It takes two

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Posted at 4:17PM, 11 February 2009 by Adrian Bridgwater - Journalist

Our beloved celebrity chefs are just oh so fond of telling us that with good quality produce, you really don't need to do much to create great food that tastes outstanding aren't they? I remember attending a weekend at Rick Steins' seafood school a couple of years back and coming away with the words, "Let the ingredients speak for themselves," ringing in my ears for days afterwards.

Why is it then that we love to abandon simplicity and overcomplicate so much of our cooking? Curry recipes demand 16 dried herbs and spices, while four-stage risottos beg that we don't forget to pre-soak the dried porcini mushrooms before we move on to prepare the Moroccan pastillas with slowly stewed saffron-infused chicken layered with scrambled eggs and almonds in filo pastry.

By way of a contrast, I like to recall when I was lucky enough to live in Rome about a decade or so ago and once sat next to an old couple in a back street trattoria to have dinner. While his wife ordered something relatively simple for her 'prima' appetiser dish; the wise old Roman of the pair ordered a beef tomato and a salt shaker. I sat and watched somewhat furtively as he dived into his food with nothing more than a pinch of seasoning. OK, maybe he had a drizzle of olive oil too, but that was it!

Then, last week my wife served up a dish of only two ingredients that was just so simply wholesome that it couldn't fail to be appealing. I thought the cartoon cat Sylvester used to scream, "Suffrin' Succotash!" for alliterative comedy value only, but it turns out that succotash is a homely dish of corn and beans that became popular during the Great Depression, but has endured by virtue of its common sense value and good flavour.

I carried out a quick poll of web friends and family and asked them what they would suggest if I asked them to prepare a dish featuring just two ingredients. Predictably I got answers like beans on toast, fish and chips and a cheese omelette. But there have to be more two-ingredient dishes worth shouting about that those British staples surely?

Mexicans and Cubans regularly eat black beans and rice and laud it as a national dish with some pride. My favourite Floyd shows are when (Sir) Keith is extolling the manifold pleasures of a simple grilled mackerel sandwich in the back streets of Istanbul. That was fish and bread if you didn't catch the ingredients for that concoction.

I've eaten in the market stalls of the Djemma el Fna in Marrakech and a plate of meat brochettes and pickles (washed down with awful but somehow appropriate lukewarm orange Fanta) really sums up North African on a plate. Chickpeas in chicken stock with crushed cumin seeds sounds so basic, but it is so moreish - and so Moorish too for that matter.

So could you create something appealing if you were asked to rustle up a dish using only two ingredients? Salt and pepper for seasoning is a given I suppose, as is a little oil or butter to cook with if needed. Or is this too much to ask now that we have all got so used to 'over-engineering' our food today?

Comments

Craig

11 February 2009, 5:29PM
Craig

Linguine with sage butter. Fabulous and takes 5 minutes to make. If we consider sage butter a condiment (and I do) you can add pan-fried pancetta or parmesan depending on preference, as your second ingredient. This adds another great taste to an incredibly simple and flavoursome dish. Also, toasted anchovy sandwiches are a salty, fishy delight - assuming you like anchovies, obviously!

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miniminx

11 February 2009, 6:52PM
miniminx

Mozzarella and tomato salad :)

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tracy

11 February 2009, 9:31PM
tracy

chicken and sweetcorn soup-delicious!!

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Lushious

12 February 2009, 7:22AM
Lushious

Serrano jamon and melon, avocado and prawns (although this WOULD benefit from the addition of mayo!)

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Chris Brack

12 February 2009, 8:59AM
Chris Brack

A fried egg (organic free range of course....) toasted sambo and its a great cure for a hangover

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sioden

12 February 2009, 10:22AM
sioden

A brushcetta made from fresh tomatoes and good ciabatta bread - little seasoning - and maybe cheat with some garlic if the tomatoes are out of season - perfect snack or light lunch!!

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Ann

12 February 2009, 10:50PM
Ann

rice and sweetcorn with lots of butter, my mother used to serve this with grilled pork chops, it was heaven

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Ann

12 February 2009, 10:51PM
Ann

avacado mashed with salt and pepper on toast

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Belit

14 February 2009, 1:06PM
Belit

Sourdough bread with salted butter

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jencoleby

15 February 2009, 4:36PM
jencoleby

What about a couple of slices of rare roast beef between two slices of crusty farmhouse bread? Would be sacrilege to mess with that!

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Leamac83

16 February 2009, 9:04AM
Leamac83

Bacon and eggs!!! Sausage and mash!!! Sardines on toast!!! A crepe with lemon juice..ok so maybe there are a few things to make the crepe but worth it!

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KarenKL

16 February 2009, 6:28PM
KarenKL

I'm with miniminx: "ensalata caprese" or tomatos with mozzerlla was the first thing that came to my mind.

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KathrynsFood

18 February 2009, 3:57PM
KathrynsFood

Cheese on toast! Good farmhouse loaf, thickly sliced and toasted with melted gruyere cheese under the grill till really brown and bubbling.

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Surya

18 February 2009, 6:28PM
Surya

Globe artichoke and butter. Simmer for 20 mins or until the leaves peel off easily. Strain. Add butter or lemon juice or vinegar, which ever you prefer. To eat peel of a leaf and eat the bottom of it, as you get closer to the heart more of the leaf will be edible. When all of the leaves are gone eat the heart. Delicious!

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