Garlic Cream

Purees have earned their place in professional kitchens for a number of reasons. First, if made well, they add a silken luxuriousness to a dish. Secondly, purees are malleable; they can be used to highlight the simple elegance of a chosen ingredient--or, conversely, they can be folded into things as a finish of sorts. There's something about a well-made puree that suggests you're the type of cook to revere an ingredient enough to painstakingly transform it into something that can be experienced with every bite of a composed dish. That's respect.