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Keep it real with simple, everyday ingredients

Have you ever come across a recipe with an ingredient you didn't recognize? What did you do then? With the Internet virtually at our fingertips the answer is only a few clicks away.

Have you ever come across a recipe with an ingredient you didn't recognize? What did you do then? With the Internet virtually at our fingertips the answer is only a few clicks away. Did you then go on a wild goose chase or just pass on the recipe altogether and moved on to a different one? One of my pet peeves is when I come across a recipe that doesn't lend itself to the average home chef.

I understand the culinary landscape has changed over the last number of years and will continue to do so. I also understand the desire for chefs writing these recipes to fill the niche in the market of people wanting to expand their culinary horizons. However, even more so, I believe that these recipes should be meant to inspire the average home chef by providing descriptions or alternative ingredient suggestions.

I came across a recipe in a magazine recently for a side dish with one of the ingredients listed as "haricot vert." Now because of my experience as a chef, and since I know a bit of French, I realize that these are green beans. When I first saw "haricot vert" listed

as an ingredient years ago, I thought "How pompous. Why don't they just list these as green beans? Is it because it sounds fancier, more gourmet perhaps, by listing them as haricot vert?" But the answer is not that simple: haricot vert are French green beans. They are longer and thinner than their North American counterpart.

I have never seen haricot vert at my local grocery store or even at specialty produce markets where I live. However, I have seen green beans that were thin and long but still labelled as green beans.

Were these actually green beans or haricot vert in disguise due to inept personnel in the produce section? I don't think the problem lies with the markets, but with the recipe creators. The recipe should include an explanation of any ingredient that may not be recognizable by the average person.

Another view is the marketing aspect of recipes. A recipe may sound more gourmet if the title of the recipe is called "bisque" instead of soup, or "demiglace" instead of gravy. This doesn't mean the ingredients or instructions shouldn't be easy to understand. What would be the harm in that? If anything, it would make the recipe more approachable and more people would make it, and if the recipe was any good they would then share it with others.

I chose to focus on haricot vert in this column because it is something that can be easily substituted for. Green beans are definitely not as obscure as other ingredients I have seen.

Let's get back to basics and just make recipes and food that taste good. By this, I don't mean that we should all be subject to making meatloaf, chicken breasts and macaroni and cheese the rest of our lives. I think we should all expand our culinary horizons.

I think we, as chefs, should include people of all culinary skills in the process of our recipe writing make it easier for everyone to delve further into the culinary arts. Now excuse me as I am off to make some "macaroni au fromage" for my children. Send your food/cooking questions to [email protected] or P.O. Box 2674, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6R4.