Recipe Wednesday: Tuscan Roasted Vegetables

Tuscan Roasted Vegetables
(Taken from our Culinary Journey: Florence class.)
 The vegetables can be prepared in advance and reheated.

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Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, crushed and minced

1 medium eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 8 wedges, each wedge cut into 3 pieces

1 large red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces

1 large fennel bulb, cut into 8 wedges, layers separated

2 small to medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into quarters, and then each quarter cut into 3 pieces

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Put all the vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Add thyme leaves in and drizzle olive oil over the mixture. Mix completely.

3. Arrange the mixture on two baking sheets, spreading them in an even layer. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the vegetables and place in the oven.

4. Roast vegetables for 15-20 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender when pricked with a knife.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately, or let them cool for later use.

To serve these vegetables as a salad: Cool vegetable to room temperature. Arrange some lettuce leaves on a serving dish, top with the vegetables and make a dressing by whisking together the following:

1 1/2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, scallion or chives.

Use spoon to drizzle the dressing over the vegetables and serve at once.

Cooking Tip: Vinegar

Cooks use vinegar to make pickles, deglaze pans, marinate meats, and add tang to vinaigrettes, sauces, and even desserts. Vinegars are made by adding bacteria called Acetobacter aceti to diluted wine, ale or fermented fruits or grains. This creates acetic acid, which gives the liquid a a sour flavor. Unopened, most vinegar will last for about two years in a cool, dark pantry. Once opened, vinegar should be used within three to six months.

But which vinegar should you use? Many cooks prefer old-fashioned white vinegar for pickling. It allows the flavors of your spices and main pickling ingredient to take center stage.

Vinegars add flavor when creating a vinaigrette, so choose something with a little more flavor than the neutral white vinegar. At the very least, use a white wine vinegar. But the flavors and types of specialty vinegars, like balsamic, sherry or raspberry, are as varied and diverse as can be. Cider vinegar is made from apples and is a good choice for fruity vinaigrettes. Balsamic vinegar, sweet, dark and aged in specially treated wooden casks, is one of the most sublime vinegars you can find. Another interesting choice, especially for Asian-flavored vinaigrettes, is rice vinegar, which is made from fermented rice.

Recipe Wednesday: Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction

Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction


The Caprese salad is one of Italy’s most classic summer salads. Traditionally tomatoes are paired with fresh basil and mozzarella cheese. A drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, reduced down to a syrup, finishes off the refreshing starter. Some chef’s will pair the tomatoes with a variety of cheeses such as goat or feta. The choice is yours but to make it a true Caprese salad, be sure to use fresh mozzarella from the gourmet cheese stand in your local grocery store.

Serves 4

3 Ripe Tomatoes

1 Container of Fresh Mozzarella rounds or logs
12 Fresh Basil Leaves
Bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice the tomatoes into ¼-½ thick rounds. Slice your mozzarella the same way. De-stem your basil leaves.

Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and place on a medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-medium low. The idea is to create a syrup by evaporating the amount of water in the vinegar. This should take just a few minutes. There are sugars in the balsamic vinegar so be careful not to overcook the reduction or it will burn.

Begin plating up your salads by placing a slice of tomato on the plate and then layer with mozzarella, basil. Continue layering until there are three of everything on the plate. Finish the plate with a drizzle of Olive Oil, Balsamic Reduction, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Enjoy!

2010 Tupelo Country Club Invitational

Cooking Demonstration

Chef James Allen

Recipe Wednesday: Spicy Cashew Salad & Citrus Vinaigrette

Here's a little lighter recipe than the last couple of weeks taken from a Valentine Dinner class led by Chef Joshua Simpson, Executive Chef at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Spicy Cashew Salad & Citrus Vinaigrette

 Spicy Cashew Salad




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¼ cup cashews

Cayenne pepper

Black pepper

Salt

Granulated sugar

Butter



Place cashews in medium skillet on medium high. Toss until they are golden brown. Remove them from the skillet. (If you don’t they will burn very quickly)

Put butter and sugar in the pan and melt. Let this heat on medium heat until it turns a light amber color. Add the salt, pepper, and the cayenne pepper and combine.

Toss the sugar mixture with the cashews and spread out even on a sill pad.



Citrus Vinaigrette

Red grape fruit

Olive oil

Sugar

Salt & Pepper



Red wine vinegar

In a mixing bowl combine the olive oil and the vinegar with the salt and pepper.

Segment the grape fruit and squeeze the juice from the remaining membranes.

Whisk vigorously until the vinaigrette becomes thick.