On the subject of food, my most recent food obsession is the humble Jambon Beurre — the unofficial national sandwich of France (more than three million jambon-beurre sandwiches are sold in France each day).
So simple. Only three ingredients. But, in discussing this with my Dad today another side thought occurred to me… Because of its simplicity the quality of each ingredient matters that much more. And, I believe this to be a general rule of thumb. The simpler the dish, the more important the quality of the ingredients — the mediocre simply has no where to hide!
You can use canned peas in a casserole and folks will likely never notice. Use them for mushy peas and they’ll likely be terrible.
So, with the jambon beurre I’m careful to use good ham (usually a lightly smoked prosciutto actually), a generous slather of Président butter and a fresh baguette.
I’ve tried the cheap quality alternatives to all three and, well, let’s just say it is not why I keep making them.