Layer with Techniques, Not Ingredients
"It's remarkable how you can take one ingredient and, through technique, get to something different rather than getting to something different by having the longest ingredient list," says Michel Nischan, author of the award-winning Taste Pure and Simple. Take tomatoes, for instance. Imagine starting a sauce with top-quality canned tomatoes, layering in some tomatoes that have been oven-roasted until caramelized, then finishing it with some super-ripe fresh heirloom tomatoes.
"Now you have many layers of tomato flavor," says Nischan, "and it's touching all areas of your palate. You have the acidity of ripe tomatoes, that mild 'comfort' feeling of well-canned tomatoes, and that roasty, deep, rich tomato flavor that hits the middle of your mouth. So you've layered flavor using one ingredient but three different techniques. That's what I love."
Many cooks try to get flavor impact by layering multiple herbs, onions, ginger, garlic, alcohol, and other ingredients. If the dish is too muddled, the cook adds some acid; if it's too sharp, more fat brings it back. This process may end in balance, but it rarely produces clarity. To get to brighter, truer flavors, peel off all those layers and use technique to enhance the core ingredients.