Recipe: Tuna, rice and asparagus

Getting down with business 

I heated up the rice in a pan with extra virgin olive oil, added the rice to start heating it up while boiling the asparagus for about 5 minutes in a different pot. Halfway through that time I addeed the tuna to the rice and eventually started mixing them.

The tuna was delicious; light, yet flavourful. The tomato sauce it came in had the right amount of sweetness (I already know we will be bringing home more of these next time we are in Spain.

Once the asparaguses were soft, I drained them, then returned them to the pot with a t of olive oil, a bit of salt, and a generous grinding of black pepper. I sautéed them for a couple of minutes, tossing them around so they’d soak up the flavor on all sides.

Once the asparaguses where soft, I took them out, drained the water, then returned the pot to the stove, heated some olive oil, and proceeded to put the asparaguses back for a 2-3 mins, adding a bit of salt and grinding a generous amount of black pepper, while moving them around the pot so all the sides can get the flavour and don’t get stuck to the bottom.

Back to the rice: At this point it was hot and well integrated with the tuna, and smelling very good. It is starting to look promising. Served in bowl, added the asparaguses on top (cut into small pieces). Another touch of fresh extra virgin olive oil, another touch of pepper—and voilà! Fatto (“Done" in Italian.)

This how I think about cooking. Cooking is making, almost like problem-solving, is not

There is is cooking and there is following a recipe. The way I think about it, my personal believe is that, you can follow a recipe and still not cooking. What do I mean by that?

You can follow a recipe and still have a bland tasting dish at the end of it. There are multiple variables when it comes to cooking, the kitchen type, the pots, and above anything else the ingredients. Things don't taste the same everywhere in the world, even if you are in the same place all the time, they don't even taste the same throughout the year. Even the recipe's author's palate will be different than yours.

So, if recipe says "add two spoons of salt" and you only do that, you are not cooking, you are just following the recipe. You are making something, yes, absolutely and let's not remove the merit out of it.

But for me, cooking like problem solving, is adapting.

Have you ever hear that passage of a plane is never on track, instead is the pilot's job to keep on route?

“An airplane is off course most of the time, but it still reaches its destination because the pilot is constantly making small adjustments to stay on track.”

Might sound like a weird analogy, but this is how I think about cooking. It's "constantly making small adjustments to stay on track".

Keeping the salt example, "add two spoons of salt" - Do that and taste it. Do you like it?

Is it missing something? add a bit more salt.

Does two spoons feel like to much? Add one and see how it goes before adding a second one.

You are missing one ingredient, try it without it. You have something else instead that you think can fill that gap or that you think might work. Go for it!

For me, recipes are a guidance, not a building manual. And yes, I do have family recipes that I follow step-by-step, but as much as I follow the steps, I know I will have to gauge the flavours along the way. Heck, sometimes I have even forgotten to add something when I was supposed to, so I end up adding at a latter stage or skipping entirely, and in that moment, it is like the plane pilot, how I'm going to course correct to get this plane (recipe) as close to it's intended final destination.

For me, cooking is about finding your flavour. That's why my dad's sauce taste different (better) than mine. Even those that. He has his flavour and I have mine. That's what cooking is about