Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Cooking With Wine


In the last few years, Brussels sprouts have emerged as one of the favorite vegetables in our house. Sometimes we roast them with bacon, garlic, and salt, other times we blanch them before slicing them in half and slowly caramelizing in brown butter and finishing it with shallot and lemon. For the last few weeks, Lindsay has been raving about the shaved Brussels sprouts salad at Sylvain and asking me to make something like that.

When Mad Max dropped off a substantial white wine with notes of lemon, green apple, citrus, and grapefruit my mind immediately went to trying a version of shaved Brussels sprout salad. The 2009 Ribolla Adriatico from Bastianich Wines has a firm minerality and a lot of acid, with just a touch of sweetness at the end. That made me want to incorporate some spice and sesame oil to take the dish in an Asian direction. You can find the wine on the list at Green Goddess, Bacchanal, and Whole Foods, where it retails for under $20.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Poached Chicken


The chicken is optional. But if you want to add it, it works best in salads when poached. Bring 6 cups of water up to a simmer, add some cloves, salt, bay leaf, and a half cup of white wine. Add the chicken and simmer for 25 minutes or so.

A mandoline is one way to slice the sprouts into thin rounds. But be careful and it helps to listen to this song while doing it. A food processor with a slicing blade is a much better option. Once your sprouts are shaved, place them in a deep bowl. Thinly slice the radicchio and add this to the Brussels sprouts. Toast about a palmful of slivered almonds until light brown. Add this to the above, along with salt and pepper.

Finely dice the green chili and some garlic (if you have ginger, by all means use it). Place this in a second bowl. To this add some soy sauce, the juice of one lemon, a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar, and a teaspoon of honey (you need the sweetness to counteract the bitterness of the raw radicchio and Brussels sprouts). Whisk. While whisking stream in a about tablespoon of sesame oil, then finish the dressing with olive oil. Taste. Adjust seasoning.


Pour dressing over the Brussels sprouts and radicchio top with poached chicken and mix to combine. Let sit for a few minutes before diving in. Chopsticks or forks are acceptable.

5 comments:

pmac said...

Do you slice off the ends of the sprouts, like you normally do when cooking them?

Rene said...

Pmac,

I was using a mandoline as my food processor broke. So I held the root end and would stop slicing about 1/4 inch from where the stem ended and my finger began. If using a food processor, Id remove the stems first.

Donnie Boy Riguez said...

Why mandolin (made that a verb) when the beautiful can do this?

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/brown-butter-almond-brussels-sprouts-recipe/index.html

She's wonderful! A BO favorite!

pmac said...

Rene - thanks. My mandolin was a casualty of a relationship gone bad. Will use the food processor, which managed to survive the war. Will try the recipe tonight (incl the wine!).

Wayne Young said...

Thanks for the recipe and the great mention of the Adriatico Ribolla! I can imagine Ribolla's great minerality and acidity working well with this dish!
I have to mention that this great Ribolla is the work of our good friend Marjan Simcic in Brda, just over the Slovenian boader from Collio. He's a master of Ribolla Gialla in Ribolla Gialla's homeland!
Enjoy, and thanks!