Dressing Salad
I dress leafy greens, vegetables, and a variety of beans, meats and fishes every single day. There is no greater delight for me than a trip to the farm stand and the resulting beauty of a composed (or totally messy) salad with its accompanying acidic/oily/salty/spicy counterpart. I possess and arsinal of incredible oils, vinegars, spices...even a cutting garden with fresh herbs. All of these elements are essential for making a great dressing or sauce and so make sure you have at least one good bottle of olive oil and two or three great vinegars in your pantry. Kosher salt and a pepper mill with fresh peppercorns are also critical for success. If you have the space to keep garlic, onions, and a lemon or two on the counter, please do this too. The secret weapon that I find most cooks leave out of their homemade dressings is a sweet element, which serves to balance the acid. My go-to is raw unfiltered honey, but I’ve been known to use white/brown/coconut/date sugar, agave...You know, whatever is handy. You may also be like me in that you tend to collect fancy mustards (you know who you are!). If you don’t, buy one small jar of good Dijon and keep it just for this purpose.
I think everyone should have a few great salad dressings in their repertoire, ones that you don’t need to measure or look at a recipe to make. I am going to give you a gift and tell you the one my grandmother taught me. But first I will digress about kitchen tools (one of my favorite topics) and the state of my right hand (not good).
That beautiful creamy dressing was made with a machine! Yesss!
As a seasonal private chef, my days are spent reading, planning, shopping, running around, prepping, cooking, and cleaning up. Much of each day is spent on my feet, using my hand in repetitive motion. This year I was diagnosed with Dupuytren’s Disease, a progressive condition affecting the hand (read all about it here). In response (after freaking the f$#k out), I have been trying some dietary and “alternative” treatments (acupuncture and massage have been very effective), and have also adapted some of my kitchen practices to lessen the load on my hand. Instead of using my beloved knife for every single task, I now pick the jobs where beautiful knifework is imperative and use a machine for the rest.
Working in the kitchen of a beautiful home often requires form over function, one of the challenges of my job. This might require keeping unsightly appliances off of the counters. Because I make so many dressings and sauces, I invested in a small, lightweight food processor (this one, from Amazon). It is stored under my counter, and I have trained myself to use it on a daily basis. It gives my hand a break and emulsifies beautifully. While I love a bowl and a whisk, I have grown very fond of this little powerhouse and encourage those who are infirm or short on time (or who just love cute little appliances), to give one a whirl (sorry, couldn’t resist). Okay, onward to the recipe!
Best Simple Salad Dressing to Memorize Forever
Makes around a cup or so, and will keep for days in your fridge in a covered jar
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of shallot, finely minced
1 very small clove of garlic, finely minced
1/3 cup of vinegar (red wine, white wine, or champagne)
2 teaspoon of mustard
1 teaspoon of honey (or sugar, or agave...)
1/2 cup of good EVOO (or more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
A few good grindings of pepper
A handful of fresh herbs (I typically go for chives, parsley, tarragon, and/or basil)
Method(s)
In a small-medium sized bowl, soak the shallot and garlic in vinegar for about 10-15 minutes (prep your greens while this happens). Whisk in the rest of the ingredients until the mixture is a little thick and emulsified. Or toss the shallot and garlic into your machine to mince, add the vinegar and wait. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blitz till emulsified. Or use a jar and shake, shake, shake.
When you dress a salad, start out conservatively. Overdressing is a sad state of affairs and easily prevented. Also, don’t forget to dress the protein, if you’ve included one. Whenever there are greens and veggies to toss, I recommend you use your freshly washed hands for the job. Do this out of the eyesight of your family, guests, or clients. It is the absolute best method, but for some reason also tends to alarm people. Anyhow, HANDS. So important, so take good care of yours!
A Simple Summer Squash Soup
Well I guess if you complain enough, the hot weather eventually will become cold and grey, with a bitey north wind and spit-in-your-face precipitation. Lovely Nantucket!
On a positive note, the cool day gave me a chance to cook food and actually serve it hot. Yay! Best rainy day menu? Soup and a sandwich (okay, there was also a salad, because August-you know?). I looked around at Moor’s End Farm, took stock, and decided the soup would be summer squash and carrot, embellished with arugula pesto. The accompanying sandwich had to be Ruth Reichl’s infamous grilled cheese (don’t ask questions, just click on that link and make it as fast as you are able).
This technique is pretty standard. I could have used any allium or squash varieties for the soup. And the pesto variations are endless! (I’ll tell you all about pesto another day). The idea here again, is to not get wound up about having the exact variety of something. Try to roll with a growth type mindset as opposed to the fixed variety (that’s an education thing, kids).
In the meantime, try this soup on for size and let me know how it works for you.
Any Squash, Flexible-Mindset Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 T ghee (or butter, or EVOO, or canola...)
1 leek (white to palest green part only), minced super finely (look on YouTube if you haven’t minced a leek before). Or use any other kind of onion you have on hand!
2 cloves of garlic, smashed, pressed, minced or grated
2 teaspoons of dried thyme (or 2 tablespoons fresh if you like)
3 medium carrots, scrubbed and roughly chopped (peel if you feel a desperate need)
1/2 a russet potato, peeled and chopped
3 cups of stock-I used chicken, but any kind will do. Or water!
1 bay leaf
3 small summer squash (or zucchini or patty pan...), roughly chopped (about 2+ cups)
1 cup of some sort of milk-dairy, soy, nut, coconut (I actually used cream, because I had some that needed to be finished)
Salt and pepper to taste
A few pinches of nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
Arugula Pesto (to finish)
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon of nuts (I used toasted slivered almonds)
1/2-1 cup of arugula
1/2 cup EVOO
Salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)
Method
Heat the fat at medium-low in a large skillet that has a lid (if no lid, a large sheet pan will suffice). Sauté the leeks for a few minutes, stirring, until soft. Add the garlic next, stirring still for just a minute, and then the thyme for another few seconds. Throw in the carrots, potato, bay leaf and stock, and crank the heat till it boils. Cover, turn down to lowish heat so the moisture simmers enthusiastically, and cook until the root vegetables are tender. Add the squash, cover again and leave till cooked through. Probably another 10-15 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, quickly whip up the pesto, either by using your fabulous knife skills and muscle, a mortar and pestle, or a food processor. The idea is to first chop/mash/pulverize the garlic and nuts together into a paste. Then stir/mash/add in the very finely minced arugula and salt. Pour in the oil last, stir to mix, and salt to taste. Set aside.
After the squash is tender but not mushy, remove the bay leaf, add the milk and carefully purée the mixture, either using an immersion blender, Vitamix, or regular blender. Taste for salt and give a grind of pepper. If it’s still hot, serve right away. If not, transfer it to a saucepan and keep warm over a very low heat. Serve with the arugula pesto, dolloped on top prettily.