A Lemon Spin on Mignonette

Last night, we had our annual family lobster feast. While much of my family still goes for the butter-lemon sauce, I have taken to the sharper taste of mignonette. This year, we played around with the ingredients a bit and I really liked the outcome.

Lemon Mignonette
1 large shallot (or 2 small ones), finely chopped or minced
1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
juice from 1 lemon
splash of balsamic vinegar
pinch of black pepper

Mix the ingredients together and let it rest for 20 minutes before serving so the shallots have a chance to sweeten the vinegar.

Chickpea and parsley salad with lemon-shallot dressing

Ah to be on vacation and have time to food blog again!  I tend to eat a lot of salad for lunch in the summer time.  I love tabouli but on its own, tabouli would leave me hungry.  So I created this salad in the same vein (tons of parsley!) but going for a heartier meal. It uses my “go to” salad dressing, of which I never tire.

Salad Ingredients
1 large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
a handful of halved cherry tomatoes or sliced larger tomatoes
half a cucumber, halved and sliced
1 can of chickpeas, thoroughly washed
1 green pepper, sliced into thin, bite-sized pieces
large handful or arugula

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl, and then add the dressing. Taste for salt — the chickpeas might want a bit more salt than a typical green salad.  One twist is to make the dressing first and pour over the chickpeas, letting them marinate before you add the other vegetables.

Lemon-Shallot Dressing
1 lemon
dash of red or white wine vinegar (not balsamic)
1 shallot (minced) or part of a red onion (finely chopped)
mustard (grey poupon or grain mustard)
olive oil
salt and pepper

To make the dressing, first squeeze the juice of a lemon into a bowl or mug (remove any seeds). Add a dash of vinegar (about a teaspoon). Mince up a shallot (or the red onion) and add to the liquid and let sit for 10 minutes or so.

With a fork, stir in a little olive oil (start with about a teaspoon).
Whisk in a little mustard to taste (start with about 1/8 of a teaspoon).
Adjust oil, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.

 

Summertime salsa

In summertime, there are few things I like more than fresh salsa and a good beer. I make variations of this recipe, as evidenced in this blog’s history, and can never get enough of it. It goes great with chips, on toasted bread, on fish or hamburgers… or just straight up !

1 red pepper, finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced
1 to 2 jalapenos, depending on heat
4 plum tomatoes, finely diced
5 spring onions, finely diced
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
large bunch or cilantro, finely chopped
several limes
optional: niblets from 1 ear of corn
salt and pepper

Chop it all up, toss in a bowl, squeeze the juice from two limes on top and add a dash of red wine vinegar (maybe half a teaspoon’s worth). Taste for the level of lime, and add salt and pepper to taste.