I recently had the chance to catch up with Eric Gower, author of The Breakaway Cook and one of my very very favorite food bloggers.  I love Eric's easy style, amazing photographs, and use of global flavors within simple recipes.  In fact, I was downright thrilled when, over the holidays, Wona made and sent me a collection of flavored salts inspired by Eric (Thanks Wona...you always read my mind!).  Read on to enjoy Eric's recipe for Breakaway Dried Tomato Spread.

Deana: What is "breakaway" cooking? How is it different from fusion cooking?

Eric: Breakaway cooking is a style of home cooking that emphasizes global ingredients. The goal is to make very quick, easy, and healthy meals at home using what I call “global flavor blasts,” or ingredients from the powerhouse cuisines of Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East (among others) and combining them in simple ways with fresh local fruits and veggies purchased at farmers markets (or supermarkets). “Breakaway” refers to breaking away from tradition and toward something more modern and more approachable, with today’s lifestyles in mind. We don’t worry about tradition or authenticity very much, we’re just after great food with a minimum of hassle.

Breakaway cooking differs from fusion cooking in degree of simplicity. It’s way less fussy and time-consuming. Fusion cooking is typically done in restaurants, by chefs who feel the need to constantly push the boundaries, lead new trends, etc. Breakaway cooking is for home cooks who like to eat really well but who have neither the time, resources, or patience needed to produce restaurant-style “fusion” food.

Deana:  A lot of people equate exotic/international ingredients with complicated cooking. What do you say to them? Where should they start?

Eric: I say to them: 180 there cowboy, it’s the exact opposite! Learning to use global ingredients in SIMPLE ways is the very heart of breakaway cooking. Sure, if you insisted on cooking a traditional Thai, Moroccan, Japanese, or Indian meal would necessarily mean tons of time in the kitchen, but we don’t do that. We use ingredients from all those cuisines all the time, but it’s usually the simple addition of a global flavor blast like miso, tamarind, preserved lemon, galangal, adobo, saffron, and many others to a staple like sautéed greens, roasted chicken, tons of egg and tofu dishes, etc. It’s ridiculously easy, really!

Where should they start? At an ethnic market. Any one! Find an Indian market, and buy some star anise, prepared tamarind, some chutney, and a handful of dried spices like coriander seed, fennel seed, cardamom, and whatever else strikes your fancy (these markets are far and away the best place to buy fresh spices, because the turnover is much, much higher than it is in, for example, a giant supermarket, because Indians buy and use huge quantities of spices). You could do the same in a Japanese market, except you’d buy matcha (powdered green tea), miso, umeboshi, yuzu, and others. In a Middle Eastern market you’d want rose water, pomegranate molasses, saffron, sumac, etc.

You can walk into any ethnic market, pick up the staples of that cuisine, and eat amazingly well if you follow the breakaway style and combine these things with produce you buy at farmers’ markets. You have to not be stuck on cooking in an “authentic” manner, however, and be purely interested in getting meals on the table in no time flat. 

Deana: What are your favorite finds at Trader Joe's?  What are the items that keep you coming back?

Eric: Things I constantly buy at TJ’s:
* greek yogurt (Total – TJ’s has the best price anywhere)
* fresh carrot juice
* English muffin bread (love this stuff toasted)
* unfiltered olive oil (“First Lady Reserve”)
* olive oil spray
* dried tomatoes
* orange-muscat vinegar
* multiseed flatbreads
* unsalted organic butter
* King Arthur flours
* dried blueberries
* all nuts
         
Deana: What are you excited about working on these days?

Eric: A new book! I’m also reissuing a previous book (currently completely sold out) called The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen. The breakaway train keeps rollin!

Deana: You've just been rescued from a desert island. You sit down to your first real meal in months.  What is it?

Eric: Do I make it or do I order anything I want? My last salad on earth would be the fermented green tea salad at Burma Superstar; it’s just unbelievable. Something I made: I’d wolf down three or four perfect eggs from a local chicken, dusted with matcha salt, and served with plenty of TJ English muffin bread! And a liter of Blue Bottle coffee. Then I’d wait an hour, steal Gary Danko’s cheeseplate, and a bottle Thackrey Orion. :^)


Breakaway Dried Tomato Spread

I often buy a bag of dried tomatoes when I'm in Trader Joe's, and make a superquick, supereasy spread with them, which I like to use just slather on to a fresh hot loaf of Tartine's country bread. The spread is creamy from the yogurt, and tart and umami-laden from the tomatoes. I use it on sandwiches, in scrambled eggs (unbelievable), between a piece of halibut and a crust, on baked tofu, in salad dressings, on baked potatoes. You can imagine a hundred other uses for it.

• 1 tablespoon each of TJ organic unsalted butter and TJ unfiltered virgin olive oil
• half cup onions
• half cup TJ dried tomatoes (not the ones packed in oil), sliced
• 1 clove garlic confit
• quarter cup greek yogurt (Total)
• 2 tablespoons TJ unfiltered virgin olive oil

Melt the butter and oil in a heavy pan, add the onions, and saute over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and some salt and pepper, and continue to saute for another few minutes. Transfer to a blender, add the garlic, yogurt, and extra oil, and puree. Keeps for several weeks in a covered jar in the fridge.

Thanks Eric!  Check out Eric's Breakaway Blog for more breakaway recipes.