Raw Food

The fastest cooking technique is, of course, not to cook at all but to serve the food raw. Such food, however, has to be the best, the freshest, the most impeccable. Carpaccio of beef, steak tartare and slivers of raw fish can be delicious, but need to come from the most reliable sources, and preferably on the same day you serve them. Instead, consider serving smoked salmon or jamón serrano, Spain’s answer to Parma ham, and an exquisitely sweet and beautifully cured product. Charcuterie, smoked eels, gravad lax, hot smoked salmon and smoked mackerel are all speedy alternatives.