I was reflecting earlier about an entire style of cooking that I seldom use – herbs as aromatics.
I think the basics of my lack of use come down to tea. As in, I have some strange genetic quirk that keeps me from being able to taste it. The strange thing is that I can smell it just fine – but I can’t taste it on my tongue.
Mind you, this is extremely useful when it comes time to take care of a sore throat, actually – it tastes like water, but soothes my throat. But as I was drinking some tea to prepare for a night of karaoke (which was frustrating, because two different people took songs I wanted to do – a maneuver I call the “karaoke cockblock,” if you forgive my French), I was thinking about how I seldom do this when I cook.
Of course, I cook with herbs all the time. But I always cook with them in rubs, in crusts, and in mixing with other ingredients to make broths. I never allow them to simply warm up and smoke their flavors through the foods I’m working with. And really, given just how much I like several herbs that are good for such moves (like rosemary), I figure that this ought to be my next experiment.
I figure my first attempt will be chicken – relatively affordable, and rosemary chicken is a delightful dish. I might even try fun with rounds – pound the chicken flat, put on a layer of sundried tomatoes and one of mozzarella cheese, then roll it up, slice it into rounds, and bake it with some olive oil and the aromatics. That would be a fine meal, I think.
Anyhow, it’s a start. In the meantime, I just finished another cup of tea – always time for one more song.
