Toss asparagus with olive oil, put in roasting pan; Sprinkle with garlic pepper and coarse salt; roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.
(Here comes the vinegar part): Mix a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar with about a 1/4 c. of soy sauce, a dollop of olive oil, a tablespoon of honey, a squirt of lemon and a pinch of red pepper; whisk vigorously and pour over hot asparagus. Serve immediately. Eat with your fingers for maximum enjoyment.
I saw this Paula Deen Recipe a while back and thought it would only get better by substituting Balsamic Vinegar. Balsamic is a red wine vinegar, after all.
I haven’t tried this salad, but it sounds really good. Probably like the strawberries, balsamic, and black pepper. Something you might think twice about, but in actuality is a taste sensation.
Watermelon Salad with Mint Leaves
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Show: Paula’s Home Cooking
Episode: Garden Club Meeting
1 (5-pound) watermelon
1 Vidalia or other sweet onion
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
6 whole mint sprigs
Cut the flesh from the melon and cut into bite size pieces, removing and discarding the seeds, and set aside. Peel and slice the onion into rings.
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, pepper, and whisk until salt is dissolved. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, a few drops at a time. Add in the chopped mint, taste, and adjust seasonings.
In a large bowl, combine the melon, onion, and feta. Pour the dressing over the melon mixture and toss gently until everything is coated and evenly mixed. Garnish with mint sprigs.
To serve, divide salad among individual plates and garnish with mint leaves.
I’ve had a similar salad from Armandino Batali (Mario’s dad), except he didn’t use any feta. IMO, something like feta would overwhelm the other flavors (then again, I hate feta, so you might want to take that comment with a grain of salt).
For similar reasons, I’m also not really convinced that balsamic vinegar would work here, since it has a pretty “deep”, assertive flavor (then again, I could be wrong about this one too…)
Yeah, this post was a marvel of positive contribution…
No, I entirely get what you’re saying here. I think the feta is a strong taste and I myself wondered how it might work in this salad having never tasted it. And that’s why I thought the slightly sweeter and more complex balsamic might work better than a straight astringent red wine vinegar. I think it might counter the feta better and round out the flavors.
Really, if I were to make this recipe. I might rework it such, and substitute the vinegar with balsamic and the feta with shaved peccorino romano or parmigiano reggiano.
I had lunch in a tapas restaurant today. The appetizer: some fresh, soft, crusty Spanish bread, accompanied by a flat saucer of exra-virgin olive oil, into which was dripped about three drips of balsamic vinegar. Rip up the bread, dip and swirl a chunk in the saucer. The oil repels the bread, but the vinegar soaks into it when you touch it. A lovely subtle mix.
A Good Eats talked about this a while back: the answer is “nothing.” “Kosher” salt isn’t kosher as a Jewish dietary form; rather it’s used for “koshering” - an old word for (I think) pickling.
“Koshering” isn’t pickling - when the word is used in relation to meat, it means the religiously required process of salting meat to draw out the blood.
I bought some strawberries today, to try with the vinegar. Wow! It was kind of like strawberry wine that you can chew. I tried some cracked black pepper, which seemed to neutralize the vinegar and make it a little less tangy.
I also tried it with fresh pineapple, (without the pepper), which created a totally unexpected taste. It was as if the tartness of the pineapple and the tartness of the vinegar cancelled eachother out, and left a sweet caramely taste. I’m going to try marinating some pineapple spears in it, then grilling them.
The most common thing I do with balsamic vinegar is deglaze the pan or hotplate after I cook or BBQ a plain steak. Just a little splash, scrape all the tasty bits off and drag the steak through the mixture and straight on the plate.
This really surprises me. I was under the imrpession (my ex-wife told me) that Balsamic vinegar was taboo for early stage Atkins, because of the high sugar content.
My contribution would be the same as in the grilling out thread - London Broil
My contribution would be London Broil.
“Marinade in chopped garlic, shallots, black pepper, balsamic vinegar & olive oil. Take out and grill to rare, meanwhile reduce the marinade, and add beef stock and dijon mustard, thicken up to make a gravy. Then slice the London Broil (after resting) across the grain and Robert’s your uncle.”
I love BV to marinade with. It makes everything so much better. I have a recipe I love somewhere for pork tenderloin cooked with balsamic vinegar and carmelized red onions that is to die for.
I’ve also just realized I use dijon mustard way more than the average bear.
Once, I sliced up some mango, only to find that it was still too hard and quite sour. Not wanting to waste it, I tossed it in some balsamic vinegar, and the result was quite astounding. I haven’t tried it in awhile though, it’s on my list for tomorrow!
The Nutrition Facts label on the bottle of Modena balsamic vinegar I have here says a 1 tablespoon (15 ml) serving has 3 grams of “sugars,” 1% of the recommended daily consumption. I’ll have to get some strawberries.