Two Vinaigrettes

Enough to dress one large salad

Rebecca’s Everyday Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt (use half that amount or less if your sea salt is finely ground)
1/2 teaspoon shoyu (naturally brewed soy sauce)
scant 1/4 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons good quality extra-virgin olive oil
freshly-ground black pepper

Recipe:

1. In a small bowl, or in a salad bowl–whichever you prefer–mash the minced garlic with the sea salt.

2. Add the shoyu, honey and lemon juice and mix.

3. Add the olive oil in a slow stream, stirring as you go.

4. Taste the dressing and correct the seasoning. It may need more sea salt or more lemon juice. When you have it right, the flavors will pop. This dressing can be made just before serving, but it tastes even better if you give the flavors several hours or as long as overnight to meld.

5. Grind fresh pepper over the dressed salad just before serving.

Master Vinaigrette Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
freshly-ground black pepper

Embellishments:

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
lemon juice, white wine vinegar, or sherry vinegar in place of the red wine vinegar
buttermilk in place of a portion of olive oil
a clove of minced garlic
a finely-chopped shallot
fresh herbs like basil, tarragon or chives

Recipe:

1. Combine the first four ingredients in a jar and shake well, or combine the same ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

2. Add any embellishments and serve. If you are using a shallot or fresh herbs, it may work better to add these just before serving.

Copyright, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

How to Roast a Pepper

It’s so easy to roast a pepper, and when you do it yourself it tastes so much better than anything you can buy. Although I generally roast sweet red peppers, you can roast any type of pepper (hot or sweet) using the same methods. Roasted peppers are delicious as a pizza topping, in pasta, on bruschetta, in an antipasto platter, or tossed in a salad; they keep for about a week. I usually roast peppers over the flame of a gas burner, but if your stove top is electric, you can also roast peppers on a baking sheet in the oven.

Ingredients

As many peppers of whatever variety that you want to roast.

Recipe

1. Wash and dry the peppers.

2. If you have a gas cook top, place each pepper on a burner grate or use tongs to hold them over the flame. If you cook with electricity, slice each pepper in half lengthwise and remove the core and seeds. Then place each pepper cut-side-down on a baking sheet and broil them close to the flame until their skin is charred. A third option is to preheat your oven to 450 degrees and bake the peppers for about 35 minutes, until the skin is black. Regardless of which method you use, the goal is to char the skin, not the flesh. When the peppers are ready, they should be soft, but not falling apart.

2. With each roasting method, once the skin on your peppers is mostly black, put them in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, a dish towel, or a plate. Let the peppers rest for 10-15 minutes.

3. Uncover the peppers and place them charred-side-up on a cutting board. Then gently scrape away the blackened skin. The back side of a knife or spoon works well for this purpose.

4. Discard the charred bits and skin. Then slice the peppers and use as you wish.

Copyright Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul