The Dinner-Date Redemption: A Lesson in ZEST A-Peel
Entering the Naughty Curry Kitchen -- Alf and Kim, a couple with, ah, conflicting flavor-preferences.
Alf likes his tastebuds to be hammered. ("Subtlety is not your forte," Kim tells him.) He likes it strong, heavy, and dominant. Without that pulsing degree of pungency, the result is just not good enough.
For Kim, the main ingredient must always shine through, never to be overpowered. She seeks that shimmery razzle-dazzle.
Thus, the two spend much of their early evening bickering about what to eat for dinner. I sit back and enjoy the show. I don’t get involved or take sides -- diversity is good. (Yet I had to laugh when Kim said to Alf: "You always add the same spice mix to everything, and so all your food is good, but it tastes the same!").
Anyway. They surprised me on a recent evening. They had agreed to make burritos. Wise choice, I thought. The beauty of burritos is that they can be tailored to your liking. Guess there would be no sparks flying tonight (or so I thought at the time). 
Another agreement: they both wanted to make Lime Cilantro Rice in the style of our friendly local chain restaurant, Chipotle. They turned to Naughty Curry for the know-how. (After all, the Naughty Curry Kitchen is the place for spicing experimentation.)
What spices, they wanted to know, were in the rice?
I smiled. "Today, kids, you’re going to learn about zest."
Blank expressions.
"No trouble," I told them. "Easy. Three things. Get a lime. Get cilantro. Make rice. Then we'll talk."
RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N
And what was this mysterious 'zest'? "Lime peel. Grated to itty bitty bits. That's all." .
Moment of silence as the concept of using lime peel is mentally processed.
They were mystified as I demonstrated the crazy procedure of 'zesting'. "Just take a fork and scratch scratch scratch the surface. It’s a great trick 
for when you want the lime flavor but not the juice," I explained."The taste effect is uneven. You know, like rock salt on a pretzel. Flavor comes out at you in occasional bursts -- like fireworks."
I added that the same could be done with a lemon or an orange
* * *
"The best way, I find, to add cilantro is to use a kitchen scissors. Which we have in the drawer over there."
Moment of silence as the concept of using a scissors while cooking was mentally processed.
"Uh...can I just use a knife with that?" said Alf. Alf thinks he is some kind or kitchen ninja with our new knives.
"Use the scissors," said I. Using a knife on cilantro is doable, but can be annoying "Don't be scared. I usually just take a sprig and snip it up over the dish. Snip it as small as you can stand it."
I reminded him to start with two tablespoons and only add more after he tasted it first. Spice newbies, after all, tend to add too much at first. I know I did.
"And unless cilantro is going in the blender, you want to use the leaves only."
I mentioned that last part because I suspected Alf might get lazy and cut the pieces too large.
"And be sure and use only a couple tablespoons. In fact, how about you measure this first time."
"Well I was thinking of adding like a half a cup."
Yikes. (Note: he later agreed that 2 1/2 tablespoons was enough.)
* * *
"Oranges really suck to zest," Trobee announced after the photo shoot.
"Why do you say that?"
"I guess they don't suck too bad. They're just not as hard as lemons and limes. They just don't zest as nicely... But it looks cool."
"Ok then."
Lime Cilantro Rice
- 1 cup rice
- 1 tsp lime zest
- Juice of 1/2 a lime
- 2-3 Tbsp cilantro, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
1. Cook the rice.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Taste it. If you want more of anything, add more. Done.
