Haricots Verts And Pear Salad With Hazelnuts And Prosciutto Recipes

Steps:

• Place the hazelnuts in a large (12-inch) saute pan set over medium heat. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, rolling them around occasionally, until they are heated through. Transfer the nuts to a clean kitchen towel, fold the towel over, and roll them around until some of the skins fall off. (Don't worry if they don?t all fall off.) Roughly chop the hazelnuts and set aside. Wipe out the pan with a kitchen towel.
• Meanwhile, fill a large pot with 4 quarts water, add 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil. Plunge the string beans into the water and cook for 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain immediately, plunge into a large bowl of ice water, and set aside.
• When ready to serve, heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the string beans, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook for 3 minutes, stirring with tongs, until heated through. Off the heat, stir in the dill and hazelnuts and taste for seasonings. Serve hot.

Steps:

• For dressing, place 1/3 cup hazelnuts, 2 tablespoons onion, water, vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic and paprika in a food processor; cover and process until blended. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. , In a large bowl, combine salad greens and remaining onion; add 1/2 cup dressing and toss to coat. Divide among six salad plates., Top each salad with pear, cheese, cherries and remaining hazelnuts; drizzle with the remaining dressing.

Steps:

• Trim the ends of the haricots verts. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the beans until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes, then drain and transfer to ice water to preserve the color. Drain again and pat dry. Cut in half crosswise. Place in a large mixing bowl.
• For the vinaigrette: Put the vinegar, shallot, and mustard in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Gradually whisk in the oils. Season with salt and pepper.
• Trim the core and any dark green outer leaves and leaf tips from the frisée. Tear the pale yellow center leaves into bite-size pieces. Slice the endives on a slight diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Separate into individual layers and discard the core. Add the frisée, endive, arugula, and hazelnuts to the bowl with the beans.
• Cut the pear in half, remove the core and slice thinly lengthwise. Add to the bowl. Toss with enough of the vinaigrette to coat the salad lightly; you may not need it all.
• If the prosciutto slices are large, tear in half. Make a loose ring of prosciutto on each plate, then mound a handful of salad in the center of the ring. Serve immediately.
• Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve or another full-bodied white wine.

Steps:

• Soak the sweetbreads in a large bowl of cold water for 3 hours, changing the water several times. Then remove the sweetbreads from the water and gently pull away as much of the outer membrane as you can, being careful not to tear the flesh. Soak the sweetbreads again for 1 hour, this time in a large bowl of cold water with 1 teaspoon of coarse salt. Remove from the water and peel away more of the membrane. Separate the sweetbreads into its 2 lobes.
• Fill a medium saucepan with 5 cups cold water, 1 teaspoon coarse salt and the white wine vinegar. Place the sweetbreads in the pan and slowly bring the water to a simmer over moderate heat (this should take about 10 minutes). Allow the water to simmer very gently for another 5 minutes. (The sweetbreads should be firm on the outside, but still give a little when squeezed). Remove sweetbreads and place them in ice water for 10 minutes to stop the cooking.
• Dry sweetbreads and place in a heavy loaf pan or a terrine lined with plastic wrap. Cover with another layer of plastic wrap. Place another heavy loaf pan or terrine on top to weigh down the sweetbreads, and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and cook haricots verts until they are crisp but slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Remove and reserve at room temperature.
• In a small bowl combine the lemon juice with the balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the shallots. Slowly whisk in the hazelnut oil. Season to taste with salt and the additional black pepper. Reserve.
• Place 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add remaining shallots and saute, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, making sure the pan is not overcrowded. (It may be necessary to saute the mushrooms in 2 batches). Saute with a big pinch of salt, shaking the pan occasionally, until mushrooms are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove mushrooms from skillet and reserve. If there is liquid in the pan that the mushrooms have given off, boil it until it is reduced to 1 to 2 tablespoons and pour over the mushrooms.
• With a very sharp knife, cut the weighted sweetbreads into broad slices that are about 1/4 inch thick. Combine the flour, the remaining 2 teaspoons of coarse salt, and the 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper on a plate and mix well. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the skillet in which the mushrooms cooked, and place over high heat. Dredge sweetbread slices in the seasoned flour on both sides and add to hot oil. Saute, turning, until sweetbreads are browned and crispy on the outside, about 3 minutes. Remove.
• Toss reserved haricots verts and mushrooms together. Toss mixture with about half the hazelnut vinaigrette. Place one-fourth of the mixture on each of 4 plates. Nestle pieces of the crispy sweetbread slices among the haricots verts/ mushroom mixture, and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the sweetbread slices. Garnish with chervil.
• Suggested drink: Domaine Laroche Chablis Premier Crus, Les Fourchaumes 1987.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add haricots verts and 1 tablespoon salt; cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, and plunge into an ice-water bath to chill. Drain, and set aside. (This can be done up to a day in advance.)
• In a medium skillet, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add shallots, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and cook, turning, until shallots start to brown on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook, turning frequently, until shallots are well browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut into slivers.
• Meanwhile, place hazelnuts (blanched or with skin) in a baking pan; toast in the oven until they darken, 5 to 7 minutes. If using hazelnuts with skin, remove as much of it as possible by rubbing them quickly and vigorously in a dish towel. Crush roughly with the flat side of a knife.
• In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add haricots verts, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add shallots and hazelnuts; cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a serving dish, and serve.

Steps:

• Combine vinegar, 2 tsp oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
• Cook beans in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge beans into ice water. Drain.
• Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms to pan. Sauté 7 minutes or until liquid evaporates.
• Add onions, sauté 1 minute. Add beans, sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Add vinegar mixture and hazelnuts, toss to coat.

Steps:

• Combine oil, shallot, garlic and herbs in a small nonreactive pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and cool. Strain and discard the solids. Set aside.
• In a food processor, combine the vinegar and mustard. With the motor running, very slowly pour in the oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Place the balsamic vinegar in a small stainless-steel pan. Simmer slowly until very syrupy and reduced to 1/3 cup. Set aside.
• Parboil the haricots verts in a large pot of salted water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, refresh in ice water and dry. Toss beans with the prosciutto and pine nuts and then add enough dressing to coat the ingredients. Transfer to a platter, top with the cheese and drizzle the reduced vinegar over all.