Perfect Purées

Adding "Lush" to your meals without extra Fat

Greetings Friends, 🥂

When thinking of truly memorable meals, it’s not only flavors but also textures that can really make a dish memorable and craveable. 

Contrasting textures play a key part in savoring food. 

The famous Mille-Feuille (meaning “1000 layers”) dessert is assembled by taking layers of crispy puff pastry, that sandwich pastry cream resulting in a fantastic and memorable crispity-crunchity dessert. 

Other more mainstream examples:
-Chips & Guacamole

-Fries and Ketchup (or aioli)

-Chocolate Mousse served with a cookie

-Fruit crumbles (crisp topping, soft interior)

Paying attention to textures will make you a better cook. Understanding textures, when combined with good flavor pairings is an underrated synergy. 

With that in mind, let’s focus a few minutes on the world of Purée’s 

Purées:

Basic Definition of Puree: a smooth, creamy substance made of liquidized or crushed fruit/vegetables.

Purée’s are usually cooked before blending/processing.  The processing can take many forms like grinding, pressing, blending or sieved to reach the desired consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. In some kitchens, it’s not uncommon for puree’s to be passed or sieved multiple times to create the perfect texture, based on the chef’s specifications. 

You’re most likely familiar with many purées. Common examples: applesauce, hummus etc. The important characteristic to remember is that purée’s should have a homogenous look and texture. 

Puree’s, when done right, add a luscious and smooth texture on the plate; giving a feeling of luxury on the palate. Soft, silky, velvety… if you have the flavors balanced then you have a home run component to put on the plate. 

Why Puree’s? 

-Beginner cooks don’t have to worry about “overcooking” because the vegetable/fruit needs to be very soft to blend into a nice purée.

-Puree’s can be made in batches, so perfect efficiency hack to have on hand. Freeze for longterm storage and you can thaw at a moments notice when making meals. 

-Puree’s work very will with all kinds of vegetables and fruits so this technique is a way to add richness to a dish without adding a ton of fat to your macros.

Root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, celery root, Jerusalem artichoke), brassica (broccoli, cabbages, watercress, etc), berries and other fruits all make wonderful purees with lots of utility. 

Below is a master-method that you can use followed by a watercress puree that’s perfect to serve with grilled beef, and finishing with a cabbage-apple puree that is heavenly.