How about this plating :) Please advise

[Hyperion]

sorry about the terrible photography, I simply don't have the optimum lighting and camera to achieve it. but I would like to ask whether you have any suggestion on improving the plating

This is pasta alla norma. There's eggplants in the sauce as well as around the plate for presentation.

 

[Timothy]

That looks fabulous to me, Hyperion. I would probably put more sauce on it to eat it, but your photo looks really good. Is that cauliflower or cheese? I couldn't tell.

Yum city!

How about your recipe for it?

 

[Hyperion]

Thanks! It actually has more sauce than I wanted... It just happens that the sauce goes right through the pasta and accumulates at the bottom when I plate it. I don't know how otherwise I can make it stay on top. The white stuff is ricotta cheese, salted and drained to mimic ricotta salata

 

[4meandthem]

I am not big on ganishes that aren't supposed to eaten. I would chiffonade the basil, but other than that It looks great

 

[Hyperion]

Recipe:
1 28onz can of whole peeled tomatoes, seeded and drained, juiced saved for later
3 japanese eggplants (tastes sweeter than the fat ones) sliced
2 cloves of garlic chopped
handful of basil leaves, chifonade

since eggplants tend to absorb a ton of oil, I just first tossed them in oil and salt, and then browned them on a dry cast iron pan.

heat olive oil in a small pot and add garlic till browned. Add the tomatoes and fry for a bit, before adding the juice and basil. When eggplants are all browned, toss them into the sauce and use a potato masher to break the tomatoes and eggplants into chunks. simply toss pasta in the sauce and it's done. You can serve with ricotta salata or pecorino

 

[Rocklobster]

Looks great! How was it to eat? Was there enough sauce to accompany the pasta and the eggplant? That's the key. You wouldn't want to run out of sauce and have a bunch of noodles and eggplant left bare.
One thing which can go amiss, is when people worry more about presentation than actual practicality. I mean, you have to be able to eat it with little or no effort, after all. You see lots of super looking burgers or sandwiches, but they fall apart before you can finish them.

Looks good!!!

 

[no mayonnaise]

Possibly might look and taste better drizzled with some good EVOO. The basil leaf almost looks like an afterthought. Ricotta quenelles would look good too. Just typing out random thoughts don't mind me.

 

[Timothy]

Recipe:
1 28onz can of whole peeled tomatoes, seeded and drained, juiced saved for later
3 japanese eggplants (tastes sweeter than the fat ones) sliced
2 cloves of garlic chopped
handful of basil leaves, chifonade

since eggplants tend to absorb a ton of oil, I just first tossed them in oil and salt, and then browned them on a dry cast iron pan.

heat olive oil in a small pot and add garlic till browned. Add the tomatoes and fry for a bit, before adding the juice and basil. When eggplants are all browned, toss them into the sauce and use a potato masher to break the tomatoes and eggplants into chunks. simply toss pasta in the sauce and it's done. You can serve with ricotta salata or pecorino

Thank you! Eggplant is one of my very favorite foods!

 

[Hyperion]

It tastes ok, mostly due to the canned tomato being from Hunts. San Marzano canned tomatoes would be much better, with more flavor and reduced acidity and salt. But the eggplants tastes good, and sauce was plentiful (they just sink to the bottom of the pasta, don't know how to make them stay on top).

I'm practicing plating/looks because I want to be able to write my own recipe book later lol

 

[Rocklobster]

Possibly might look and taste better drizzled with some good EVOO. The basil leaf almost looks like an afterthought. Ricotta quenelles would look good too. Just typing out random thoughts don't mind me.

It is quenelles. Pronounced kenells with the accent on the second sylable....
That's my surname, actually

 

[CWS4322]

I married my DH because his middle name starts with Q (just kidding--he has other qualities that were very attractive, but that middle name that started with the letter Q was definitely a factor). I loved writing the letter Q when I was a child...

 

[Hammster]

I am not big on ganishes that aren't supposed to eaten. I would chiffonade the basil, but other than that It looks great

How is an entire leaf of basil considered a garnish not to be eaten? The diner could easily cut the basil as they eat their meal or eat the entire leaf at the end of the meal, sort of like one might do with a sprig of parsley. Certain Asian cultures stir entire leaves of basil into soups or wrap whole leaves into a roll.

However, I'd prefer the basil be cut in chiffonade or minced and showered over the dish. It would just add that nice sprinkling of green throughout the dish.

I think the "ring" of eggplant should have some sauce on, or around, it. Even if it means using some of the chunky parts of the sauce to rest on pieces of the eggplant. Also, the sauce wouldn't pool as much in the center if a flat plate were used instead of a bowl. Also, a different pasta may have held on to more of the liquid part of the sauce. Shells come to mind.
The cheese should be in smaller pieces and scattered all over. Perhaps even stirred in a bit. The cheese, as presented, looks more like an afterthought, than does the basil.

I like the height of the presentation. Doesn't look all spread out and has a nice "tight" look to it.

And I don't think the lighting is all that bad. A tad too bright, but that can be corrected in software or likely with a slight exposure adjustment with your camera. A tighter crop would hide the shadow under the bowl. Easy fix there. And the ingredients show almost no shadow, which is nice. Pushing the bowl back just a smidge so the rear edge of the rim is over the green, instead of white, would allow the rear edge of the bowl to show a bit more.

 

[powerplantop]

For plating I like how you have mixed the dark and light colors and mixed the textures.
For the basil. I like to finely chop the herbs. But that is just me.
The cheese on the back side of the plate should be cleaned up. Anything outside your ring of eggplant should be wiped off of the plate.
From a photography perspective a different angle and a tighter shot would look better for no $$$.
From a food perspective I think that I would really like the dish.
I am going to post a pic of what I was served for lunch yesterday. I like how this place plates their food.


Lomo de Res con Salsa Vino Tinto by powerplantop, on Flickr

 

[Hyperion]

For plating I like how you have mixed the dark and light colors and mixed the textures.
For the basil. I like to finely chop the herbs. But that is just me.
The cheese on the back side of the plate should be cleaned up. Anything outside your ring of eggplant should be wiped off of the plate.
From a photography perspective a different angle and a tighter shot would look better for no $$$.
From a food perspective I think that I would really like the dish.
I am going to post a pic of what I was served for lunch yesterday. I like how this place plates their food.


Lomo de Res con Salsa Vino Tinto by powerplantop, on Flickr

That's a really nice picture. I can never achieve such clarity (focus) with my camera as well as the level of background blur. all of my pictures seem really out of focus even with a tripod

 

[Zhizara]

It looks delicious. The only thing I would change would be maybe a red or rust placemat. Green makes the food colors look a little off.

 

[PolishedTopaz]

I think it looks good too.

For your sauce issue, I agree a different pasta would be better, pappradelli {sp} comes to mind, if you cook the pasta most of the way through and then toss it with the sauce you should have a better result. Additionally, if the sauce is too thin you will have a pooling issue regardless of the tomatoes/pasta used.

If you made a large batch of sauce, just remove the desired amount 2-4 servings and reduce slightly in a saucepan, then add the pasta and cook the rest of the way through, then plate. Lydia Bastianich is a great reference for this method.

And remember.......Play with your food!

 

[salt and pepper]

Mabe a sprinkle of parsley. Red , white and green are Itilain colors!

 

[buckytom]

i wouldn't have used a ring of eggplant. that looks more like a plating for asian food.

rather, i would have made an arch or crescent of the eggplant rounds stacked up a bit on one corner of the plate, the pasta filling in the other 3/4's.

and yes, chiffonade the basil, and either form the ricotta more neatly, or spread smaller chunks of it around.

 

[powerplantop]

That's a really nice picture. I can never achieve such clarity (focus) with my camera as well as the level of background blur. all of my pictures seem really out of focus even with a tripod

Thanks the focus etc is due to an expensive lens. Light was natural diffused sunlight. Colors were adjusted using aperture. But for plating look at a lot of photos. Check out some of the food groups on flickr. Also use google images to search for items you are going to cook. Find plantings that you like as well as ones you don't like. Then make it your way.

 

[powerplantop]

That's a really nice picture. I can never achieve such clarity (focus) with my camera as well as the level of background blur. all of my pictures seem really out of focus even with a tripod

Hyperian, I found this today it may help your with your food shots. It was written for people starting out but has a lot of very good advice.

VeganYumYum » Food Photography for Bloggers