Kale Salad with Apricots, Avocado, and Parmesan

Serves one

6-8 ounces of kale (Tuscan or dino kale are particularly fantastic)
6-8 dried apricots
1/3 or so cup cooked beans (I love Good Mother Stallard beans, but also try cannellini or pinto beans)
1/4 or so cup almonds
8-10 flakes of Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 avocado
salt and pepper

Fold a piece of kale in half lengthwise and use your fingers to tear out the tough inner stem. Repeat with the other leaves of kale (you can save the stems to use in stir-fries, sauces, or soups). Tear all the leaves into bite-sized pieces and put them in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Cut the apricots into little bits and add them to the bowl with the kale, along with the beans, the almonds, and the cheese. Whisk together the oil and vinegar (or shake it in a small canning jar). Pour the vinaigrette and a healthy pinch of salt over the salad and use your fingers to toss and rub everything together. Transfer the salad to a bowl or a lunch container (if eating later).

Just before eating, slice the avocado into cubes and spoon them over the salad. This salad will keep for about 24 hours, preferably refrigerated.

From the kitchn, posted here.

Beet Slaw

Simple salad in the New York Times Magazine this week.  Oddly, I forgot to add the saffron when I made the dressing.  It was still good, and used most of our beets.

Beet Slaw with Saffron Aioli

1½ pounds beets
⅓ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 chopped shallot
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnishing
Saffron

Shred beets. Whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic and a crumbled pinch of saffron. Toss with the beets, shallot and parsley. Garnish: More parsley.

101 summer salads

This Mark Bittman column looks good for salad inspirations. We sometimes need them.

Refreshing hot day lunch: Cold Soba Noodles and Vegetables

From Noodle Fusion by Dorothy Rankin:

"Yield: 4 to 6 Main-course Servings

"These cold, chewy buckwheat noodles with crisp vegetables and a sweet, salty, and sour dressing have a lovely balance of flavors and texture. It is somewhat of a misnomper to call the liquid portion of this salad a 'dressing.' Consider it, instead, a delightful chilled broth that can be drunk from the bowl when the noodles are gone. This is wonderful made ahead and served icy cold in bowls. If you do so, refrigerate the noodles, vegetables, and broth in separate, well-covered containers."

12 ounces soba noodles
1 medium-size daikon radish, grated
1 carrot, peeled and grated
½ cup snow pea shoots
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. mirin
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
garnish: 1 T. toasted sesame seeds

Cold Broth Dressing
1½ cups Dashi
4 T. mirin
2 tsp. peeled, grated ginger
2 scallions, finely chopped

Cook the soba noodles as directed. Drain and rinse thoroughly to cool. Meanwhile, combine the vegetables in a bowl. Add the vinegar, mirin, sugar and salt and mix well. Combine all the broth ingredients in a separate bowl.

To serve, divide the noodles among the bowls. Arrange the vegetables over the noodles and pour the broth over all. Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.

(ams note) Very robust to substitutions. I used this as a general idea, substituting cabbage and bean sprouts for daikon and pea shoots, had to skip the scallions, and found out--after beginning--that we were out of mirin. Oops. Substituted more vinegar and sugar liberally in place of it. Then I just forgot the sesame seeds (oops again). Yummy nonetheless.

Mung bean balad with star anise and lime

This was good, but oddly titled, since there is no garlic in the recipe. Did they mean scallions? Raw garlic might be a little strong. The carmelized sugar and lime juice wasn't as intense on the salad as I thought it would be, even with the juice of 2 limes. I would probably double the sugar and use 4 limes next time to make it more interesting. The anise taste was strong, but not overpowering.

Mung Bean Salad with Star Anise, Garlic and Lime

1 cup dried mung beans
2 tbl. sugar
4 star anise pods
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbl. canola oil
2 scallions, greens and whites, minced
pinch red pepper flakes
4 heads Belgian endive, ends discarded and shredded

Place beans in colander, rinse, and pick over them. Put beans in large stockpot, cover with cold water, and soak for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Drain beans.

In a large, heavy pot, cover the beans with cold water and bring to a boil. Skim the surface when the water reaches a boil. Cover and cook for about 1 hour or until the beans are tender, skimming the surface occasionally to remove any scum that rises to the surface. Drain into a colander and rinse under cold running water to cool.

Cook the sugar, stirring constantly, in a heavy skillet over low heat until it dissolves and caramelizes, about 3 min. Add the star anise and lime juice and stir until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove from the heat.

Place the mung beans in a large bowl. Add the caramel mixture, then the oil, scallions, and red pepper flakes. Stir well and let cool to room temperature. Remove the star anise. Serve the beans on shredded endive.

From Grains, Rice & Beans (found at Just Vegetable Recipes)

Jicama Salad

4 oranges
2 cups (½-inch) julienne-cut peeled jicama
1 cucumber (about ½ pound), peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
2 cups cubed peeled cantaloupe
½ cup vertically sliced red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
¼ cup fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon hot chili powder

Peel and section oranges over a bowl; squeeze membranes to extract juice. Set sections aside; reserve ¼ cup orange juice. Discard membranes.

Place the orange sections, jicama,and next 5 ingredients (jicama through mint) in a large bowl. Combine the reserved orange juice, fresh lime juice, salt, and chili powder. Pour juice mixture over jicama mixture, and toss gently. Cover and chill 2 hours.

From Cooking Light

Shrimp and Mango Salad with Glass Noodles

4 ounces very thin bean thread noodles (also known as cellophane, glass, or mung bean noodles)
1 pound cooked, peeled, and deveined medium or large shrimp
1 large mango (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 scallions, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil (I used Asian basil)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh serrano or jalapeño chile, including seeds, or to taste
1/3 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Cover noodles with boiling-hot water in a large bowl and let stand 8 minutes. Drain noodles in a colander and rinse with cold running water. Drain well, then return to bowl.

While noodles are soaking, combine shrimp, mango, scallions, basil, and chile in another large bowl.

Stir together vinegar, sugar, and salt in a measuring cup until sugar is dissolved, then toss half of sauce with noodles and half with shrimp salad. Serve noodles topped with shrimp salad.

From this epicurious post. This was good; next time I'll replace half of the vinegar with fresh lime juice as several reviewers suggested.

Marinated cauliflower salad with arugula

We've liked this recipe for a long time. I like to use prosciutto or other cooked ham instead of bacon, and skip the celery.

Marinated Cauliflower Salad
Arugula, bacon, and olives

Ingredients for 4

½ pound fresh arugula
½ head cauliflower, cut into bite size florets
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon picked fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup small diced celery
¼ cup diced scallions
½ cup cooked bacon, small diced and cooked
½ cup of your favorite olive, pitted
salt and pepper

Dijon Vinaigrette

1 cup cottonseed oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Wisk together all the ingredients for the vinaigrette and set aside. Marinate the cauliflower florets in a ¼ cup of vinaigrette. Let stand 1 hour or overnight.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the salad components with a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle with dijon vinaigrette, about 1 ladle or 2 ounces. Gently toss to coat with vinaigrette.

Plate on one large platter or individual plates and enjoy!

Source: chef2chef.net

Salad composée

It's the start of summer salad season. We're not getting our vegetables yet, but it's warm enough to feel like having a nice salad for dinner, with maybe a little wine and cheese afterwards. My standard summer salad ideal comes from this recipe, that appeared in the NY Times a few years ago. We don't often put everything in, but tuna on greens with a homemade mustard vinaigrette and whatever else we have is common enough.

Somehow, it doesn't work in February.

Salade Niçoise
(Adapted from ''French Provincial Cooking,'' by Elizabeth David)
1 head bibb or Boston lettuce
1 12-ounce can or jar imported tuna in olive oil
12 small new potatoes, cooked until tender and halved
1 cup green beans, ends trimmed and cooked until tender
½ red bell pepper, seeded and julienned
1 6-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2 firm ripe tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
6 anchovy fillets
12 black olives, pitted and sliced
Handful of capers
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon mixed chopped herbs, like chervil and chives.

1. Quarter the lettuce through the root end. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Place each quarter on a large plate or in a shallow bowl. Drain the tuna and place in a bowl; flake into bite-size pieces with a fork and scatter over the lettuce. Next, scatter the potatoes, beans, pepper, artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Arrange an egg half to the side of each plate. Sprinkle the dish with the anchovies, olives and capers.

2. Mix the vinegar, mustard and garlic in a bowl. Whisk in the oil until thickened. Season with the salt, pepper and herbs. Drizzle over salads. Serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Sambal in the Style of Java

For Khyati, who liked this when we had it on Saturday night, and wanted the recipe (right after I said I wouldn't post it...). This is from Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys & Chowchows by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby--but Khyati and John might know Schlesinger by reputation, as owner of the East Coast Grill in Inman Square.

Sambal in the Style of Java

2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup peeled, shredded carrots
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup peanuts, toasted

Dressing
1 T. minced, fresh ginger
1 T. minced red or green chile pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. shrimp paste
2 T. coriander seeds, cracked
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup peanut oil
salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Combine main ingredients in large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients; process until very well blended. Pour over vegetables and mix well.

Notes on my copy of the recipe, which I always follow:
Alice and Craig say: use more chiles, less molasses. Jamie says: put peanuts on last, on top, after mixing in dressing. All three of us say: needs more stuff for the amount of sauce made.

On another note, the reason that we didn't have egregiously more dressing than stuff last Saturday, Khyati? Because I forgot the oil. And it was yummy anyway. Hmmm.