Nowadays, there are a huge number of television programs that are dedicated to the culinary arts. They differ in many ways. For example, some programs describe the subtleties and nuances of food preparation, while others teach the correct dietary menu or current trends in cooking methods. Among all these programs, we can safely single out the program "Lazerson's Principles" in a separate category, since there are colossal differences from the classical cooking principles in it. This is why this program has a large following of both fans and critics. Each episode of the program attracts many fans with its novelty and originality of approach to the generally accepted principles of cooking various dishes.
A little about the author
Ilya Isaakovich Lazerson is a world-famous chef, host of many radio and television programs on Russian TV channels, author of more than a hundred famous cookbooks.
With his theory, he promotes mainly non-prescription cooking techniques, but principled ones. This is what makes it different from other chefs. Its principles contain various combinations of products, their proportions for cooking and in the finished dish. All these principles were obtained by him thanks to many years of practice in the culinary arts, as well as through his own experiments. For example, there are some principles for salting fish at home, for preparing onions for various dishes, for the correct preparation of dishes from Chinese cuisine, and so on. The chef has his own developed principles for each dish. Even for such a seemingly simple dish like fried potatoes.
Ilya Lazerson is the author of many cookbooks, so his principles will be most useful to every housewife. His theory will help to look at cooking from different angles, possibly previously unknown.
Basic principles and provisions of the Lazerson theory
The author's theory is based on the fact that he denies adherence to the identity in the recipe. In his opinion, there is no need for exact adherence to dosages or portions of any ingredients. You should obey your feelings and intuition while cooking. Such a theory has every right to exist. For example, the same dish prepared by different chefs will be different. From this we can conclude that each chef feels in his own way - to which creator the dish was closer to his liking and managed to feel more, the end result turned out to be more successful.
There are also certain principles that relate to specific dishes and methods of their preparation.
Cutlets
It is known that cutlets are a fairly easy-to-prepare dish that any housewife can do. But each housewife has her own recipe and her own cooking method. Lazerson's principles do not point to proportions and ingredient ratios, but only give advice on how to achieve the most positive flavors.
In the preparation of cutlets, the master has established four principles.
- For the future minced meat, use meat of a more rigid structure, that is, fillet or tenderloin will not work.
- The bread content cannot exceed 40%. Moreover, the bread should be measured already soaked and squeezed out. An important nuance: bread should be soaked in water. The author believes that milk and cream will not give a special taste to the dish.
- Before sculpting products, you need to whip the minced meat. Although this manipulation is not a novelty for housewives. This must be done in order to knock out excess air and so that the cutlets hold their shape during frying.
- Few people know, but the author advises adding water to the minced meat, although the semi-finished product may become wetter and the cutlets may fall apart. Regardless, the experienced chef may know more.
Marinovka meat kebab
This procedure is considered one of the most interesting for every person. In the program "Lanzerson's Principles", which is devoted to the preparatory stages before cooking kebabs, two principles are proposed, as well as a certain set of seasonings and spices for marinade meat.
One of the principles of marinating meat is the absence of any acid, be it vinegar or lemon juice, or juices of other citrus fruits. The chef recommends marinating the meat using onion puree, which can be made with a blender and seasoned and diluted in water. It doesn't matter which spices are prepared for adding to the marinade. It is important to add the vegetable oil as well as the mustard. The last component is necessary for tenderizing meat, and oil for the best penetration of aromatic spices. The meat is salted during baking to prevent premature juicing. All other principles for marinating meat are similar to known methods - it is marinated for several hours, and it is better to leave it overnight.
Chicken tobacco
The great master also has the principles of cooking for the famous Georgian dish - chicken tobacco. The principles are as follows. It is necessary to take a chicken, not a broiler chicken, that is, its weight should not exceed half a kilogram or a little more. All available joints of the bird should be removed sufficiently so that the chick is practically flat. The bird must be marinated in vegetable oil with the addition of lemon juice for at least two hours. The chicken is fried with butter mixed with vegetable, pre-grated garlic and chili.
Mashed potatoes
The main principles of the maestro of culinary in relation to the preparation of mashed potatoes are not much different from the generally known ones. Potato tubers must be poured with extremely cold water, and they need to be salted only after boiling. Before adding milk, it must be heated. The mashed potatoes should be pounded with a pusher, and not with a blender or other grinder.
Pizza
In the method of cooking an Italian dish, all the provisions of the chef are more unambiguous and relate to both the dough and the filling and the cooking method.
The dough as the basis for a successful pizza preparation should include only water, flour, yeast and oil. Only olive oil should be added. The proportions should be observed as follows: one part of water, three parts of flour. The rest of the ingredients are optional. The sauce should be spread over the dough, not poured over. The filling must be put so much that the dough is visible, and the cheese is poured so much that the filling is visible. Pizza should only be baked for five minutes at maximum temperature.
Another principle of Ilya Lazerson in relation to pizza: it should be both quickly baked and quickly eaten.
Homemade mayonnaise
The basic principles of a chef in preparing mayonnaise are as follows.
For mayonnaise, it is very important that the yolks are whipped first, and the density can be changed with the help of oil.
To prepare mayonnaise, you need to take three chicken eggs, which must be washed beforehand. The eggs are laid out on a paper towel and left to lie for a while under room conditions.
The ingredients needed to make homemade mayonnaise should be at the same temperature, as mayonnaise is an emulsion. In this case, the mustard serves as a stabilizer that prevents the product from stratifying during storage. It is necessary to separate the yolks from the whites. This can be done in three ways:
- The egg is broken into a container. With the help of an empty bottle, the yolk is drawn in through the neck and then transferred to the dish.
- After breaking the egg, the yolk is poured from one half of the shell to another until the entire protein part has drained out. In this way, it is possible to damage the yolk with the edge of the eggshell.
- The egg is broken and poured into the palm of the hand. The white should go through the fingers, but the yolk should remain.
Beat the yolks thoroughly before adding the oil. After that, one tablespoon of mustard, salt and sugar are added to the mixer bowl, again, everything is whipped together.
The yolks must be oxygenated enough to mix better with the oil. The oil must be poured in portions in a thin stream. The more oil is added, the thicker and denser the mayonnaise will be. Therefore, you can experiment with the thickness of the mayonnaise.
Citric acid is added as a final step. To do this, the lemon is rolled on the board. This will soften the lemon and produce more juice. The juice is squeezed out into the bulk, after which the mixture should lighten. Beat the mayonnaise again and remove to cool.
