Loving this image of gorgeous roasted vegetables, as it illustrates such a simple way to cook. Just a few humble ingredients, all focused on flavor and seasonality. While these veggies are lovely on their own, their flavor is seriously punched up by a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. And, of course, heat — which is almost an ingredient in and of itself.
While it can be fun to play with ALL. THE. SPICES, really, all we NEED is salt. There are areas in the world where the locals certainly can’t afford to buy all sorts of fancy ingredients, and their food is delicious by virtue of its simplicity. They learn how to coax flavor out of very little. (And, time is an important cooking ingredient as well. Yes, seriously.)⠀⠀⠀⠀
The key is to LEARN TO SALT YOUR FOOD. When your food is salted enough, a taste should elicit a physical reaction when you taste. It should feel like a *zing* that you can feel viscerally — deeply in your palate and throat, and even sometimes in your fingers and toes.
And most importantly, the flavor should linger a good 5-10 seconds after you swallow. If the flavor of your food instantly disappears, you have not salted it enough.
Learn to get comfortable with salting correctly and you might be surprised how little you need to use other ingredients to make food taste good. ⠀⠀
