• Green Apple, Hazelnut, and
    Avocado Salad on Arugula and
    Butter Lettuces with Hazelnut Vinaigrette

    November 10, 2008 // No Comments »

    This is, quite honesty, one of the most delicious and satisfying salads of the fall. It is thirst quenching, juicy, sweet and savory, and splendidly delicious. It also rather curiously manages to be decadently creamy from the avocado and primitively crunchy from the apple. It came about at a dinner party at a friend’s house when salad materials were scarce. I’ve since expanded on it at home, and though my fridge and counter may abound with ingredients, I find myself making this again and again. It’s difficult only in the respect that the apple shards and avocado slices must be kept from discoloring. Other than that, it’s easy as pie, a piece of cake, and other food related expressions of facility.

    *NOTE*: This salad works equally well with a single variety of wither one of these lettuces, too. I lean towards arugula for fruit-containing salads as the peppery bite cuts the sweetness, and because, more importantly, arugula contains less water than other lettuces, making it less prone to sogginess from the liquids expelled by fruits.

    For 2, or a substantial salad meal for 1

    Ingredients

    • Huge handful arugula and butter lettuce, mixed.
    • 1 large Granny Smith Apple
    • ½ avocado
    • 1 large handful hazelnuts
    • 4 t apple cider vinegar
    • 2 t toasted hazelnut oil, French if you can find it (this isn’t blind cultural superiority- the French really do take their nut oils more seriously than the rest of the world).
    • Fleur de Sel
    • Black pepper

    Procedure

    1. Wash and dry lettuces. Remove to a VERY large bowl. Larger than you think.
    2. Slice hazelnuts. Reserve.
    3. Mix oil, vinegar, and pepper. Reserve.
    4. Wash and core apple. On a mandolin, using the 2 cm setting, slice the apple into disks. Cut half these disks into halves, and the other half into quarters, for textural variety. Use for fingers to disengage the apple “shards” from one other, and layer throughout lettuce. Toss with hands.
    5. Pour vinaigrette over and toss with hands to coat until leaves are glistening. The acidic action of the vinegar will also prevent the apple from oxidizing.
    6. Slice half an avocado into medium thick slices. Scatter over top and toss lightly with hands to distribute, being mindful that that all the goodies don’t sink to the bottom, as they have a tendency to do (especially avocado).
    7. Sprinkle hazelnuts, 2 generous pinches fleur de sel, and a bit more freshly ground pepper on top.
    8. Using the tips of your fingers, fluff the salad to cause the nuts and salt to permeate the salad a bit. Most should remain on the top to provide crunch and the particularly wonderful sensation of fleur de sel melting on the tongue.
    9. Wait five minutes or so for the vinaigrette to soften the arugula, then serve and enjoy.

    Posted in Portland, The Recipes

    Ratatouille Recipe

    November 1, 2008 // 1 Comment »

    Makes 2 large servings, or three if you’re less of a miss piggy than I:

    Ingredients

    • 1 eggplant
    • 2 zucchini
    • 3 small onions
    • 6 nice garden grown tomatoes. Hydroponic clones won’t do for this.
    • 8 cloves of garlic
    • Beaucoups olive oil

    Procedure

    1. Dice the eggplant and zucchini into a 1/2 ” dice.
    2. Soak both the eggplant and zucchini in bowls of abundant salted water for at least an hour, separately. Overnight is optimal.
    3. Rinse them, and spread them on two different trays to dry.
    4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
    5. Sautee the eggplant in 2 T o.oil, or more, if necessary, on high heat until well caramelized. Remove to a glass Pyrex dish, or a rectangular cake pan in a pinch.
    6. Repeat with zucchini.
    7. Dice onion to same size, and sauté until brown in 2 T o. oil (Should be past golden but not charred).
    8. Halve the tomatoes. Over the sink, squeeze them to expel the seeds. Don’t go crazy, though. About 1/3 of the moisture should still remain in the tomatoes. These will provide delicious moisture for the whole dish.
    9. Roughly chop the garlic cloves.
    10. Add all ingredients to the baking dish, salt heavily (more than you think: the salt will draw out moisture from the vegetables to create a delicious juice. Also, it’s a hefty mass of ingredients, so it really needs the seasoning.
    11. Mix and fold with a spatula to evenly distribute ingredients.
    12. Pop into oven uncovered for a total of 1.5 hours, mixing it around every 30 minutes or so to avoid over-caramelization.

     

    The ratatouille is finished when it is a lovely, caramelized sticky, ooey-gooey mess. The vegetables should seem to have dissolved into one another, thoroughly melded but still maintaining the integrity of their character (this is why you sauté them each separately). Ratatouille, by the way, gets better with age. Have some, refrigerate the rest for later, and by all means, multiply the recipe. It’s not an exact science, so mix and match as suits your fancy!!!

    Posted in French Cuisine, The Recipes, Uncategorized