Recipe: Raw White Asparagus Salad with Watercress and Romano - Vegetarian

White Asparagus Salad with Watercress and Romano

I'm starting to test recipes for my first Herbivoracious dinner party. My first event is going to be an asparagus tasting menu, a celebration of Spring coming to the Northwest. It isn't for a few weeks, and neither is local asparagus! I'm having to test with California spears for now.

(By the way, the first dinner is full, but if you are interested in attending a future event in Seattle, drop me a line at herbivoracious [at] gmail [dot] com, with "dinner" in the subject, and I'll keep you posted).

This salad has been marinating in mind for a bit. No pun intended. I wanted to do something with thinly sliced raw white asparagus, which has a nice vegetable sweetness and crunch to it. In this version I paired it with watercress, cipollini onions, aged pecorino romano, and a grapefruit vinaigrette. Everything worked really well, but the vinaigrette needs some work to bring out more of the citrus flavor. Grapefruit is a lot less acidic than lemon, so that makes sense to me. I think next time I will try using more of the zest and a little bit of a neutrally flavored  vinegar.

Here's an approximate recipe:

White Asparagus Salad with Watercress and Romano
Vegetarian
Vegan if you omit the cheese
Serves 1 - multiply as needed

• vinaigrette: 2 parts good olive oil, 1 part fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, 1/2 t. grapefruit zest, salt to taste
• 2 spears of thick white asparagus
• a few paper thin slices of cipollini onion or shallot
• handful of watercress, arugula, or mache
• 4-5 paper thin slices of pecorino romano, or parmigiano reggiano
• salt and pepper

1. Drizzle and whisk the olive oil into the lemon juice vinaigrette to emulsify, then add the zest and salt to taste.
2. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus, peel, and slice very thinly on a diagonal bias.
3. Cut the cheese with a vegetable peeler.
4. Just before serving, toss the asparagus, onion, and greens with the dressing, arrange on plate and top with the cheese and a bit of finishing salt and black pepper.

Recipe: Beet Greens with Pumpkin Seed Oil and Cherry Vinegar

Recipe: Beet Recipe: Greens with Pumpkin Seed Oil and Cherry Vinegar

Devra Gartenstein over at the Quirky Gourmet got me thinking about how many good odds and ends of produce I waste with this article about how she uses chard stems. I was boiling beets for a salad tonight, and resolved for once not to toss the greens. Now I adore beet greens (and every other kind of leafy green), but usually I just have a handful and they don't seem to fit into what I'm making, so they end up in the trash or compost.

But today I was feeling a little snacky anyhow, so while I was boiling the beets, I quickly stripped the greens, rinsed 'em, and tossed them in the boiling water too. Five minutes later I pulled them out, gave 'em a quick chop, and dressed them with:

(this recipe is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free)

• pumpkinseed oil
• cherry vinegar
• Maldon salt
• quick-toasted fennel seeds
• a few strips of lemon zest

Man that was good! It would make a perfect side dish anywhere you might conventionally think to serve spinach or kale. This is one of those dishes that mainly comes together by using those nice ingredients, more than any real skill of the chef. Speaking of which, over at ChefShop.com they have a listing of my "Herbivoracious pantry". The Maldon salt is in there, and the oil and vinegar will be there soon. (This isn't an affiliate deal for me, I just like what they have to offer.)

Recipe: Citrus Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

This is the salad course we did for the Kavana Men Cook event. We used a combination of arugula and mache, two very flavorful greens that have the slight bitterness to combine well with the bright citrus fruit. The blood oranges and grapefruit supremes looked great, and the sharp sherry vinaigrette brought the whole thing together. A few thin slices of red onion seal the deal.

When I use raw onions like this, I like to keep the slices in ice cold water until just before serving. The cold keeps the sulfur compounds from being as volatile, so the onion tastes sweeter. Just drain them well before plating.

Citrus Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette
Serves 4
Vegetarian and vegan

• 2 T. sherry vinegar
• 1/2 t. dijon mustard
• 6 T. olive oil
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 2 blood oranges or mandarins, cut into supremes
• 1 grapefruit, cut into supremes
• 1/2 small red onion, cut in to paper thin slices
• 4 handfuls of arugula and/or mache, trimmed, washed and thoroughly dried

1. Chill the serving plates in the refrigerator.
2. Combine the sherry vinegar and dijon mustard. Whisking continuously, add the olive oil drop-by-drop at first and then in a thin stream until it is emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste. The dressing should be highly seasoned.
3. Prepare the citrus, onions, and greens.
4. To serve, toss the greens with the dressing and place them on a cold plate. Top with the citrus and onions, and a final sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper.

 

Recipe: Grapefruit And Avocado Salad

Chef Janine over at Cafe Flora showed me the other day how to cut sections of citrus fruit properly. Technically these are called "supremes" as in in "we need to cut grapefruit supremes". I've tried to do them before and always had a lot of trouble, with bits of pith leftover and broken segments and frustration.

Anyhow, I had always tried to go in with my knife on both sides of the membrane between the segments. The way she showed me, you go in on one side, flip your knife around, and come back towards you on the other side, maybe leaving a bit of "meat" behind. Works like a charm, you end up with clean segments and a beautiful cup of juice too. If enough folks are interested maybe I could put up a video of the technique.

So I was itching to try this new found skill at home, and we had a grapefruit and an avocado just begging to become a salad. There is a famous crabmeat version of this salad at Etta's, which I'm sure is great. And we have one with these ingredients at Cafe Flora too, but with an Asian-inflected twist of shiitake mushrooms and a ginger-miso dressing, all on greens. Delicious.

My take is below. Possible variations would be to use different citrus (blood oranges!), or add feta cheese and/or cilantro.

Grapefruit And Avocado Salad
Serves 2
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free

• 1 grapefruit, cut into supremes over a bowl (see discussion above)
• 1 ripe avocado, cubed or sliced
• 1/4 red onion, sliced paper thin
• 1/4 c. best quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• 1 t. prepared dijon mustard (like Grey Poupon)
• black salt and black pepper for finishing

1. Squeeze the leftover bits of grapefruit and the juice gathered while cutting the supremes, and measure 1/4 c. of it. Drink the rest, cook's treat.
2. Mix the 1/4 c. of juice with the olive oil, kosher salt, and mustard in a jar and shake intensively to emulsify. Taste and add a little good vinegar if it needs more acidity. Leave it underseasoned so you can finish with the black salt.
3. Arrange the grapefruit, avocado, and onions on a plate, either individually or on a platter. Just before serving, drizzle on the salad and sprinkle with the black salt and black pepper.

Recipe: Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions

Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions

I made this for a Seattle food blogger brunch put together by the Keren Brown, aka The Savvy Savorer. She told me her husband was making his lachooch (a delicious, slightly spongy Yemenite flatbread that reminded me a lot of Ethiopian injera, only thicker). I can't find anything about it on the web, Keren care to provide us with a recipe?

Anyhow, I figured it would go well with lemony beans, so I came up with this simple white bean salad. The flavors are basically Italian, but I snuck in a bit of preserved lemon to add a Middle Eastern twist. If you don't have preserved lemon handy just add another fresh lemon. I love the flavor of preserved lemon but you want to go easy with it for general audiences - some folks may feel it tastes like Lemon Pledge in large quantities!

Grilling the onions adds another hit of flavor. You could do that on a barbeque if it is convenient, but you can also use a grill pan or cast iron skillet.

White bean salads like this are very versatile. You can bring them as a potluck dish, use them as a side salad, have them as the main even of a light lunch, smash them a bit and offer as a dip, or even serve them hot as the base layer of an entree plate.

This recipe is vegetarian and vegan.

Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions
Serves 12 as a side dish
Vegan and gluten-free

• 6 c. cooked white beans (such as cannellini)
• 1.5 large sweet onions
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 1/2 preserved lemon, interior only, chopped fine
• salt to taste
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1/4 c. packed sage leaves, chiffonade
• 1 T. minced rosemary leaves
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 yellow bell peppers, diced small
• 1 handful flat leaf parsley, minced (reserve a few leaves for garnish)
• 1 handful chives, minced

1. Cook the beans (or open a can), and drain thoroughly. Heat (or cool, as the case may be) the beans to a very warm temperature so they absorb flavors.
2. Slice the onions into thick circles and grill until fairly charred (see note above), then dice.
3. Combine all of the ingredients thoroughly and check for seasoning.
4. Serve warm or at room temperature. This will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and the flavor will continue to improve.

Recipe: Warm Winter Greens and Bread Salad

Warm Winter Greens and Bread Salad

This morning I had leftover braised greens in the fridge, from a dish I tested last week at Cafe Flora. They became one of those delicious breakfasts that kind of get composed while the frying pan is already heating, and you don't really know what you are going to eat until you stick a fork in it.

Although I had it for breakfast, in retrospect I think it would be really nice served as a warm salad for a wintry meal. A winter panzanella if you will. Add a soup and you would really be in business.

You can put this salad together in just a few minutes of active time, and of course it is amenable to any number of flavor variations - different greens, different bread, lemon zest, caraway seeds, whatever suits your mood and pantry. Here's today's version:

Warm Winter Greens and Bread Salad
Serves 1 as a main course or 2-3 as a side salad
Vegetarian, vegan if you omit the parmesan

• 2 big handfuls of winter braising green mix (or a single green of your choice)
• 2 slices rustic white bread
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. lemon juice (or 1 T. olive oil and 1 T. any good vinaigrette)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/2 t. chili flakes
• parmesan for grating

1. Remove coarsest stems from the greens, rinse, and put in a large covered pot with 1/4 c. of water and a pinch of salt. Cook over high heat for a few minutes and then reduce to a simmer. Check occasionally to make sure there is still a bit of water, you don't want them to scorch. Cook until they are thoroughly tender.
2. Carefully (don't burn yourself) squeeze most of the water out of the greens and chop them to bite-size.
3. Put the bread on to toast, rather darkly for maximum flavor.
4. In a skillet, heat 1 T. of the olive oil over a high flame. Add the garlic and chili flakes and sizzle for a few seconds. Add the greens and toss to coat with the oil. Season lightly with salt.
5. To serve, tear the bread into bite size chunks and put in a bowl. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and lemon juice (or vinaigrette). Top with the greens and toss lightly. Garnish with grated parmesan, a grind of black pepper, and a nice finishing salt (such as Maldon).
6. Eat right away, before the bread gets soggy.

Mexican Panzanella Salad

The idea for this is based on a Rick Bayless recipe title, but I didn't have it in front of me this weekend. Hmm, and actually looking at his chayote-based recipe now, they really have nothing in common. We were in Friday Harbor Washington, which is on San Juan Island in Puget Sound, on S's parent's boat. It served 6 with one other dish and lots of leftovers, so you could easily cut it in half for a side dish.

Mexican Panzanella Salad
Serves 8 as most of dinner
Vegetarian and vegan; to make gluten-free use corn tortillas instead of the bread

5 small limes, juiced
3/4 c. olive oil, minced
2 cloves garlic
1 T. kosher salt or sea salt
2 t. mild ancho or other chili powder
1 t. cumin powder
5 poblano chilis, roasted, peeled, seeded, and sliced
6 medium heirloom tomatoes, diced or 3 pints sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, seeded and cut into medium dice
3 ears corn, roasted or microwaved 3 minutes
1/2 red onion or sweet yellow onion, sliced thin
1 loaf of bread (I used a ciabatta), either stale or toasted, cut into medium dice
3 ripe avocados, cut into medium dice
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

• Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, chili powder and cumin to make the dressing. It should be pretty salty.
• Prepare the poblanos, tomatoes, cucumber and onion and place in a large serving bowl
• Remove the corn kernels from the cob and add to the other vegetables
• If you like the bread to sop up the juice, add it now, otherwise wait til close to serving time
• About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve the salad, combine the dressing, vegetables, bread (if you haven't already), avocado, and herbs, and toss gently but thoroughly
• Let rest a few minutes then taste and adjust seasoning

You could certainly add some jalapeno or other hot peppers if you want to amp this up, and of course change the vegetables to suit what is fresh and in season. It might be nice to add some zest from the limes to the dressing as well.

Cucumber, Zucchini & Mint Salad

This is a salad I made up  when a friend invited me to a barbecue with 45 minutes notice. The combination of cucumber and zucchini was a happy accident; if I'd been designing this recipe from scratch it probably would have been only one or the other, but I didn't have enough of either. It is very light and refreshing.

Cucumber, Zucchini & Mint Salad

Serves 6 as a side dish
Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten free

 

1 large cucumber (preferably English), peeled, seeded and cubed
5 small zucchini, cubed
½ medium red onion, sliced very thin
a few leaves of fresh mint, bruised and minced
2 t. dried or fresh thyme
¼ c. "O" brand California Blood Orange flavored olive oil
    or ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil, 1 T orange juice, and 2 t orange zest
3 T. mild rice vinegar
2 t. kosher salt or more to taste
1 t. fresh ground black pepper or to taste
 
Whisk the herbs, liquid ingredients, salt and pepper to make a dressing and toss with the vegetables.