Chef David Burke Takes A New Look At Ingredients

It's my belief that oftentimes when people are trying to be creative with cooking, they always think about what they can add to a dish to make it better, when all they really need to think about is what they can do to a dish to make it better. Sure, ingredients have a whole new meaning when you add new flavors to them, but they can also be really exciting if you just work with them in different ways. Just because you learned to cook chicken by sautéing it doesn't mean you should also cook chicken that way.  To give you a little inspiration, here are three ingredients and the many different ways I like to play around with them:

Tuna

People often think of a sauté pan when they think tuna, but it's such a sturdy and hearty meat that it does really well poached in a little lemon juice and olive oil, too. Let's not forget raw, like with my Salmon and Tuna Tartar Parfait, or lightly sautéed in extra-virgin olive oil. And best of all, why not think of it like a steak (as we often do) and enjoy a Tuna T-Bone.

Want more David Burke? Check out his column for The Daily Meal 

Tomatoes

Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a fresh tomato in the heat of summer, but they're often great when they're oven-roasted, dehydrated, processed into a sauce, or cut up concasse and then crushed into a dish, like with my Tomato Marmalade. 

Lamb

Lamb = lamb chops, right? Wrong. The meat is absolute perfection grilled, roasted, or made into meatballs. If you're adventurous, lamb is a great meat to sous vides, and a different cut you don't usually see that's delicious is a Lamb Crossbone, essentially the lamb's porterhouse cut.

David Burke is a world-renowned chef and restaurateur. To learn more about him, his website and his Facebook page, and follow him on Twitter @ChefDavidBurke