With the vision of catching small, wildass native cutthroats out of high alpine meadows dancing in my head, the past few months have been spent working out a little harder and eating a little better. (While collapsing from a cardiac event high in the Montana backcountry wouldn’t be a bad way to go at all, I figure there are still a few places I’d like to fish yet.)
It helps immensely that it’s coming into the high season for fresh goodies from the garden and field and it’s obviously almost the absolute peak of the grilling season, even here in the PNW (it’s only rained 3 of 7 days this past week).
We’ve borrow a trick from Chef Libby and been using a variety of fresh and tasty vinaigrettes to dress not only salads and grilled vegetables but nifty stuff off the grill too. Vinaigrettes are like magic in the kitchen – they’re oh so simple and lightning fast to prepare – and yet add volumes of flavor.
Earlier this Libby sent me a few images from a catering gig she just did featuring grilled adobo basted Gulf shrimp atop a salad drizzled with this ingenious Chipotle Vinaigrette.
How many actual chipotle peppers and how much adobo sauce from the can you add to the mix controls the heat very well – you can create a mildly spicy, big on flavor version or one that packs serious heat just by upping the peppers. (Don’t forget that canned chipotle spiciness varies a great deal, taste before you go too far…).
We’ve used it on grilled chicken and will be drizzling over thick-cut bone-in pork chops hot off the grill tonight. You’ll be keeping a bottle of this in the fridge like we are after trying it this weekend.
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. sherry wine vinegar
1/8 cup good balsamic vinegar
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
3-4 canned chipotle chiles, chopped
3-4 tbsp. adobo sauce from the chipotle can
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 and 1/3 cup olive oil
Go to it. Into your trusty food processor goes the sherry wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, chopped peppers, adobo sauce and kosher salt. Process until smooth and well combined.
With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil slowly; as the emulsion forms keep it running long enough to mix evenly. Libby says she tastes for heat and salt here, adding another pepper and more adobo if needed and even a grind or two of fresh cracked pepper. Pulse again to mix.
Enjoy.
