After I finished last week’s column, I reminisced about the incredible bottle of aged sherry vinegar my friend Bill gave me years ago. I remembered the huge flavor a little splash added, a mysterious extra something that elevated food and made it memorable. I used it sparingly in pan sauces, lentils, bean dishes, greens and roasted vegetables. Even though it was vinegar, it didn’t taste vinegary, just delicious and tangy. The bottle in my cupboard was a lovely kitchen luxury and I felt wealthy just looking at it. I wondered why, in all these years, I had never replaced it.
My memory was a bit rusty, so I read up on sherry vinegar. Authentic sherry vinegar, Vinagre de Jerez, comes from the province of Cadiz in southern Spain. Vinagre de Jerez is made from either Palomino or Pedro Ximenez grapes, some grown in renowned vineyards hundreds of years old. It is a European Protected Designation of Origin product, meaning it is carefully regulated and can only be made in a specific region. Sherry vinegar is in the same protected league as Roquefort cheese, Champagne, Parmigiano-Reggiano (fancy parmesan cheese) and many others.
The main aging categories are Vinagre de Jerez, aged six months; Vinagre de Jerez Reserva, aged a minimum of two years and Vinagre de Jerez Gran Reserva, aged a minimum of ten years. The tasting profile is a combination of nuts, oak, spice, caramel and dried fruit. Bill gave me the Gran Reserva type, and it was more like thin syrup than ordinary vinegar. I have also bought the Reserva variety and used it in salad dressings. This vinegar comes in an everyday version, and then one for dress-up.
My recipe for a walnut oil and sherry vinegar salad dressing kept crossing my mind, so I ordered a bottle of Reserva on-line along with my favorite walnut oil, La Tourangelle roasted walnut oil. When the package arrived, I whipped up a batch. Fortunately I had memorized the recipe from years ago.
Sherry Vinegar and Walnut Oil Dressing
¼ cup Vinagre de Jerez Reserva
l small shallot
1 tbsp sugar (I use raw sugar)
2 tsp Dijon or stone ground mustard
pinch salt
¾ cup walnut oil
Blend the first five ingredients, and then slowly add in the oil. This dressing may taste tart and sharp on the spoon, but will be perfect on greens. I love this dressing on a salad of baby greens, pears or apples, walnuts and blue cheese topped with homemade croutons. Refrigerate the walnut oil, as it goes rancid quickly when stored at room temperature.
There you have it – a lesson in food and geography all in one column!