#foodblogchef
If you are squeamish about raw eggs in traditional aioli, here’s a quick and easy version that is a good substitute for classic aioli.
Ingredients
-1/2 cup mayonnaise
-1-2 garlic cloves (finely minced or grated and mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt)
-1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
-1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
-3-4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
-Pinch of salt (to taste)
-Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
-Combine the ingredients and mix well.
Lemony fresh aioli mixed with creamy ripe avocado and a touch of heat from jalapeño. Excellent on sandwiches or to use as a dip for crudites or a spread on crackers. Delicious!
Avocado Aioli
Yield about ½ cup
Ingredients:
· 1 small, grated garlic clove
· 1 small or medium egg yolk
· 1- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
· ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
· 2 tablespoons good quality virgin olive oil
· 1-2 teaspoons canola or avocado oil
· 1 ripe avocado
· 1 teaspoon minced pickled jalapeño
· salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
1. Micro-plane or mash the garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt.
2. Whisk the yolk, lemon juice, and mustard in a bowl.
3. Combine the oils and add a few drops at a time to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until the oil is incorporated, and the mixture is emulsified. (If the mixture breaks and separates, stop adding oil and continue whisking until the mixture comes together and is smooth, then continue whisking in the remaining oil.)
4. Whisk in the grated garlic and salt and pepper to taste. If the aioli is too thick, whisk in a drop or two of water.
5. Add the aioli to a small blender and spoon in the ripe avocado and jalapeño. Process until well incorporated and smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Grilled steak sandwich with tomato, lettuce, and avocado aioli.
Use as a dip for crudites or a topping for sandwiches.
Steak sandwich.
*Note: if you don’t want to take the time to make aioli from scratch, use my recipe for Quick Aioli and add the avocado and jalapeño as above.
Photo: c. foodblogchef 2021
Tender ravioli, earthy wild mushrooms, artichokes, and sage...what’s not to like? Autumn in New England is a time when wild mushrooms are blooming in backyards and knowledgeable mushroom foragers and mycologists prowl the forests harvesting the various earthy, tender fungi that abound. If you aren’t trained to harvest wild mushrooms, the safest way to enjoy them is to buy from your local farmers market or food co-op. This vegetarian recipe is based on a creamy savory sauce made of meaty wild mushrooms, tangy marinated artichokes, and one of my favorite fresh herbs, slightly peppery and bitter late-season sage. The original recipe from the foodblog #eatingcleanforlife calls for tossing the sauce with pasta and uses a combination of Cremini, Shiitake, and or Portobello mushrooms. I found Maitake (Hen of the Woods) and Oyster mushrooms on sale at my local food co-op, so I decided to splurge on this delicious sauce, but any combination of wild mushrooms works. Frozen or fresh ravioli make this recipe a quick and easy meatless main course, or a small plate starter for a larger meal. Buon appetito!
Ravioli with Wild Mushroom, Artichoke, and Sage Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients:
About 12-16 ravioli of your choice. (fresh or frozen spinach or cheese ravioli work well)
8 ounces sliced wild mushrooms- any combination of Cremini, Shiitake, Portobellos, Maitake, or Oyster mushrooms
a splash of vermouth or white wine
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons each of chopped fresh sage and fresh thyme (¼ teaspoon each of dried herbs)
salt & pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
Artichoke Sauce
marinated Peppadew peppers for garnish (optional.
Artichoke Sauce:
1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts (10-12 ounces-about 1 ½ cups)
¾ cup water (to keep it vegetarian) or chicken broth (I use chicken broth.)
¼ cup olive oil
12 fresh sage leaves + more for garnish
3 garlic cloves minced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cracked pepper
Preparation:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a large skillet, sauté the mushrooms, fresh sage, and thyme over medium heat in a little olive oil until they give off their water and just begin to brown; finish with a splash of vermouth or white wine and stir until the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Drain the artichoke hearts & place them in a blender (a food processor will not get this sauce creamy enough). Add the water/chicken broth, olive oil, sage, garlic, salt & pepper. Blend until creamy & very smooth. If the sauce seems “stringy” from the artichokes, you need to keep blending at high speed.
Toss the mushrooms with the artichoke sauce and a pinch of red pepper flakes and heat up slowly, stirring gently. Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.
While the mushroom-artichoke sauce is heating, cook the ravioli according to directions on the package. Once cooked, remove the ravioli from the water with a slotted spoon and immediately spoon the sauce over.
For garnish, a drizzle of fruity olive oil, or truffle oil, and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan and some chopped tangy red Peppadew pepper adds extra flavor and color to your presentation.
Wine pairing: this recipe pairs well with a crisp white wine that can stand up to the creamy richness of the sauce. A dry Riesling, Viognier, or white wine from the Rhone Valley would work well.
Adapted from: #eatingcleanforlife
Photo: c. foodblogchef 2021
My brother-in-law sent me a bag of Habanero and Carolina Reaper peppers from his garden in Georgia. Most of us are familiar with Jalapeño peppers which are rated at 2,500-8,000 Scoville heat units. By way of comparison, the Habanero pepper is rated at 100,000-350,000 Scoville units and the Carolina Reaper comes in at a whopping 1,400,000-2,200,000 Scoville units making it one of the hottest peppers in the world and 560 times hotter than the common Jalapeño and not a pepper to be taken lightly! This hot-sauce recipe was inspired by the Papaya hot-sauce made by Flavor Pirate. Compared to most store-bought hot-sauces, if the Flavor Pirate hot sauce is a moderately hot sauce, this Peachy-Habanero sauce is a hot hot-sauce. Fruit and acid mitigate the heat of hot peppers and along with spices add complexity to hot-sauce. For this recipe, fresh local peaches add an extra delicious fruitiness to the sauce. To moderate the heat of the sauce, you can omit the Carolina Reapers and a couple of the Habaneros. If you like hot-sauces and you’re looking for something new, give this recipe a try.
Peachy-Habanero Hot Sauce
makes about 3 cups
Ingredients:
10-12 Habanero peppers (use rubber gloves to seed the peppers or suffer the painful capsaicin consequences)
2 Carolina Reaper peppers seeded
4-6 carrots chopped
½ onion chopped
4-5 roasted garlic cloves
1 cup apple cider vinegar
water
juice from ½ lemon
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon each of allspice, cumin, and coriander
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
2-3 ripe, medium peaches skinned, pitted, and chopped (ripe peaches will add more flavor to the sauce)
1 tablespoon honey
Preparation:
Roast the garlic until soft and set aside (a cast iron skillet on your stovetop works well)
In a covered saucepan, over medium heat, sauté the carrots, onion, peaches, peppers, cider vinegar, lemon juice, spices, and bay leaf until the carrots are fork-tender. (Add water as necessary if the pan starts to become dry. Don’t scorch the veggies.)
Remove the bay leaf and put everything including the peeled roasted garlic into the blender.
Add the salt and honey to taste.
Blend until smooth, add enough water to make the consistency you want.
Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Allow the sauce to cool and bottle.
To bottle:
1. Put your bottles into boiling water for ten minutes.
2. Remove from hot water and cool.
3. Fill with sauce and cap.
4. Keeps refrigerated up to a year.
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-make-quick-roasted-garlic-article
https://preparedcooks.com/freeze-hot-sauce/
Traditionally served with marinated cooked veal (vitello tonnato), this versatile sauce from the Piedmont region of Italy is deliciously flavorful and pairs well with veal, turkey, or pork. It also makes a great dip for fresh veggies or savory spread on sandwiches. You can also thin it out a bit and use it as a creamy salad dressing. Traditionally egg yokes are used to create a creamy mayonnaisey sauce, but this version, adapted from Bon Appetit, uses mayonnaise in place of egg yolks without losing the briny creaminess of the sauce. Serve as an elegant dinner with Stuffed Pork Loin Roast, or as a light lunch/picnic with cold thinly sliced roast pork or turkey and a green salad.
Photo: c. foodblogchef 2021
Copy and paste to print the recipe.
EASY TONNATO SAUCE
2 cups
Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1- 6-ounce can tuna in olive oil (not drained)
2 anchovy fillets (if you love anchovies add an extra fillet!)
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
3 tablespoons drained, rinsed capers
Preparation:
In a blender, purée all ingredients, including oil from tuna can, until smooth and season with salt and pepper.