Archive | salad RSS feed for this section

Quince and Sweet Gorgonzola Salad

4 Jan

Happy New Year! I hope you said a proper goodbye to 2011, and thank you for continuing to read my blog. I know I only post sporadically, but perhaps in 2012 I will be better about it. I don’t make resolutions (mostly because I never keep them), but if I did I am sure blogging more would be at the top of the list. The good news is that I’m not cooking any less, just really busy with my day job and finding less and less time in my day. But, since I own my own small business I guess being busy is a good thing, especially in this economy.

Since I saw you last I have been cooking up a storm from Plenty, the latest cookbook from London chef Ottolenghi. The recipes are all vegetarian, but they are designed to be filling and hearty and attractive to carnivores as well.  This salad would be an excellent accompaniment to anything, from fish to chicken to beef and pork. Quince are my new favorite fruit, and though they require some cooking time to make them easily edible, they are such a fragrant, delightful treat that I can’t resist any recipe that contains them.

One caveat: quince are only in season through February, and may be hard to find if your grocery store doesn’t have them. We get ours from our CSA, and I just got these last week so I know there are still some out there. Many people actually have quince trees and don’t have any idea what to do with the fruit. Friend one of these people, and “help” take some off their hands.

Quince and Sweet Gorgonzola Salad
From Plenty
Serves 4

1 3/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
15 black peppercorns
4 strips orange zest
2 bay leaves
juice of 1/2 lemon
3/4 cup red wine
2 medium quinces
1 tsp grainy mustard
2 tsp cider vinegar
4 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups mixed greens
4-5 ounces sweet gorgonzola
1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted, some whole and some roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 275. Take a medium-sized heavy pan that can go in the oven and for which you have a tight-fitting lid. Place inside the water, sugar, peppercorns, orange zest, bay leaves, lemon juice and red wine. Set on the stove and bring to a light simmer. As soon as the sugar dissolves, remove from heat.

Meanwhile, peel the quinces; keep the skin. Cut the fruit vertically into quarters and remove the core; keep this too. Cut each quarter into two segments. Place the quince segments, plus the skin and cores, in the sugar syrup. Cover the pan and put it into the over to cook for about two hours. After this time the quince should be completely tender. Remove from over and leave to cool, uncovered.

Whisk together until smooth the mustard, vinegar, 4tbs of the quince cooking liquid, 1/2 tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper.

To finish the salad, place some salad leaves on 4 serving plates. Arrange four quince sergments per portion and some hand-broken pieces of gorgonzola on the leaves. Try to build the salad up. Place a few more leaves on top. Spoon the dressing over and scatter over the pistachios. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil. Alternatively, arrange similarly in a large central mixing bowl and bring to the table.

 


 

Green Vegetable Salad

5 Oct

The book Veganomicon had a hold of my heart this summer, but I think the fall might belong to my latest addition, Home Made.  I heard the author interviewed on Edible Radio, and this book sounded right up my alley.

I like this recipe because it ties together the end of summer: an abundance of herbs in the garden (literally) dying to be used, and the last of some of my favorite green  things from the farmers market.

The green veggies in their cooling water bath

The authors suggest serving this with some crumbled goat cheese which would be a nice addition, I think. The dressing is really a perfect, creamy match for the greens all on its own, though.

I’m sad to see the end of summer, but I do so love the fall. I’m heading back to France in just under 2 weeks, and fall is my favorite time to be there. Can’t wait to visit the cider makes and fromagers in Normandy, and I just love the air this time of year no matter where I am.

Green Vegetable Salad
From Home Made
Serves 4

3 cups of mixed green vegetables: fava beans, peas, snow peas, asparagus or a mixture thereof
2 ribs celery
1 cup mixed herbs like parsley, tarragon, mint, dill or any mixture of those

Dressing:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbs finely chopped dill
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup hazelnut oil

Cut the long vegetables, such as asparagus or green beans, in half. Blanch all veg for 2 mins, in turn, in a pan with plenty of boiling water. Finish with the fava beans since they will color the water purple. Rinse everything immediately under cold running water. Mix the vegetables, stir in the herbs (reserve some for garnish) and toss with the dressing.

To make the dressing, thoroughly blend all ingredients except the oil. Lastly, beat in the oil in a think trickle.

Peach and Pistachio Salad

25 Jul

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day… well, I wouldn’t know much about summer here in Seattle. I hear the rest of the country is having quite the heatstroke, but today in Seattle it is raining and THUNDERING and I can’t recall whether this month is July… or January. Normally this time of year I would be making gazpacho and grilling and doing all of those fun summer-type things, but this year I am making warm, hearty dishes to take away the chill. Enter: peaches.

Peaches mean it is summer time. Who eats peaches in the winter?? Not me. So this salad proves it is summer out there, somewhere…right?  This salad is really flavorful, and was the star of the meal. In fact, I don’t remember what I served it with because we were too busy going crazy over the salad. Add a glass of Lillet on ice, and you have the perfect summer meal. Somewhere.

Peach and Pistachio Salad
From Food & Wine

1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 large hot red chile, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tbs white wine vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 underripe medium peaches, very thinly sliced
1 small jicama (about 8oz) peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
3/4 cup shelled, salted pistachios
2 cups baby arugula

In a large bowl, combine the shallot, red chile, sugar and vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the peaches, jicama and pistachios and toss well. Fold in the arugula and season with salt and pepper. Serve right away.

 

Tri Color Bean Salad with Lemon, Mint & Parsley

27 May

I know I talk a lot here about my love of France, and really what isn’t there to love about that place?  But my husband and I also fell in love with a place closer to home: a small town in Eastern Washington called Walla Walla.  Now, if you know anything about wine you have probably at least heard of Walla Walla, and many of the best wines from this state are grown there.  It also happens to be an adorable town with a charming main street, dry weather (something that is a wonderful reprieve from the wet weather we have here in Seattle), and it happens to be perched at the foot of the Blue Mountains, which makes for stunning scenery all around you.

The vineyards at Abeja Cellars in Walla Walla

Needless to say, we spend a lot of time in this town.  We know the area well, love the restaurants, and just plain enjoy the slow pace of small town life.  One of our favorite things to do while visiting is head over to the Farmer’s Market that happens weekend mornings.  On a recent trip with some friends we ended up trying some new things at the market, and my husband went crazy for a bean salad we had.  While eating it I tried to decipher the ingredients so that I could make it for him again at home, and it seemed to me most like tabbouleh with beans instead of couscous.

And so, here is my re-creation, inspired by the woman from Walla Walla.  It is the perfect accompaniment to summer grilling, or just alongside a sandwich.  Beans are super healthy, and so are herbs (which happen to be little antioxidant powerhouses).   I like my tabbouleh the traditional way, which is heavy on the herbs. These are a nice reprieve from the same old potato salad or coleslaw that show up at every summer event.

The version in the picture below is one I made with basil instead of the Tabbouleh dressing, so it is less green and herby than it usually looks. It tasted great, though, so feel free to experiment with whatever you have on hand.

Tri Color Bean Salad with Lemon, Mint & Parsley
LaFemmeCooks

15 oz can each: black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans
1 tomato, diced
3-5 green onions, diced
2 cups finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint
Juice from one large lemon
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix thoroughly.  Will last in the refrigerator for about a week.

Charred Fava Bean Salad with Lemon and Tarragon

20 Aug

I do love beans.  Any kind of bean, really.  I could eat beans every single day of my life, and practically do.  Because we eat a mostly vegetarian diet, beans are the stars of many of our home-cooked meals.  Fava beans happen to be my favorite of them all, and I never can wait until they are in season.  When they are, I am always looking for recipes that are different and creative like this one.

Be warned that it takes some time to prepare fresh fava beans, but they are well worth the wait.  First, you must remove the beans from their exterior pods.  Then, each bean is encased in a white-ish, secondary pod that should be removed.  This is most easily accomplished by boiling the beans and slipping them out of their secondary casing.  Then voila!  Perfect bright green beans that are incredibly versatile.

This recipe comes from chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, via Food and Wine Magazine.  I make several variations of it, depending on what I have on hand (this time I used mint and basil because I have so much of both in the garden), but it tastes best when made exactly how Vongerichten describes.

If you have never tried fava beans, I highly suggest trying out this recipe the next time you come across some fresh ones.  My local grocer has been long out of them, but my farm share delivered them to me just last week.  I have never used frozen ones, but if that is all you have, experiment and let me know how they turn out.

Charred Fava Bean Salad with Lemon and Tarragon
From Food and Wine

3 lbs fresh fava beans shelled (2 1/2 cups)
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
salt
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 medium shallot, minced
1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs finely grated parmigiano-reggiano
1 tbs chopped tarragon

Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the fava beans for 1 minute. Transfer to the ice water, drain, then peel them.

In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over low heat until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the jalapeño and cook for 1 minute longer. Season with salt.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Add the fava beans and cook over moderately high heat, without stirring, until blackened, about 1 minute. Transfer to a serving bowl and season with salt.

Add the butter to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until it just starts to brown, about 30 seconds. Add the shallot and cook over low heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and remove from the heat.

Add the garlic-jalapeno mixture and warm shallot vinaigrette to the beans along with the cheese and tarragon and toss well to coat. Season the salad with salt and serve.

Pan-roasted Corn and Tomato Salad

4 Aug

Last summer, I was enraptured by Mark Bittman’s 101 salad recipes in the New York Times.   So many creative options, from vegan to meat and seafood and noodles, so that no matter what I was in the mood for there was a salad recipe to cover it.  I loved his idea of making a grilled cheese with good bread and a small amount of very good cheese, letting it cool and then turning it into croutons to top tomato salad with fresh basil (or anything else).  Yum.

But one of my favorite salads from last summer was actually not part of the 101 series. I found it via his Minimalist series, and this salad makes perfect use of the perfectly sweet fresh corn and tomatoes that are only available during the summer.  This salad should not even be attempted any other time of the year, á mon avis, and Bittman agrees.

I have made this recipe so many times and I have played around with the ingredients a bit.  I like to use pancetta  in place of bacon, and often I don’t use any meat at all, substituting some olive oil instead.  I like to add fresh herbs to just about everything, and this corn pairs well with cilantro, basil, mint or any combination of the three.  Even a dash or marjoram would work well here.  Sometimes I add salt and pepper, sometimes not.  The point is, use what you like and what you have on hand and it is pretty hard to screw it up.  This salad simply screams SUMMER!!

Pan-Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad
From  The Minimalist with Mark Bittman

2 slices bacon, diced
1 red onion, chopped
4-6 ears of  fresh corn, depending on size, kernels removed
2-3 fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 jalapeno diced (or more, to taste)
1 lime, juiced
1 avocado, diced

Using a very sharp knife, slice the kernels from the corn (I have found that doing this in a large bowl, or even in a brownie pan works well  to keep them from going everywhere).  Fry the bacon in a skillet, and once the fat has rendered add onion and cook in bacon fat about 2-3 minutes until the onion starts to soften.  Add kernels and cook about 5 minutes more.  The corn is just going to get warm all the way through, but you don’t want it very cooked in order to keep the fresh flavor of it.  Take off the heat.  Gently stir in tomato and avocado.  Season with lime juice.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Warm Salad of Cherry Tomatoes and Onions

6 Jun

I know summer has officially arrived in Seattle because we bought our first Copper River salmon today at the Wild Salmon Seafood Market.  I love marking the seasons with special food, and this salmon is about as special as it gets for seafood lovers.

Copper River Sockeye

Rich and so flavorful, salmon from the Copper River have a healthy store of natural oils and body fat that helps them endure the 300 mile trek from the Copper River, in Alaska, to Prince William Sound.  They are only here for a short time, and while they are we rejoice.

I love to pair fresh salmon with fruit of some kind.  Tomatoes (my favorite fruit!) aren’t in season here yet, but I do love to welcome summer with this tomato salad that marries sweet Walla Walla onions (use Vidalia if you can’t find Walla Walla) with local honey, fresh herbs and a tangy vinaigarette.

Nothing is a better start to summer, especially when enjoyed pied-a-terre with a lovely rosé from Provence.

Warm Salad of Cherry Tomatoes and Onions
From Sandra Cabot

1 tbs cold-pressed olive oil
2 tbs plus 2 tsp honey
1 heaped tbs finely chopped fresh oregano
1 heaped tbs finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 heaped tbs finely chopped fresh basil, plus extra for garnish
1 onion, sliced into rings
6 scallions/green onions
2 cups cherry tomatoes (red or yellow)
2 tbs plus 2 tsp vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Heat the oil over med heat.  Stir in honey and herbs, add onion rings and stir until onions are lightly browned.  Lower heat when onions are colored and add tomatoes.  Stir gently for about 2 minutes, keeping tomatoes whole.  Serve warm sprinkled with the vinaigrette and extra chopped basil.

Vinaigrette
2 tsp mustard (english, wholegrain or dijon)
2 tsp tarragon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbs honey
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients, except vinegar, in a bowl and mix well.  Then slowly add the vinegar to taste, according to your preference.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 907 other followers