Roasted asparagus drizzled with balsamic vinegar

Fresh asparagus is usually available in the early spring. Any number of fresh or seasonal vegetables can be used with this recipe. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, baby squash or zucchini, will work well. Do not overcook the vegetables. You may want to adjust the time you blanch the vegetables according to their size and how they are cut.

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh asparagus tips and spears, trimmed
one quarter cup extra-virgin olive oil
one tablespoon Gran reserva balsamic vinegar
a dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Method:
Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly oil a flat baking sheet. Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Add salt. Blanched asparagus spears in the boiling water for 30 seconds.
Remove asparagus and immediately cover them in ice water to stop the cooking. Be sure to fully immerse the vegetables. Drain asparagus and place on the oiled baking sheet. Drizzle asparagus with extra-virgin olive oil and roast in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Asparagus should be tender and lightly browned. Remove asparagus spears and tips from the baking sheet, place on a serving platter, and drizzle liberally with balsamic vinegar.
roasted asparagus, asparagus with balsamic

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Chicken Cacciatore recipe with vinegar

2 2.5-lb fryer’s, cut into portion size pieces
one half cup all-purpose flour
one half teaspoon salt
quarter teaspoon pepper
one half cup olive oil
two cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped
eight strips of anchovy, chopped fine
one half cup wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 cup Burgundy wine, you can also use Chianti wine
one quarter cup tomato sauce
one half cup hot water with one tablespoon instant chicken bouillon dissolved in it

Dry pieces of chicken with paper towels. Mix the flour, salt and pepper together well and sprinkle on all sides of the chicken pieces. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a tightfitting cover. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic begins to brown, then remove the garlic and discard. Sauté the pieces of chicken in this oil until they are golden brown on all sides.
Mix together the rosemary, anchovies and vinegar. Add this to the sautéed chicken. Mix together the wine, tomato sauce, and hot water with chicken bouillon. Add this mixture to the chicken. Cover tightly and continue to simmer for 25 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken can be pierced with a fork. Serve hot. Makes six servings.

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Soft boiled egg with grilled spring asparagus

The best time of year for fresh asparagus is spring! Nothing compares to fresh farm cultivated asparagus for flavor and texture. When bought straight from your local farm you can be sure that is has been recently harvested and because of this it doesn’t need much embellishment to bring out the quality and taste.

For this recipe you will need the following:

2 Free range eggs
1 handful of freshly washed watercress
1 tbs of red wine vinegar
1 Finely chopped shallot
6 or 8 Trimmed asparagus spears
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
To taste freshly ground black pepper and some sea salt
Extra olive oil for basting the asparagus

Method:

You will need to fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. When the water has reached boiling point place asparagus spears in the saucepan and leave for two minutes to blanch.

When the asparagus spears have blanched remove them from the pan and rinse under cold water to prevent them from overcooking and becoming too soft. Also, the green color found in asparagus is retained by this method.

Boil the two free range eggs that you have used to blanch the asparagus. The cooking time should be about six and a half minutes. Place the eggs under running water in the same way as the asparagus until they are cold.

To chargrill the asparagus spears place in a ridged or plain heavy bottom pan that has been heated to a high temperature. Or, if preferred the asparagus could be placed under a well heated grill. Ensure that all asparagus spears are brushed with some extra olive oil before and make sure they are turned periodically during the grilling process.

Meanwhile, the finely chopped shallot, olive oil and red wine vinegar should be combined either with a whisk or in a container.

To present the asparagus spears and other ingredients place the asparagus on each plate with half of the boiled egg on top and garnish with the watercress. The shallot, oil and vinegar dressing should be poured over each plate and the entire dish should now be seasoned with a little pepper and crushed sea salt.
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Italian Tomato and Herb Panzanella

This recipe provides for four servings and will take about one hour to prepare

Ingredients:
Quarter of a cup of superior olive oil
Four cups of unsliced cubed white bread, quarter of an inch in size (preferably stale)
Three crushed garlic cloves
Sea salt to season
Black pepper, freshly ground
One small red chilli put through a mincer
Four black tomatoes, medium sized and chopped coarsely
One and a quarter cups of assorted grape and cherry tomatoes (assorted colors preferred)
Half a cup of red onion chopped finely
Two tablespoons of red wine vinegar
One tablespoon of fresh oregano that has been chopped coarsely
One quarter of a cup of each:
Coarsely chopped basil and parsley
One cup of watercress

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the cubed bread with the sea salt until golden in color. This should take about ten minutes.

The garlic and chilli should then be added to the pan and sautéed with the cubed bread so that it is well coated. Remove the pan from the heat after about two minutes ensuring that the bread has not become too brown.

Combine the tomatoes, onion vinegar and black pepper in a large bowl and add the cubed bread and lightly toss all the ingredients together so that the bread is coated with the mixture. The mixture should be put aside for about half an hour so that all the flavours fuse together.

Finally, toss together the oregano, basil, parsley and watercress to the bread mixture. Adjust the seasoning and finish by drizzling a little olive oil.
panzanella, Tomato and Herb Panzanella

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Vinaigrette for smoked sockeye salmon or grilled salmon

Ingredients:
Half of a crushed garlic clove
Quarter of a cup of apple cider vinegar
One cup of buttermilk (light variety)
Two thirds of a cup of authentic or homemade mayonnaise
Quarter of a cup of sour cream
2 tbs fresh chives that have been minced

Method:
Mix the crushed or minced garlic with the cider vinegar and leave for about twenty minutes so that the vinegar is infused with the flavour of the garlic.

Combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise and sour cream separately. Whisk together and add the vinegar and garlic combination slowly as well as the minced chives, and season with a little salt and pepper. When all ingredients have been whisked together your buttermilk vinaigrette is complete.

This recipe will provide for about two cups of dressing or enough for sixteen servings.

This vinaigrette was created to enhance and complement both smoked salmon and salmon that has been seared in a pan and a green salad.
vinaigrette for salmon, oil and vinegar vinaigrette for fish

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