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Garnishing first courses
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| Food should be attractive and it's not hard to transform even the simplest dish into both a color and flavor delight. Keep in mind that that garnishes and decorations should harmonize with the plates and table arrangement. So it's best to stick with white or solid-color plates, at most embellished with a little relief work, so you can most effectively show off the natural colors of the foods served. To create a charming visual effect, the garnishing on a round plate can either be arranged around the edge of the place radiating out from the center, or in the center, and this applies to both serving platters as well as individual plates. A general rule of thumb regarding the garnishing of first courses is to use the same ingredients featured in the recipe and always to use edible products. |
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The most traditional Italian dishes, classics like an Amatriciana or tomato sauce, can be adorned with sprigs of basil. The trick here is to add them at the last moment so they stay fresh, selecting medium-size leaves still attached to the stem and always well rinsed. If the recipe calls for cherry tomatoes (or other small varieties), you can use them whole or cut into wedges that can be arranged into clusters to create colorful highlights on the serving platter. For an Arrabbiata sauce, on the other hand, you can garnish with whole hot peppers, especially the smaller ones, arranged around the edge of the serving platter or sliced into thin rings that can be sprinkled onto the individual servings.
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The increasingly popular traditional Mediterranean herbs work very nicely as garnishes for first courses. Although basil is the first choice for tomato sauces, parsley, sage and rosemary are also very suitable herbs. As with basil, the leaves should be left attached to the stem, carefully selecting beautifully green, healthy specimens and not actually garnishing until the very last moment, arranging the decoration along the edge of the plate with the stems facing out.
Vegetable recipes offer a lot a potential in terms of creative inspiration for people who enjoy garnishing. For example, by cutting zucchini lengthwise with a truffle knife you get fine strips that tend to curl up, perfect for decorating serving platters. Washed and carefully dried, zucchini flowers can be "crystallized", i.e. immersed for a few seconds in boiling oil (make sure it's not so hot that it's smoking), giving them a lovely sheen. You can do the same thing with basil or parsley to make sure they maintain a brilliant green color. Plus, the chefs have assured us that vegetables prepared in this manner are delicious. Carrots, peppers and mushrooms, always cut lengthwise (or, in the case of the peppers, into rings as well), will add a further dash of color and freshness to first courses featuring them as ingredients.
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If you are serving a clam or muscle sauce, all you have to do is set aside a few cooked clams or muscles that have opened nicely and then arrange them on top of the pasta once the sauce has been added. The same holds true for shrimp sauces, where it's also nice to garnish with asparagus tips (cut lengthwise) or zucchini, depending on the recipe. In the case of first courses featuring fillets of fish, such as salmon or sole, you can do your decorating with the fillets themselves, for instance, rolled up and placed in the center of the individual plates. If your seafood sauce does not call for tomatoes, you can still add some color highlights with the green of parsley or other herbs, such as wild fennel. The distinctly Mediterranean flavor of clams or muscles can be further highlighted by adding a handful of olives, either black or green ones.
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Since baked pastas are generally very rich, displaying a mouth-watering luscious quality that, in itself, constitutes a treat for the eye, we recommend moderation when it comes to garnishing dishes like lasagna and cannelloni. In order to avoid going overboard, all you have to do is add a simple sprig of some herb or a raw slice of one of the vegetables featured in the recipe. Artichokes, frequently featured in baked pasta sauces, can be used too. Cut them (lengthwise) into slices and be sure to place them in water acidulated with lemon juice so they don't start to blacken before being placed on the plates. If the recipe does not call for any particular spices or herbs, according to the experts you can always use a sprig of rosemary or marjoram. And precisely because they are not part of the Italian gastronomic tradition, thyme and chervil tend to imbue any baked pasta dish with an unusual flair, while mint, with its fresh digestive aroma, is excellent with aged cheeses. And speaking of cheeses, flakes of Parmigiano Reggiano constitute an excellent garnish idea, especially in the case of dishes featuring a lot of ingredients and a variegated color, creating a subtly elegant accompaniment.
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And finally we come to the soups which, upon serving, can be rendered more appetizing with the addition of a little olive oil. If you are fond of color, you can add (preferably right in the middle of the soup) a sprig of parsley or rosemary, or any of the other herbs featured in the recipe, especially in the case of soups served with croutons. If the recipe allows, a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper just before serving will add a hearty rustic flair.
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