Handfuls of herbs spice up salads

Strong opinions and plenty of tips to make your cooking taste better: that’s the specialty of Christopher Kimball, chef/ founder of the cooking school and media company Milk Street, named after his Boston address.

His goal is to wean us off of slavishly following classic culinary systems or trying to adapt Italian, Chinese and other cuisines. Instead, he says we should “rethink what we do at the stove.” That means learning basic techniques that give your food more flavour in less time.

His latest cookbook, Milk Street: The New Rules (Little, Brown/hachette, $44), begins with four useful pages filled with 75 changes he suggests we make in the way we cook. For example, start potatoes in the microwave, and after roasting they will be tender inside, crisp outside. Sear seafood on only one side, remove the pan from the burner, and let the residual heat finish the cooking. Skip searing meat and get flavour by adding more herbs and spices.

Kimball provides over 100 recipes and a multitude of adaptations. He recommends adding some different condiments to your pantry, such as pomegranate molasses for glazing lamb, pork or chicken, and fish sauce for pepping up soups and stir-fries. Make your own spice blends and you can be sure they’re fresh, he writes, offering recipes for blends including five-spice powder and za’atar. And he suggests livening up root vegetables by grating them, thereby releasing their natural sugars. The book is beautifully illustrated by Connie Miller.

For Kimball, salads benefit from handfuls of fresh herbs, like today’s recipe in which parsley pairs with baby arugula. Use flat-leaf parsley, which has more flavour than curly.

PARSLEY AND ARUGULA SALAD

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons (7 ml) lemon zest (grated peel)

3 tablespoons (45 ml) fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt

1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 3 cups/750 ml lightly packed leaves and tender stems)

2 cups (500 ml) lightly packed baby arugula

4 green onions, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon (15 ml) toasted sesame seeds Instructions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, the oil and 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt.

Add parsley, arugula and green onions, tossing to combine.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and toss again. Season with salt and serve.

LITTLE, BROWN • HACHETTE With recipes such as parsley and arugula salad, Milk Street founder Christopher Kimball offers ways to give your food more flavour in less time.