There are a few things I’ve learned about cooking. These are all critical lessons.
1. Your best friend is a good, sharp knife.
2. Fat means flavor.
3. Season early. Season late. Season in the middle. If you don’t season early in the cooking process, your food isn’t well-seasoned. It’s just salty.
Last night’s dinner broccoli soup, was a reminder about number three. First, I had rendered prosciutto instead of pancetta. It’s what I had, and I wasn’t really paying attention. So I didn’t start with much fat in the pan. So I added olive oil. But I figured that the ham would have enough salt. I figured wrong. Worse yet, I ran out of pepper.
The soup had decent flavor. It just was bland. That makes me sad.