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dressing

Panzanella

by 18 Comments

Have you noticed that everything seems different?  Does it feel like fall where you are?

 

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I woke up Sunday morning and it just felt different.  I mentioned to Chris that it feels like fall and he agreed.  I don’t know if it’s this cold front that started moving in or if we reached a turning point. It feels like there is a chill and a crispness in the air.  Even the sunlight is different and there are leaves falling in my yard.

 

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But I still have tomatoes!  And more are on the way!  I don’t think I’m going to give up on summer until October.  It’s official.  Queen Rachelle has declared summer is extended.  Who cares if school started and football kicked off last weekend?  I am putting my foot down and stopping this gateway to winter and all things dark and cold and snowy and gloomy.  Well, except for Christmas where everything is happy and sparkly and shiny.  And I’m not really stopping it – it’s more of a denial and delay, but I’ll take it.

 

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Because I’m lucky enough to live in the south where summer lasts almost until winter.

 

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Panzanella

Ingredients

  • 15 - 20 to matoes of combined variety chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1/2 of a day old baguette sliced and torn into bite size pieces
  • 4 garlic cloves pressed or minced
  • 1 sweet onion thinly sliced
  • 12 or so basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup chopped chives
  • 1/4 cup chopped tarragon leaves
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar plus 2-3 tablespoons more for finishing
  • 1/4 cup olive oil plus 2-3 tablespoons more for finishing
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Put the onion slices in a bowl, cover with water and soak for 10-15 minutes
  2. Add tomatoes, garlic, bread, onions, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Use hands to toss and combine.
  3. Set aside for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours at room temperature, tossing occasionally
  4. Add the herbs 15-20 minutes before serving
  5. Taste and adjust seasonings, finish with remaining red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper
  6. This salad is best on the same day it's made

 

Note: The bread should be hard and dry.  If it isn’t, you can dry it out in the oven on a baking sheet at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes.  You do not want it to be toasted or brown.

Note: This is more of a guideline for panzanella, rather than a recipe.  You can use some or all of the herbs or add different ones.  The longer the salad sits, the more liquid gets absorbed into the bread, so you will want to taste it and adjust the dressing and seasonings prior to serving.  Also, keep kind of a rule of thumb that the bread should be 1/3 ratio to the rest of the salad.  Feel free to use up any fruits and vegetables in your fridge, such as cucumbers and bell peppers.

Grilled Radicchio and Romaine Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Mango Dressing

by 28 Comments

Grab your tongs and get your grill on!

 

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I’ve been grilling and putting beer in everything I can get my hands on lately.  There is no beer in this post, but stay tuned – there are some beer dishes and brewing posts coming very soon.  For now, how ’bout we just grill up a salad.

 

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I’ve been totally obsessed with mangoes lately too.  Which is weird – I have never been a big fan of the mango.  I didn’t grill them, but I did add one to the salad and tossed another one in the blender to make not one, but two salad dressings.

 

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Yeah – a hers and his because that’s the way we roll around here – some of us like it spicy and some of us are weenies.

 

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I’ll leave it to you to figure out who is who.

 

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Happy weekend, Y’all!

 

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Grilled Radicchio and Romaine Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Mango Dressing

Ingredients

For the Shrimp and Marinade

  • 1 lemon both juice and zest
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced, grated, or pressed
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon DIjon mustard
  • 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

For the Dressing

  • 1 mango peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced, grated, or pressed
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 red chili pepper
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad

  • 1 head radicchio cut into quarters or eighths - depending how big
  • 8-10 asparagus stalks
  • 1 head romaine halved or a package of romaine pre-washed and separated
  • 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 mango peeled, pitted, and cubed
  • 1 avocado peeled, pitted, and sliced

Instructions

For the Shrimp and Marinade

  1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a zip top bag
  2. Add shrimp, seal, and refrigerate for 1 hour

For the Dressing

  1. Combine all ingredients except the water in a blender and blend until smooth
  2. Use water to thin 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency
  3. I removed about half the dressing into a Mason jar then threw the chili pepper into the blender with the remaining dressing and blended until somewhat smooth

For the Salad

  1. Heat grill or grill pan on high, lightly coat with cooking spray
  2. Toss radicchio, asparagus, and romaine in olive oil and salt to taste
  3. Add radicchio and asparagus to hot grill or grill pan and grill for 3-4 minutes, depending on size, turning radicchio 1-2 times and asparagus every minute or so
  4. Remove from grill to a platter and tent with foil
  5. Remove shrimp from marinade into a bowl, discard marinade
  6. Add shrimp to grill or grill pan, cook in 2 -3 batches if you don't have enough room to do all at once (I did 2 batches) about 2 minutes on one side and flip, cook another minute or so, depending on size - remove slightly before they are done and put on plate and lightly cover with foil tent, repeat with the rest of the shrimp
  7. Grill romaine - a couple of minutes if using a whole head split in half, about 1 minute for single leaves
  8. Add romaine and asparagus to the platter with the radicchio, arrange avocado and mango on same platter and toss shrimp and any juices from the plate over the top
  9. Serve with dressing

Notes:

  • Here is the deal on the divided dressing – I do not like spicy food, but for Chris – the hotter the better!.   I usually end up dividing things up and adding a bunch of spice to one and leaving the other without.  That’s what I did here.  I split up the dressing and added a chili pepper for Chris.  I seeded it and he said he would have like more heat, so use your own judgment.
  • You can also add more dried cayenne pepper to the shrimp marinade.  I could taste it and Chris could not, so it really depends on your tolerance.  For a scale – I have none and Chris is off the charts spicy man.

Update:  For some reason I must have lost my mind and in the recipe had only 2 tablespoons of olive oil. It now reads 1/4 cup and depending on your taste could be 1/3.  Also, salt and pepper to your preferences.