Friday, June 24, 2011

And the Rest Is Salad....


So for the second longest day of the year, the leftovers from the longest day dinner, reconfigured, did quite nicely.  There was a bit of everything left from our solstice aioli supper--trout, potatoes, beets, asparagus, snap peas.  I picked red lettuce, sorrel, and some smaller purple mustard leaves from the garden, along with a baby turnip.  Mixed the leftover aioli and sorrel-tarragon mayo with olive oil and a little cider vinegar.  Fried off the potatoes and when they were nicely brown added a couple of sliced purple spring onions to wilt, and the beets to warm a bit.  Tossed the greens with the asparagus, peas, and the dressing.

On the bed of greens I portioned out the roots, and topped it with poached trout, the very thinly sliced turnip, another drizzle of dressing, and a superfluous (but colorful and tasty) garnish of a sliced strawberry (picked up at a roadside honor stand on the road to Bide-A-Wee, $2 a quart, fantastically fragrant--it has been a great year for strawberries).

A bowl of steaming soup might have been more appropriate to the weather--the high of 63 matched the "record low high" for the date.  But we were not complaining.  With toasted sourdough and a glass of cider, strawberries over ice cream for dessert, we were content.

5 comments:

Luanne said...

this sounds fabulous. I am inspired to try my own version. Looking forward to your cookbook this fall!

Trout Caviar said...

Hi, Luanne: This is such a great time of year, with the anticipation of new vegetables coming into the market every week. It almost makes me consider reverting to the vegetarian life (almost...).

Best~ Brett

sylvie in Rappahannock said...

"we were content" ... and so should you. What a nice plate.

LoARSqred said...

We intentionally make 'leftovers' for that very reason: throw them on a bunch of greens, add something new to pull it all together, create a dressing to complement, and that's dinner (with wine and bread, of course). I only wish we had access to your ingredient list...sigh.

Trout Caviar said...

Hi Sylvie: You hear all the time about comfort food, which is fine as far as it goes, but too often involves dull starchy or cheesy things that evoke childhood memories. I think we should promote a new category: Contentment food, which both satisfies and delights, in a grown-up way!

Hello Lo... (I see that you are also Mme NM Mike!): Yes, especially in summer, it's great to have good stuff in the fridge to throw together. As for your not having access to good ingredients--come on, don't kid a kidder! I've seen a few of your repasts, and wouldn't turn down an invitation to that table.

Best~ Brett