Main Courses

Main courses are the central and most important part of a meal, its culmination. These are the most substantial, nourishing, and complex-to-prepare dishes, served after the appetizers and the first course (soup), and they set the main gastronomic tone of the lunch or dinner.

The basis of main courses is most often a protein product — meat, fish, poultry, or, in vegetarian cuisine, vegetables, mushrooms, legumes. It is usually served with a side dish (potatoes, grains, vegetables) and an appropriate sauce, which complement and balance the flavour. The methods of preparing main courses are extraordinarily varied: baking, braising, frying, grilling, steaming. It is in the main course that the cook most fully reveals their mastery, combining products, techniques, and flavours into an accomplished composition. The overall impression of the whole meal depends in large measure on the successful preparation of the main dish.