Tag Archives: salad

Fry Your Grains Out Apple Fennel Salad

Fried-Grains-Fennel

Get your ancient on: Apple Fennel Salad with Roasted Buckwheat, and a side of Crunchy Spelt.

I am not trendy. The Dansko Clogs I wear 360 days a year make this clear. But as your liaison between the glut of food blogs out there, it is my responsibility to stay a bit on top of food trends, which brings us face to face with fried grains. Like the ones in crispy brown rice “kabbouleh.” Let’s all take a moment to say… DUH. Frying grains makes them taste even better. Doubling down on trendiness let’s consider fried ancient grains. Among others I’m looking at you, spelt.

Frying grains requires cooking them first, spreading them out to dry, and then deep frying them. I’ve done it a few times now, because it turns out fried grains are just as addictive as fried anything. That said, it’s a bit of a pain if you don’t happen to have an Ancient Grains Fry Baby on hand. It was enough to seek a slacker alternative.

This recipe came to me from Rocky Mountain correspondent Tania (ahem, cranberry chutney, get on it!), who got it from the Bitten Word who got it from Cooking Light. The provenance should assure you that it has been thoroughly vetted and approved. It is delicious, refreshing, colorful, different and—aside from frying the spelt— incredibly easy. It would make an excellent Thanksgiving side for non-traditionalists, and the red and green colors take it the distance through the holidays.

As for the slacker alternative, on a hunch Tania and I decided to steal from our new favorite weird recipe and use roasted buckwheat instead of the spelt. The result was awesome— it was way easier than deep frying and the buckwheat lent a satisfying earthy crunch that requires less jaw strength than the fried spelt. That said, one of us had an issue with soggy leftovers the next day. The solution: if you go the buckwheat route, sprinkle it on each serving so you can store the leftover salad and grains separately. I’ve included the original recipe as well as the (gluten free I swear) roasted buckwheat option. People, it’s time to start your Thanksgiving engines!

Shaved Apple and Fennel Salad with Crunchy Spelt

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 fennel bulb, halved and cored
1 small green apple, quartered and cored
1 small red apple, quartered and cored
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup Crunchy Fried Spelt or roasted buckwheat (recipes below)

Method:

Combine first 6 ingre­dients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Cut fennel and apples into 1/16-inch slices using a mandoline (or a good sharp knife). Add fennel, apples, parsley leaves, and Crunchy Fried Spelt to vinaigrette; toss well to combine.

Crunchy Fried Spelt

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked spelt (about 1 cup uncooked grains)
6 cups canola oil or peanut oil

Method:

Line a jelly-roll pan with several layers of paper towels. Spread spelt out into a thin layer on paper towels. Let stand 1 to 2 hours to dry out surface moisture, stirring grains occasionally.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until a thermometer submerged in oil registers 375°. (Do not use a smaller pot; moisture in the grains will cause the oil to bubble up vigorously.) Add 1/2 cup spelt to hot oil; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until grains are browned and crisp. (Maintain oil temperature at 375°, and fry in small batches.) Remove fried spelt from pan with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining spelt, 1/2 cup at a time.

Slacker Roasted Buckwheat

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Buckwheat groats
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • a healthy pinch or two of kosher salt

Method:

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Combine buckwheat and olive oil. Stir to coat. Spread on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until browned, stirring at least once along the way. Cool. Store in airtight container.

 

Summer Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing

Summer Salad with Maple Balsamic DressingGreens, greens, greens! They are everywhere.  Plus, strawberry season has been outstanding.  I can’t stay away from my local farm where they have pick-your-own strawberries.  You can easily pick 5 pounds of strawberries in about 15 minutes.  GREENS and STRAWBERRIES must be prioritized so do what you can to get those two items to the top of the list.  Then once you have all these fresh greens and berries at home, why not combine the two in this wonderful and easy summer salad.  

This salad that will take you 4 minutes to put together….yes, literally 4 minutes. You shred some fresh lettuce, slice some strawberries, sprinkle with nuts (I used salted, roasted pistachios), and add a little feta cheese. Voila, you’re done. Oh, right, you still have to make the dressing….okay, so maybe it will take you 15 minutes, tops.

Make the salad, cook some pasta with pesto, toast some bread on the grill and you have a quick easy summer meal that can’t be beat. I just ate this for dinner and it was so light and nice.

Enjoy the long days and all your beautiful salads!

Ingredients

12 cups fresh greens
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cup toasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, or whatever you like)
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

Vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Method

In a large bowl, toss fresh greens with cheese, nuts and fruit. To prepare the vinaigrette, mix together all ingredients except olive oil until well blended. Add oil in a slow, steady stream until incorporated. Toss greens with dressing.

Roasted Vegetable Salad

Roasted Vegetable SaladMost nights salad is on the dinner menu in my house. The range of options for ingredients and the variety of dressings are endless. It’s also a great way to clean out the fridge and be creative. This salad combo brings together many of my favorite foods and it joins the ranks of comfort food with its warm dressing and roasted vegetables.

To assemble this salad you will need greens, roasted vegetables, a warm vinaigrette, and toppings if you have them available. See what you have in your cupboard or refrigerator and go to town. You might find ingredients lurking in there that you didn’t know you had. Don’t be afraid…toss them in and then grab a fork and dig in.

Ingredients

Roasted Vegetables:
2 lbs vegetables, trimmed and cut into ¾ inch pieces, about 6 cups (carrots, beets, squash, sweet potatoes, anything really), NOTE: check out Roastarama for more details
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

Other Salad Stuff:
4 cups lightly packed, sturdy greens (baby kale, baby chard, escarole, endive, arugula, spinach)
1/4 cup toasted nuts (chopped) or seeds (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pinenuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds)
1/3 cup cheese, crumbled or diced (blue cheese, feta, goat cheese, cheddar, aged gouda, Parmigiano-Reggiano)
3 Tbsp dried fruit (cherries, raisins, cranberries, chopped figs, pitted chopped dates)

Dressing:
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
Kosher salt
1 tsp chopped ginger
2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp finely grated lime zest
2 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Fresh ground black pepper

Method

Vegetables:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, combine vegetables with the oil and tsp salt and pepper. Toss well and transfer to large rimmed baking sheet. Spread into single layer. Roast, flipping a few times while cooking. Cook 20 – 25 minutes until vegetables are tender. Let cool a bit before tossing with salad.

Vinaigrette:
Heat oil in 8 inch skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally until softened and lightly browned. Add ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant and softened, about 15 -30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small heatproof bowl, wish the vinegar, maple syrup, lime juice, lime zest, parsley, salt and pepper. Whisk the warm oil into the vinegar mixture until emulsified. Season to taste.

Assembly:
Lightly season the greens with salt and drizzle with 2 Tbsp warm vinaigrette. Toss, taste, and add a little more dressing if needed (but never over dress!). Arrange greens on a large platter. Dress vegetables with 2 Tbsp warm vinaigrette too (again, no over dressing, over dressing = mushy mess). Scatter vegetables over the greens. Top with nuts, cheese, dried fruit. Serve right away.

Bring It

If bringing this warm salad anywhere, bring each component in separate containers and assemble at the host’s house.

Massaged (and composed) Kale Salad

Massaged Kale Salad

 

I’ve been holding out on you. Not on purpose of course. But somehow, in all this time of being with each other, I still have not shared my absolute favorite, go-to, eat-your-greens-and-feel-like-Popeye kale salad. Massaging may seem like an excessive step to take with your kale (I mean really, is it that deserving?), but trust me—it is a worthwhile technique to have in your repertoire.

This recipe calls just for salt in the massaging process. Other recipes call for olive oil alone or with lemon juice or with the entire dressing. Hey, you’re massaging your kale–it’s not going to complain. Massaging makes raw kale way more friendly, and with a batch of massaged kale at the ready, your options for creating quick, delicious, deconstructed meals soar.

As with other recipes, this is more about technique than hard and fast ingredients and proportions. Live loud and large—mix that kale with something crunchy, something creamy and something sweet and the rest will take care of itself.

Before my cousin Danielle beats me to the punch, I urge those of you who dabble in organic produce to buy organic kale. Danielle, the ultimate caregiver (and least righteous mostly Vegan I know) reminds us that kale is among the “Dirty dozen” of produce items that pack the nastiest pesticide punch. Thanks Little Dan, for always having our backs! (and forgive me for all the gratuitous bacon talk.)

Without further ado I give you:

Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients

1 bunch kale (I use curly because that’s what we get)
1 t salt
1/4 medium-small red onion, thinly sliced or diced
1/3 cup chopped toasted almonds or nuts of choice
1/3 cup raisins, currants or dried fruit of choice
1/2 large avocado, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Method

Soak kale in water to loosen any dirt. Wash individual leaves as you de-stem them (pull leaf away from thickest parts of stem). Shake dry. Chiffonade leaves (stack, roll and slice into thin ribbons) and put in a large bowl. (Edie’s note: Chiffonade if you must, but tearing the kale in pieces works just fine and sort of makes me feel like a Tuscan). Sprinkle salt over kale and, using hands, massage kale for 3-4 minutes. After about a minute you’ll notice a big difference in the leaves – they’ll start to soften and turn a dark green almost as though you were steaming them. When done, drain off any liquid that collects on bottom of bowl (may or may not happen) and set kale aside.

If you are starting with raw nuts…Heat a small sauce pan, toss in whole nuts and toast until nuts start to brown slightly. Shake pan on occasion to brown nuts evenly and to keep from burning them. Walnuts, pecans, filberts or even sunflower seeds are great in this salad too. Remove nuts from pan and give them a rough chop on your cutting board. Add nuts to bowl of kale.

Add diced avocado, onions and raisins to bowl (again, raisins, currants, your fave dried fruit in raisin-sized pieces or whatever you have on hand). Pour olive oil and apple cider vinegar evenly over bowl of goodness, then toss until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Kale salad, post massage, fully dressed.

Kale salad, post massage, fully dressed.

Bring It

One of the many beauties of kale is its indestructibility (if that’s a word). You can bring this anywhere in anything, store it wherever and it will not suffer. I have transported it in everything from ziploc bags to salad bowls to recycled takeout containers and it has survived in backpacks for hours before being enjoyed for lunch or apres ski.

Raw Kale Confetti Salad

massaged-kale-salad

I always thought kale had to be cooked to taste good. What I learned with this salad is – not so much! This raw kale salad is perfect in the summer when you don’t want to turn on the stove. I brought this salad to the last four parties I’ve gone to. It is so easy to make – just raw kale with olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice and ginger massaged into the vegetables to give great flavor. You can use any vegetables on hand. In this version I used carrots, tomatoes, and red onion. This salad is a modified version of a salad in Terry Walter’s Clean Start Cookbook. Her recipes are amazing – click here to check out her website and recipes.

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
3 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 Tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp lime juice

Method

Remove stalks from kale and chop leaves into small pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and, using your fingers, massage oil into kale leaves. Sprinkle with salt and ginger, add avocado and massage again. Add other vegetables and sunflower seeds. Drizzle with lemon and lime juice. Add salt and massage one last time to combine. Yum!

Bring It!

You can just put in a bowl and cover with plastic or foil. Remember to bring salad tongs!