Luckily, today we are exposed to so many tastes and flavors, and so many spices and herbs are available by mail order that we can play with food like never before.
The base, the mirepoix, the sofrito is the key to global flavors. I did a deep dive for fun, and the result was a graphic shortcut to building interesting dishes with regional flavors.
Knowing the base ingredients unique to a culture, catapults you into a world of flavors.
Want to play a game?
Match these sofritos to their nation/country of origin, or should I say region. Wars change borders, but the people and food are not defined my borders. Look at Spain, there are distinct differences between north and south. Different cultures. Its just such a fun way to study the world.
The last sofrito, onion and paprika is the base of most of my dishes. But the French mirepoix of celery, onion and carrots, is also integrated as is bayleaf and parsley.
Some of my favorite stocks and seasonings.
Indispensable for adding rich color and umami flavor is Vegemite or Marmite. A very highly concentrated yeast product.
The way I learned to create flavor, was the method of building the base of a dish. T here are no shortcuts, however, once you master these simple steps, it becomes second nature and everything you make is delicious, fast and easy.
My flavor building method
Invariably, my first step to building incredible flavor is the onion. One of the most diverse and in my eyes, beloved allium on the planet.
Chop the onions, coarsely or finely depending on the dish, then sweat them down in oil
( I use avocado, sunflower or canola). Cook until translucent and soft.
For simple Hungarian dishes, at this point, take the onions off heat, cool and add paprika powder until melted into the oil and softened.
Continue building the dish with other ingredients.
For other cuisines, or more complex dishes, sweating down other vegetables before adding the paprika, and then cooking them in the concentrated paprika mixture, before adding liquids, gives you a much richer flavor.