Secrets of inspired marinades and vinaigrettes

Vegetarian Journal, May-June, 2005 by Debra Daniels-Zeller

THE SECRETS TO PERFECT SALADS, GRILLED vegetables, and simple fruit desserts are marinades and vinaigrettes. For example, there is nothing more savory and flavorful than marinated mushrooms or vegetables. When the flavors are allowed to marry, cold marinated dishes taste even better the next day. A simple delicately flavored vinaigrette can add a gourmet touch to dishes with little effort. Marinades and vinaigrettes can also be heated and used to make vegetarian sauces that create exciting whole grain or bean entrees.

No one knows the exact origin, but marinades have been around for thousands of years. Chefs have often added them to a variety of foods to enhance flavors. Good marinades have a delicate balance of acid, oil, and flavorings. Time spent soaking in the marinade infuses flavors into ingredients.

Marinades are easy to make once you get the basics down, and the combinations you can create are as endless as your imagination. Consider using marinades for mushrooms, tempeh, tofu, vegetables, and fruits.

Like marinades, vinaigrettes have a tart edge. Flavors are determined by the quality of oil and vinegar used. Vinaigrettes bring together ingredients and add character to salads, vegetables, and fruit. Their versatility makes them a standout in any vegetarian kitchen.

You can vary the flavors of vinaigrettes in infinite ways. For example, capers, olives, miso, and tamari add salty tones. Green onions, garlic, and ginger add a pungent taste. Pureed fruit or frozen fruit concentrate will sweeten the flavor, and pureed vegetables lend a texture change. Not just for salads, use vinaigrettes to spice up pilaf, risotto, pasta, beans, vegetable dishes, and grains.

THE BASICS

Five flavors: Combining the five flavors your tongue experiences, balances the taste of the vinaigrette or marinade and makes it satisfying and enticing. Sweet, sour, salty, pungent, and spicy combine in an oil base that carries and infuses the flavors throughout the marinade. Pungent is often the most difficult taste concept to grasp. Garlic, ginger, rosemary, citrus zest, wasabi or horseradish, cilantro, and onions can be described as pungent. First, pair up vinegar (or use lemon, lime, or orange juice) and oil. Then, choose a sweetener to cut the acidity. Add a salty ingredient, such as tamari or soy sauce, miso, or sea salt. Other ingredients, like fresh or dried herbs, salsa, tomato paste, lavender, or pureed fruit, give your marinade or vinaigrette distinction. Line up your choices and think about what you want to use before committing to the vinaigrette.

Acidic options: Select the best quality of vinegar and you won't be disappointed. Cheap balsamic vinegar can be used for cooking when large quantities are called for, but for vinaigrettes and marinades, nothing compares to traditionally made and aged balsamic vinegar with a deep smoky-sweet, complex flavor. Other vinegar selections include rice, wine, ume plum, and apple cider, and there are many new, interesting vinegars located on the pickle isle in grocery stores. Blood orange, raspberry-champagne, fig, and pear-infused white balsamic vinegar were some I found in a local grocery store. Citrus juice is an alternate acidic ingredient in vinaigrettes and marinades. Use orange, lemon, lime, or tangerine, or try a combination, such as balsamic vinegar and orange juice or rice vinegar and lime.

Oil: I don't believe in wasting money on cheap commercial vegetable oil. A good quality organic, extra-virgin olive oil is essential. For taste and nutritional content, I prefer expeller-pressed coconut, sesame, and hazelnut oils. I look for the best quality oils in local natural foods stores. The unrefined coconut oil I purchase lends a subtle flavor to everything it comes in contact with. Toasted oils, such as sesame, carry a strong flavor, so use them in very small amounts.

Sweeteners: Traditional vinaigrettes have an oil-to-acid ratio of 3:1. When you cut the oil measurement, the dressing will be quite acidic without adding a sweetener to balance it. Fruit sweetener, fruit juice concentrate, agave nectar (from the agave cactus), Sucanat (an organic sugar), and maple syrup are all good choices for adding a little sweetness. Fruit sweeteners taste like the fruit they come from. Fruit concentrates, such as raspberry juice or apple juice, have intense flavor and sweetness. Agave nectar is slightly sweeter tasting than sugar, and it has a fairly neutral flavor. Sucanat, maple syrup, and molasses have very distinct flavors. A little goes a long way for these additions.

Other ingredients: You can blend miso, tamari, olives, capers, vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, sea vegetables, or pesto into your vinegar to stand in for some or all of the salt. Technically, a vinaigrette consists of oil, vinegar, salt, and herbs or spices, but you can enhance it with fruit, such as peaches, strawberries, or soaked, dried cherries pureed in for sweetness and texture changes. Fruit vinaigrettes are good on fruit salads, or try a raspberry vinaigrette tossed with bitter baby greens, such as chicory. You can puree in roasted peppers, raw cucumber, or spinach for color, flavor, and texture. Herbs, spices, hot peppers, capers, soaked and pureed nuts and seeds, coconut, dried fruit, salsa, nut butters, and tepanades are some of the many things you can find in your pantry to add to your marinade or vinaigrette masterpieces.