One of the fun things about cooking is learning a recipe and then adding just a touch of something to make it uniquely your own. Your secret ingredient, per se. It’s the crunch of celery in the family potato salad recipe and swapping homegrown chives in for the green onions.
Why am I thinking of secret ingredients? I made guacamole the other day. The traditional guacamole recipe is mashed avocado with lime juice (both for flavor and to slow down the browning), salt and perhaps cilantro, often including onion and tomato. I may have included cilantro when it’s in season (it’s snowing at the moment, so definitely not in season), though I’m more likely to put the cilantro into a homemade salsa. I also tend to skip the tomato. What I do include without fail – my secret ingredient – is curry powder.
Similarly, I add Italian seasoning to my pizza dough. It’s a minor addition to the recipe, so it doesn’t change the consistency of the dough, just adds a little spike of flavor that can be smelled as the dough starts rising and even more when it bakes.
What “secret” ingredient have you added to a recipe?