it to cool a bit. With the jar tongs, left the jars out and set them on a towel to finish cooling.
Both types of canning: Once cool, test the lid for the seal – it should be tight and sucked in a bit. If you tap the jar with a spoon, you should get a clear tone. For us hard of hearing folks, we can see the lid sucked in, or press the center of the lid with a finger, if it doesn’t move, it’s sealed. A loose lid or a bulging lid indicates the seal didn’t take and you’ll need to either reprocess with a new lid (I usually start over with a new sterile jar, too) or use the contents very quickly.
Now, for the pepper:
Roast the red pepper: Coat the pepper with cooking oil that has a high smoking point. Be sure to get inside all the creases. Place the pepper on a baking sheet on the highest shelf in your pre-heated oven or broiler. Keep a close eye on the pepper and when it starts getting dark splotches, turn it with a pair of tongs. Repeat until each side has dark splotches. Remove the pepper and place in a bowl with a tight lid. Leave it there for about 20 minutes. Take the pepper out of the bowl and pull the stem out. Peel the skin off. Cut the pepper flat and remove the seeds.
My peppers are still crunchy green, so I would use red bell peppers roasted and canned from last year's harvest.
Now, with the tomatoes and peppers ready, you can proceed to make soup.
(You can cheat and use store bought jarred roasted red peppers and canned tomatoes, but the end result will not be as good).
Heat the oil and sautee the onion, garlic, and green bell pepper. Add the broth, then add your roasted pepper and your tomatoes. Bring to a slow simmer and allow it to cook for 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree the soup. If you didn’t seed the tomatoes before you canned them and you don’t want seeds, you can press the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds.
To kick this up a notch, you can garnish it with a basil coulis:
1 c fresh basil
1 clove garlic
sea salt
1/4 c olive oil
Again, if you garden, you will only need to provide the salt and oil, which costs pennies. If you buy the basil, it generally costs under a dollar for a bunch. The garlic is pennies even bought, since you're using just a portion of a garlic bulb, a single clove of it.
Blanch the basil for 30 seconds in 2 cups of boiling water, the way you blanched the tomatoes before canning them, then plunge them in 2 cups cold water. Squeeze dry. Puree the basil with the garlic and sea salt, slowly adding oil. Pour the coulis is a squeeze bottle and squeeze onto the roasted red pepper and tomato soup.
You can take this up another notch by blending 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon lime zest, and 1/2 cup sour cream together and putting it into a squeeze bottle, then garnishing the roasted red pepper and tomato soup with both the zesty sour cream and basil coulis.
To round out the meal for under $10.00, add an entree salad and a loaf of crusty bread.
With tomato soup, I like a
Flank Steak Salad
1/2 pound flank or skirt steak
1/4 c olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon each ground chili powder and ground cumin
sea salt and pepper to taste
a sprig of fresh rosemary
The steak should cost about $3.00, and the rest comes from your pantry, which would add maybe 50¢.
Whisk the oil, vinegar, and seasonings together and marinate the steak overnight. Grill over medium heat on lightly oiled rack with fresh rosemary laid across it. If you use hickory or pecan wood chips (or, my favorite – allspice wood chips), it will impart a wonderful flavor to the steak. When done, slice it thinly and lay it across the greens:
10 ounces of mesclun mixed baby greens
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters
1/4 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, grated
Again, if these came from your garden, it won’t cost. If you buy it at the store, this should cost about $2.00
Toss these together and top with the flank steak slices.
Dress with:
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
sea salt and pepper to taste
All from the pantry for pennies.
Mix well and pour over salad.
Add a baguette or a loaf of Italian bread for $1.00 and the whole meal comes in right at $10.00 if you had to buy all or most of it. If you only had to buy the steak, it would be under $5.00. Pantry items take up the other $2.00 since you can use pantry items for multiple recipes.
Or bake the bread yourself. It costs about the same whether you buy it or bake it because retail prices for the ingredients is much more costly than wholesale costs for flour, yeast, egg, and milk.
Italian Bread
Sponge:
1 cup water
1 cup bread flour
1/2 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
Dough:
the sponge
5 cups bread flour
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar or malt powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups tepid water
cornmeal
a spritz bottle of lightly salted water
Mix the sponge ingredients together and place in a proofing bowl (a bowl with a tight fitting lid) for between 4 and 16 hours.
When the sponge is spongy, mix it with the tepid water, oil, yeast, salt, sugar, dry milk and 2 cups bread flour. Mix it smooth, then slowly knead in the rest of the flour until you have a slack but not sticky dough (about 15 minutes). Place in a proofing bowl and let it rise about 2 hours, then deflate it and allow it to rise for 30 minutes. Divide in half and shape into logs. Let it rest under a damp towel for 20 minutes. Smooth up the shape and let it finish rising for at least another hour. Preheat the baking stone in a 425ºF oven, slash the top of the loaves 1/4 inch deep three or four times, sprinkle the stone with cornmeal and slide the loaves onto it. Spritz lightly with salt water. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the loaves and spritz lightly again, then bake until the internal temperature is 200ºF (about 20 – 30 minutes, or until tapping the bottom of the loaf produces a hollow sound). Allow the bread to cool 20 – 30 minutes before slicing. The cooler the bread, the easier it will slice.
This meal will feed 4 people for approximately $10.00 – and the more of it you grow, the less it will cost – with enough let over roasted red pepper tomato soup to form the base of a delicious gazpacho. If you spend little enough because you saved a lot by growing your own produce, you can use the difference to buy some fruit and cheese for an excellent dessert.
And that is how I intend to survive a coming depression/recession – by growing much of my food and preparing it in a gourmet fashion.