Moroccan Carrot Salad

This picture is awful, but this salad is so good! So Good!

75g flaked almonds
450g carrots
2 tsp clear honey
3tbsp olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
1tbsp rose water
50g raisins
1tsp ground cinnamon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

preheat to 200c/400f
place almonds on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 10 min, or until golden, set aside.

Grate the carrots in a food processor, or by hand, and place in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the honey, oil, lemon juice, rose water, raisins, and cinnamon. Season well with salt and pepper and mix well. Leave at room temperature for 1 hour for the flavours to infuse.
Stir in the toasted almonds just before serving.

I only recently discovered this recipe from New Flavours of the Jewish Table, but I’ve already made it three or four times (you’d think I could have gotten a better picture one of those times, but I’m always so excited to eat it that I forget).
I find it perfect because I always have carrots in the house, and I have a bottle of rosewater that I don’t use often enough, so it’s convenient in that respect. It’s also great because the prep is super quick, and although it has to sit for an hour (which could be a pain), it can also sit in the fridge for the day, or even overnight, making it the perfect make-in-advance accompaniment to whatever else you are having.

I have made this with the almonds toasted, with them un-toasted, with them added before serving, and with them added during the prep, and left in there while it infuses. The way it is done in the recipe gives the best results with the almonds giving it that subtle, almost but not quite - smoky flavour, but if you forget to toast them, or forget to hold them out, it’s no big deal, the salad will still be fabulous.

Easy, fast, delicious, exotic, and mostly made from ingredients that you could easily have to hand. This dish ROCKS!

Vietnamese style crispy pork and little gem salad

1tbsp sunflower oil
450g pork mince
2tsp freshly grated ginger
1 red chili, seeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 spring onions, trimmed
2tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2tsp soy sauce
2tbsp fish sauce
2tbsp rice vinegar, or white wine vinegar
1tsp soft light brown sugar
3 limes
50g dry roasted peanuts, chopped
4 little gem lettuces
Fresh coriander sprigs, to serve

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add half the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy. Remove from the pan and put into a bowl or dish, then cook the remaining mince in the same way.
In another bowl, mix together the ginger, chili, and garlic. Finely slice the spring onions, and add to the bowl with the herbs. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and the juice of 1 lime. Give it a good mix, then pour the mixture over the crispy pork. Scatter the peanuts over the mince.
Cut the remaining limes into wedges, and separate the leaves of the lettuces.
Scoop some crispy mince onto each lettuce leaf, add a squeeze of lime and top with a sprig of coriander.


This type of salad became really popular a while ago. All of a sudden I was seeing them everywhere. They looked good, but I tended to avoid them, as I’ve never been a terribly fashionable person. Still, they looked so good that eventually I was worn down.

I decided to try this one from Ainsley Harriott's Feel-Good Cookbook , as his happened to be the one I was looking at when I made up my mind to take the plunge.

I’m really glad I did it. This was delicious! It was beautiful to look at, it was fast to make, and it was so tasty that I wanted to make it and eat again right away. The filling of the individual leaves was a bit fiddly, and I would think that if you were serving it casually, to the family, you could probably serve it in a bowl with the leaves on the side and let people do that part themselves. Either way, it will be a crowd pleaser.

North African Pitta Bread Salad

4 pitta breads
2tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
3 large salad tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
4tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint
4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cucumber, halved, deseeded and chopped
4tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat to 200c
Cut the bread into 1 inch squares. Grind the coriander and cumin seeds with a pestle and mortar and mix with the three tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil. Place the pitta squares on a baking sheet, drizzle with the spiced oil mixture and toast in the oven for 10 min, or until crisp and light brown. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, peppers, mint, spring onions, garlic, and cucumber.

In a separate bowl mix the olive oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and stir in the toasted pitta squares.

Mix well and serve immediately.

Beautiful summer salad from the forthcoming title, New Flavours of the Jewish Table. This is great because it is tasty, the bread makes it more filling, and the chunkiness of it makes it a great salad for little kids too. Even my kids, who eat most things, will turn up their noses at salad, but they ate this one! Score!

I tossed the pitta squares with the oil mixture in a bowl before pouring them onto the baking sheet, because I want to get them well and evenly coated. It did the trick, they were so crispy and tasty it was hard to keep them all for the salad.

The only other thing worth mentioning, is that you shouldn’t mix in the pitta till the very last minute, or it will start going soggy.

This salad is great for a side salad, or for a light lunch, even a summer-y dinner. Good stuff!

Spicy Chorizo and avocado salad

4tbsp olive oil
1 small Ciabatta, torn into small bite sized pieces
2 x 80g packs of sliced chorizo
250g baby plum or cherry tomatoes, halved
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
pinch sugar
1 large ripe avocado, halved, stoned and sliced
150g bag of baby leaf and herb salad

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the ciabatta for 8-10 minutes, tossing occasionally until starting to crisp and brown, then tip into a large salad bowl.
Lay the chorizo in the pan and dry for 2 min until it gives out a red oil. Toss in the tomatoes and cook over a high heat for 1-2 minutes, until they start to soften. Drizzle over the vinegar, add the sugar and season.
Gently toss the avocado, salad and remaining olive oil with the croutons. Spoon over the chorizo and tomatoes and drizzle with any pan juices. Serve immediately.

This salad was so good! It’s not a dieter’s salad at all, but it makes a great summertime dinner. I got it from 101 Seasonal Salads.


I used a lot more balsamic vinegar then the recipe called for, partly because I like it, and partly because I slipped when I was pouring it in. I would actually recommend going a bit heavy on it, it means more dressing.
This was just gorgeous The hot chorizo and tomato contrasted well with the cool creamy avocado, and the croutons were the perfect finishing touch.

My husband has already requested a repeat performance of this dish, and I am only too happy to oblige.

Vietnamese Table Salad

Giant salad

By Cookbad

Ho. Ly. Cow. is this a good salad.
It is no secret that I am a big fan of all Vietnamese food, Cha Gio in particular. I love the whole process of rolling a delicious hot and crispy roll into cold and crisp lettuce with mint and then dipping it in a sweet, spicy, tangy sauce. If I had to make a list of my top 10 favorite food, they would be on it.

This salad is eaten in a similar way to Cha Gio. You wrap the pork, pineapple, noodles and anything else you like in the leaf lettuce and then dip. So, you get all the deliciousness of the Cha Gio without having to fry.


I'm also a big fan of anything I can eat with my hands.

My husband dug into this one before I got to the table so I didn't explain to him how one should manage this meal, so he ate it old school salad style.

salad sandwiched

Here is the recipe:

Vietnamese Table Salad
Dipping sauce
3/4 cup hot water
5 tablespoons fish sauce*
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 Thai bird chiles with seeds or 1/2 jalapeño chile with seeds, minced
1 garlic clove, minced

Pork
6 green onions (white and pale green parts only), chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped lemongrass*
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds boneless pork loin chops (each 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick)

Salad and noodles
1 small English hothouse cucumber, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 baby pineapple, peeled, halved, thinly sliced or 1/2 small pineapple, peeled, cut into 2 wedges, cored, thinly sliced
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup fresh mint leaves
20 fresh green shiso leaves
1/2 cup finely shredded carrot
1 8- to 9-ounce package dried rice vermicelli noodles
3 heads of butter lettuce, cored, leaves separated
preparation
For dipping sauce:
Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Season sauce to taste with salt. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

For pork:
Mix first 6 ingredients and 2 tablespoons oil in 11x7-inch glass dish. Add pork chops to marinade, turn several times to coat evenly, then crowd together in single layer. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

For salad and noodles:
Arrange cucumber, pineapple, bean sprouts, all herbs, and carrot around edge of large platter. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)

Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender and turning white, separating often with tongs, about 4 minutes. Drain. Arrange in center of platter. Mound lettuce leaves in large shallow bowl.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Grill pork with marinade still clinging to meat until slightly charred and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Transfer pork to cutting board. Let rest 10 minutes.

Cut pork crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide strips. Place pork and any juices from board atop noodles. To serve, fill lettuce leaves with pork, noodles, herbs, and vegetables. Serve with sauce for dipping.

3 heads of butter lettuce, cored, leaves separated
preparation
For dipping sauce:
Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Season sauce to taste with salt. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

For pork:
Mix first 6 ingredients and 2 tablespoons oil in 11x7-inch glass dish. Add pork chops to marinade, turn several times to coat evenly, then crowd together in single layer. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

For salad and noodles:
Arrange cucumber, pineapple, bean sprouts, all herbs, and carrot around edge of large platter. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)

Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender and turning white, separating often with tongs, about 4 minutes. Drain. Arrange in center of platter. Mound lettuce leaves in large shallow bowl.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Grill pork with marinade still clinging to meat until slightly charred and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Transfer pork to cutting board. Let rest 10 minutes.

Cut pork crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide strips. Place pork and any juices from board atop noodles. To serve, fill lettuce leaves with pork, noodles, herbs, and vegetables. Serve with sauce for dipping.

I used cellophane noodles instead of vermicelli, regular pineapple instead of baby, regular basil instead of Thai and just plain skipped the shiso leaves. I'm not nuts about them anyway and there was already so much to work with.

I'm going to have the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow if they aren't consumed in the night.

P.S. Excuse the terrible photos. I lost my camera and am using my phone to take pictures until it turns back up.

Warm Roast Chicken salad with broad beans, butter beans, rocket and preserved lemon

1.75 kg free range chicken
1 red onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 celery stick , sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
300g fresh or frozen shelled broad beans
600g cooked or jarred butter beans, rinsed and drained
3x25g piece of preserved lemon, flesh discarded, rind chopped
2 small red onions, halved and thinly sliced
90g wild rocket
20g fresh coriander, chopped
20g fresh mint, leaves chopped
For the dressing:
8Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
A large pinch of cayenne pepper
3 small garlic cloves, finely chopped

Preheat to 200c
Rub the chicken all over with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Spread the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic over the base of a small roasting tin. Place the chicken on top and roast it for 1 hour 40 min, or until it is cooked through and the skin is nicely browned.
Remove the chicken from the oven and tip any juices from the cavity back into the roasting tin, and place it on a board. Cover it loosely with foil and leave it to rest for 15 min. Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to a boil.
For the dressing, pour the roasting juices from the tin into a sieve set over a small bowl, and press out as much flavor as you can from the vegetables. Skim off and discard the excess oil from the surface of the juices and whisk in the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, cayenne and garlic. Season to taste with salt and adjust the balance of lemon juice if necessary.
As soon as the chicken is just cool enough to handle, remove the meat, break it into small chunky pieces and place in a large bowl. Discard the skin and bones. Drop the broad beans into the boiling water and cook for 1-2 min until just tender. Add the butterbeans and leave for a few seconds to warm through, then drain and add to the chicken with the preserved lemon, red onion, rocket, coriander, and mint. Mix together gently, using your hands and transfer to a shallow serving dish. Drizzle over the dressing and serve straight away while the salad is still warm.

This was from Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes.

I have to admit, I thought it should have been better. A big part of the problem was that the raw red onions were sliced and not diced. Some really finely diced red onion adds such a beautiful flavor, but that amount of onion, in slices, no matter how thin you manage them, it’s going to be a bit much.

I may try it again some day, with more of the lemon, and with less red onion, and more finely chopped. I think it could be really wonderful.

One big tip on this one, DO NOT forget the salt. This recipe is a perfect example of the real use of salt. If you don’t add any at all, you will have a big jumble of tastes that don’t really seem to want to know each other at all, but just add a little salt and all of a sudden all of the flavors mix together and really compliment each other.

I would say this one is worth trying, as long as you adjust it a bit to your own liking.

Basic Beans with a Tomato Bread Salad

300g dried Borlotti or Cannellini beans, soaked in cold water for at least 12 hours
3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
a sprig of fresh rosemary
3 bay leaves
1 stick of celery, trimmed
1 small potato, peeled and halved
2 cherry tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
a few sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Drain and wash your soaked beans. Place them in a deep pot and cover with cold water. Throw in your garlic, herb sprigs, bay leaves, celery stick, potato, and tomatoes. Place the beans on the heat and slowly bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer very gently for 45 min to an hour, depending on your beans, til soft and cooked nicely. Skim if necessary, topping up with boiling water from the kettle if you need to.

When the beans are cooked, drain them in a colander, reserving enough of the cooking water to cover them halfway up when put back in the pot. Remove the garlic, herbs, celery, potato, and tomatoes from the beans. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins, and pinch the skin off the tomatoes. Put the garlic tomatoes and potato onto a plate, mash them with a fork and stir back into the beans. Season well with salt and pepper, and pour in three generous glugs of extra virgin olive oil and a few splashes of vinegar. Stir in the parsley.

To Serve:
Toast 2 slices of good quality bread, and tear them into rough chunks. Place in a bowl with a handful of chopped tomatoes, some sea salt and freshly ground pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a swig of good balsamic vinegar. Spoon some of your beans onto a plate, followed by the bread and tomato mixture.

It says to serve it topped with a slice or two of prosciutto and some baby basil leaves, but I didn’t have any.

This was a Jamie at Home recipe. I made it to use up some beans that I had, which is why there are two differant types of beans in there.

The beans themselves were nice. They had a good flavor, but on their own I would have been a bit disappointed. With the tomato bread salad though, they became a really nice home-y and lovely meal.

I only discovered the idea of bread salads this year, I really like them. It’s a great way to bulk up a side dish to a main dish. Also the balsamic vinegar really livened everything up.

Potato and Salmon salad

600g new potatoes, washed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
A splash of red wine vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive oil
2Tbsp capers, soaked and drained
1X3cm piece of fresh horseradish, peeled, or grated horseradish from a jar, to taste
150ml crème fraiche
a small dish of fresh dill or fennel tops, roughly chopped
400g sliced smoked salmon

Pick out the larger potatoes and halve them, making them roughly the same size as the small ones. Put all of the potatoes into a pan of salted boiling water. Boil for 15-20 min until the potatoes are just cooked, and drain in a colander.

Put the lemon zest and half the lemon juice into a bowl and add the vinegar. Pour in three times as much extra virgin olive oil as vinegar, and add the capers. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Mix everything well, then add the warm potatoes and toss around till they are well coated

Finely grate the horseradish into a bowl – be confident with the amount you use as you need the heat to go with the salmon and potatoes – and mix it into the crème fraiche with the remaining lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Sprinkle most of the dill or fennel over the cooled potatoes and toss again.

Lay your smoked salmon out on a large platter, and pile the dressed potatoes on top. Dollop over the horseradish crème fraiche, drizzle over some olive oil and sprinkle over the rest of the dill or fennel.

This is from Jamie at Home.

Easy to make, so beautiful!

I used horseradish from a jar, because I can’t get it fresh out here. I would say you’ll probably want a little more if it’s jarred, but just taste it as you go. The flavor combination was amazing. I love all the separate parts of this salad, I love potatoes, smoked salmon, dill, and horseradish, so it was a pretty safe bet that I was going to like this.

I served it with some salad greens as well to make a full dinner out if it. It was really lovely.

For the record, the boys liked the salmon, but they just weren’t ready for the horseradish experience. We’ll try it again someday.

Crème Fraiche and grilled lemon dressing

1 large lemon halved
3tbsp olive oil
3tbsp crème fraiche, or mayonnaise
2 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and soy sauce

Grill your lemon halves on a griddle pan for 5 minutes until soft and charred. Squeeze the juice into a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix together and season to taste.

This was a last minute thing. I decided salad would be good, so had to look around quick for a fun dressing. This one was from Jamie Oliver. As it was not planned in advance, I had to use mayo instead of crème fraiche (it’s what I have in the house). Not a problem at all. This dressing was so good! Tangy and fresh tasting and everything you want your salad to be. One tip though, use it sparingly. This is a strong dressing and a little goes a long way.
As for making it, you can assemble all the other ingredients while the lemons are grilling. When they are done, just add their juice to the bowl that has the rest already, and mix. Start to finish 6 minutes. Fabulous.

Marinated Mozzarella in Crème Fraiche with lemon and marjoram

Slice up 4 balls of buffalo mozzarella around 1cm(1/2 inch) thick, place on a large plate or dish and smear all over with a small tub, or 6 heaped tbsp of crème fraiche. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Wash and peel 1 lemon with a with a vegetable peeler, and finely chop half of the rind. Sprinkle this over the mozzarella and squeeze over half of the juice. Put the left-over lemon half to the side in case the flavor needs tweaking later. Sprinkle over a handful of fresh marjoram leaves. Taste for a good balance of flavors.
Halve, deseed, and finely slice a couple of fresh chilies. Sprinkle over the mozzarella, drizzle over 4 tbsp of olive oil, and serve in the middle of the table, or as part of another dish. Any left-overs will keep a couple of days in the fridge, or can be baked on a piece of cod.

This was amazing. No small shock it was a Jamie Oliver. It was gorgeous to look at, easy and fast to make, and really tasty. We had some people over last weekend, and I made this and the dips and the bread. Everything was a big hit. This one was so fast that I was able to make it right before they got here.

I would not have though of putting Crème Fraiche on cheese, it’s a weird idea, but the flavors complimented each other really well, and the lemon and chilli kept it from being boring. This is great to make when you have guests because it makes a beautiful centerpiece. I would like to have tried to use the left-overs with fish, but there were no left-overs to be had.

A Caesar-like Salad

So I finally took the leap. I switched from supermarket vegetables to one of those organic local farm to door delivery services. About a week ago a friend recommended River Nene to me. I wasn’t sure at first because I was afraid it would be too expensive, but I figured I’d try it out for a week (one delivery), and see.

I’m hooked already. It’s like a whole different world of quality, as well as being better for the planet. We made this salad tonight from stuff they brought us and it was so unbelievably good. I also noticed right away that even though the product it’s self is a little more expensive then what you would get in the supermarket, you kind of build your menu around what you receive, so you wind up buying less other stuff. That seems to be the case for now anyway. I’ll keep you informed about how it goes. What I know right now is that after trying one salad, I have decided to switch from the “small box” to the “large box”. If you are in the UK, try this place just once, see if they don’t convince you.

Also, it was really nice to be washing vegetables because they had dirt on them, as opposed to scrubbing the weird waxy feeling chemical coating off of them.

So here’s what I made:
For the salad
Small head of lettuce, torn
Large handful of watercress, torn
Mushrooms, sliced
A couple of anchovies
A handful of pine nuts
Parmesan cheese

Toss the leaves together with a small amount of dressing (see below), just to lightly coat. Toss in the mushrooms. Divide into dishes and sprinkle over the pine nuts, lay a couple of anchovies on top, and use a vegetable peeler to shave some parmesan onto each one.

For the dressing I checked Food to Live By. Here’s what I got:
Caesar Vinaigrette
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1tsp anchovy paste (I used a few anchovy fillets)
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Place the garlic, mustard, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce in a small bowl, and using a fork, mash into a paste.
Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Whisking constantly, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream. Continue to whisk until the dressing thickens. Can be refrigerated, covered for up to 1 week, bring back to room temperature before using.

To be honest, I used a food processor. I was using whole anchovy fillets, and I didn’t feel like trying to mash them with a fork. The processor worked just as well.

This dressing was so good. This salad was so good. This was all so good you really should just try it!

Warm Pear and Walnut salad with Roquefort Dressing and Croutons

2 hard dessert pears
1.5oz/40g walnut pieces
1tbsp walnut oil
1/2oz/10g butter
2 rounded tbsp crème fraiche
5oz/150g Roquefort, Shropshire Blue, or Cashel Blue cheese
1 large egg yolk
4oz/110g herb salad or equivalent
2oz/50g bread cut into small cubes
1 dessertspoon olive oil

Preheat to 350f/180c
Begin by making the croutons
Place 1/2oz/10g of the cheese in a bowl anf using a fork, blend it with the olive oil. Now add the cubes of bread and toss them thoroughly till coated, then spread them out on the baking sheet, and pop them into the oven for 10-12 minutes until they are evenly brown. These can be made well in advance.
For the salad:
Cut the pears into quarters, remove cores, but lave the skin on, then cut each quarter into 4 slices. Next heat the walnut oil in a large frying pan, and lightly saute the walnuts, tossing them around for about a minute, then transfer with a draining spoon to a plate.
Add the butter to the pan, add the pears and sauté fro 2-3 min on each side until they are nicely brown. Drain on a paper towel, arrange on a plate and keep warm.
Make the sauce:
Place crème fraiche in a small saucepan with the rest of the cheese, crumbling as you add it. Now whisk the two together over a gentle heat till the cheese begins to melt and form a sauce. Drop in the egg yolk and continue to whisk till the sauce thickens. Don’t let it reach boiling point, it should be almost there, but not quite. Remove from heat.
Divide the salad leaves between the plates, arrange the pears around the leaves, scatter over the walnuts, and pour over the dressing. Serve immediately.

This is from a collection of vegetarian recipes from Delia Smith.
It’s basically many different parts that need to be made and then it gets assembled at the last minute. It sounds like it might be difficult or stressful, but each of the parts is so easy, it’s really no big deal.

I had never made my own croutons before. I know it’s not like rocket science or anything, but it’s still something new to me. It always seemed like it would be a pain to bother with, but it was really nothing, and the flavor from the cheese/oil coating was nice. I’ve also never made a hot salad dressing before. I was worried that it would be weird, and that it would make the salad leaves all wilt-y, but it wasn’t like that at all. The warmth of the dressing just hi-lighted the warmth of the pears and walnuts, but the leaves stayed crispy.
This was a really nice combination of flavors. Very satisfying salad!

Also, if you can’t get Roquefort, anything in the blue or stilton families will do.

Warm salad of crispy smoked bacon and Jerusalem artichokes

2 handfuls of Large Jerusalem artichokes or New potatoes
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 radicchio or Treviso, outer leaves discarded
3 little gem lettuces, leaves washed, dried and stalks removed
a small handful of flat leaf parsley or chervil, leaves picked and finely sliced
extra virgin olive oil
8 rashers thickly sliced smoked streaky bacon or pancetta
1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
3tbsp balsamic vinagar

Scrub the Jerusalem artichokes or potatoes and boil them in salted water until tender. Once cool, cut them in half and set aside. Meanwhile, carefully remove the core of the radicchio or treviso, then halve, break apart and finely slice. Wash and dry in a salad spinner. Put the gem lettuce leaves in a large bowl with the radicchio or traviso, and the parsley or chervil.
Cut your bacon up into 1/2 inch slices, pour a small amount of oil into a non-stick pan and fry the bacon. When it’s lightly golden add the sliced onion, and your cooked, drained Jerusalem artichokes or potatoes. Fry on a medium heat till the bacon is golden and crisp, the onion is sticky and soft and the Jerusalem artichokes have sucked up all the flavors and turned crispy. The important thing is that you need enough color, but not so much that you are on the edge of burning everything.
Divide the contents of the pan onto the plates, then add 5 tbsp of oil and the balsamic vinegar to the pan, with a little pinch of salt and pepper. Mix everything together so the flavors improve then pour over the salad leaves. Toss to coat all the leaves then add some to each of the plates that already have the warm ingredients. If you want to you could shave a little parmesan over the top.

Well, this was a total exercise in substitution. It was a Jamie Oliver recipe, but I wound up changing just about everything. I couldn’t find the salad greens it calls for, so I just used some that looked good, and also strong (since it was a hot salad, with the strong bacon flavor. I was supposed to use streaky bacon, which is more like the kind we have in the states, but I cheaped out and used “value cooking bacon”. Also, the supermarket is no longer carrying Jerusalem artichokes, which is a real shame because they are one of my all time favorites. If you haven’t ever had them, try them, they rock. I found some things called Eddoes. They are from China according to the label, and the description looked similar to a Jerusalem artichoke. It really was too, only ever so slightly slimy like Okra. Weird. I would use them again.

Anyway, it was still a good salad, and I learned all about a new vegetable, so it’s all good.

Gennaro’s Salad

400g/14oz new, or small waxy paotaoes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 large eggs
2 heaped tbsp salted capers
2 lemons
1x 220g tin of really good tuna in oil, drained, or 300g/11oz fresh tuna
For fresh tuna: a good pinch of oregano, and half a red chilli, chopped
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
A large handful of rocket
A large handful of mixed salad leaves, torn
1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
4 salted anchovies, rinsed boned and filleted

Give the potatoes a little scrub, bring a pan of water to a boil and add the potatoes to it, then season the water with salt. Put the lid on and boil fast, till the potatoes are tender, and you can put a knife through them. At the same time, boil your eggs for 7-8 min so that they are firm, but soft boiled. Refresh them in cold water, shell them and put to the side.
While the potatoes and eggs are cooking, wash the capers under the tap, then drain them and put them in a bowl with the juice of one of the lemons, to draw out any excess salt.
If you are using fresh tuna, cook it in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil, oregano, and some chilli, salt, and pepper. Either sear it so it remains pink in the center, or fry for a few minutes on each side till cooked through, but do not overcook.
Wash the salad leaves and spin them dry.
By now the potatoes will be done, so dress them while they are still really hot. Drain them really well in a colander, then halve or chop them inot a bowl. Add the capers and lemon juice, 5 tbsp of the oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, and the finely sliced onion, and toss together really well. Taste a potato to make sure the seasoning is just right – you may want a little more oil or lemon juice. When they get down to room temperature, flake in the tune, add the salad leaves and the halved or quartered eggs, drizzle a little oil over, mix carefully, divide onto four plates, and lay over the anchovies.

Ok, this is a lot of text, so you might think that this salad is a lot of work, but actually it’s super easy… Boil some potatoes and eggs, add dressing and some stuff and toss together.

This one is from Jamie Oliver, who never lets me down.

It was a really great salad. It has the potatoes, the eggs and the tuna which makes it really substantial and good for dinner, and the flavors are some of my favorites. It’s got the caper and lemon dressing (how good an idea is that?), and some anchovies thrown in too. Also, I loved the consistency of the soft/hard boiled eggs.

I thought this was a great summer meal!

Ginger Rice Salad

This doesn’t look like much, but it was really wonderful



1 large green apple
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp curry powder
Salt and pepper
Slices of lemon and paprika for garnish

Peel, core and dice the apple, place all ingredients in a bowl , and mix together. Adjust seasoning if necessary, and chill.

I got this from a book called The Vegetarian Cookbook by Anna Lee. I picked it up at a thrift store for one pound because I was fascinated by how utterly and completely outdated it was, but also with the understanding that every cookbook seems to have at least one good recipe in it. This was it. This actually made me want to try other recipes from it’s so-seventies-it-hurts selection.

We took this with us for a picnic lunch, and it was filling, but light and had a great mix of flavors. The dressing has curry powder like in a Waldorf salad, so it matches up well with the sweetness of the apple, and the sweet/hot of the crystallized ginger, and it all took away from the harshness that brown rice can sometimes have. I’m making some later for my husband to take to work for lunch, and I’m going to try using yogurt (we get the super thick Greek style) instead of mayo. I think it will work just as well.

Good stuff! Go Seventies!

Green Goddess and a really good salad

2 anchovy fillets or 2tsp anchovy paste
2 small cloves of garlic, peeled
2 scallions, including white and 3 inches of green, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley
1tbsp fresh cilantro (or 1tsp dried)
1tbsp fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried)
1tbsp fresh tarragon (or 1 tsp dried)
1tsp sugar
1tsp salt
2tbsp tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar
3/4 cup sour cream ( I used thick Greek style yogurt instead)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients except the sour cream, mayo and pepper into a food processor or blender. Pulse until finely chopped, stopping once or twice to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Add the sour cream and mayo and run the machine till the dressing is smooth. Season with pepper to taste, running the machine to combine.
Transfer to a clean container and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (can last up to a week)

This is from the book Food to Live By and it can be eaten as a dip, or thinned out and used as a dressing. I tried both and they were both wonderful. It has such a fresh and summery taste with all those herbs, and the smell was lovely too. I only switched up the sour cream for yogurt because it was what I had in the house.

This is just a perfect, summer-day-sitting-in-the-yard-with-friends food.

Here’s the salad I made with it…



The other day I had a similar salad at a café, and I wanted to recreate it. The original salad had blue cheese dressing instead of the green goddess, and regular onions, instead of red. Also the cheese guy was out of Stilton, so he gave us another cheese that was very similar, but orange colored)

Here’s what I used to make three huge dinner salads:

1 yellow pepper cut into rings and grilled
1/2 red onion cut into rings and grilled
4 slices of bacon, cooked (that’s British bacon, use more if you are using American)
Stilton(-ish) cheese
A few handfuls of walnuts, toasted
Left over green goddess dressing (I recommend blue cheese if you are not making green goddess)
Mixed salad greens

I used a griddle pan to grill the onion and pepper. I didn’t turn them over and it took somewhere between five and ten minutes to get them to go black on the bottom (which is what I wanted).

All I will say about this salad is that the combination of stilton, bacon and walnuts is not to be missed!

Waldorf Salad

1/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt or sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1tsp grated lime zest
2tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp honey or sugar
1 unpeeled apple, cut into 1/3 inch dice (1 cup)
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup seedless grapes, cut in half
1/2 cup pecans, or walnuts, toasted
5 oz, about 6 cups baby spinach or mixed greens

Place the yogurt, mayonnaise, lime zest and juice, curry powder and honey in a small glass or ceramic bowl and whisk to combine.
Place the apple, celery, raisins, grapes, and nuts in a large bowl. Add half the yogurt dressing and stir to combine. Just before serving, add the salad leaves and toss to combine. If the salad is too dry add more dressing.

Any left over dressing can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

This recipe is from Food to Live By. I have to say, this book continues to impress me. This salad is really good. I have never really been a fan of fruit in my green salad, but the mix of flavors and textures works so well here. I think it's because it's not just a green salad with some raisins thrown on, but an almost half and half balance between the greens and the other stuff. Also, the dressing really pulls it together well. I wouldn't have thought that curry would go well in a dressing, but it's really mellow, and it blends everything really nicely.

I had not ever had a waldorf salad before, but I was told that this was an especially good one. I'm looking forward to trying out more and more salads as the weather gets nicer and nicer.

Corn and black bean salad

1 can 15oz black beans rinsed and drained.
1 cup uncooked fresh or frozen corn
1 large tomato cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 small red onion cut into 1/4 inch dice
2tbsp finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2tsp minced garlic
2tbsp white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Place beans, corn, tomato, onion and parsley in a bowl, and stir gently to combine. Place the rest of the ingredients in another bowl, and whisk to combine. Pour the dressing over the bean mixture and toss to coat. This salad can be kept at room temp for 6 hours.

This is from Food To Live By.

So easy. The cumin really adds that little something extra. This is the perfect salad for a summertime picnic or barbecue. It went really well with the pork chops too

Miso Soup and Sunomono

miso soup costs about 30 cents to make at home.

recipe # 190 & 191

I'm learning to make these to save on the cost of sushi takeout. I figure that making these at home will save maybe $7 to $10. Also, amazingly, I had everything I needed to make this stuff. I've been hauling around the dashi and wakame from apartment to apartment for 4 years now. It is older that my kids. It still tasted okay, tho.

Miso Soup
1/2 cup dried wakame
1/4 cup shiro miso
6 cups dashi
1/2 lb soft tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion greens (I skipped those)

Prepare wakame: Combine wakame with warm water to cover by 1 inch and let stand 15 minutes, or until reconstituted. Drain in a sieve.

Make soup: Stir together miso and 1/2 cup dashi in a bowl until smooth. Heat remaining dashi in a saucepan over moderately high heat until hot, then gently stir in tofu and reconstituted wakame. Simmer 1 minute and remove from heat. Immediately stir in miso mixture and scallion greens and serve.

Serves 6.

this salad is often served with a variety of raw fish, but it s still nice without it.

This is from the Food Network
Sunomono
1 large English cucumber, or 2 to 3 Japanese cucumbers
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 drop soy sauce

Peel and slice cucumbers into very thin slices. Sprinkle sliced cucumber slices with salt and let stand a few minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture. Combine vinegar, sugar, and soy in a bowl and mix well. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumber slices and mix well. Serve in individual dishes.

May add Wakame (seaweed), crab, and shrimp.

tags technorati : japanese food

Lentil on Lentil

terribly healthy and lentil heavy dinner, but that isn't really a bad thing.

recipe # 181, 182, 183

Last week I tried to make a recipe for a romaine salad with lentil croutons from the Cafe Pongo Cookbook. The recipe called for soaking lentils for 8 hours. I let them go over night figuring that there would be no difference. I was quite wrong. When I finally got around to them they had all sprouted. I guess, that this is a good thing. Lentils become a very complete food after sprouting. From what I read on the internets it is one of the most wonderful fantastic life giving, cancer curing, you see the holy mother mary after eating them sort of food. They don't taste awesome. The internets is also lacking good recipes for sprouted lentils. I kept finding one called Curried Lentil Salad that had ketsup and mayo in it. Meh.

lentils that have been sprouting for about 4 days, I guess eating them after sprouting for 2-3 days is ideal.

This is what I ended up doing with them:
heavily modified from the Cafe Pongo Cookbook:
Sprouted Lentil and Mint Salad with Tahini Dressing
dressing
zest of one lemon
juice of 2.5 lemons
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

mix all tahini dressing ingredience together in a food processor.

2 cups of sprouted lentils
2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped cucumber
2 handfuls chopped fresh mint
1 cup chopped blanched greenbeans

Mix up, pour dressing over, let sit for 20 minutes before serving.

Lentil Patty Sandwich
lentil patties
8 ounces dried brown lentils soaked for 8 hours
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
8 scallions thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons baking powder
dash of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups vegetable, peanut or canola oil

puree all ingredience for lentil patties together in processor. Form patties, fry in oil. Drain on newspaper.

Toast pita or crusty bread (I used wheat free boring bread). Smear all interior or bread with tahini or hummus. Squeeze some lemon on that. Add a tomato slices and romaine lettuce. Throw in a few slices of raw sweet onion. Pop in the patty. Eat.

I also made this but neither of us ate it. It might actually still be in the oven.


From epicurious:
Butternut Squash, Hominy, Corn and Bell Peppers Stew
3 tablespoons butter ( I used olive oil)
3/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash
1 15-ounce can whole golden hominy, rinsed, drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add red and green bell peppers; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add squash; stir to blend. Cover; cook until squash is almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in hominy and corn. Cover; cook until corn is tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in cilantro and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Transfer to bowl; serve.

Serves 6.

The sandwich and salad were good. I felt healthy. It was basically falafel only in a patty form and made with lentils. I might make it again.