Summer Salad recipe
Chef Daniel Boulud writes in the Vancouver Sun
For summer, I love the idea of a main course salad.
I like to give it the crunch and crispness of lots of vegetables and the freshness of some herbs. But the salad should also have enough substance to make the dish satisfying.
In June in Vancouver, there's no reason to look any further than spot prawns for satisfaction, especially at this time of year when we can get them fresh.
When I had been getting spot prawns shipped to me in New York over the years, I had no idea just how proud British Columbia was of this much loved sustainable, local seafood.
In Vancouver, we buy our spot prawns from a fisherman my chefs introduced to me as "scallop Steve" - so now you know what he does outside of prawn season. His real name is Steve Johansen, and he's been fishing spot prawns for the last five years from his boat the Organic Ocean 1, mostly off of the sea shelf of the Sunshine coast. The season runs from about May to June, and in just about eight weeks of fishing Steve can haul in enough spot pawns to supply the city for the year.
The prawns have a delicate sweetness, so much so that Chef Dale Mackay at Lumière calls them Canadian langoustines. You can broil, poach, grill or pan fry them, but mostly you want to respect their flavour and not overwhelm them with too many ingredients on the plate.
For this particular dish - which I'm calling a "Chop Chop Salad," I decided to go with a sesame-ginger dressing. It's a tribute to the delicious influences of the many Asian cultures that converge in Vancouver. If you're using the jumbo prawns, you'll need about a kilo, which should give you about 18 pieces.
I like this dish so much I put it on the menu at DBGB Kitchen and Bar, my new place on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan.
At DB Bistro Moderne in Vancouver, Chef Stephane Istel is serving his spot prawns paella style with chorizo, crispy chicken wings and mussels. He simply grills the prawns and places them over the paella.
Maybe we'll swap recipes.
Special to The Sun
Chef Stephane Istel to see how to choose the best spotted prawns
Chop Chop Salad with Grilled Sunshine Coast Prawns
Pickled Mushrooms
18 medium-sized, fresh shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and washed
2 heads honshemiji mushrooms, trimmed and washed
2 cups rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons salt
Place the trimmed and washed mushrooms in a medium bowl. Simmer the rice wine vinegar with the sugar and salt to dissolve; then pour over the mushrooms to submerge completely. Cover and marinate overnight or up to 4 days.
Sesame Ginger Dressing
1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 ounces mayonnaise
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons grape seed oil
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Finely grate the fresh ginger and place in a blender with the vinegar, orange juice, mayonnaise and soy sauce. Blend to combine, then stream in the sesame and grapeseed oils on low speed. Season to taste with Tabasco, salt and pepper.
Salad
2 heads romaine lettuce, cored, trimmed and leaves sliced widthwise into 1/2-inch strips.
1 cucumber, rinsed, quartered lengthwise, and sliced on the bias into diamonds
2 carrots, thinly sliced into ribbons
1/2 bunch red radishes, washed and thinly sliced
1/4 ripe red watermelon, medium diced
1 red pepper, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro, washed, leaves only
1/2 bunch scallions, washes and sliced on a bias
1/4 head fennel, or 5 baby fennel, sliced thinly
1 avocado, deseeded, peeled, and diced
Sunshine Coast Prawns
18 each large spot prawns
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Olive oil, as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
Shell and de-vein the prawns and toss with garlic, olive oil to coat, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Marinate, chilled for 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat the grill.
Just before cooking the prawns, toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl with the ginger-sesame dressing, salt and pepper to taste. Divide into 6 chilled salad bowls. Remove the prawns from the marinade and grill for approximately 1 minute on each side, or until cooked through. Place three grilled prawns, three pickled shiitake mushrooms, and about 4-5 pickled honshemiji mushrooms on top and around each salad. Garnish with an extra drizzle of ginger-sesame dressing and serve.
Serves 6
Chef Stephane Istel,
db Bistro Vancouver
Source:
Article - Vancouver Sun
Photos & Video - Ian Lindsay
For summer, I love the idea of a main course salad.I like to give it the crunch and crispness of lots of vegetables and the freshness of some herbs. But the salad should also have enough substance to make the dish satisfying.
In June in Vancouver, there's no reason to look any further than spot prawns for satisfaction, especially at this time of year when we can get them fresh.
When I had been getting spot prawns shipped to me in New York over the years, I had no idea just how proud British Columbia was of this much loved sustainable, local seafood.
In Vancouver, we buy our spot prawns from a fisherman my chefs introduced to me as "scallop Steve" - so now you know what he does outside of prawn season. His real name is Steve Johansen, and he's been fishing spot prawns for the last five years from his boat the Organic Ocean 1, mostly off of the sea shelf of the Sunshine coast. The season runs from about May to June, and in just about eight weeks of fishing Steve can haul in enough spot pawns to supply the city for the year.The prawns have a delicate sweetness, so much so that Chef Dale Mackay at Lumière calls them Canadian langoustines. You can broil, poach, grill or pan fry them, but mostly you want to respect their flavour and not overwhelm them with too many ingredients on the plate.
For this particular dish - which I'm calling a "Chop Chop Salad," I decided to go with a sesame-ginger dressing. It's a tribute to the delicious influences of the many Asian cultures that converge in Vancouver. If you're using the jumbo prawns, you'll need about a kilo, which should give you about 18 pieces.I like this dish so much I put it on the menu at DBGB Kitchen and Bar, my new place on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan.
At DB Bistro Moderne in Vancouver, Chef Stephane Istel is serving his spot prawns paella style with chorizo, crispy chicken wings and mussels. He simply grills the prawns and places them over the paella.
Maybe we'll swap recipes.
Special to The Sun
Chef Stephane Istel to see how to choose the best spotted prawns
Chop Chop Salad with Grilled Sunshine Coast Prawns
Pickled Mushrooms
18 medium-sized, fresh shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and washed
2 heads honshemiji mushrooms, trimmed and washed
2 cups rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons salt
Place the trimmed and washed mushrooms in a medium bowl. Simmer the rice wine vinegar with the sugar and salt to dissolve; then pour over the mushrooms to submerge completely. Cover and marinate overnight or up to 4 days.
Sesame Ginger Dressing
1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 ounces mayonnaise
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons grape seed oil
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Finely grate the fresh ginger and place in a blender with the vinegar, orange juice, mayonnaise and soy sauce. Blend to combine, then stream in the sesame and grapeseed oils on low speed. Season to taste with Tabasco, salt and pepper.
Salad
2 heads romaine lettuce, cored, trimmed and leaves sliced widthwise into 1/2-inch strips.
1 cucumber, rinsed, quartered lengthwise, and sliced on the bias into diamonds
2 carrots, thinly sliced into ribbons
1/2 bunch red radishes, washed and thinly sliced
1/4 ripe red watermelon, medium diced
1 red pepper, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro, washed, leaves only
1/2 bunch scallions, washes and sliced on a bias
1/4 head fennel, or 5 baby fennel, sliced thinly
1 avocado, deseeded, peeled, and diced
Sunshine Coast Prawns
18 each large spot prawns
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Olive oil, as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
Shell and de-vein the prawns and toss with garlic, olive oil to coat, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Marinate, chilled for 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat the grill.
Just before cooking the prawns, toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl with the ginger-sesame dressing, salt and pepper to taste. Divide into 6 chilled salad bowls. Remove the prawns from the marinade and grill for approximately 1 minute on each side, or until cooked through. Place three grilled prawns, three pickled shiitake mushrooms, and about 4-5 pickled honshemiji mushrooms on top and around each salad. Garnish with an extra drizzle of ginger-sesame dressing and serve.
Serves 6
Chef Stephane Istel,
db Bistro Vancouver
Source:
Article - Vancouver Sun
Photos & Video - Ian Lindsay
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