FOOD NEWS
Carla Hall Breaks Down The Top 5 Must-Haves In Her Kitchen
BY MELISSA CORBIN
On an episode of the Renaissance Man podcast, chef Carla Hall broke down her top five pantry essentials, which are vinegar, lemons, condiments, eggs, and chopped tomatoes.
Hall uses vinegar to make dishes pop, including her grandma’s quick pickles, black-eyed pea salad, and chicken wings. She adds that she just loves “a good pucker.”
In a way that's similar to vinegar, Hall uses lemons to balance dishes with some acidity. One of her pro tips is to infuse salt or sugar with lemon zest to “amp up the flavor.”
Hall also keeps various condiments on hand and improves them with some extra additions. She whisks ketchup with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and garlic for salad dressing.
Finally, Hall says she uses eggs for so many recipes that they’re an absolute necessity. She uses them in everything from batters for fried foods to simple egg salad.
Chopped tomatoes also play a role in Hall’s kitchen. She uses them in stews and more creative recipes like fettuccine with tomato water vinaigrette and tomato corn chowder soup.