Top 10 Pantry Items
I was recently asked what top 10 items I’d recommend that everyone should have on hand in their pantry. A quick trip into my dry-storage space at the Bistrot for inspiration helped me come up with this list:
- Banyuls vinegar
- Aged soy sauce
- Vanilla sugar
- Piment d’Espelette
- Lebanese Olive Oil
- Guerande coarse grey sea salt
- Green tabasco sauce
- Armagnac
- Basmati rice
- New Mexican dried red chiles
I hope this helps!
posted by Tony Maws @ 3:21 PM
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6 Comments:
I can definitely vouch for that Lebanese olive oil. I get it at Arax Market in Watertown. To this I would add just one thing:
Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Costco -a fraction of the usual cost and more delicious.
OK, I promise not to use this blog for family squabbles. But it IS a family-owned restaurant after all, so let me just challenge my mom on one fine point. Yes, I am all for deflating food snobbery -- if there is a cheap and good alternative, use it! But it pains me to see this space being used to promote big box chain stores like Costco. They can get their own damn blog! (Sorry, mom.) Just a thought I wanted to share as we try to get this blog off the ground.
I'm very happy to see this blog and Craigie St is one of my favorite restaurants in Boston.
Could you elaborate a little on your list. You list things I've never heard of: Banyuls vinegar, Piment d"Espelette, Lebanese Olive Oil. I'd love to hear more about the items and perhaps what you use some of them for.
Thanks, Smari
Yes, I agree, would be curious to know more about some of the ingrendients (e.g. what makes the Lebanese olive oil stand out? is the banyuls vinegar similar to balsamic (don't worry I'm not thinking about from Costco).
BTW, I blogged about something I had there this spring as my "best dish of 2006". Article here:
http://cookingchat.blogspot.com/2006/11/best-2006-dishes.html
Sorry for the delay, folks. I haven’t had quite as much time lately for the blog as I’d like. Yes, I suppose it’s only fair that I elaborate a bit! The basic theme of many of these ingredients is that they are just slightly better than the “standard” ingredients that are often called for in recipes.
So, for example Banyuls vinegar is just a particularly unique and interesting flavored red wine vinegar made from wine grapes with great terroir. The same reason the wines from this rocky soil Mediterranean region are also great, really. Use it instead of “regular” red wine vinegar from the supermarket.
Aged soy sauce has a bit more depth and character then regular soy sauce. In this case, you wouldn’t use it in the same way, though. Regular soy sauce is fine is fine for stir-frying and such, but the aged stuff is something you might finish a dish with.
Vanilla sugar: This is sugar with more substance. Use it in literally anything that calls for sugar. It is so easy to make. Save your used vanilla pods and leave them above the stove until they are dry – a few hours. Place them in a mason jar and cover with sugar. After a few days… voila! Vanilla sugar.
Piment d’Espelette is a variety of chili pepper that has just the right amount of heat and bright citrus tones. A little bit in a soup or on fish goes a long way.
Lebanese olive oil is an example of a product that you can get for much better value than some of the more famous varieties. We always hear about Spanish, French and Italian olive oils. But you can get great quality olive oil from Lebanon. And as my mom says above, Arax Market in Watertown is a great place to find it.
Not all salt is the same. You already know that, though! At the very least spring for some decent Kosher salt instead of the iodized stuff. But my favorite is Guerande coarse grey sea salt. It’s just got a really cool minerality to it.
Green Tabasco Sauce: Not everything you get at the supermarket is bad! Green chili is one of my favorite flavors, going back to my days living in New Mexico. It’s just really tasty. Try it on some eggs.
Armagnac is sort of like the rough and tumble counterpart to Cognac. I recommend using it in anything that calls for Cognac or brandy.
Basmati rice is my favorite all-purpose rice. It’s got a really nice flavor, even if you don’t do anything to it. It goes particularly well with anything spicy.
You would probably be shocked to know how many dishes I cook with New Mexican dried red chilies – it’s not just the spicy ones. These chilies are for more than just heat. They have an earthy, raisin tone I use them in all kinds of brines and marinades. Click here for my Red Chile-Marinated Skirt Steak recipe.
But enough about my essential items… What about yours? Anyone?
Hi,
A friend of mine had dinner in your restaurant a few weekends ago and was impressed. We'll be coming in soon, I hope. What interested me in your post was the basmati rice, as I'm of Indian descent. Hardly prepare rice these days as we're on yet another diet. It's chapatis day in and out. Basmati story...a college flat-mate once likened the smell of cooking basmati rice to popcorn. By golly, she was right!
What's in my pantry? Sadly, I see Frosted Flakes, Aunt Jemima Pancake mix, a HUGE bottle of vanilla extract a la Costco, various types of crackers, canned soup, Kraft macaroni and cheese...quick...how many kids DO I have? (Don't cheat and go to my defunct blog!)
Hope to try your dishes soon!
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