Sides & Salads

[Boone]

We have just about every other category of cooking/dining here in the Gastropub thread - thought I'd add one I haven't seen... Side Dishes and Salads.

Tonight I did a dish that, not being Italian, I wasn't aware of until I got a Bertolli olive oil recipe book. Panzanella. Panzanella is a salad made with fresh tomatoes, toasted or stale bread (typically sourdough), olive oil, and a dressing made with vinegar, olive oil, garlic, shallots, fresh basil, and salt and pepper. The recipe I used tonight is a Serious Eats version that also called for a little Dijon mustard.

My only regret is that I only had enough of my home garden tomatoes to meet about half the requirements, the other half were store bought and not nearly as good.

Give it a try if you like something simple and clean and great in the summertime. It is rich and hearty enough to be a meal in and of itself, which is was for me tonight.

Classic Panzanella Salad (Tuscan-Style Tomato and Bread Salad) Recipe

Dried bread and salted tomatoes make the best version of panzanella, a summer salad from the Tuscany region of Italy. And let's get one thing straight: panzanella is not a tomato salad with bread; it's a bread salad flavored with vegetables.

www.seriouseats.com

 

[RedWolf]

Got tons of ideas here if anyone is interested

 

[RedWolf]

Boone that's a classic!

Here's another Italian classic...
Arugula (or Raddichio hand shredded to bit size pieces)
Shaved Parmesan (or bite sized chunks of a good Bleu cheese)
Orange supremes
Lightly toasted walnuts
Vinaigrette of good Balsamic (1 TB) good olive oil (3 TB) squeeze the juice from the leftover orange that was used for the supremes, salt and light pepper... if I'm using arugula I usually don't put in the pepper

 

[Boone]

What’s an orange supreme?

 

[skinsmarydu]

What’s an orange supreme?

Glad I'm not the only one...

 

[RedWolf]

What’s an orange supreme?

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I love a caprese salad. (Some of you might remember that I don't like tomatos on my sandwiches, but I do love them in my salads.)

 

[RedWolf]

For the holidays, practice first! Best mashed potatoes in the world! I have had the Joel Robuchon pommes puree and they inspired me for every holiday meal since that day. This is how I was taught to make mashed potatoes in France , but he uses more butter.

I have a hand held potato ricer which works just fine, a great investment. Must have the tamis also. It is 100% worth the time in mastering this technique! Thank me later!!!

A few comments...
* I don't use the herbs and garlic in milk, optional. I use heavy cream. Make sure it is heated! He used too much milk in the video. Use less. Cold dairy will cause it to gum up.
* Butter should be between room temp and cold. Let it sit out for 15 or 20 minutes after being diced. Use a ton!
* Potatoes love salt but be very careful on the pepper.
* I add a few grates of fresh nutmeg. A kiss
* Stir as little as possible. Too much stirring brings out the gluten and makes them sticky.
* Sometimes I add freshly grated parmesan and people really love that

 

[Boone]

I had a wild idea for a 'dill pickle roasted potato' dish. Of course, a quick Google search revealed that a million other people had beaten me to that idea already. I bought some nice steaks from Snake River for Brother Om and I to have on Saturday night (more on that in the BBQ thread) and wanted a different side to go with them. Here's what I'm doing.

I bought a couple lbs of some mixed smaller potatoes and pierced the outside of each of them with a fork a few times. I poured a bunch of dill pickle juice I had leftover in the fridge into a container and dumped the potatoes in to soak/absorb for a few days. On Saturday evening I will dump the potatoes and pickle juice into a pot and bring to a boil. Plan on cooking them for about 15 minutes and then drain and let them cool. Will toss with some olive oil and salt and pepper and them 'smash' them a bit and put in a broiling pan. Will bake them at 425 until they are starting to crisp some on the outside and then pull them out. Top with fresh chopped dill and some homemade dill pickle relish I made this summer.

I am thinking about putting the dill and relish in a little sour cream just to give it a little extra zing.

We'll see how they turn out.

 

[Mark The Homer]

My wife made fresh apple sauce - really good. Every bite tastes like apple pie.

 

[skinsmarydu]

My wife made fresh apple sauce - really good. Every bite tastes like apple pie.

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OMG, I'm from Winchester, the Appital Capital!!! That looks fantastic!