 |
Vegetarian Journal
Excerpts
January/February 1997
Volume XVI, Number 1
|
Garnishes!
By Rachel Himmelheber
A midnight buffet on a cruise draws people with cameras, some of whom have
no intention of eating. They come for a look at the elaborate garnishes
and ice sculptures. Once they arrive, however, many decide to taste a little
here and there. A garnished meal can help bring your guests to the table
and may even persuade them to try something they didn't intend to try.
However, you don't need elaborate garnishes or ice sculptures to dress
up your meal.
Hints to Begin
The appropriate garnish is determined by several factors. An office party
would require different food, as well as different garnishes, than a dinner
party would. You would decorate your home differently for your child's
birthday gathering than for a cocktail party. The occasion is the first
factor you need to consider.
Time is another important factor. Your garnish should enhance your meal,
but it should not take longer to make than the meal itself. How much time
you have determines what type of food you will serve; time should also
help you decide what garnishes to have. A garnish doesn't need to be elaborate
and time consuming to be beautiful and interesting.
You should also consider what types of food you are preparing. Often, you
can garnish your meal with leftovers from your ingredients. Another important
consideration involves matching your food with your garnish. You want to
be sure that the flavors go together; for example, a sprig of cilantro
should not adorn a dish that does not include cilantro as an ingredient.
Some Simple Tools
Before you begin to create your garnishes, you will need some simple tools.
A good paring knife and a small, sharp, serrated knife can be very helpful.
As always, make sure your knives are sharp and in good condition; most
people cut themselves with dull knives, not sharp ones. A melon baller
can help liven up a dull fruit salad or fruit platter. If you really become
interested in garnishes, go to your local kitchen supply store; there are
many tools you can use for more complicated decorations and carvings.
Trays and Edible Bowls
A tray or a platter can be a fast, interesting way to arrange your food
for an office party or buffet. It also works well for appetizers and children's
parties. Try a vegetable tray, a fruit tray, or pair pita bread with hummus
and baba ghanouj, or baked tortilla chips with a salsa and/or bean dip.
Chocolate fondue is an elegant evening or party tray. Simply melt semi-sweet
dark chocolate and thin with a little soymilk or orange juice. Serve with
fruit, chunks of vegan cake, or with Emes kosher (vegetarian) marshmallows
for the kids. Kids will also love a tray of pizza dippers. Just make your
favorite pizza dough recipe, roll it out, cut it into squares, lightly
sprinkle with oil, salt and garlic, and bake. Serve with your favorite
marinara sauce. This snack is a healthy one that kids will think is a treat.
It also looks beautiful on a tray. Try garnishing the pizza dippers and
sauce very simply with a few sprigs of basil or oregano.
When making up a tray, be sure to separate the colors. For example, do
not put cucumber slices next to the broccoli on your tray. Separate them
with some mushrooms, cauliflower, yellow squash, or cherry tomatoes. Trays
also look best when arranged symmetrically. Keep in mind that balance is
important, particularly when making a round tray. A centerpiece is also
important. Hollowed-out foods can make wonderful bowls for your dips. Try
hollowing out peppers, tomatoes, round bread loaves, cabbage, or eggplant.
Serve fruit salad in a pineapple, cantaloupe, or watermelon. Or, for winter,
try serving soup in a pumpkin, or rice or stuffing in a baked squash half.
Edible bowls are both beautiful and functional; they create interest and
reduce waste.
Fresh Herbs and Flowers:Beyond Kale and Parsley
Your garnish can be simple and still go beyond the traditional kale leaves
or parsley sprigs. Explore the different types of fresh herbs available.
Many supermarkets are now expanding the availability and variety of their
fresh herbs. These herbs are often pre-packaged. Try using a mix of fresh
and dried in your recipe and saving a few sprigs for your garnish. A local
specialty shop or farmer's market would also carry a variety of fresh herbs.
Rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, mint, and cilantro are particularly beautiful.
Fresh flowers are also an unusual and beautiful decoration. Try edible
flowers such as nasturtiums.
Some Simple Garnishes
Chocolate Leaves
Melt some vegan semi-sweet dark chocolate chips or other chocolate in the
microwave or in a double boiler. Carefully wash some non-poisonous leaves.
Make sure you have left some of the stem on. Holding the stem, brush the
back of the leaf with the melted chocolate. Place the chocolate leaf on
a waxed paper-covered cookie sheet and freeze until firm. Carefully peel
the leaf away from the chocolate, again holding the stem. Do this carefully;
chocolate leaves are extremely delicate. Try to use this garnish immediately.
You may want to make several more of these than you need the first few
times.
Animal Garnishes for the Kids
Give your kids some olives, radishes, cucumber slices, strips of red pepper,
sprouts, a squash or eggplant, and toothpicks and let them go crazy making
their own animals. For a variation, try peanut butter to "glue" items together
instead of toothpicks.
The most important point to remember when garnishing is that the garnish
is not the centerpiece; your meal is.
The Vegetarian Journal published here is not the
complete issue, but these are excerpts from the published
magazine. Anyone wanting to see everything should subscribe to the magazine.
Thanks to volunteer Jeanie Freeman for
converting this article to HTML
 |
© 1996-
The Vegetarian Resource Group
PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203
(410) 366-8343 Email: [email protected]
|
|
Last Updated
September 20, 1997
|
Graphic
design by |
|
The contents of this web site, as with
all The Vegetarian Resource Group publications, is not
intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical
advice should be obtained from a qualified health
professional.
Any pages on this site may be
reproduced for non-commercial use if left intact
and with credit given to The Vegetarian Resource Group.
Web site questions or comments? Please email
[email protected].
|