Filed under: Salad
Is it possible to talk about green tomatoes and not immediately think of frying them? I knew I’d be the only one to eat a fried green tomato in my house, so it hardly seemed worth the effort. I needed a different way to use up those unripe veggies, and settled on a big batch of salsa.
I diced a red pepper, two big jalapeño peppers, a small red onion, and a quart of cored green plum tomatoes, then mixed in a large handful of chopped cilantro, and added the juice of a lime plus kosher salt. Some of my green tomatoes had actually started to turn orange as they sat on my counter for a week, which added some nice color variation! J. topped some nachos with the salsa and thought it was pretty good. I liked the firm, almost crunchy texture and more herbal flavor of the green tomatoes — it made the salsa taste even fresher than one made with ripe tomatoes.
I’ve still got plenty of salsa left, and received another quart of green tomatoes from my farm share this week too. After seeing how the first batch started to ripen on their own, I’m going to try to help them along by sticking them in a brown paper bag. When J. and I have tried this in the past with tomatoes from our garden, we’ve pretty much only had success at making moldy tomatoes. I’ll try to remember to check on them more frequently this time.
October 9, 2009
As I mentioned in my Peachy White Sangria post, I was at a farewell party Tuesday night for our friend Karen, who is moving out of town. (Boo! But yay for a reason to have a party!) Merrie hosted the gathering, and everyone knows when they go to Merrie’s for a party (or really, anytime) they’re going to be well-fed. We each brought a contribution to the meal, but on the whole Merrie outdid herself with a variety of foods, with lots of different complimentary flavors and nothing that was too heavy — that’s important when you’re trying to sample a lot of different dishes!
From top left and clockwise, Merrie made: Whole wheat panko-crusted chicken breasts that were marinated in Soy Vay (there was another batch done in a honey mustard marinade); Merrie’s Margarita Shrimp (recipe follows); a spinach, sliced strawberries, and goat cheese salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar; pasta salad with sun-dried peppers; a cumin-heavy bean salad; and some aloo gobi that Suzanne brought from Bollywood Bistro in Pleasantville. In the center of it all is Black Bean Confetti Salad. I should add that this meal came after an appetizer course and before fruit salad, cookie cake and a frozen yogurt cake from Purple Monkey. Clearly, no one went home hungry.
The stand-outs to me were the spinach, strawberry, and goat cheese salad, which is drizzled with balsamic vinegar (no oil). This is one of those recipes where the end result is so much more than just the flavors of the four ingredients thrown together. It’s creamy, sweet, and just a tiny bit bitter and acidic, all in the right proportions.
The other dish everyone raved about was Merrie’s Margarita Shrimp, which is like a red onion, mango, and avocado salsa tossed with tequila-marinated shrimp and in a tequila-based dressing. I would cook this at home without the shrimp, as a vegetable side to a barbecue. You could sub in chicken instead, also. I’m not usually a fan of mango (I can’t even stand the texture of it in order to cut one up for J., who loves them), but even I adored this salad. Here are Merrie’s instructions:
Merrie’s Margarita Shrimp
Marinate frozen shrimp in tequila (big pour), lime juice (one lime squeezed), olive oil (1 turn), and a pinch of salt. Let sit in the fridge for 3 hours or freeze for another time.
In a large bowl, combine: 2 diced mangoes, 2 diced avocados, half a diced Bermuda onion, a handful of cilantro (chopped) and the juice of one more lime.
Saute shrimp in marinade until shrimp are fully cooked and the liquid boils. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and add to the mango mixture. Add 3 spoonfuls of the boiled marinade and 1 turn of olive oil and salt and pepper.
Mix well and chill. Listen to “Margaritaville” (or 80’s music) as you eat and enjoy!
August 7, 2009
I used Deb’s recipe for this Smitten Kitchen Mediterranean Pepper Salad. I used onions from our farm share which I find pretty mild, so I skipped her brining step and made a light dressing out of red wine vinegar, olive oil, a teaspoon of sugar, and salt & pepper.
I love chopped salads like this. I felt an odd, giddy sense of getting away with something by leaving out any green pepper, using only the sweet red, yellow, and orange peppers instead. I like Deb’s thinking.
We ate this salad for dinner with some challah, and it was a perfect summer meal. I liked it better when it was fresh and crisp the first night, rather than as leftovers, when it tasted more like a marinated salad.
July 11, 2009
I have two favorite salads at one of our local Italian restaurants, Paese Pasta & Pizza in Briarcliff Manor. The Toscana is arugula, sliced pears, roasted peppers, goat cheese, and thinly-sliced red onions in a honey-sweetened balsamic vinaigrette. The Mediterranean is red oak leaf lettuce mixed with grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and diced Granny Smith apples in a sherry vinaigrette. They never disappoint.
I used the gorgeous head of red lettuce from our farm share this week to make a copycat Mediterranean salad for Saturday’s lunch, and served it with a wheat ciabatta. J. was kind enough to wash, spin, and chop the lettuce, and then I added a pint of halved grape tomatoes, a jar of drained Kalamatas, two diced Granny Smiths, and a whole lot of crumbled bleu cheese instead of the feta. We dressed it with a simple olive oil & balsamic vinegar combo, plus some salt and pepper. It was very good, but not great. I think Paese’s dressing may be sweeter, perhaps with some honey added — I will have to pay better attention next time.
Unfortunately, the leftovers didn’t keep well. By Sunday the salad was a soggy mess, and the saltiness of the olives and cheese overwhelmed the sweetness of the apples. Good thing we made a huge dent in it when it was still fresh on Saturday.
June 14, 2009
I got a bunch of enormous radishes from my farm share this week — each was larger than a ping pong ball. Seven radishes, sliced, yield four cups! I borrowed the dressing from my Sweet Sesame Cabbage & Radish Slaw, omitting the cabbage just because I had plenty of veggies with the radishes alone.
These radishes were so tender — I could have cut them with a butter knife. I marinated them in the dressing for a few hours before serving. If you like using sesame oil in your other cooking, you will love the flavor of this summer side dish.
June 14, 2009
Bagels and egg salad may sound more like a picnic lunch than a dinner, but it works well for us: the boys are always happy with bagels and J. likes my egg salad (he makes it the same way).
I hard boil eggs based on instructions in the old Joy of Cooking: Place your eggs gently into a pot and cover with water to about 1 inch above the eggs. Cover and bring water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Pour out the hot water, and cool eggs immediately by running pot under cold water and then adding a tray of ice cubes to the pot. Let eggs chill for 10 minutes, then drain and refrigerate them in their shells until you’re ready to use them.
Dijon Egg Salad
8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1/8 tsp. salt
10 grinds coarse black pepper
2 Tbsp. mayo
1 tsp. (heaping) whole grain Dijon mustard (I like Maille Old Style)
Cut each egg into quarters and add to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mash lightly with a fork until thoroughly combined, but still chunky.
April 30, 2009
The boys have been watching a new show on Disney called “Special Agent Oso”. Oso, a bear, is an agent-in-training who often gets sidetracked from his missions in order to help kids complete daily living tasks. The other day he was helping to make a salad that included lettuce, cucumbers, yellow peppers, and tomatoes. I thought I might have a shot at getting some veggies into the boys by making the same salad as Oso.
A. was intrigued and actually asked for some of the salad, then took about 15 minutes to slowly chew a grape tomato. G. was having none of it — no TV tie-in is going to get a vegetable into his mouth!
The Mrs. Jones Macaroni & Cheese, which was as delicious as always, still did not pass muster with the boys.
April 23, 2009
I used Elise’s recipe for Orange and Beet Salad to make this dish. I generally followed her ingredient proportions, although I doubled the quantities and used a bit more walnuts than she does.
I also composed the salad differently, since it was served family-style at a Passover seder (not individually plated ahead of time). Instead of large, round slices of beets and oranges, I cut each beet into about 8 wedges, and halved the orange slices once the peel was removed. Then I tossed all the ingredients, including the arugula, together with the dressing in a large bowl.
This simple dish, which was delicious and really well-received at the seder, has a long prep time. I roasted the beets the night before (I didn’t have a Passover pot large enough to boil them) so that they’d be cool enough to work with the next day. Even at 425°, the beets took an hour and a half to cook, which would have totally thrown me off if I’d roasted them the day I needed the recipe. Getting the peel and pith off the oranges also takes a bit of time. Still, on a table full of matzoh kugels, this salad is a welcome, fresh dish.
The inclusion of arugula, which is a “bitter herb,” makes it a perfect side dish for Passover — we use bitter herbs, or “maror” during the seder to symbolize the bitterness the Jews experienced while slaves in Egypt.
April 10, 2009
The inspiration for this recipe came from an issue of Real Simple, several years ago. I can’t find the original recipe online, but that’s where I got the idea to put these three main ingredients together.
I use raw sweet corn for this recipe, which in season (right now! go get some) is just divine. You just stand the cob up on end, and use a large chef’s knife to pare the kernels away from the cob. Make sure you do this inside the dish you’re going to use for the rest of the recipe, so that any liquid released by cutting the corn winds up in your food, not on your cutting board. I’m a tiny bit obsessed with the crunchy texture of the raw corn, especially the way 4 or 5 kernels will hold together off the cob, uniting to create a big chunk of summer goodness.
I use two ears of corn; two avocados, in bite-sized chunks; a half pint of grape tomatoes, halved; the juice of one lemon; and a large handful of cilantro, chopped (you can substitute basil). Mix them all together and serve at room temperature or straight from the fridge.
August 12, 2008
This is just an easy salad I threw together to go with a cauliflower gratin last night. It’s a 50/50 blend of baby spinach and mixed greens, sliced hard-boiled eggs, sliced white mushrooms, Pereg Seeds Mix for Salads (sunflower seeds and some spices), and a balsamic vinaigrette. It was very yummy, and would be a good main dish salad in warmer weather, too. Maybe with some tomatoes thrown in, too.
March 28, 2008
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I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 4 and 6, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 