When you think of sugars, vanilla and other sweet ingredients, you probably think of desserts, or at least sweet recipes. Get ready to break the mold.
If you want to take on the Sweet to Savory Challenge, you’re going to have to use vanilla beans, fennel flower crystals, coconut sugar and granulated honey in a savory recipe. You will not be required to use all 4 ingredients (you certainly can if you want!), but you do need to use at least 2 of the ingredients.
To throw your hat in the ring for this challenge:
1. Send your name, mailing address and blog URL to Katie at kwallace(at)marxfoods(dot)com by Friday 9/13.
2. When you receive your box of goodies, create an original, savory recipe that features at least 2 of the ingredients we sent you.
3. Publish the recipe on your blog and send the link to Katie by Sunday 10/6.
The winning sweet to savory recipe will be chosen by a combination of voting methods. We will publish links on our blog to all of the recipes submitted and we will open a public poll; when the poll closes, the Marx Foods staff will select the winning blogger from the 5 participants with the most votes.
The scrumptious prize at stake for this challenge is a $100 gift certificate to MarxFoods.com!
Comments 1
Here’s the link to my post with the recipe: http://rumahmakanmurni.blogspot.com/2013/10/grilled-pineapple-and-shrimp-salad-with.html
Here’s the recipe:
Grilled Pineapple and Shrimp Salad with Fennel Flower Crystals and Vanilla Coconut Dressing
printable recipe
Dressing
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
3 stalks of lemongrass, sliced and pounded
1 Tahitian vanilla bean, split, the seeds scraped into the coconut milk along with the pod
1 TBS fish sauce
3 TBS coconut sugar
1/2 cup of the infused coconut milk
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp coconut sugar
1 tsp fish sauce
To make the dressing, simmer the coconut milk and water with the lemongrass, vanilla, fish sauce and coconut sugar for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep another 30 minutes or more.
Strain through a coarse sieve, allowing the vanilla seeds through but keeping out the lemongrass. Mix 1/2 cup of the strained mixture with the lime juice, coconut sugar, and fish sauce. Keep until ready to dress the salad. (The remaining coconut milk infusion can be refrigerated–or frozen–for another time.)
Salad
1 pineapple, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
20 shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups arugula, washed and dried
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 to 3 TBS mint, julienned
1 red jalapeno or other pepper with some heat
1 cup of dried rice flakes or rice vermicelli, fried in 350º F oil until crisp and puffed
1 tsp fennel flower crystals ground with 1 tsp kosher salt, for dusting the fried rice flakes
1 tsp fennel flower crystals for sprinkling on the shrimp just before serving the salad
Grill the pineapple slices on a hot grill for about 3 minutes a side until cooked. Remove and cut each slice into eight pieces, removing the fibrous central core. Thread the shrimp onto skewers, season lightly with salt and quickly grill them. Be careful that you don’t overcook them.
To assemble the salad, place the arugula on a deep platter. Top with the grilled pineapple pieces, followed by the fried rice flakes. Top with the grilled shrimp sprinkled with the fennel flower crystals. Scatter the sliced shallots, mint, and red chili pepper. Pour the dressing over and serve.
Don’t add the rice flakes until you are ready to serve the salad. If you add them beforehand, they will become soft and unappetizing.
I was afraid the fennel flower crystals might be overpowering, as they are quite strong when tasted by themselves. However, I found that in the salad they were quite subtle. It’s possible that you might want more than one teaspoon’s worth sprinkled on the shrimp when serving the salad.