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Entries in Salads (19)

Thursday

27Aug2009

Marinated Roasted Pepper Salad Recipe

Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 4:56PM

This salad of red, yellow and green bell peppers makes good use of more fresh garden veggies, from Trevy Thomas.

Twelve Months of Monastery Salads. Photo: Harvard Common PressIt never occurred to me to write a salad recipe, much like Heather says in her Farmer’s Market Peach and Tomato Salad recipe, but that changed when I received Twelve Months of Monastery Salads for review. This cookbook is nothing but salad recipes, all created by monks who have lots of time to garden and cook. Do they drink wine too? Anyway, the book was surprisingly inspirational, and I found some combinations that wouldn’t have occurred to me otherwise. The kind folks at Harvard Common Press are generous enough to let me post an excerpt now and then, and I thought this pepper salad recipe was timely.

Marinated Roasted Pepper Salad Recipe
Serves 4

Salad:

2 red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
2 yellow bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
2 green bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 medium-size red onion, thinly sliced
20 pitted black olives

Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Thinly sliced fresh basil leaves for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees or preheat the broiler. To make the salad, put the pepper halves, cut side down, on a broiler pan and roast or broil until blackened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place them in a brown paper bag. Close the bag, shake a bit, and let cool.
Carefully remove the peppers from the bag, peel off their skins, then wash under cold running water to remove any blackened bits. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a deep bowl. Add the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, onion, and olives, cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to marinate.
Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together in a measuring cup or small bowl until thickened.
On each of 4 salad plates, carefully arrange 1 red pepper half, 1 green pepper half, and 1 yellow pepper half, leaving the center of the plate open. Place 5 olives in the center of each plate and distribute the onion over the peppers. Pour the vinaigrette evenly over the peppers, garnish with the basil, and serve immediately.

Source: Twelve Months of Monastery Salads (click for full review)

Trevy Thomas |

Farmers Market Salad (Peach & Tomato)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 2:58AM

A fruit and vegetable summer salad by Heather Forsyth

I wouldn't normally presume to give a "recipe" for salad, but I had two salad revelations recently that I thought were worth sharing. First, as lovers of peach salsa have already figured out, tomatoes and peaches are great together (perhaps because a tomato is actually a fruit?!). Second, you can slice fresh, raw okra and put it in a salad! It's the new kiwi! Really! Choose small, tender okra, slice into rounds, give them a quick cold water bath to rinse off the okra goo, and you have cute little crisp disks that add a wonderful visual element as well. So this recipe is the result of my "aha" moments -- it's a great summer salad because it holds up in the heat much better than leafy greens, it's picnic-friendly (can be served at room temp) and goes great with grilled foods.

Farmers Market Salad with Peaches

Ingredients:

1/2 small sweet onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, cut lengthwise into quarters, and seeded
1/2 lb. tender green beans, topped and tailed, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 big beefsteak (or similar) tomato, sliced thickly
2 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into bite-sized chunks
10-12 small okra, sliced horizonally into 1/2" disks
spash each of olive oil and lemon or lime juice
1/4 c. thinly cubed feta (optional)
salt, to taste

Directions:

Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 1 minute (and only 1 minute!), plunge into cold water, drain and dry.
Slice okra (discard "hats") and swish the slices around in a bowl of cold water for a minute or two, drain, then repeat, to rinse off the goo.
After you've peeled and seeded the cucumber, and sliced it lengthwise into quarters, cut each "stalk" into 1/2" disks.
Cut thick slices of tomato into quarters (you want these pretty hefty so they don't fall apart).
Combine onions, cucumber, green beans, tomato, peaches and okra in a salad bowl.
Add the feta if you'd like.
Dress with a splash of olive oil and a couple of good squeezes of lime (or lemon), more or less to taste.
If you've used the feta, you probably won't need salt, but add to taste (carefully, too much salt will throw off the flavors of this particular salad).

These quantities make about 6 servings.

2 Comments |

Salads,

Saturday

11Jul2009

Cucumber Salad

Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 7:16AM

A cool, refreshing way to use some of the season's bounty of cucumbers by Heather Forsyth.

The first cookbook I ever bought was an early vegetarian cookbook called The Vegetarian Epicure, by Anna Thomas. It was published in 1972 (yes, I was a child cook!) and was one of the first vegetarian cookbooks that offered (for the time) a more sophisticated approach to vegetarian cooking -- not a piece of tofu in sight. There's a lot of butter, cream and cheese, far more than most cooks would use today, but my tattered copy is still on my bookshelf, and I've made many recipes, some over and over again, from its pages. Soups, salads and sauces are especially good. If you can get your hands on a copy, I recommend it, both for the recipes and for her fun approach. It's the only cookbook I know of that talks about passing a joint around before dinner -- she's obviously a child of the 60's!

This cucumber salad is one of Anna's recipes. I use yogurt instead of sour cream, and usually add a little chopped mint as well -- I've made it at least once every summer for over 30 years. It's easily modified to make more or less, this version serves 4-6.

Cucumbers in Sour Cream

Ingredients

4-5 medium cucumbers
1 1/2 T. salt
2 Tbs. sour cream (or yogurt)
1 T. chopped fresh chives
2 T. chopped fresh dill
1 T. chopped fresh mint (optional)
1 clove garlic, put through a press
fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Peel the cucumbers, quarter them lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds.
Slice the long strips at an angle, into even little disks.
Add the salt, mix well, and set aside for 1 hour.
Rinse the cucumbers well and blot off excess liquid.
Stir in remaining ingredients (black pepper to taste).
Chill at least one hour, stir again, then serve.

Heather Forsyth |

Grilled Zucchini Salad

Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 6:03PM

Summer Salad with Grilled Zukes and Goat Cheese by Heather Forsyth

Zucchini are at the Farmers Market, as are onions, basil and potatoes. With flank steak from our local farmer, and lavender goat cheese from the CSA, we were set for dinner tonight. This dinner practically made itself! Choose small zukes for tender skins.

Grilled Zuchini Salad

Ingredients:

Zuchini and/or yellow squash, sliced lengthwise into generous 1/4" pieces
2 smallish onions, peeled and cut in half
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Soft, fresh goat cheese
Handful of fresh basil
Coarse sea salt and pepper

Directions:

Toss sliced zukes and onions with a generous amount of olive oil and a little coarse sea salt
Grill 15-20 minutes over low-medium heat, brushing ocassionally with olive oil, until zukes are limp and golden brown (ours got a little more than golden, but I blame that on my husband) and onions are charred and mostly soft
Remove to bowl or platter and cool to room temperature
Sprinkle with lemon juice
Scatter with fresh basil and goat cheese
Grind a litle fresh black pepper over all

Delicious with grilled flank steak (marinated with olive oil, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and pepper) and potato salad (steamed red potatoes tossed hot with olive oil, dijon, chives, salt and pepper) -- stir the sauce into the potatoes while they're hot so they absorb the sauce fully instead of just laying on top -- then serve at room temp.

1 Comment |

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Salads,

Wednesday

06May2009

How to Eat a Radish

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 10:05PM

A radish exploration from Heather Forsyth

I've never been much of a radish fan, but when you get lemons, you make lemonade, and when your farmer gives you fresh radishes, you don't say ick you figure out how to enjoy them. And after trying them several ways, I found that I did! There's more than one kind of radish, of course, but what I got are called french breakfast radishes. So that's what I did with them first. This is not a recipe, nor is it my invention -- it's how to eat a radish in the simplest and purest way. You must use fresh, crisp radishes. Don't bother with old ones, they'll be limp and taste bitter.

Radishes with bread, butter and salt

The picture says it all. I cut a piece of baguette lengthwise into 4-5 thin slices, toasted them lightly, spread with a little butter, topped with thinly sliced radishes, and sprinkled with coarse sea salt. It goes without saying that this is as good as the bread, butter and radishes you use.

Radish and Arugula Salad

The same farmer that gave me radishes also gave me fresh arugula and eggs. Presto, a salad is born. This is nothing more than fresh arugula, thinly sliced radishes, and the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, dressed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. This is a recipe in less is more.

Savory Cheesecake with Radishes

This is a two-layer appetizer with a rich, dense cheese base topped with crisp, spicy radishes and chopped parsley. Served with rye crackers, it is a tasty starter for 2 to 4. I used an 8 oz. ramekin for baking, but any small, shallow oven-safe dish will do.

Ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese (you could probably use soft goat cheese with good results, as well)
1 oz. crumbled blue cheese
1 egg
generous pinch of cayenne pepper
a couple of radishes, thinly sliced
chopped parsley

Directions:

Blend first 4 ingredients in food processor until smooth.
Pour into buttered dish and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. The key is not to overcook it. It should be barely brown and still a bit jiggly on top.
Cool enough to handle, unmold onto serving plate, and chill for about 2 hours.
Top with sliced radishes and chopped parsley.

Radish Slaw

No real recipe here. I cut some green cabbage into ribbons, added grated radishes, then topped with a dressing made of mayo, thinned with a little lemon juice, and seasoned with a drop or two of toasted sesame oil. The combo of sharp radish with mellow sesame oil was a pleasure and really gave this salad a kick. I could also imagine a sprinkle of black sesame seeds to give both a visual and nutritional boost.

So next time you're at the farmers market, go ahead and get some of those fresh radishes and try one of these ideas, or invent your own. My husband suggested slicing them and frying them like potato chips -- I wasn't brave enough to try it, but you might be.

2 Comments |

Salads,