Recently I had the time to read the famous Samin Nosrat book Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat and, believe me, this is one of the best book I bought in the last 5 years. And I buy lots of food books!
You have certainly read many reviews about the book and the Netflix series, so it’s not easy to tell you something new.
Anyway what I would like to say is : don’t buy this book if you are looking for some recipes, buy it if you want to learn cooking!
There is a lot of work behind this book, a lot of researching and testing, the recipes you find inside it are considered more like exercises.
To Samin the important thing is to explain “how” and “why”
It’s the same aim that guides me while I do my cooking classes.
I can just tell you that for a good egg pasta you need 100 g. of flour and one egg.
But it’s so much different if I show you several kind of flours, texture, smell and taste, the different amount of proteins they may contain, and how proteins work when we knead the dough. Just learning about how it works you can understand why certain flours are better than others. Than you can play, you can change the ingredients, you can break the rules becoming more confident in the kitchen.
Reading this book you will learn how to master 4 important elements in basic cooking : salt, acid, fat and heat. They are at the base of lot of dishes and learning about how to use them will help you to improve your skill and, most important, to be less intimidated.
The first experiment/recipe I tried is the Granola.
I love the savoury breakfast; unlike mostly Italians, I could not start the day with a cappuccino and a “cornetto” filled with pastry cream.
A slice of toasted bread with a poached egg it’s my absolutely preferred choice, with only two exceptions: bread with butter and jam or granola. Both homemade. It’s not snobbish behaviour, but really I don’t like the amount of sugar present in the purchased one that cover any other taste.
Also it’s so easy to make a good granola at home, you can keep it for days… and it’s also less expensive of any other decent product you can pick at the grocery store.
This granola it’s really amazing: packed with good ingredients, like the extra virgin olive oil and pecans, perfectly toasted, with a light sweet caramel taste and the surprising touch of sea salt that enhances the taste off all the ingredients.
Please give it a try!
Samin Nosrat Olive Oil and Sea Salt Granola
Ingredients
Instructions
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Pre-heat the oven 150°C/300°F
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined.Spread the mixture in one layer on the prepared baking sheet.
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Bake until toasted and crispy, about 45/50 minutes, stirring very 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the granola and season with more salt to taste.
Let cool completely and store in an airtight container fro up to 1 month.
