Magic Viniagrette

 

This is an all purpose vinaigrette that I’ve used in many diverse dishes with such positive results that I called it “Magic Vinaigrette”. 

Besides normal use on vegetables and salads it can be a gentle addition to a piece of plainly cooked seafood. It’s excellent as a marinade. And…..it’s magic! 

Here’s the magic potion: 

-  It uses 50/50 olive oil and canola oil, which dilutes the olive oil to a more subtle flavor.

-  Then it uses a 50/50 mix of white wine vinegar and sherry vinegar. High quality sherry vinegar is divine, but can be quite strong on its own. So again, subtlety is added by blending with the ww vinegar.

-  The proportions are 4 parts oils to 1 part vinegars. It gets finished with an optional squeeze of lemon juice and S&P. 

The ingredient selections are critical: 

-  A robust, high quality extra virgin olive oil is needed

-  Use high quality Sherry vinegar from Spain. Mass-produced sherry vinegars from the grocery store are not really a good substitute, as they tend to have just the slightest flavor of sherry and are often harsh. 

-  Rather an ordinary white wine vinegar, I use rice wine vinegar from China. Pearl River Bridge products (including their great soy sauces) are beginning to show up in large US supermarkets over the past year or two. 

The two vinegars themselves and the 50/50 split of the oils and vinegars are the magic. 

Magic Vinaigrette

 

 

	Small	Regular	Large
Extra Virgin Olive oil	1/4 C	1/2 C	1 C
Canola oil	1/4 C	1/2 C	1 C
Spanish Sherry vinegar	1 T	2 T	1/4 C
Rice Wine vinegar	1 T	2 T	1/4 C
Lemon, juiced (optional)	1/2	1	2

 

• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Combine in a jar and shake well
• Keeps 4 weeks or longer

Grill Smoked Shellfish with Lime Viniagrette

But before we get to that, here's a super quick and easy recipe to get the grilling season off the ground. Just make sure that you get good fresh shellfish - and the easiest way to do that (if you're not already an expert) is to use a dedicate fishmonger. Next best, the fish counter at a high(er) end grocery like Whole Foods or a local/regional specialty market. Worst case, ask the guy at your supermarket what's freshest.

Grill Smoked Shellfish

Wood chips for smoking - apple, cherry or maple are good choices for this dish
1 pound mussels
1 pound clams
2 pounds medium shrimp - shells on
1 lime, zest and juice
Red pepper flakes
Fresh herbs
Olive Oil

1. Soak one cup of wood chips in water for 20-30 minutes, while grill heats. 
2. Add chips to a smoking basket or wrap in aluminum foil and pierce with a fork several times. If using foil wrapped, place chip package directly on hot coals. Replace the grill grate. 
3. Dump about 1/3 of the seafood directly on the grill, and cover with a large stainless steel bowl (or a big tent to foil would work too). You want to trap the smoke and heat inside. Cook for about 3 minutes, until shells open and shrimp is barely cooked. 
4. Remove cooked fish and repeat for other two thirds of fish. 
5. Combine lime zest, juice, pepper flakes, herbs (I used fennel tops and mint). Add olive oil at 2-3 times the amount of lime juice. Add salt and pepper, then toss with fish. 

Serving suggestion - make triple the viniagrette, toss it with very small pasta like orzo, acini de pepe or stellina. Use shells from mussels and clams as a makeshift scoop / spoon to eat the pasta.