Soy Citrus Dipping Sauce or Marinade

Here is the tofu I am marinating in this soy citrus sauce. 

This is a very simple dipping sauce/ marinade that you can use for a multitude of dishes.
It's great with fresh spring rolls, on rice or to marinate tofu, fish, chicken or beef. Add more oil and it make a great Asian salad dressing.

Soy Citrus Sauce

Ingredients
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2/3 cups soy sauce
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger root
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon honey.

Note: It might be fun to use a tablespoon or two of marmalade in place of the honey !!

1) Grate the ginger ( freeze your fresh ginger root to keep it longer and make it very easy to grate) and orange zest into a bowl. I prefer to use a micro-plane or micro-grater to grate the ginger and orange peel.

2) Add soy sauce, sesame oil, orange juice and honey, mix well.

3) Store in the fridge.

Honey Mustard Dressing and Spring Citrus Salad

I am in love with this dressing. I can't remember what inspired me to make it the first time, probably boredom with my usual salad dressing choices. It is so very simple and so very tasty with my current favorite salad. The sharp slightly sweet flavor sets off the citrus in the salad.

Laurie's Honey Mustard Dressing

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup olive oil


1) Place the mustard and honey in a small mixing bowl.

2) Stir together to combine thoroughly.

3) Add the lemon juice and mix again.
4) Using a whisk add the olive oil slowly.

5) Store in a jar in the fridge.


Laurie's  Spring Citrus Salad

I love this combination partly because it is all in season right now, it has a crisp bright flavor and it is very simple. You can add anything else that suits you: toasted walnuts, thin slices of fennel bulb, avocado...

Ingredients
1 head of butter lettuce
2 grated carrots
1 cup chopped green cabbage
2 oranges, peeled and chopped
honey mustard dressing

1) Wash and tear the lettuce into a large salad bowl.

2) Grate the carrots, chop the cabbage, peel and chop the oranges.

3) Toss together and serve with honey mustard dressing.

Summer Tomato and Fresh Corn Salad

I love it when fresh corn and tomatoes are bountiful at my farmer's market. Wanting to take advantage of both, I came up with this simple but very refreshing summer salad.

Summer Tomato and Fresh Corn Salad

Ingredients

Salad
2-3 baby gem lettuces or one head romaine
1-2 fresh tomatoes
1 cucumber
2 ears of fresh corn

Dressing
2 tablespoons red onions
1 tablespoon red bell pepper
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1/4 cup lime juice ( lemon can be used instead)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (or more chili powder)

1) Rinse and tear the lettuce.

I used the little gems but any kind of crunchy lettuce will do.

 

 

2) Remove the corn from the cob, be careful !! I probably should have done it into a bowl because the corn flew around a bit.

3) Peel and quarter a cucumber and cut into half inch chunks. Slice several tomatoes into wedges and assemble the salad.

4) Time to make the dressing: into the mini food processor I put the red bell pepper, red onion, fresh parsley and cilantro.

5) Whiz together with the lime juice, salt and spices.

6) Add the olive oil and whiz some more. Voila, yummy dressing !!

7) Dress each portion of salad separately unless you plan to use the whole bowl at once.

Note: I thought avocado would be a nice addition but my sous-chef claims he liked the whole texture of the salad the way it is !!

Garlic Aioli

I prefer aioli to mayonnaise, aioli has garlic and olive oil, mayo is made with a milder oil and no garlic, either way homemade is the best.

Once you try this it will be hard to go back to the stuff they sell in the store.

Ingredients

egg yolk
olive oil
fresh garlic
Dijon mustard
lemon juice
salt

Depending on how much you want to make, the proportions are one egg yolk to 1/4 cup oil.
I use one clove of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard for that amount.

What makes this easy is the small food processor I use to make it.
It has little holes in the top to help the oil drip slowly into the egg mixture.

1) Start by chopping the garlic.

2) Add the egg yolks and Dijon mustard and whiz. One site I read suggests adding a teaspoon of water to help the egg yolks be more dilute.

 I  added some fresh basil leaves to this batch.

3) Once this mixture is well blended you can begin to add the olive oil. The holes in the top to the food processor will help you to add it slowly which is VERY important in the beginning. If you add it too fast it will not combine properly. I use a measuring cup with a spout to pour the oil into the top of the food processor.

4) I usually stop and check the mixture about halfway through adding the oil.
It will look like this.

5) Continue to add the rest of the oil. The mixture will be quite thick.

6) To thin it down and give it more flavor add lemon juice and salt. Start with a tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix and taste. Continue to adjust both ingredients until you have the texture and flavor you want.

7) Use your aioli on sandwiches, in salad dressings, and sauces for asparagus or fish.
    It is best to use it up within a couple of weeks or less.

You can use this same recipe for making mayonnaise, omit the garlic and use a mild oil like canola or safflower. You can use vinegar instead of lemon juice to thin it at the end.