Toast: Poached Vegetables with Caper Dijon Mayo

04 June 2014

Poached Vegetables with Caper Dijon Mayo

So it was just my first weekend back home in Scotland for 4 weeks on holiday, happy times indeed. There will be many catch ups with friends & family & of course there will be lots of eating! I will likely be rolling off the plane when I get back to New Zealand at the end of the month! So Sunday came around & it was time to cook & enjoy a Sunday roast. This time around pork with crispy crackling, gravy & apple sauce. On the side freshly dug Ayrshire new potatoes, these delicious little spuds just need roughly scrubbed clean, boiled & a little salt & butter. They are perfect as they are & need no embellishments.

And you’ve got to have some vegetables. As I am now in the northern hemisphere I get a bonus season of asparagus so there had to be asparagus! Yes, so excited to get an extra few weeks of these delectable green spear. I love them every which way, but today going Ottolenghi inspired with spring vegetables poached in white wine, olive oil & lemon juice along side some herbs & then topped with a caper & Dijon mayo concoction. Plus there were some freshly podded peas. Oh how lovely it is to be getting a second round of all these Summer vegetables.

Poached Vegetables with Caper Dijon Mayo, adapted slightly from the as ever wonderful Ottolenghi

*Fennel, baby leeks, broccolini & even a few fresh peas would all be welcome additions

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as a side dish depending on your level of love for vegetables

2 carrots, peeled & cut in to batons

1 handful green beans, top & tailed

1 bunch asparagus, any woody stems removed

1 zucchini, cut in to batons

2 tbsp dill fronds

Poaching liquid

600ml white wine

200ml olive oil

Juice of 2 lemons

2 bay leaves

1 small onion, peeled & halved

2 sticks of celery, cut in to batons

1 tsp salt

Caper Dijon Mayo

1/2 a cup good quality mayonnaise

3/4 tsp Dijon mustard

Juice of half a lemon

2 tbsp capers, roughly chopped

Pinch salt

Directions

Start with the mayo; place all the ingredients in a bowl & mix them all together. Season & taste & if need be add a little more Dijon, lemon juice or salt. Cover & place in the fridge until ready to serve.

Pour the wine in to a large saucepan & bring to a boil, lower the heat & simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add all the other ingredients for the poaching liquid & bring to a simmer. Add the carrots & the beans to the pot & simmer for 3 minutes. Then add the asparagus & zucchini & poach for 3-4 minutes more. We want the vegetables still bright & a little crunchy.

Remove the vegetables with a large slotted spoon & place on a serving platter. Spoon over a drizzle of the poaching liquid & scatter over the dill fronds. Serve with the mayo on the side. Pile some veg on your plate, top with a dollop of mayo & enjoy.

These are wonderfully bright & light vegetables, the lemon really brightening them up & the dill delivering a lovely slightly aniseedy note. Then there’s that mayo, the tang of Dijon & the briney capers the perfect companion for these poached vegetables, actually the perfect companion for lots, it is quite the friendly condiment & quite moreish.