It all starts with ingredients

Ingredients are the building blocks of everything culinary and never before has such a variety of ingredients been available, thanks to international trade, the resurgence of cultivars and necessity brought about by the “glocalization” of cuisine. This wide variety creates the perfect opportunity for wise chefs and restaurants to make themselves known for their skills and not just their dishes alone. Dishes can be copied and versioned, but the talents of flavoring, cooking methods and ingredient combinations are unique to the creator.

This being front of mind, consider developing your menus at the ingredients level. Let the ingredients prescribe the dish, versus letting the menu dictate your ingredients. Hunt down ingredients that offer uniqueness, value and quality (as well as cost savings!). When you maximize seasonal availability, freshness and bountiful supply, you temper raw costs as well. This will offer originality to any menu, resulting in customer excitement and greater profitability.

Here are some great examples of how to effectively use four different ingredients to add a unique element to your menu, while prioritizing availability, seasonality and cost savings.

Delicata Squash. Delicata squash is a winter wonder, sweet and creamy in flavor with a robust edible rind. Once seeded and sliced, there is literally no waste, so long as you use the seeds as well. Sliced, tossed in olive oil and parmesan cheese, the squash makes a delicious oven-roasted appetizer with some marinara for dipping. For a super-simple, plant-forward creation, just use the slices in your favorite Buffalo Wing adaptation.

Parsnips. Similarly, parsnips are sweet and heady, with a distinct flavor. They make an amazing roasted parsnip consommé. After utilizing the peelings to create a beautifully flavorful broth, the root flesh can then be used in delicate roast batons for a garnish or whipped into velvety gnocchi. There’s no reason to throw any parts of the root away.

Citrus. This year’s Produce Marketing Association indicated a greater availability of Pummelo limes, Pink limes and Cara Cara oranges. Though chefs are accustomed to throwing away roughly 25% of these fruits’ weights in the peel, don’t overlook their zests’ myriad uses and benefits. Candied and pickled, the zests boast countless applications, as a toothsome garnish for a salad, a bar garnish or a beautiful finish to a hot-off-the-grill slice of protein or large cut of vegetable.

Ube. Ube, meaning “tuber” in Tagalog, is the Filipino purple yam currently taking the food scene by storm. Sweeter than a purple sweet potato, it offers great flavor to go along with its almost supernaturally vibrant violet color. Due to increased popularity and demand, Ube availability is increasing across the United States and the ingredient can be seen in both sweet and savory dishes, from stews to donuts and cakes. We’ve even had success with a beautiful purple Ube Molten Cake!

Further tips:

When retaining vegetable peels for secondary uses, be sure to scrub vegetables well, prior to peeling.

Drop peels in water until ready to use, to keep them from dehydrating and oxidizing.

For premium color and flavor retention when candying citrus, use a lower-temperature dehydrator after the zests have been soaked in a simple syrup.

Quickly brining squash seeds is a great way to add flavor and simplifies the removal of the sticky membrane left behind from the squash core.

Cooking unpeeled sweet potatoes with the skin on results in less flesh waste and makes peeling easier once the cooked sweet potatoes are cool.