Lentil and Golden Beet Salad with Gremolata

Vegetable Tuesdays has been on hiatus but that doesn't mean we (ahem the Robber) haven't been cooking. I had a baby. And am having another one in December! And in this exact moment, am in a weird decluttering moment where I want to purge my house of everything unnecessary... but it's hard. So I am going to blog some Italian recipes I found in some newspapers given to me by Angela at La Biscotteria in Redwood City. I might never make them. But then I can throw the newspapers away in peace.

So here: Lentil and golden beet salad with hazelnut gremolata. Sounds like something my oldest sister would make. From Our ItalianTable.com.

Ingredients

1 C Puy or French green lentils
2 C water or chicken broth
1 garlic clove, peeled or lightly smashed
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
8 small golden beets
1 candy cane beet, peeled and thinly shaves on a mandolin slicer
A mild Pecorino cheese such as Pecorino Toscano
Bunch of watercress or baby arugula, trimmed and washed
Zest of 1 lemon, reserving lemon for dressing
5-10 sprigs of Italian parsley, finely minced
1/2 C roasted and hulled hazelnuts, cooled and finely chopped

Directions

1. Place the lentils, broth, thyme, garlic and bay leaf in a small pot. Bring to boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are al dente. Cool briefly and drain in a colander.

2. Place the beets in a heavy-bottom pot with a steamer insert. Fill the bottom with water and place the beets in the steamer. Bring to a boil and steam for 1 hour. When done, let cool enough to handle. Peel them with your hands and slice into quarters or smaller.

3. Zest 1 lemon into a work bowl and add the finely chopped parsley and hazelnuts. Season with salt and pepper and stir in a Tbsp of good quality olive oil.

4. Juice half the lemon into a bowl and add twice as much olive oil as lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Vigorously whisk. Mix the beets and lentils in a bowl and add a small amount of the dressing. Lightly toss and return to the refrigerator.

5. Lightly toss the watercress or arugula with some salad dressing and place on the serving place. Top with beet/lentil mixture. Scatter with slices of candy cane beets. Top with slices of pecorino cheese. Sprinkle with the parsley/hazelnut mixture and serve.

Spring Panzanella

Because the Robbino loves bread salad and because it is the tail end of spring and because when I make bread salads these days I used the sourdough hoagie rolls from Safeway and if there are leftovers it makes the Robber so happy.

I liked this but next time I make it I will use a balsamic dressing instead of the red onion dressing, because the Robbino hates red onions and because I like to make him happy. Fortunately I was saavy enough to only put the dressing over half of the salad anyway.

Who knew white beans were so delicious?

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/spring-panzanella/

Ingredients:

For the croutons:

1/4 C. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6 C. day-old bread, crust removed, cubed

6 T. finely grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the vinaigrette:

Half a red onion, finely diced

2 to 2 1/2 T. white wine vinegar

Juice of half a lemon

1/4 C. olive oil

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

For the salad:

4 large leeks

2 tsp. salt

1 lb. asparagus

1 19-oz can of white beans, rinsed and drained or 1 1/2 C. cooked white beans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Mix the bread cubes with the garlic, olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss to coat well. Transfer bread to a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake stirring once or twice, until the croutons are crisp and lightly colored on the outside but still soft within, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

3. Mix the red onion with the vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside for a few minutes before whisking in the remaining vinaigrette ingredients: olive oil and dijon. Set aside.

4. Cut off dark green tops of leeks and trim root ends. Halve each leek lengthwise to within 2 inches of root end. Rinse well under cold running water to wash away sand. Cover leeks with cold water in a 12-inch heavy skillet. Add salt and simmer leeks, uncovered, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Without draining the cooking water (you will reuse it for the asparagus), transfer leeks to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then pat the leeks dry with paper towels.

5. Break off tough ends of asparagus and cook it in the boiling water until crisp-tender, no more than three minutes if they’re pencil-thin, more if your asparagus is thicker. Transfer it to another bowl of ice water, drain and pat it dry.

6. Cut the leeks and the asparagus each into one-inch segments–the leeks will be especially slippery and prone to separating; hold firm and use a sharp knife! Place pieces in a large bowl and mix in beans and cooled parmesan croutons. Pour vinaigrette over and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. 

Pear, Gorgonzola, and Mesclun Salad

Mesclun, according to Wikipedia, is just essentially mixed greens. In case you were wondering.

Salad and I have a little bit of a love-hate relationship. Truth is, I love salad and hate lettuce. I don't know where this came from. The salad of my youth was a side dish and was simple-- iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, possibly some radishes-- and I was happy with that. But the salads of my adulthood have become more complex, cumbersome affairs that I am more likely to want to eat as a main dish rather than as part of a whole meal.

As a result, if a salad is as simple as this one, I find it lacking which is really too bad because the simplicity of this salad is nice-- just pear, gorgonzola, lettuce. And even that would have been too fancy for the old family budget. Yet, I want it to have chicken, toasted walnuts, and chopped dried apricots.

Because I think that salad-- meaning the below plus the above-- would be divine.

Note: I made a half-batch, and lacking vinaigrette, tossed a teensy amount of orange oil with some olive oil and a little nutmeg over it all which was just fine, and maybe drove the wanting for apricots.

From Mark Bittman's Thanksgiving in three hours:
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/19/dining/the-minimalist-give-thanks-in-three-hours-from-scratch.html?pagewanted=4&src=pm

Ingredients:

4 large pears, about 2 pounds
1 T. lemon juice
6 oz. Gorgonzola or other creamy blue cheese
12 C. mixed greens, washed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces

1 to 1 1/2 cups any vinaigrette

Directions:

1. Peel and core the pears; cut them into thin slices, and toss with the lemon juice. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.

2. Crumble the Gorgonzola into small bits; cover and refrigerate until needed.

3. To serve, toss the pear, cheese and greens together with as much dressing as desired. Serve immediately.

Yield: 12 servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 215 calories, 15 grams fat, 11 milligrams cholesterol, 425 milligrams sodium, 4 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrate.

Greek Panzanella

The vegetables in this were delicious and I think would have been even better with a little onion (which I didn't have.) It felt good to eat on a cool summer night outdoors with some friends and is really very easy to make, just lots of chopping. The feta cheese could easily be replaced with goat or some other crumbly cheese, but is a great addition as is. A little untraditional for Americans but for me, almost any salad without lettuce is genius.

From Smells Like Home by way of Annie:

http://annies-eats.net/2010/08/12/greek-panzanella/

Ingredients:

For the salad:

2 T. olive oil

6 C. French bread cubes (1 inch)

Kosher salt

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced ¼-inch thick

1 red bell pepper, large diced

1 yellow bell pepper, large diced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

½ red onion, sliced thin

6 oz. crumbled feta cheese

2.5 oz. can sliced black olives, drained (I omitted these)

For the vinaigrette:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1¼ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ C. red wine or balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. To prepare the salad, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over medium-low heat, tossing frequently, for 5-10 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the heat.

2. Combine the cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onion in a large bowl.

3. To make the vinaigrette, combine the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil to create an emulsion.

4. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives, and bread cubes. Mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend before serving. Best if served fresh but will store one day in the fridge.

Baby Salad Greens With Sweet Potato Croutons and Stilton

I made this salad-- with my own personal revisions-- for A.'s baptismal lunch in Syracuse. I was a little bit intimidated by the salad assignment, given picnic attendee S.O.'s salad expertise, so I thought I'd better look around for something a little bit different and promising. I found this recipe in a salad slide show on the NYTimes (where else) and thought the idea of the potato croutons with the Stilton was intriguing. I'd never had sweet potato "croutons" before, but have long been a fan of Stilton and so the recipe had the elements of both challenge and familiarity. I don't have a steamer, and so I had to "steam" the potato in the microwave and then saute them, so they ended up both a little wetter and a little more burned than was ideal, but it didn't seem to deter anyone too much.

I doubled this recipe, and added to it 1 cup of candied pecans, which I used making the candied nuts recipe found in the April 2011 section of this blog. I made the recipe as originally written, using syrup instead of honey and found the nuts to be much less sticky. I also added about 2 cups of fresh blueberries to the salad, so all-in-all it was really a sweet-potato-blueberry-candied-pecan-stilton salad but it was, truthfully, so delicious and worth the extra effort of both the nuts and the sweet potato cooking. I'm tempted even to just candy a whole bunch of nuts and keep them around for the purpose of carelessly tossing into salads on a whim at any time.

Ms. Shulman says of her recipe, "Sweet potatoes contrast beautifully here with the pungent Stilton. Other cheeses that work for this salad are goat cheese and feta." Amen. Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/health/nutrition/18recipehealth.html

Ingredients:

For the salad:

1 large sweet potato (10 to 12 ounces), peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 6-oz. bag baby salad greens

1 T. chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon, parsley, chervil, chives (I used chives)

2 oz. Stilton or blue cheese, crumbled or cut into small pieces (about 1/2 cup) (I used the cranberry Stilton, but I really wanted to use the apricot Stilton, both would be good!)

(Blueberries and candied nuts!-- for the RMR version)

For the dressing:

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 small garlic clove, minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 C. buttermilk

Directions:

1. Steam the sweet potatoes for 5 minutes, until just tender. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towels.

2. In a medium, nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, shaking the pan and moving the pieces around often, until evenly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towels.

3. Whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt pepper, olive oil and buttermilk.

4. Place the salad greens in a salad bowl and top with the cheese. Toss with the dressing. Sprinkle on the sweet potato croutons and serve.

Yield: Serves 4

Advance preparation: You can steam the sweet potatoes and make the dressing several hours ahead.

Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad

I made this salad for a picnic lunch in Syracuse celebrating A.'s baptism, and while I thought it was actually really good, this poor salad got a little upstaged by the other salad I made for the occasion. I think I'm actually more likely to make this salad again, if only because it is slightly less work (even with roasting the peppers) and less expensive than the other salad. Maybe I loved it so much because I recently discovered melted goat cheese and it has changed my whole life, but my guess is that any time I came across this salad I would be happy to eat it. Lettuce and all. Although, personally, given my lettuce-hating ways, I think I would be even happier replacing the lettuce with slices of cucumber and possibly chunks of celery next time but keeping everything else the same.

Note: I doubled this recipe, using six large red bell peppers and five tomatoes-on-the-vine and doubling the rest according to the recipe.

From my fav, the Recipes For Health series by Ms. Shulman of the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/health/nutrition/23recipehealth.html

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

1 T. sherry vinegar (I used orange juice)

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad:

1 1/2 lbs. red or red and yellow peppers, roasted (I used three peppers, did not weigh them)

1 T. slivered fresh basil

1 lbs. fresh ripe tomatoes, cut in wedges

1 head of leaf lettuce or romaine

2 oz. goat cheese crumbled (optional)

Directions:

--To roast the peppers, line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place the peppers on the sheet and bake at 425F for 30-40 minutes, turning peppers every ten minutes until the skins are soft and browned. Remove peppers from sheet, place in a bowl and cover the bowl with a lid or plate and let the peppers sit for 30 minutes to cool. Holding peppers over the bowl, carefully remove the skins and cut the peppers into strips or chunks. If you are storing the peppers for more than 24 hours before using, toss them with a little bit of olive oil to help them stay fresh.

1. To make the dressing, mix together the sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

2. Cut the roasted peppers into 1/2-inch wide strips. Toss with two tablespoons of the dressing. Add half the basil, and toss again.

3. Remove and discard the tough outer leaves from the lettuce. Wash and dry the tender leaves and tear into bite-size pieces. Toss with the tomatoes and remaining dressing and basil. Line a platter or a wide bowl with the lettuce and tomatoes. Top with the peppers. Sprinkle on the goat cheese, if using. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Yield: Serves four

Advance preparation: The roasted peppers will keep for about five days in the refrigerator, and for a week if you toss them with the dressing.

Candied Nuts

Bob wanted to make some candied pecans for a spinach salad we were making, so I tasked him with looking it up on the internet and making it happen. This is what he found:

http://comfybelly.com/2009/04/crunchy-pecans-and-spiced-nuts/

We omitted the nutmeg, and tripled the cinnamon, and the result was much to Bob's liking and overall a very good addition to our salad. The nuts came out a little sticky, and perhaps would be less so if we had used syrup rather than honey. I guess I'll have to make these again and find out!

Ingredients:

1 cup of nuts
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of butter, melted
3 tablespoons of honey (or maple syrup)
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Mix all the ingredients together until well-coated.

3. Place nuts on a stick-free baking sheet (I recommend parchment paper) and bake for about 15 minutes or until the nuts start to brown.

4. Cool for 10 minutes, or until dry, and enjoy!

Nutty Salad

From The Best Ever Indian Cookbook by Baljekar et. al.

I started making this salad and looked into the bowl dejectedly. "This will never make enough!" I thought to myself. "I think I will double it." "Heck," I thought, "I will triple it!"

A few minutes later when I had a huge entire pot full of salad, I realized that after marrying the Robber my life will never be the same. I have already forgotten how to cook for myself.

It is now one week later and I still have a half-pot of salad left.

Ingredients for the salad:

5 ounce can red kidney beans, drained
1 medium onion, cut into 12 rings
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
2/3 C pasta shells, cooked
1/2 C cashew nuts
1/4 C peanuts
fresh cilantro and lime wedges, to garnish

Ingredients for the dressing:

4 ounces low-fat ricotta cheese
2 T. plain low-fat yogurt
1 fresh green chile, chopped
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed dried red chiles
1 T. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Drain the kidney beans. Arrange them with the onion rings, kidney beans, zucchini slices, and pasta in a salad dish and sprinkle the cashew nuts and peanuts over the top.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, yogurt, green chile, fresh cilantro, and salt. Beat well using a for until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. You may find it easier to add the cilantro leaves a few at a time and mix in to let their flavor permeate the mixture and ensure the resulting dressing is smooth in texture.

3. Sprinkle the crushed peppercorns, red chiles, and lemon juice over the dressing. Garnish the salad with fresh cilantro and lime wedges and serve with the dressing.

Serves 4.

Nutritional notes from the book, per portion:

Energy 199 cal
Fat 11.6 g
Saturated Fat 2.63 g
Carbohydrates 15.2 g
Fiber 2.9 g

Sus' Salad and Dressing

I dreamed about this salad with its dressing, it was that good. We had it at Thanksgiving and it was amazing, I could have just eaten the salad and been a happy camper. These directions come from SLO, who got the recipe from Sus, the sister-in-law of her current Manfriend. I love the extended world.

Salad:

Romaine lettuce
Lots of avocado
Plums
Candied/sugared pecans (I browned some pecans in a pan, added a lot of brown sugar, took it off before they were burnt--awesome)

S. also added some fresh mozzarella. She adds:

I might add bananas next time. Maybe pears. Or golden raisins? Another vegetable? Something.

The Salad Dressing:

One part fresh squeezed lemon juice (with some pulp, even)
One part olive oil
Healthy handful of brown sugar (dark!)
Fresh ground pepper to taste


I'm going to try this dressing out with LIMES this week!

Dixie Salad

A family Thanksgiving tradition.

Basic elements all mixed together with the cream as the binding agent:

Whipped cream
Shelled pomegranate seeds
Chopped apples
Nuts: pecans or walnuts

R. says this is abominable but I just put chopped Snickers AND chopped fresh brownie in mine.

Frog-Eye Salad aka Ambrosia

This dessert-ish salad is a Utah/family classic. Served at picnics, Thanksgivings, with potatoes, on the side, this salad goes just about anywhere you want it to be. Best of all, it doesn't involve any jello. The salad is really a throw whatever you want in, with your own sense of proportion, but here is my most recent version:

1 package mini marshmallows
1 package sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 finely sliced mango
1 small can drained crushed pineapple (important that you drain thoroughly)
1 cup cooked small round pasta (I used acini de pede)
1 half pint whipped whipping cream
2 Tbsp. sour cream

Can also add: grapefruit, apple, pecans, or canned mandarin oranges. Say no to grapes, walnuts, strawberries, or untoasted almonds. Lime zest might be ok, if used sparingly. Think about toasting a little bit of the coconut for a more interesting flavor. Make sure you drain and cool the pasta thoroughly before adding to the mix. I whip the sour cream directly into the whipped cream before using the whipped cream to bind everything together. Be careful not to make this salad too soupy, it kills the leftovers and makes the salad feel limp. Don't use too much grapefruit, if you do, eat it quickly and sweeten the whipped cream a bit with powdered sugar.

Mix it all together and chill covered before serving.