What can I do to improve this: Coriander Sauce

M

marilynfl

Moderator
This smelled AMAZING while reducing, but the ultimate sauce was bitter. I added at least one, maybe two teaspoons of honey to sweeten the end result and still...it was just okay.

I'm going through Susan Spicer's cookbook now "Cresent City Cooking" and this recipe shined. I can't understand all the reviews in Epicurious about the black bean cakes not working out. They are perfect. In the book she uses 8 oz of dried beans and I have to wonder if folks were replacing her online version with a can of beans. Once soaked and cooked, half a pound was at least 4, maybe 5 cups of beans.

Oh, I used an opened bottle of Pinot Grigio for the white wine. Could the wine have gotten bitter because it was old.

What can I replace with it? Good recipe.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Shrimp-with-Black-Bean-Cakes-and-Coriander-Sauce-355915

 
Marg, I was thinking the same thing re: hot pepper flakes.. Also thought of garlic. if you use the

epi recipe

 
Do you think it may have been the wine vinegar that made it bitter? I'd probably

just omit it entirely. It does seem a bit redundant.

I like bean cakes with sour cream, cilantro, crushed roasted coriander and ground cumin.

 
Did you taste the orange juice before using? That may have caused the bitterness along with the zest

 
Did you taste the coriander? I wonder if the volatile oils went rancid. Or if the sauce was

if the sauce was reduced too far?

I too have been using her book lately. The shrimp bisque is terrific!

 
Shallot overcooked? That might explaine why at first it smelled good, then got bad. But you probably

already thought of that. Recipe sounds very good!

 
Shallots weren't burnt. There was enough liquid at the end 1/4C before I added

the butter and the shallots were soft.

 
I think this was okay as far as tartness. Probably the combo of wine + vinegar was too much, just

as you suggested.

I'm not suave when it comes to adding wine and fancier vinegars to food. My experience is limited so I tend to trust the recipe. In this case, it failed.

 
How old was the cilantro? It doesn't age well. I've had very bitter results from using basil that

had seen better days. Perhaps the same thing can happen with cilantro.

Otherwise I suspect the orange zest.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top