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Brussels Sprouts Vinaigrette |
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Ingredients:
Weigh vegetables and calculate cooking time, using 5 minutes per pound.
Insert toothpick into sprouts, microwave
on full power, covered.
Drizzle with several tablespoons
vinaigrette dressing. Serve hot or chilled. Or, drizzle with
extra-virgin olive oil and roll each in finely grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Appetizers Vegetable Dishes Vegetarian |
Vinaigrette
- 1
Tablespoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1-2
teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 medium
shallot, minced (2 scallions, minced can
be substituted)
- 1
Tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- salt &
freshly ground pepper
- 2
Tablespoons olive oil & 2 Tablespoons
canola oil (or 4 Tablespoons olive oil, or
4 Tablespoons heavy cream)
- 1
teaspoon finely chopped tarragon
(optional)
Blender
method: Chop the shallots or scallions
roughly. Do not mince the parsley or
tarragon. Place all ingredients in the
blender and pulse 5-6 times until blended.
Hand method: Pour the vinegar into a shallow
soup plate and add the mustard, salt,
pepper, parsley and shallot (also tarragon
if using). Mix well with a fork. Food
processor method: 1. Chop the shallots or
scallions roughly. Do not mince the parsley
or tarragon. Place all ingredients in the
blender and pulse 5-6 times until blended.
Add the oil all at once. Keeping the tines
of the fork flat against the bottom of the
dish, mix well using a circular motion. The
dressing with emulsify. |
Cooking Tips:
A vinaigrette
is an emulsion, which means basically "a
suspension or dispersion of one liquid into
another, the two liquids being mutually
insoluble." Like water and oil, but in this
case vinegar and oil. Vinaigrettes are
called unstable emulsions because they will
eventually separate, the oil traveling
upward and the vinegar and whatever else you
have added settling on the bottom. However,
this is easily fixed by simply shaking the
liquids together again.
The classic proportions are 1 part vinegar
to 4 parts oil but today it depends on
personal taste, types of oils and acids you
are mixing and any additions that you want
to make. For a very acid dressing use a 1:1
proportion; medium 34-40% acid, the rest oil
or for a mellow taste use the classic 1:4.
The vinegar may be replaced by any citrus
juice or by a blend of citrus and vinegar.
Mustard is also a common add-in with the
vinegar and helps to keep the emulsion
stable for a bit longer. Just remember that
the more vinegar you choose to use the more
salt will be needed to balance the flavors.
Fresh and dried herbs as well as aromatics
make excellent additions to vinaigrettes.
Aromatics include chopped onions, shallots,
mashed garlic, and/or grated ginger. They
should all be added to the vinegar along
with the salt and mixed before adding the
oil. Dried herbs should be added at this
time also. Fresh herbs should be added just
before mixing the emulsion. |
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