MAKING YOUR OWN RECIPES
If you feel confident enough or wild enough to try and make up an own recipe, there are several things that may be of aid. Here are some suggestions that you could use in your own recipe making. One important thing above all I guess is to understand your ingredients - that is, how they should be cooked, how to match them, how the different flavors will work together. That's one big reason there is the foodopedia section on our webpage that covers these facts. But there is more. I think one good way to start is to first contemplate at what you like and what inspires you: are there any certain cuisines that you like in particular, and what do you like about them? In such a way you will bring influences from several sources and create your own style of cooking, without thinking much about it. Of course, when you start to mix and match things, you need to make sure that they are going to work well together.
The purpose
First ask yourself what kind of dish you want to make. What do you want to produce, essentially? Which ingredients can be used to achieve this purpose. How are they supposed to be cooked. Then...
The flavor
This is the major point in a dish, no matter what. Flavor is just so important, and it's fantastic how much you can vary a dish by just some simple adjustments. One big issue when it comes to flavor is that your ingredients need to be fresh and prime quality. You cannot turn bad food into something fantastic (even though you can make some improvement to it). If you understand the ingredients you use, you should be able to extract as much flavor from them as possible. If you cook a carrot, you should know how to cook it to get the best flavor in it, or out of it. Then, when it comes to mixing several ingredients you should know, or try, what works and what doesn't work together. Sometimes, unorthodox additions will actually turn around a dish into something novel and exciting. On other times, such additions will ruin the dish. Of course, you can go by the proven combinations of ingredients - something that you already tried and know works well together. Then, besides the food ingredients, you also have all kinds of seasonings to try. Possibilities are endless. Remember however to try and keep things simple, because too much of different flavor molecules hitting your tongue will just make one confused. Do not add more than you really have to. Add enough and stop. Noone likes food with millions of flavors that just chaotically dance on the tongue. Usually, people like to know what they are eating.
The texture
Texture of a dish should be suited to the flavor. You don't serve overcooked pasta because it tastes weird, even if the flavor is somehow there. When you create your dish, decide beforehand what kind of texture will go together with the flavor. You can, if you want, create a dish with several contrasting textures in it, although they still have to complement each other.
The presentation
Presentation - crucial. Learn from other chefs how to present the dish on a plate. It really, at least psychologically, enhances the flavor of the dish. Once again, it is probably best to keep the presentation simple, although you can make it complex within its simplicity. There are several books you can read on how to present food in different ways, depending on the style and occasion of the dish.
Other ways
You don't have to start with an end point in sight, as described above. You can go into a shop, look what you have there (especially the seasonal produce which is at its best and cheap) and then go from there. Imagine what techniques you can use to cook the ingredient of your choice, and then how to complement it. Which other ingredients would be good to have in the dish? Should they be cooked the same way or given another texture? Should they be blended together or separate? And so on. One necessary condition is that you already know how the different ingredients will behave when cooked with the different methods, and which ingredients can be paired. That's something you need to learn, or just go back to some tried and tested recipe memories and start from there.