When shopping for salad ingredients for your dessert recipes look for fresh, crisp greens. Pass up any with withered leaves, brown or yellow edges, or slimy spots. Salad greens just another of the types of salads are highly perishable, so buy at a market that keeps them under refrigeration. With bagged greens, check the "sell by" date for optimum freshness.
Greens that come wrapped in cellophane should be stored in the wrapper, then cleaned when you're ready to use them. Otherwise, clean before storing, discarding any bruised, discolored, or wilted leaves. Proper cleaning of greens is as follows.
Iceberg lettuce: Hit stem end on counter; twist and lift out core. Rinse core end with running cold water, then invert head and let drain.
Leaf lettuce, Romaine, Boston, Bib, Curly Endive: Cut off bottom core and wash leaves under running cold water.-
Spinach, watercress, arugula (and other greens with small leaves): Swish leaves around in a large bowl of cold water to remove any dirt or sand; let the debris settle in the bottom of the bowl and life out the greens carefully. Repeat until no debris collects in bowl. Break off and discard tough stems. Hydroponic greens and others sold attached to their roots keep best refrigerated, with the roots immersed in a glass of water or wrapped in damp paper towels and covered with a plastic bag.
Drying salad greens is an important aspect in keeping them tasty and fresh. Excess moisture dilutes the salad dressing if you're serving salad greens right away, and will speed deterioration if you're storing them. Place washed salad greens on a clean towel and gently pat dry. Or use a salad spinner. This is easier, quicker, and just as thorough.
To store your salad greens, wrap dry greens in a damp cloth towel or between layers of damp paper towels, and place in a plastic bag or in an airtight container in the refrigerator crisper.
To prepare for eating, tear delicate salad greens by hand (don't cut with a knife) to avoid bruising. Other greens are also best torn, but can be cut as long as you use a knife with a stainless steel blade (carbon steel can cause "rusty) discoloration and alter the flavor). Toss salad greens with dressing just before serving and use only enough to lightly coat the leaves of your salad greens. -
How to Make a Fresh Garden Salad | P. Allen Smith Cooking Classics
Monday, 23 September 2013
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Friday, 20 September 2013
Preserve Truffles Cooking
It is a well-known fact that Fresh Truffles lose their flavour when they are cooked too harshly. This rule also applies for Preserve Truffle products. They can still be cooked but not at a high temperature, they should be warmed up and then added to the dish towards the end as a general guideline.
Truffle Carpaccio is essentially sliced Black Truffles in Black Truffle Oil. This can be used to replace Fresh Truffles in most dishes if you are on a budget. They have an amazingly earthy flavour from the Truffle and an additional hit from the Truffle Oil they are preserved in. They are generally used in bland dishes such as risotto and pasta dishes.
Minced black truffles are as you can probably guess been minced. They are preserved in black truffle oil and are usually stirred into dishes. The same sort of taste as the truffle Carpaccio but can be used in different ways which can change the flavour. Again it is used similar to how the Carpaccio is used, for example in risotto etc.
Black truffles and porcini salsa is minced black truffle and finely chopped porcini Mushrooms mixed together and preserved in black truffle oil. You get an interesting taste combination here from the mushrooms that works really well. It works really well on fish and meat as well as vegetables and pastas The complex flavours turn a bland dish into something that you can't even begin to describe (trust me I'm struggling!).
Preserved truffle products are great because of their vast shelf life, as they are preserved in black truffle oil they don't have to be consumed within a week or two so you don't have the worry of eating them as quickly as possible! They are also cheaper than Fresh Truffles which is a factor that should be taken into consideration. Obviously there are differences but if you want truffles at a lower price and that will last longer, Preserved Truffles are the way to go!
If you need some inspiration for using Preserved Truffles there are many recipe sites out there to give you some stunning ideas for dishes. You can also buy both black and white truffles truffles online as well so you don't have to spend ages trying to find your local deli or food shop!
If you haven't tried them yet, it really is time you gave them a go!
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Monday, 16 September 2013
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