ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH ORANGE DILL VINAIGRETTE
I chose Dill Sauce for "D" in my alphabet of French sauces the moment I pressed a bouquet of soft, feather fronds to my face at my local market. Aromas of caraway, orange and clove transported me back to a cold April day some forty years ago when I planted my first herb garden. To this day, the scent of dill holds the promise of renewal.
Making a credible Dill Sauce à la française today is simplicity itself. No need to check out Escoffier - aromatic herbs were never major players in classic French sauces. Julia Child did give dill (aneth in French) some gastronomic credibility when she includes Dill Sauce in the first volume of Mastering the Art . Her recipe blends an egg yolk and cream into a fresh herb vinaigrette. A raw egg yolk and cream? While oil and vinegar suffice today, like Julia, I can't resist making my own additions to a simple vinaigrette.
ROAST SALMON WITH DILL VINAIGRETTE
On the run up to holy week, I've improvised three dill vinaigrette variations to share with you using one part sherry vinegar to three parts Colavita extra virgin olive oil The quickest is a dressing for asparagus where I replaced one tablespoon of vinegar with orange juice and garnished the plate with fresh diced oranges.
Both pork loin and salmon lend themselves to a dill based vinaigrette as well. For the pork roast I added diced bell peppers, scallions and olives. (If you're wondering, that's Jasmine rice on the side with baby spinach folded at the end of the cooking process.) With the salmon I mixed seeded Kumato tomatoes and minced shallots. There is a link to the recipe under each photograph.
