Amazing and Versatile Vinaigrette

Paris, 2012

I frankly love tangy vinegar.  I sometimes gross my partner out by slipping into the kitchen for a teaspoon of vinegar when I get a craving.

Today's post is a roundup of various yummy dishes made with a simple vinaigrette.












The basic recipe for a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid.  You can experiment with different oils:

• Olive oil -the traditional oil element
• Walnut oil
• Sesame oil -for a rich Asian flavor
• Canola oil
• Even hot bacon grease for dishes like the Southern wilted lettuce

You can also play around with different acids:

• White vinegar
• Red wine vinegar
• White wine vinegar
• Rice vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Lime juice

And you can also add some other ingredients for various tastes:

• Dijon mustard -to make a French vinaigrette
• Garlic and oregano -to make an Italian dressing

Most Americans are familiar with using vinaigrette as a salad dressing, but vinaigrette is an amazingly versatile sauce for various dishes including:

• Lentilles en Vinaigrette (Lentils in Vinaigrette) -lentils
• Salad Antibes -tomatoes
• Anne Burrell's Asparagus Salad -asparagus (Delicious and unique!  Folks have a hard time figuring out what the diced asparagus is.)
• Ina Garten's Celery and Parmesan Salad -This delicious and unusual take on celery is similar to Anne Burrell's asparagus salad except with celery.
• Ina Garten's Avocado and Grapefruit Salad -an amazing blend of buttery avocado and tangy grapefruit
• Pico de Gallo Beans -I have also experimented with a tasty alternative to this recipe where I use a bit of vinaigrette to provide a tang for a cold blackeye pea salad.
• Cucumbers -In Germany I've had a number of salads consisting of grated cucumbers tossed with a vinaigrette.
• Potatoes -Also in Germany, one traditional version of a warm potato salad consists of skinned, sliced, and cooked potatoes mixed with a vinaigrette and bits of bacon.
• marinade -Vinaigrettes are often mixed with herbs to make delicious marinades.

On what other vegetables and dishes can you use this versatile dressing?

Italy's 20 regions, dish by delicious dish

WWW.CNN.COM

There's no such thing as "Italian food." Regional differences give the country multiple "national cuisines."

Salade Antibes

Market, Venice, 2012

I discovered this salad by accident.  I like naming my salads after French places under the dictum that foods taste better with French names. (wink)

Antibes is on the Mediterranean coast, and this yummy salad of summer tomatoes and lemons seemed a good dish to name for that warm, sunny city.

• 2 cups fresh tomatoes or grape tomatoes
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• Tablespoon of good olive oil
• Pepper to taste
• Kosher salt to taste

This is a great tomato salad.  You can use either fresh tomatoes cleaned of their seeds with a spoon or use whole, halved grape tomatoes.  Prepare and cut the tomatoes.  Add the juice of half a fresh lemon. Add in about a tablespoon of good olive oil.

Add black pepper and an amazingly large amount of kosher salt to taste.  The salt is key.  Keep adding as long as you think it revs up the taste.  At one point you end up with this fantastic, salty-sour vinaigrette.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  no (contains tomatoes)
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.    

Lentilles En Vinaigrette

Paris, 2012

I have been fortunate to live in Paris twice -once in 2010 and again in 2012.  I loved living there, and one of the treats was the food!  Paris is full of incredible open air markets, delicious restaurants, and these wonderful grocery stores.  I have to say the food I cooked in Paris was among some of the best dishes I've ever made.  My tiny apartments had few cooking implements.  I believe the quality of my cooking was heavily influenced by the very high quality of French ingredients.

Paris has a number of grocery store chains including Franprix, Carrefour, Picard, and Monoprix.  I have never seen a store like Picard in the US.  It sells only frozen foods.  Franprix was the small, urban grocery store near the apartment on rue Popincourt where I lived in 2010.  In both 2010 and 2012, however, I lived fairly near a Monoprix, the larger and more upscale grocery store chain.  And it is at Monoprix that I discovered Lentilles en Vinaigrette (Lentils in Vinaigrette).  It has been true love since that day!

I had never really had many lentils in the US.  I had tried lentil soup once or twice and was not that impressed.  My limited experiences with Indian dals and other lentil dishes were tasty, but I did not really ever get a craving for them.  Then I encountered this French dish.

French cooking uses lentils quite a bit.  I am not sure if lentils are a traditional part of French cooking or an immigrant from North Africa.  French lentils tend to be the dark green ones.  Monoprix sells individual servings of lentilles en vinaigrette both served with smoked tofu (tofu fumé) or bulgar wheat.  Another version I've seen contains smoked salmon.  All three are surprisingly delicious.

When I got home, I had a number of trials and errors creating my own version of this dish.  I now share it with you:

Lentils in Vinaigrette Sauce

• 1 cup green lentils
• 2 cups chicken broth (or water)
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon additional vinegar

Cook the lentils and minced onion in boiling water until soft but not mushy.  I usually cook 1 cup lentils with 2 cups of chicken stock.  The stock improves the flavor, but you can also use plain water.

While the lentils are cooking, mix the vinaigrette in a bowl by combining the soy sauce, olive oil, vinegars, water, Dijon mustard, and salt.

When the lentils are done, drain and gently toss with the vinaigrette sauce.  You can serve this dish cold or hot.

Options:
1. Add small cubed or slivered carrots to the lentils and onions.  Cook all three together. Adds a nice color.

2. As a last step, add tofu.  Add smoked tofu if you can find it.  Yum!

3. As a last step, add bits of smoked salmon.

4. Use 3/4 cup of lentils mixed with 1/4 cup bulgur wheat.  Cook together.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes* (lentils are naturally gluten free but check to make sure they weren't packaged in a facility with gluten products)
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes )
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes* (leave out the olive oil and consume no more than 4 Tablespoons)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

French Vinaigrette Dressing

Boulevard Richard Lenoir, Paris, June 2010

When Julie Child arrived in France for the first time in 1948, her first simple lunch of sauteed fish (sole meunière) and a salad with a vinaigrette dressing changed her life.  The flavors and tastes she experienced were nothing like anything she had experienced.

Many people focus on the sole meunière as the critical dish in Child's introduction to French cooking, but the simple vinaigrette was also part of the charm.  Today most Americans are used to various vinaigrettes such as basic vinegar and oil dressing or the spiced-up Italian dressing.  The basic French vinaigrette is nearly ubiquitous in Parisian restaurants though.  If you visit Paris, don't expect a choice of dressings.  Still, the basic vinaigrette is delicious and simple.  Here is the recipe:

French Vinaigrette Dressing

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix thoroughly.  Put on your fresh greens immediately before serving.  Key to a good salad is to toss and mix the dressing to lightly coat each leaf.  Do this in a bowl and then transfer the coated leaves to a serving plate or fresh bowl.  Unlike what you may get in some restaurants, there should not be a big, soupy glop of dressing on the bottom of your salad bowl/plate.  You may also find that your dressing needs more salt. Dressings are usually a bit too salty when you taste by themselves.  The saltiness goes well with the more bland lettuce.  And by no means use bland, tasteless, hybridized-for-shipment Iceberg lettuce. Yak!  The richer and darker the green color of your lettuce, the more rich the leaves are in vitamins.  Get a nice green or red leaf lettuce for your salad.  You'll love the difference.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Tilapia Amandine

Fish Market, Paris, June 2010

Earlier I posted about the Dish That Seduced Julia Child, Sole Meunière.  Today I wanted to offer ways to adapt this simple, sauteed fish dish into other wonderful entrees.










First, here again is the basic recipe adapted to less expensive but tasty tilapia.  Note that tilapia is a farmed fish and thus reduces environmental pressures of wild species.

Tilapia Meunière

• 1-2 fillets of tilapia per person (boned and skinned)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 stick of butter
• Flour
• 1/2 lemon per fillet 
• Fresh, chopped parsley (optional)

Put about a cup or so of flour on a plate.  Dredge/pull each piece of fish through the flour.  You want each piece to be nicely floured, but you are not seeking a thick batter as you would with fish and chips.

Melt your butter into the olive oil in a saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat.

Saute each fillet as so:  2 minutes on the first side.  Then flip and cook on the second side for 4 minutes. Then flip back to the first side and cook for another 2 minutes.  

Squeeze half a fresh lemon's juice onto the fillet.  

Traditionally, you then sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.  If I don't have fresh parsley I skip this step.  I've also dressed each fillet with some capers.

Serve hot.

NOTE:  Cooking times may vary depending on your stove and the thickness of each fish fillet.  When the fish begins to flake, it is done.

Options:

Amandine:  Amandine is the French word for almonds.  For this dish, add about a 1/4 cup of warm, toasted almonds at the end of cooking when you squeeze fresh lemon juice onto the sauteed fillets.

Béarnaise:  This sauce is named for Bearn, the birthplace of King Henry IV of France.  Cook a cup of white wine with minced onions, tarragon, and black pepper.  Once the onions are well done and the wine has reduced by about 1/3 to 1/2, strain the liquid from the spices and onions.  Mix the flavored wine mixture into a Hollandaise sauce and serve.  This sauce is traditionally used more for beef, but the lemony Hollandaise ingredient lends itself as a sauce for Tilapia Meunière.
Hollandaise:   Hollandaise in French means Dutch style (Holland).  This sensuous and lemony cream sauce makes a nice accompaniment to the fish.  If you use a Hollandaise sauce, skip the step of squeezing lemon juice on the fillets.  The lemon in the sauce pairs well with the Tilapia Meunière.

Provençale: Named for France's region of Provence bordering the Mediterranean, this invention of mine plays again on the lemon taste traditional to a meunière dish.  Provence's cuisine is famous for black olives, capers, tomatoes, and lemons.  I find black olives and garlic overpower the fish dish.  Instead, make a traditional Tilapia Meunière complete with the lemon juice.  Then add some warm diced tomatoes and capers.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  no
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (not the Provençale which includes tomatoes)
Paleo:  no (contains flour and dairy)
SugarBusters:  yes* (substitute whole wheat flour instead of white flour)
Sugar Free:  yes* (substitute whole wheat flour instead of white flour)
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  no
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

The Dish That Seduced Julia Child

Fish Market, Paris, June 2010

I like to invite people over for dinner by promising to serve the Dish That Seduced Julia Child. Who could pass up such an invitation?

In 1948 Julia Child and her husband Paul landed in Rouen, France, on their way to Paris where Paul was stationed by the US Department of State.  They stopped for a simple lunch of fish and a salad.  Julia later said the food was a seductive revelation to the wonders of French cooking.  This simple meal started a love for French cooking that would take Julia to cooking school and eventually her own French cooking TV show.  Today she is heralded as the woman who brought French cooking to US tables.

So, what was the dish that so impressed Ms. Child?  It was sole meunière, or miller's wife fish.  Specifically, the traditional recipe calls for sole, a type of mild fish somewhat difficult to find in my local grocer.  So, I have adapted this recipe to tilapia meunière as a more available and inexpensive fish.  I've used cod too, but cod fillets are often thicker and require longer cooking times..

The fish is sauteed in butter and then gets a drizzle of lemon juice just before serving.  The result is a delicate, crusty fish with a tart flavor and no fishy taste.  It is simple and delicious!  Let it seduce you!

Tilapia Meunière

• 1-2 fillets of tilapia per person (boned and skinned)
• Salt and pepper
• ~1/4 to 1/2 stick of butter
• Flour
• 1/2 lemon per fillet 
• Fresh, chopped parsley (optional)

Put about a cup or so of flour on a plate.  Dredge/pull each piece of fish through the flour.  You want each piece to be nicely floured, but you are not seeking a thick batter as you would with fish and chips.

Melt your butter in a saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat.

Saute each fillet as so:  2 minutes on the first side.  Then flip and cook on the second side for 4 minutes. Then flip back to the first side and cook for another 2 minutes.  

Squeeze half a fresh lemon's juice onto the fillet.  

Traditionally, you then sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.  If I don't have fresh parsley I skip this step.  I've also dressed each fillet with some capers.

Serve hot.

NOTE:  Cooking times may vary depending on your stove and the thickness of each fish fillet.  When the fish begins to flake, it is done.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no (contains a small amount of flour and dairy)
SugarBusters:  yes* (substitute whole wheat flour instead of white flour)
Sugar Free:  yes* (substitute whole wheat flour instead of white flour)
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  no
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  yes* (Must limit portion to half a fillet.  A whole fillet has about 260 calories.)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

5 Cup Country Cobbler

Photo Credit: sea turtle via Compfight cc 

This recipe is one of my favorites and perfect for a cold winter day.  My mom has been making this simple dessert my entire life.  My friend Marc calls it my "country cobbler".  It is really yummy -and really simple!










1 cup flour (self-rising if you have it but I have used other types too)
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 stick butter or margarine (ok...so the recipe is actually 4 cups and a stick)
1 cup berries or fruit (you can also put in 2 cups of fruit/berries depending on your tastes)

Heat your oven to 400F.  Mix together the first five ingredients.  It helps to melt the butter first or cut into small cubes.  After the batter is loosely mixed, gently stir in the berries or fruit.  Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the cobbler is bubbling and browned, remove.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes* (if your eating plan allows dairy as a vegetarian)
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.