Chef critique
Tuscan Pork & Rainbow Chard Radiatori
A well-structured, coherent recipe that perfectly seasons the meat and pasta water, but requires more salt to properly season the large volume of fresh vegetables.
Score: 9/10
Suggested fixes
- Add 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt when the tomatoes are added in step 7.
- Add another 1/2 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt when the chard leaves are added in step 9.
- Update the overall salt quantity in the ingredient list to 4 tablespoons plus 3 1/8 teaspoons to reflect these additions.
Issues
- medium / flavor: While the pork and pasta water are perfectly seasoned according to the ratios, the vegetables are underseasoned. The recipe uses only 1/2 teaspoon of salt for the onions and chard stems, leaving the 12 ounces of tomatoes and the chard leaves unsalted. The total volume of vegetables (over 20 ounces) requires about 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt to hit the 1% target.
Strengths
- Prep work is efficiently organized at the beginning of the recipe before active cooking begins.
- The 1.25% meat salting and 2% pasta water salting standards are correctly calculated and applied.
- Clear, concise steps maintain excellent flow without unnecessarily restating ingredients.