Chef critique
Armenian-Inspired Lentil & Eggplant Bowls
A warmly spiced, well-structured recipe with a nicely balanced flavor profile, though the lentils will turn out underseasoned due to insufficient salt in their boiling water.
Score: 8/10
Suggested fixes
- Increase the fine sea salt in the lentil cooking water (Step 3) to 2 1/2 teaspoons to properly season the lentils as they cook, and update the total fine sea salt in the ingredient list to 4 teaspoons.
- Change the 'small, heavy saucepan' in Step 5 to a 'medium saucepan' or 'medium skillet with a lid' to provide enough surface area for the onions to brown properly.
Issues
- medium / flavor: The 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt added to 3 cups of water in Step 3 is insufficient for a boil-and-drain method. To reach the recommended 2% salinity for blanching or boiling water that will be discarded, about 2 1/2 teaspoons of fine sea salt should be used.
- low / cookability: Step 5 instructs the cook to sauté 1/2 pound of sliced onions in a 'small, heavy saucepan.' This volume of onions will crowd a small pan, causing them to steam rather than turn golden.
Strengths
- Pre-preparation tasks are clearly batched before active cooking begins.
- Efficiently layers active and passive cooking tasks, making good use of the total cooking time.
- The bulleted list for adding spices and aromatics is perfectly formatted and placed.
- Provides accurate estimates for yield, timing, calories, and cost.