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By Dave Lowry
Using our inherited talent for prognostication, we present our predictions for what you’ll be seeing, food- and dining-wise, in the coming year.
Verjuice
Possibly as a way of apologizing for mime, Télé-Pirate and the works of Jacques Derrida, the French have begun exporting verjuice—“green juice”—in a big way. The tart, so-tangy-it’s-almost-bitter juice has been popular for centuries in France, and you may have already seen verjuice as an additive to sauces, in marinades and as a dressing for everything from oysters to salads, but it’s going to become even more popular with local chefs. You will probably also see verjuice served on the rocks as an aperitif, and some East Coast eateries are already sponsoring verjuice tastings.
Layered Flavors
Think the culinary equivalent of Farrah’s hair, in the Charlie’s Angels days. The idea is to have a dish that unfolds on the palate, one taste at a time. Actually the idea is to make you think this is a radically new concept. Mostly what chefs who use the term mean now is that they’re combining multiple ingredients we’ve never thought of as belonging together. It can work beautifully, as in medallions of roasted turkey wrapped around Monterey Jack and slathered with a mushroom gravy—or, as in the case of a chipotle-spiked vegan gumbo ladled atop quinoa, layered flavors can be the culinary equivalent of yet another Charlie’s Angels movie: a little frightening.
White Tea
Tea’s gotten more good press than dress shirts on dollar day at the dry cleaners, and now that sales are up, the market’s poised to offer the latest: white tea. Some studies suggest that it has even more health benefits than other teas—and may save your marriage. The taste is much lighter and almost sweet compared with that of other teas. It’s expensive, however, and too many restaurants are preparing it incorrectly: White tea leaves must be brewed with water that’s steaming hot but not boiling, or the flavor is lost.
Bollito Misto
A specialty of the Piedmont region in Italy that has caught on in some of the hipper Italian eateries stateside, bollito misto alla Piemontese is a combination of seven meats, seven vegetables and seven spices or flavorings that are boiled together into a rich, meaty stew that’s best enjoyed in a group or as a family. Traditional recipes call for beef tongue and cheeks and a calf’s head, but variations involving turkey, brisket and Italian sausage are more common here. The important part of a bollito misto is the leisurely pace at which it is supposed to be eaten.
“Low-GI” Foods
Low-carb is out. Low-GI is in. “GI” is “glycemic index,” and, in brief, it’s a way of indexing foods according to the degree to which they raise blood-sugar levels. Theoretically, foods with low GI ratings, such as salted peanuts and fettuccine, release their sugars in your system slowly, giving you a long, even burn of energy and keeping you satisfied. High-GI grub, like French fries and Coco-Puffs, burn fast and leave you feeling hungry sooner. Focus a diet on low-GI comestibles and, so goes the theory, pounds melt away like audience numbers for Katie Couric. Look for trendy restaurants to start listing the GI ratings of their dishes.
House-Smoked Salmon
The process of kitchens’ smoking their own salmon isn’t exactly commensurate with splitting the atom in terms of difficulty, so chefs have jumped at the opportunity. Over a period of several hours, fillets are exposed to a bath of smoke that cures the meat and gives it a rich, fragrant taste. Different woods produce subtly different flavors, so restaurants can tinker to get a product that suits them and the customer.
Basque Tapas
Tapas in the Basque tradition are pintxos, a word that is, like all Basque terms, unpronounceable. It comes from the Spanish pinchos, “to stick,” because most of these snacks are skewered on toothpicks: piquillo peppers wrapped in anchovy filets, chunks of smoked salmon with slices of hard-boiled egg, sautéed cod with aioli. Pinchos usually have a slice of bread as a base. The drink of choice, unlike at a tapas bar, is always beer or wine, not sherry. Think of it as a cocktail party. In the cities where Basque-style tapas places have opened, office workers are using them as a quick stop for socializing at the end of the day.
Chimichurri
It’s from Argentina. It’s a sauce or marinade—of chopped parsley, fresh oregano, garlic, paprika, lemon juice and olive oil—with a vinegary bite, and it’s used for basting meat or as a dip. Get used to it. Chefs like the way it enlivens a dish, and waiters simply adore saying “chimichurri” when they describe the evening’s specials.
Syrah
The latest wine trend and the hot wine of the last half of the first decade of the 21st century? Syrah, also known as Shiraz. It’s never going to be one of the great classics, but the best and even midrange Syrahs burst on the taste buds with fruit and spices. You should start seeing it more and more on restaurant wine lists, and, if you’ve got a wine collection at home, consider a case or two as a good investment.
Chilean Wine
Time was, when you wanted a wine under 10 bucks and as drinkable as it was undistinguishable, you looked to that string bean of a South American country, Chile. The bargains are still to be had from this land of upside-down seasons, but thanks to massive investments by European and American wineries, Chile’s started to produce wines that are likely to be among the next big thing in the wine world. Watch, in particular, for Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs from the Casablanca Valley.
