White Bean Salad With Grilled Shiitake Shallots And Smoked Sturgeon Recipes

WHITE BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• 1. If you're using dried beans, first rinse them, picking out any stones, and place in a bowl. Cover with cold water and soak for 8 hours, or overnight, then drain the beans and place in a pot. Add the garlic and bay leaf and enough water to cover the beans by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.
• 2. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, and shallot. Whisk to combine.
• 3. When the beans are done, drain them well and place in a medium bowl. Discard the bay leaf and garlic clove. Add one third of the vinaigrette to the warm beans and toss; then let stand for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. If using canned beans, rinse and drain them, then toss with the vinaigrette.
• 4. In a small pot of boiling water, cook the snow peas or sugar snap peas for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, place them in a bowl of ice water. Drain, pat dry, and slice thin.
• 5. In a large salad bowl, place the cooled beans, snow peas, chives, radishes, and basil. Pour the remaining dressing over and toss lightly. Serve immediately.

SHIITAKE SALAD WITH SESAME-GINGER VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring mirin to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes or until slightly thickened. Transfer to a small bowl; cool to room temperature. Whisk in the vinegar, soy sauce, shallot, ginger, lemon juice, chili sauce, pepper and oils; set aside., Place mushrooms in a small bowl; drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Transfer to a grill wok or basket. Grill, uncovered, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently., In a large bowl, combine the salad greens, onions, radishes, carrots and water chestnuts. Add half of vinaigrette; toss to coat. Divide among four plates; top salad with mushrooms. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

SMOKED-TROUT AND WHITE BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Bring oil, shallot, zest, juice, salt, and pepper to a simmer in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and stir in beans. Remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes for beans to absorb flavor.
• Toss together trout, watercress, lettuce, and bean mixture in a serving bowl.

WHITE BEAN SALAD WITH ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put cauliflower on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast on the top rack until nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Make the dressing: Put shallot in a small bowl with mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, vinegar and ground fennel, if using. Stir well to combine, then whisk in olive oil. Season to taste.
• Make the salad: Put beans in a low salad bowl. Add celery and cauliflower, pour the dressing over and toss well, taking care not to crush beans. Let salad rest for 30 minutes or so to meld flavors. Taste and adjust for salt, acid and oil. Add parsley and scallions, toss once more, then serve at room temperature.

SMOKED STURGEON SALAD WITH LEEKS, HARICOTS VERTS AND FRISEE

Steps:

• Make green peppercorn dressing: in a small bowl, combine lemon zest, parsley, shallots and peppercorns. Add lemon juice and gradually whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar with 2 tablespoons water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. In a medium bowl combine sugar water and turmeric. Whisk in the vinegar, then the grape-seed oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add sturgeon to mixture, stirring to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• In a small pan over high heat, combine 2 quarts of water with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, add diced potatoes and cook until tender. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. In the same pan, again combine 2 quarts of water with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil. Add haricots verts, and cook until tender, but still slightly crisp. Drain, transfer to a bowl of ice water, and drain again. In a large bowl, combine potatoes and haricots verts, and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine leeks with enough water to cover. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain, cool and add to the bowl of potatoes and haricots verts.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush bread sticks with melted butter, and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add frisee to vegetables. Add vinaigrette a little at a time, tossing to mix well and reserving about 2 tablespoons for drizzling over the finished salad. On each of 4 plates, place 1/4 of the sturgeon. Top with a mound of vegetables, and drizzle with vinaigrette. Garnish with bread sticks.