Culinary art is perhaps one of the oldest. It originated from the moment when our primitive ancestor guessed a piece of raw meat not in the mouth to pull, but to put on a spear and fry over the fire. Millennia have passed, each nation has its own national cuisine. And their own rules for combining certain products, serving them on the table.
Note to meat lovers
What to serve with? Any, even an experienced hostess begins to puzzle over this question if she has to treat a large number of people. And with a small feast, I also do not want to hit my face in the mud. Knowledge of etiquette and recommendations of famous chefs come to the rescue. We will acquaint you with them. So, what to serve with if you have planned meat dishes. Of course, a lot depends on the characteristics of the recipe, on the cooking method, types of heat treatment. But the generally accepted rules for compatibility are as follows:
vegetables (raw as salads) or fried, stewed. Adjika, caviar from zucchini or eggplant. Cereals and pasta. For many types of meat products, fruits and sauces are strongly recommended: berry, tomato-based, sour cream and cheese. And now specific recommendations.
Pork
What to serve if pork is supposed to be the main ingredient? As an ideal side dish, it is served fresh in the form of a salad or stewed cabbage. Perfectly asparagus (green) beans with garlic seasoning. Or boiled / stewed carrots. A passing question: "What should be served with cutlets if they are made from minced pork?" It is possible with already listed side dishes, as well as with fried potatoes (fries) or with mashed potatoes. And with a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes. It will be great if you sprinkle food with chopped herbs, especially onion feathers. Pork is washed down with light wine - white or red. But with what to serve meat "in French"? It is believed that a side dish is optional. And a light salad of fresh vegetables, seasoned with a small amount of olive oil, is suitable. As components, slices of orange or pineapple are appropriate. What to submit to meat prepared according to this recipe from alcoholic beverages? Wine (table red) is best.
Mutton
What to serve with if you have lamb as a meat ingredient? Suitable vegetables, fried or stewed, baked. It can be potatoes, parsnips, onions. An excellent side dish is rice (pilaf with lamb - a national oriental dish), beans. Mandatory seasonings: cilantro, curry, garlic. The latter, by the way, perfectly interrupts the specific smell of lamb. And, of course, lots of greenery! But this splendor is washed down with aged wine, or, as the sommelier says, mature, always red, with a slight bitterness and astringency.
Beef
And finally, beef meat. For him, a good side dish is baked potatoes in foil, stewed beans in pods or spinach. “Loves” beef and canned vegetables, especially pickled and pickled cucumbers. As well as green peas, if it is fried lightly in vegetable oil. I would also like to note that beef dishes are an excellent option when you are in doubt about what to serve wine with. Especially sour and tart, homemade. If you cooked chops, what to serve them with? Everything is simple: with pasta, crumbly cereals, potatoes in different forms. Sprinkle with herbs.
Chicken Dishes
We now turn to poultry. So, what to serve with chicken? Again, it all depends on the cooking method. Let's say the meat is steamed. In this case, the classic side dish is green beans breaded in breadcrumbs, boiled potatoes, rice. Along the way, take a note: if in doubt about what to serve potatoes, then the hens in any form go well with it. But let's continue. For steamed meat, it is better to cook sour cream and mushroom sauce with the addition of some of the white wine. What else to serve boiled chicken to make the dish original? With gravy of dogwood or prune berries. She will give meat a pleasant, pungent sweet and sour taste. For fried and baked dishes you will need salads: vegetable, fruit, potato.
Duck
What to serve the duck with: you can bake it, stuffed with buckwheat and mushrooms. It will turn out not only very tasty, but also useful. Buckwheat absorbs heavy duck fat. The classic recipe is a duck stuffed with apples. Gravy from prunes or other berries will be appropriate. Pickled grapes and plums will do. In Russian cuisine, stew duck and cabbage.
Goose and turkey
Most often, this bird is cooked fried or baked in the oven / oven. The carcasses are filled either with apple slices, or with rice or buckwheat. In general, any cereal is suitable, if only the filling turned out to be friable. Just a fried bird is served with cereals, noodles (spaghetti or homemade), baked apples, cabbage, potatoes. And with fresh vegetable salads. The bird is washed down, as a rule, with light young wine, red.
Seafood on the table
Seafood is considered to be a true table decoration. Therefore, if you are thinking about how to serve fish, then take note of the following tips. For example, hot boiled is good with mashed potatoes. And cold - with vinaigrette, fresh salads, especially cabbage with mayonnaise dressing and potato, as well as green, with pickled cucumbers. Also, horseradish seasoned with vinegar and mustard are suitable for any boiled fish. Or vegetable sauce from onions, tomatoes, carrots. How to serve salmon, this delicate fish? It tastes best fresh: salted or light smoked. Thinly sliced ​​fillets are usually placed on plates, sliced ​​with lemon and sprigs of herbs, such as parsley, on top. Or you can make savory sandwiches by frying small heaps of white loaf on both sides in butter and then rubbing them with garlic. What else can be served with salmon? As one of the main components, it is included in all kinds of assorted salads, omelets, sauces for Italian spaghetti. For example, such a dish: bake fresh fish fillet in the oven until cooked or fry. Boil the noodles by adding a little vegetable oil to the water. Cut a little spinach, squeeze the garlic, season with butter, mix. Put the side dish on the dish, fish on top, sprinkle with herbs - and on the table!
Shrimp for appetizer
Continuing to discuss seafood menus, find out what to serve with shrimp. Firstly, they can be peeled and fried, preferably in butter or margarine, by adding chopped garlic and spices. And just boiled served with lemon mugs, squeezing juice for meat. Still suitable vegetables, fried quickly in a hot skillet. Such dishes are usually washed down with white wine, dry and semi-dry.
Potato - second bread
Among vegetables, the most popular, common, favorite among us is potatoes. You can eat it three times a day, and you won’t get tired. And there are countless recipes for cooking vegetables. How to serve potatoes? About the same as meat: vegetable and mushroom caviar of different varieties and types, salads, marinades and pickles, fresh vegetables.
- If it is cooked in its uniforms, it is combined with a herring - pickled or cooked in brine, sprinkled with herbs. And also with sprats, smoked fish. And always with sunflower oil, in which the onion head is fried. If the potato is young, then it is boiled without husks, the water is drained, and the vegetable itself is poured with sour cream, sprinkled with dill and parsley. And such dishes are eaten with cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes and radishes, fresh and canned vegetables. And also mushrooms and feta cheese.
- What to serve with mashed potatoes - an unusually delicious, democratic dish, equally suitable for a festive evening and for a quick dinner? Naturally, fish or meat products. Fried hake, mackerel and other species. Or ham, boiled tongue, sausages, sausages, meatballs, chops, etc. The main subtlety: mashed potatoes should be diluted with hot milk and seasoned with butter. As an independent dish, you can season it with grated cheese. Spicy and delicious!
- Fried potatoes are a true paradise for lovers of good food. Salted, pickled and sour cucumbers and tomatoes are suitable for it. Or fresh salads, lecho, ketchup. And such a potato is served with fried eggs, sausage, fried meat or fish in different types. If you make potato patties or pancakes, then mushroom sauce is well suited to them.
- Pot roast is a stew. Korean-style salad of fresh cabbage or carrots will be very helpful. In addition, you can stew potatoes with mushrooms, before serving, sprinkling with herbs and brisket, then tomato-onion sauce will be needed for the dish.
Sea of ​​cheeses
Another product without which a quick morning snack or an exquisite festive meal is complete is cheese. It is included in light snacks and is the decoration of the dessert table. How to serve the cheese depends on the form of the feast.
- For independent snacks or sandwiches, it is cut into thin slices. It is best to do this one hour before a meal. And if the workpieces are kept in advance, then the cutting must be wrapped in a plastic bag. Then the pieces will not wind off, will not coarse, and will not lose their taste and aroma.
- In sandwiches, cheese is served with smoked sausage, pieces of fish, fresh vegetables or on its own, with bread.
- Connoisseurs of delicacies from this dairy product, of which the French are, are first placed next to vases or plates of fruit. At the same time, grading is carried out by grades. The most valuable, blue cheeses are combined with light grapes or pink. Soft species are in good harmony with ripe yellow pears: their sweetness sets off and complements the flavor bouquet. Pineapples and cherries are offered for hard cheese. And such goodies as walnuts and almonds are universal and apply to all cheeses.
- Naturally, traditional sandwiches are served with tea. A more elegant table looks where cups with a fragrant coffee drink, preferably natural, are smoking.
- But, of course, it is best if wine is served with cheese or, conversely, cheese with wine. This is not important, but the following rule: where does the dairy product come from, and the drink comes from there. That is, French cheese - and the wines are the same, Swiss - and a bottle of the same origin. As for the varieties and strength: blue cheeses require sweet fortified wine; for soft, from goat and sheep’s milk, with high fat content - it is better to serve a bottle of dry or semi-dry, as well as dessert. Hard cheeses are suitable varieties of red wine.
Expert wine list
And now the question is very delicate and complex: "With what to serve wine?" Let's consider it in detail. But we’ll clarify right away: the lighter the dish, with the less saturated taste and smell, the easier the wine should be. And, on the contrary, a sharp, rich taste, pronounced aromas require drinks "heavier." That is, the wine should be thick, dark red or burgundy, tart, with a distinct taste bouquet.
- According to etiquette, you can offer guests a drink before meals, in about half an hour. This is done so that the appetite takes off in full. Varieties of port, vermouth, madeira, sherry are well suited for such purposes. By the way, they can also be exhibited on the buffet. And as appetizers, any canapes, sandwiches, salads, with the exception of those that include a different herring, including pickled ones, are suitable.
- With it, you should not put next to a bottle of white table wine. But with other fish dishes it is drunk easily and pleasantly. As mentioned above, it can be served with cheeses, with meat dishes from poultry and game. The main thing is that the dishes are not sharp, salty. And from the fruits put on the table sweet and sour apples, peaches, apricots.
- If the food is fat, nourishing, with a pronounced taste and smell (meat dishes, sliced ​​sausages, lard, ham, boiled pork, etc.), then “attach” them a bottle or two of a red dining room, always with a tart aftertaste. This wine will quench your thirst, reduce the feeling of heaviness in the stomach and other unpleasant symptoms. Thianides, special tannins contained in the drink, contribute to this.
- If there are a lot of vegetable dishes, shrimps, oysters, crabs, etc. on the table, then you need to drink them with semisweet wine. Color does not matter. Suitable golden, white, pink, red wines.
- And finally, the sacred question: "What is champagne served with?" In fact, this wine is universal, not a single significant holiday is complete without it. This is especially true for dry and semi-dry varieties. Only here herring and marinades do not fit him. If champagne is sweet, semi-sweet, sparkling, then it should be served with desserts: mild cheese, cookies, sweets, especially chocolate, cakes, pastries, muffins, ice cream, fruits, citrus fruits. The French, lovers of sophistication, combine champagne with coffee and tea with lemon. They say delicious!
Several recipes for all occasions
Do you want to surprise guests or home with unusual dishes? They will appeal to meat lovers: both nutritious pork and light poultry. Here are a few recipes from those products that were discussed in the article:
- For example, original cutlets are prepared on a 2-in-1 basis. You will need: 500 g of chicken and pork fillet (the last try to choose closer to lean). Beat them, cut into thin strips and bind, combining both varieties. So that the pigtails do not fall apart, they need to be chopped off with wooden skewers. Pour vegetable oil into a skillet, heat and fry the wicker patties on both sides until cooked. Serve the meat with fried potatoes, pickled cucumbers or gherkins. Decorate the plates with sprigs of parsley.
- Egg breaded chops are another small culinary masterpiece. The consumption of products is: meat (pork, beef) - 1 kg, eggs - 2 pieces, flour - half a glass. Spices, salt - to taste. Plus, small, strong, ripe tomatoes, lettuce, spring onions, parsley sprigs. And the marinade, your favorite, as for barbecue. Cut the meat into portions and beat it carefully. Put in a pan with marinade and leave for half an hour or an hour. Then salt, pepper, grate with spices. Now breading: beat eggs by adding salt and pepper. Dip chops in flour, then in egg and fry on both sides until cooked. Put lettuce on the dish, meat on top. Slice the tomatoes into slices, cover them with food. Serve chops, garnished with parsley and onions. Appetizing looks, right? And the side dish to them is mashed potato, lush, airy.
- Baked salmon in cream will certainly honor any housewife, unless, of course, it is cooked in accordance with all the rules. Stock up on a kilogram of fresh fish, a few onions, a glass of medium-fat cream, your favorite seasonings, paprika, dill seeds, coriander. Pour the cream into a bowl, pour the seasonings and spices listed above, always ground black pepper. If you want a sharper dish, add a little red and hot. Shuffle. Now the salmon: remove the skin from it, cut into small pieces. Put them on a baking sheet, add salt, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut the onions into ringlets and lay on top. Pour all over the prepared sauce, cover with foil. Preheat the oven to 170-180 degrees. Put salmon in it for half an hour. After that, to make the fish brown, remove the foil, and let the dish bake for another 7 minutes. When everything is ready, the salmon is laid out on the dish. What to file with? Put thin lemon slices on top, sprinkle with herbs, and lettuce on the side dish. Of the wines - light, light varieties.
- Potato "in French" - so in a simple way called the dish, which is brought to your attention. Its authors are really French. And they are an exquisite people, and therefore their name sounds more noble: "Dauphin potato." These are donuts made from our beloved root crop. How they are made: about a pound of potatoes in a peel are thrown into salted boiling water and cooked until tender. After that, it should be cleaned and crushed in mashed potatoes, but only without any addition of liquid. Then from 4 eggs, 120 g of flour, a small amount of creamy margarine or butter and a pinch of mashed nutmeg, you need to knead the dough (choux). Salt puree, pepper, mix with the dough and knead until smooth. In a hot deep-fryer or just a cast-iron with vegetable oil and a small admixture of cream, dip 3-4 teaspoons of mashed potatoes with a teaspoon. No more, because donuts swell well during frying. The portion is browned - take out a slotted spoon on a paper towel, which you spread on a plate. Let the fat go that way. When the whole mass of mashed potatoes is fried, transfer the donuts to another dish, put in the microwave or oven for a minute, so that they are hot, and bring to the table. What can be served with potatoes cooked in such an unusual way? Mushroom or sour cream sauce, stew or fried meat, roast with gravy, vegetable salads with sour cream or mayonnaise dressing. And also adjika, pickles, marinades. To drink - red or pink wine.
- And finally, dessert. After all, as you know, he crowns any festive lunch or dinner. Therefore, the dessert offered here is proudly called the “Crown”. However, judging by how deliciously delicious it turns out, he is quite worthy of his name. So, the ingredients for the test: sour cream - 2 cups, eggs - 3 pieces, sugar - 1.5-2 cups, condensed milk - a little less than half a can, baking powder or soda (quenched) - a teaspoon, cocoa - 4 tablespoons (tablespoons ) or a little more. And flour - 2 cups or 2 and a quarter (you will look at the consistency of the dough). Cream for the cake is made on sour cream, it needs 1 liter, a glass of sugar and zest of lemon or orange is added (you can replace it with a pinch of citric acid), be sure to have a bag of vanillin. "Crown" - a treat with fondant. To cook it, you need sour cream - 6 tablespoons of sugar, sugar - 5, cocoa - 4-5, and 1 - butter (margarine will not work). Let's start with the cakes. Knead the dough from the corresponding components (do not immediately place the cocoa). Consistency - like a thick, greasy village sour cream. Divide it into 2 halves, mix cocoa in one. Bake the cakes in the oven as you get. Put on a plate, let cool. Now cream: beat it thoroughly with a mixer (sour cream should be cold). And make a fondant by thoroughly mixing all the components. Take a large festive dish, lay cakes on it, alternating dark with light. Each well smeared with cream, including the top. Then pour in fondant. Nuts, pieces of fruit, marmalade - everything can be used as a decoration. Put the finished product for 5-6 hours in the refrigerator for impregnation. Serve with such a masterpiece grapes, citrus fruits, peaches, and from wines - champagne or sweet dessert varieties. Do not forget about tall tulip-shaped glasses. Experts say that it is in them that the aroma of drinks is concentrated better and more distinctly felt.
Here we have such an unusual excursion to different areas of culinary art and etiquette. Tasty dishes, successful impromptu and beautiful, proper serving!