South Africa’s celebrated All Sorts Cook and bestie in the kitchen, Chantal Lascaris, shares her secrets on quick-fix substitute ingredients – and THE one (maybe two) ingredients you can never ever replace.
Johannesburg, 7 September21: I once made a delicious butter chicken recipe for a group of friends and left out the rice – by accident (you can imagine my horror!) Don’t judge. It happens. Even the most experienced of us in the kitchen can trip up – and that’s okay. Cooking, for me, has always been about experimenting with flavours and different ingredients and – most importantly – cutting yourself some slack when you get it wrong.
As a professional cook, the aim of course is to not get it wrong as best as you can and so I’ve learnt over the years how to switch things up. You may not always have the correct ingredients in your cupboard – or you may over spice or under spice a pot of food (or, hey, leave out the other half of your meal altogether!). When this happens, we tend to believe there is no way out. Oh, but there is. There always is.
Believe it or not the cooking process comes with forgiveness. They’re called Substitutes – and they work. Just when you think you’re doomed to fail because you’re missing an ingredient that the recipe calls for, think again. Most often, you’ll be able to replace a missing ingredient in the pot with a little something else that’ll do just as well.
Parsley, Lime, Walnuts and even Sumac – they’re all replaceable. Except Garlic. Garlic and – wait for it – Love. In my books, these royal two are THE only ingredients you can never replace. You’ll always (always!) need an extra stash of these lying around – because they matter more than you think. 1. Garlic is not only the king of flavour but its immune boosting properties are essential to our health and 2. Love is the queen of everything.
arlic is like the god of the kitchen and Love is its muse. While Garlic is a firm favourite of mine, the truth is – a recipe may not always need it. But Love – oh Love – is the only ingredient that goes with everything. You can’t miss it – you shouldn’t miss it. There is absolutely, irrevocably no replacement. This, I can promise you.
Our lives are incredibly frenetic; with a million new things to attend to and business as usual, we hardly have time anymore to think of dinner or to shop ingredients. It’s comforting to know that more often than not, when there’s something missing in your bag of tricks, there’s always another chef’s trick you can reach for.
So, here’s a little pocket keeper from me, for the next time you’re ‘missing something’:
Chantal’s Quick Fix Substitutes for missing ingredients:
Shallot = red onion
Parmesan Cheese = pecorino Romano (easily available)
Fresh Parsley = dried parsley or celery leaves
Nutmeg = cinnamon
Greek Yoghurt = double thick yoghurt
Red onion = chives or shallots
Soy Sauce = Worcestershire sauce
Sumac = lemon pepper or lemon zest
Lime = lemon
Bacon = pancetta
Chilli Flakes = fresh chopped chillies
Corn Kernels = frozen corn or tinned corn or mange touts
Spaghetti = zucchini spirals
Honey = brown sugar
Walnuts = pecans
Dried Mint = fresh mint or dried marjoram
Love = There is no substitute. Irreplaceable.
Garlic = No substitute. See Love.
ABOUT CHANTAL LASCARIS
After selling her clothing business in 2011, she pursued her love of health and fitness and qualified as a Pilates instructor, before becoming a self-made cook. Best loved for her debut cookbook All Sorts of Salads, Chantal has become the South African urbanite’s BFF in the kitchen. She’s all about keeping it real. Her philosophy of imperfection towards the perfect recipe, and her experimental expertise has won South Africa over. Today, Chantal Lascaris is a South African-made home chef promoting her recipe books whilst running a small farm in Western Cape. She has published a string of popular go-to cookbooks in South Africa, including All Sorts of Salads, All Sorts of Healthy Dishes, the Mediterranean Way, All Sorts of One Dish Wonders and of course, the newbie – All Sorts of Tapas. When it comes to preparing Tapas at home for a family, Chantal Lascaris has you covered with all sorts of fun, healthy, simple and delicious recipes. In her new book, celebrating the world of Tapas, she weaves in rich Spanish culture with fresh, homegrown South African ingredients. She gives us the opportunity to get real in the kitchen and to trial different dishes all while opening our hearts to new adventures and creating foods that are healthy, honest and happy – fit for the whole family.
PRESS CONTACT
Mantis Communications
Kerry Simpson
Tel: 079 438 3252
Email: [email protected]
