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Spring Salads and Dressings

April 22, 2014 - Radio Kitchen - SPRING SALADS AND DRESSINGS

Spring is all about freshness, and the greens and salad fixings we are now seeing in the market are the epitome of that concept.  Salad making is to food what jazz is to music... it's all about inspiration, improvisation and going with the flow.  And so we thought it would be fun to hear a chef riff on this theme, and we invited Chef Ontaria Kirby of Clementine on the show.

Early in the spring is the time for salad greens of every kind:  lettuces, spinach, arugula, and that local favorite, ramps.  We are also seeing a lot of "baby" vegetables including summer squash, beets, carrots, plus savory produce like scallions, fennel, fiddlehead ferns, garlic scapes, nettles, pea greens, spring peas and radishes.  Early food is sweet because of the cold weather, which concentrates sugars well before they convert to starch in hot weather.  And of course that trio of classic spring food is out there:  strawberries, asparagus and rhubarb.

Chef Ontaria loves using these new ingredients to both build the salad and create the dressing.  One of her favorite recipes is a strawberry vinaigrette.  It's simply a matter of processing olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a half pound of trimmed strawberries, a few sprigs of tarragon, and a touch of sugar, salt and pepper.  Hit
the "blend" button, and bang, you're done!
 

Al Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.
Executive Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Corks restaurant is fascinated by food and wine, and the way they work in harmony on the palate. His understanding of the two goes all the way to the molecular level, drawing on his advanced education in molecular biology. His cuisine is simple and surprising, pairing unexpected ingredients together to work with Corks' extensive wine offerings.