[1]If anything is complicated to understand and extra-specially so to pronounce, blame the French. They seem to have a knack for making petit gateau aux champignons out of a molehill. Why else would they use a term as tongue-tactic as hors-d’oeuvres (o-derv) for appetizers? Literally, it means, outside of the mains which isn’t entirely illogical. The Italians call it Anti-Pasti (in plural) while in parts of the Middle East it is referred to as the Mezze. We used to call them Aarambh(a), but today we ask for snacks-schacks; unimaginative, yet sadly, acceptable.
But call it or not, they are always best served and enjoyed before a meal, alongside drinks or just after people have moved to the table to begin the gastronomic journey of the evening. Think of a starter as a preview of things to come, a trailer of the full-length film that the chef will direct and play on our senses.
Chefs like starters; it is the best way to show a variety of flavours and textures without risking indigestion. The trend today in fact is that people don’t serve one starter anymore and even the starter has a pre-emptive starter. But it isn’t called that, oh no that would be too easy. Try ‘Amuse-Bouche’, something that amuses the mouth. Yep, French.
So an amuse-bouche keeps you company while your real starter gets ready. It’s a neat little fanciful charming charade – each course follows the next, neatly punctuated by wine service and clearance. For an outsider this is all unnecessary. To truly understand the importance of erstwhile eating orders and customs, you have to sit through one such experience. Don’t let the big words on the menu baffle, just eat through the courses as they are plated out and you will soon understand how the true role of a chef is not merely to cook but to feed. Chefs have to ensure a balance of ingredients, flavours, textures, tastes, and most importantly quantities and calories.
The idea of a starter is to whet the palate and appetite, create desire for more food and drink. As you take a bite, the salt and spice stress on the salivary glands, demanding more, increasing work for them. The more they produce, the hungrier you get.
Vinegar onions and Papads aren’t very far in function then, creating the same sense of sensorial deprivation and consequent desire. There are many kinds of starters, classification being based on how they are presented or sometimes on what they contain. The more popular ones would be:
Canapé: like the chair you sit on, something here rides on a layer of bread or toast.
Vol-au-vent: this is a phyllo-pastry, (think leafy dough of patties) with a filling inside.
Cold hors d-oeuvres: Although hot starters aren’t entirely unusual, most starters today are served cold. Such could then include any type of meat – cooked or raw (carpaccio, sushi), processed and preserved (tuna, sardines) or prepared into sausages (Bresaola, Sorpresa, Wurst, etc.).
Bruschetta: Like a canapé, but much simpler. Toasted bread (best when a day old), grilled, garlic-rubbed and then topped with anything from tomatoes to cheese (fresh mozzarella) and herbs.
Cheese: Although not the classic starter, they have managed to find mention there. The trick is to eat less or else the main course, like youth, will be wasted on the full-stomached and empty-headed respectively.
Foie Toast with Jamon Iberico
Ingredients
1 lb. onions
8 olive oil spoons
1 sugar spoon
1 glass of dry white wine
4-8 big slices of bread
4-8 duck foie filette
4-8 Slices of Jamon
Iberico salt
Method
Cook sliced onion in olive oil on low fire for one hour together with sugar. Cover the pot. Add the wine and cook for another hour without the cover on a low fire.
Toast the bread and spread the mixture on it with a slice of Jamon Iberico on top.
Prepare a pan at high fire and when it’s very hot cook only for 30 seconds each side of the duck foie. Lay it on top of the Iberian acorn ham and pour some kitchen salt on it.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/dinejpg-154