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The Healthy Kitchen

by Rob Endelman

One big difference that separates the professional chef from the home cook is the understanding of the principle of carryover cooking. After food is removed from heat, it continues to cook an additional five to fifteen degrees, a fact that most people are not aware of. This leads to dry food which is both nutritionally and flavorfully lacking. A good tip on cooking like a professional chef would be to take your food off the stove or out of the oven several minutes before you would normally, and you'll be rewarded with juicier chicken and crisper vegetables that haven't lost most of their nutritional value in the cooking process. Try the following shrimp recipe and you'll see what I mean. Trust me!

Indian-Spiced Shrimp

• Chop one medium onion. Heat enough extra virgin olive oil to coat a sauté pan. When the oil is hot (but not smoking) sauté the onions, stirring occasionally so they don't brown.
  
  
• When the onions are soft, add enough curry powder (you could also use any combination of spices, i.e. cumin, cayenne, coriander, cardamom, etc.) to lightly dust the onions and stir for about 30 seconds.
  
  
• Add peeled shrimp and cook about one to two minutes per side, depending on size. (If the pan is dry during the cooking process, add some liquid [water, wine, stock, etc.]).
  
  
• Take the shrimp out of the pan while they are still slightly uncooked in the center (cut one to see). Remove the shrimp to a bowl, where they will finish cooking in the two or three minutes it takes them to become cool enough to eat.
  
  
• Add parsley for some color, flavor, and nutrition.