This recipe is adapted for one intended for potato salad (and I'm sure it would work well there), but I like it as a nice complement to a fresh kale salad, which needs a robust flavor without too much vinegar (since the kale is already a bit bitter itself).
Roasting the garlic takes about 1 hour (which you can easily do alongside anything else in the oven), but otherwise it's as quick to put together as any other salad dressing, and even tenderizes the kale a bit if you dress it ahead. Makes about 3/4 cup.
Ingredients
4 cloves roasted garlic (directions below)
1/2 cup very good olive oil
3/4 tsp. good coarse salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1-2 tblsp. white wine or champagne vinegar
3 tblsp. microplaned parmesan
To roast the garlic: cut the head crosswise so that the tops of the cloves are exposed. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil. Place on rack or pan in oven and roast until soft (about 1 hour at 350, though a shorter time at higher heat will also work). The garlic is about ready when you smell it, but be careful not to let it burn. When cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of their papery skin.
To mix the dressing by hand, grind the garlic with the salt and a little bit of the olive oil in a mortar and pestle until a paste has formed. Scrape this into the remainder of the olive oil and add the vinegar, pepper, oregano and vinegar. Add the cheese and whisk to combine.
Alternatively, pulse the garlic with a little bit of olive oil in a food processor. Scrape the paste into the remaining olive oil, add the salt and the follow the directions above.
To prep the kale, fold each leaf in half lengthwise along the rib. Place the closed leaf on a cutting board and draw the blade of a chef's knife along the leaf just inside the stem. Wash the leaves well and then tear into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat.
Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Salad: Greek + Wheat
About a dozen years ago, my sister and I took a trip that involved grinding our way up and down the hills of mainland Greece in a tiny, tempermental, stick-shift car. Though our knowledge of Greek was limited to "please", "thank you", and the alphabet as gleaned from physics class and a childhood musical (don't ask), we got around well enough for me to have a real Greek salad at a taverna somewhere south of Thessonaliki. It was cool and crunchy and delicious - and very hard to replicate.
More recently, I discovered that I love bulgur wheat. This can be entirely attributed to Ina Garten's Chicken with Tabbouleh recipe, and her preparation of the bulgur is, I think, a wonderful basic recipe. It's nutty and fresh and the perfect accompaniment for the cucumber and feta of the Greek salad, turning it into a great summer lunch.
Note: this recipe has a day-ahead timeline, so that the shallots have a chance to both mellow out and flavor the olive oil. Generally, this salad keeps very well in the fridge, and the flavor tends to improve over time.
Ingredients
The Greek:
1 cup shallots, sliced
3/4 cup delicious olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 medium cucumbers, mostly peeled
4-5 plum or other firm tomatoes
8 oz. block feta cheese
The Wheat:
1 cup bulgur wheat
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 cup also tasty olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 day ahead:
Put the olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and shallots into your favorite plastic storage container, give it a stir or a shake and leave it in the fridge.
A few hours ahead:
Prepare the bulgur: in a large bowl, add the salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and water to the dry bulgur and give it a good stir. Immediately cover with plastic wrap or a plate and let it alone for about an hour. Definitely don't skimp on the lemon juice and ALWAYS use fresh! Lemons keep quite a long time in the fridge, so it's easiest to just keep 2 or 3 on hand.
Chop the cheese and veggies: roughly dice everything into about 1/2 inch chunks; you should have about equal parts tomato, cucumber and feta when you're finished. Toss it all into a big bowl with the shallot/olive oil dressing, season to taste, and then pop the whole thing back in the fridge while you wait for the bulgur. When most or all of the liquid is absorbed and the little grains are al dente, it's ready.
Showtime!
Combine the salad with the bulgur wheat, mixing thoroughly. Season to taste and return to the fridge until ready to serve.
More recently, I discovered that I love bulgur wheat. This can be entirely attributed to Ina Garten's Chicken with Tabbouleh recipe, and her preparation of the bulgur is, I think, a wonderful basic recipe. It's nutty and fresh and the perfect accompaniment for the cucumber and feta of the Greek salad, turning it into a great summer lunch.
Note: this recipe has a day-ahead timeline, so that the shallots have a chance to both mellow out and flavor the olive oil. Generally, this salad keeps very well in the fridge, and the flavor tends to improve over time.
Ingredients
The Greek:
1 cup shallots, sliced
3/4 cup delicious olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 medium cucumbers, mostly peeled
4-5 plum or other firm tomatoes
8 oz. block feta cheese
The Wheat:
1 cup bulgur wheat
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 cup also tasty olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 day ahead:
Put the olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and shallots into your favorite plastic storage container, give it a stir or a shake and leave it in the fridge.
A few hours ahead:
Prepare the bulgur: in a large bowl, add the salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and water to the dry bulgur and give it a good stir. Immediately cover with plastic wrap or a plate and let it alone for about an hour. Definitely don't skimp on the lemon juice and ALWAYS use fresh! Lemons keep quite a long time in the fridge, so it's easiest to just keep 2 or 3 on hand.
Chop the cheese and veggies: roughly dice everything into about 1/2 inch chunks; you should have about equal parts tomato, cucumber and feta when you're finished. Toss it all into a big bowl with the shallot/olive oil dressing, season to taste, and then pop the whole thing back in the fridge while you wait for the bulgur. When most or all of the liquid is absorbed and the little grains are al dente, it's ready.
Showtime!
Combine the salad with the bulgur wheat, mixing thoroughly. Season to taste and return to the fridge until ready to serve.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Tuna and White Bean Salad with Chard
Buying a farm share, joining a CSA, or even just going to the farmer's market is a great way to get the best vegetables in season, but particularly with the former, you can end up with a lot of dark, leafy greens over the course of a season. Kale, chard, dandelion greens - they're wonderful for you but it's easy to get stymied trying to figure out what to do with them.
Most of my preparations for the dark greens that are too stiff or bitter to eat raw begin with the step: "Chop and saute with olive oil, garlic, and salt." Many of them will taste just fine that way, but a pile of fried greens may be a tough sell to some eaters and it's not that visually appealing, let's be honest. So I've tried to develop a few ways to integrate them into more versatile offerings. Below, red chard tints the salad a unique (though I don't think unappetizing) pink. It's also a great protein source for a midsummer-twist on the Nicoise salad, and does well when composed with the green beans, beets and tomatoes available at the same time.
The base recipe augmented here is Sauteed Swiss Chard with Onions.
Ingredients
For chard:
2 large bunches chard
2 tblsp. olive oil
2 tblsp. unsalted butter
2 medium red onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
For beans:
1 c. dried white kidney beans, soaked overnight, then boiled until tender (do not salt)
OR
2 cans white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 6 oz. can tuna fish (packed in oil or water)
1 lemon
Prep the chard by rinsing in a large bowl of cold water and then removing the ribs (you will use both): cut off the very ends of the stems, but leave an inch or two at the base. Holding the stem between thumb and forefinger, loosely close your other hand just above the base of the leaf and then pull down - you want to separate the leaf from the stem. Alternatively, fold the leaves in half, and cut just alongside the rib with a large knife to separate. Chop the stems into 1-inch pieces. Chiffonade the leaves by stacking several, then rolling up into a cylinder and slicing thinly. If the ribbons are very long, you can cross-chop with one or two strokes.
Heat the oil and butter in a heavy pan over medium heat until butter foam subsides. Add the garlic and onion along with 1/2 tsp. salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften - about 6 or 7 minutes. Add stems and continue cooking until tender, about another 10 minutes. Finally, add chard leaves in batches, adding each as soon as the previous wilts (you may cover briefly to speed the wilting), and saute until leaves are tender, about 6-8 more minutes.
Remove the chard from the heat and combine with beans and tuna in a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon over the mixture while still warm and season (aka salt and pepper) to taste.
As with many cold salads, the flavors will blend and improve in the fridge.
Most of my preparations for the dark greens that are too stiff or bitter to eat raw begin with the step: "Chop and saute with olive oil, garlic, and salt." Many of them will taste just fine that way, but a pile of fried greens may be a tough sell to some eaters and it's not that visually appealing, let's be honest. So I've tried to develop a few ways to integrate them into more versatile offerings. Below, red chard tints the salad a unique (though I don't think unappetizing) pink. It's also a great protein source for a midsummer-twist on the Nicoise salad, and does well when composed with the green beans, beets and tomatoes available at the same time.
The base recipe augmented here is Sauteed Swiss Chard with Onions.
Ingredients
For chard:
2 large bunches chard
2 tblsp. olive oil
2 tblsp. unsalted butter
2 medium red onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
For beans:
1 c. dried white kidney beans, soaked overnight, then boiled until tender (do not salt)
OR
2 cans white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 6 oz. can tuna fish (packed in oil or water)
1 lemon
Prep the chard by rinsing in a large bowl of cold water and then removing the ribs (you will use both): cut off the very ends of the stems, but leave an inch or two at the base. Holding the stem between thumb and forefinger, loosely close your other hand just above the base of the leaf and then pull down - you want to separate the leaf from the stem. Alternatively, fold the leaves in half, and cut just alongside the rib with a large knife to separate. Chop the stems into 1-inch pieces. Chiffonade the leaves by stacking several, then rolling up into a cylinder and slicing thinly. If the ribbons are very long, you can cross-chop with one or two strokes.
Heat the oil and butter in a heavy pan over medium heat until butter foam subsides. Add the garlic and onion along with 1/2 tsp. salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften - about 6 or 7 minutes. Add stems and continue cooking until tender, about another 10 minutes. Finally, add chard leaves in batches, adding each as soon as the previous wilts (you may cover briefly to speed the wilting), and saute until leaves are tender, about 6-8 more minutes.
Remove the chard from the heat and combine with beans and tuna in a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon over the mixture while still warm and season (aka salt and pepper) to taste.
As with many cold salads, the flavors will blend and improve in the fridge.
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