Sunday, March 28, 2010

You have to try this!....


I recently went out to dinner with some friends in Cleveland. I had never been to or heard of the restaurant before that night, but i am sooo going back soon.....Reason #1- If you have been reading my blog for a while you may remember me making reference to one of my favorite snacks: Popcorn dipped in balsamic vinegar with hot sauce.....yep. I love it. And i thought i was the only one. Well much to my surprise this restaurant - Crop Bistro- had an unbelievable gourmet version of this little munchie on their appetizer menu. I could have eaten 10 pounds of this stuff it was so good....and as if that weren't amazing enough, when I complimented the chef on this delicious concoction, they actually came back and gave me the recipe!

So lucky for you....I am sharing.
I will say, that i have a feeling this one will be hard to replicate, but it is worth a try. It is so fresh and light and the flavor is spectacular!

Ingredients:
3 cups freshly popped plain popcorn
1/2 cup thinly sliced red and green pepper and red onion
pinch of salt and pepper
2 T fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh arugula
2T sun dried tomatoes
1T vegetable oil
3T balsamic vinaigrette
1/4 shredded asiago

Ingredients for Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 T Dijon mustard
1T fresh basil (finely minced)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Dressing instructions:
Combine the oil, balsamic, Dijon, basil, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, vigorously mix until the dressing is completely blended and deep mahogany in color. Set aside in clean container or refrigerate until needed.

Popcorn instructions:
Prepare the balsamic vinaigrette and pop the popcorn. In a 14" saute pan heat oil until it begins to smoke. Add pepper and onion mixture, sun dried tomatoes and salt and pepper - saute for 20 seconds. Add vinaigrette to the pan.

Immediately add the arugula and popcorn to the pan. Remove from heat. Toss in pan until well mixed. Pour into large bowl and garnish with roughly chopped basil and asiago cheese. Drizzle with reduced balsamic syrup (optional)

TIP: Think super fast stir fry. Do not keep popcorn on the heat....it gets soggy!

1 comment:

Ashley said...

I can imagine I would have a few soggy batches before I got it right!
Sounds interesting. I love popcorn and I love balsamic, so I'm sure I would like this.