Salads
Chickpea, Avocado and Pea Shoots Salad
This recipe was shared with us by our friends John and Brennan, and it's a great use of pea shoots.
For the dressing:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
In a small skillet over medium heat, prepare dressing by whisking together olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, zest, lime juice, and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer until just heated through.
For the salad:
½ small red onion, minced
1 large carrot, finely chopped
2-3 red radishes, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
4 cups water
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 cup pea shoots, washed
Place onion, carrot, radishes, and chickpeas in large bowl. Bring water to boil and pour over vegetables. Let sit 2-3 minutes to soften vegetables. Drain water well. Add red pepper, avocadoes, and pea shoots to salad and drizzle dressing evenly over the top. Toss to coat and serve warm.
Best Spring Salad
Spinach
Pea Shoots
Put them in a bowl. Eat them with your fingers. Repeat.
(Bowl optional.)
Beets with Lemon and Herbs
So maybe local lemons are unlikely here in Vermont. All of the herbs can be grown here, though - and this is a nice way to perk up local root-cellar beets in the winter, even if you end up using imported herbs. (Though you could keep a pot of herbs going over the winter inside, if you wanted). Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.
To serve four to six as a side, make as below with the greens, or double the beets and dressing and skip the greens. I actually like it better with just the beets.
1 1/2 lbs beets, cooked [the recipe says to peel them, but we never do]
Zest of 1 lemon plus its juice
2 Tbsp each: finely diced red onion, parsley, cilantro, and mint
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Salt & pepper
6 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup of your favorite olives
4 big handfuls of salad greens, or a bunch of kale, lightly steamed
Cut the beets into quarters or smaller. Whisk everything but the olives and greens in a bowl, or put in a jar and shake until mixed. Toss the beets with enough dressing to coat. Dress the greens with the rest, arrange on plates, add the beets and olives, and serve. Enjoy!
Easy Cabbage Salad
This is one of the staples of my lunchbox over the winter. Making it in the morning for lunch or dinner gives the cabbage a chance to soften up a little, but it's also great fresh and crunchy.
1 cup cabbage, sliced thin
pinch salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, or to taste
1 scallion, chopped (optional)
Mix it all together, and enjoy! You can also add (or substitute) finely-chopped broccoli or kale to this.
Massaged Kale Salad
This salad is made with raw kale, and the "massaging" softens it up. It's especially delicious with fall and winter kale that has already been softened and sweetened by frost, but good even with tougher summer (or Californian) kale. You can make it in a big batch to have on hand, as it keeps (and improves) over several days.
Adapted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.
1 bunch kale - lacinato or "dinosaur" is especially yummy raw, but any variety will work
generous pinch sea salt
1/4 cup diced red onion
handful currants, raisins, or dried cranberries
1 small apple, diced
handful sunflower seeds or your favorite nut, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil (sesame oil is also really yummy)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, or to taste (or try lemon juice or rice vinegar)
1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese
Pull the kale leaves off the midrib, rinse, and dry. Cut or tear the leaves into small pieces. Put into a large mixing bowl, add salt, and massage the salt into the kale with your hands for a minute or two.
Stir onion, apple, dried fruit, and seeds or nuts into the kale. (My brother makes a version of this where he just throws in a big handful of whatever trail mix he has on hand.) Dress with oil & vinegar - tasting for vinegar and salt. Let sit for a few minutes before serving, or stick in the fridge to eat all week. I prefer to add the cheese when serving, but you could throw it in now and let it sit with the salad, too.
Tomato Cucumber Salad
This is adapted from Cooks Illustrated magazine. The key here is to extract and reduce the tomato juices, then add them back in the dressing. It takes a little longer than your average tomato and cucumber salad, but it's really good. This method also makes a nice fresh pasta sauce with really great tomato flavor. Yum.
4 cups chopped tomatoes
salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
ground black pepper
1 small cuke, diced
1/2 c chopped kalamata olives
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
3 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
- Toss the tomatoes, 1/4 tsp salt, and sugar in a bowl, then let stand for 30 minutes. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and shake gently to loosen seeds and juice, then strain, or place in a salad spinner and spin all the goop out. You should have about 1/2 cup goop.
- Simmer the 1/2 cup tomato goop, oregano, shallot, garlic, and vinegar in a small saucepan. Reduce to 3 tablespoons, 6-8 minutes. Let cool, then whisk in oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste
- Mix cukes, olives, feta, tomatoes, and dressing - and enjoy!
This recipe was shared with us by our friends John and Brennan, and it's a great use of pea shoots.
For the dressing:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
In a small skillet over medium heat, prepare dressing by whisking together olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, zest, lime juice, and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer until just heated through.
For the salad:
½ small red onion, minced
1 large carrot, finely chopped
2-3 red radishes, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
4 cups water
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 cup pea shoots, washed
Place onion, carrot, radishes, and chickpeas in large bowl. Bring water to boil and pour over vegetables. Let sit 2-3 minutes to soften vegetables. Drain water well. Add red pepper, avocadoes, and pea shoots to salad and drizzle dressing evenly over the top. Toss to coat and serve warm.
Best Spring Salad
Spinach
Pea Shoots
Put them in a bowl. Eat them with your fingers. Repeat.
(Bowl optional.)
Beets with Lemon and Herbs
So maybe local lemons are unlikely here in Vermont. All of the herbs can be grown here, though - and this is a nice way to perk up local root-cellar beets in the winter, even if you end up using imported herbs. (Though you could keep a pot of herbs going over the winter inside, if you wanted). Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.
To serve four to six as a side, make as below with the greens, or double the beets and dressing and skip the greens. I actually like it better with just the beets.
1 1/2 lbs beets, cooked [the recipe says to peel them, but we never do]
Zest of 1 lemon plus its juice
2 Tbsp each: finely diced red onion, parsley, cilantro, and mint
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Salt & pepper
6 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup of your favorite olives
4 big handfuls of salad greens, or a bunch of kale, lightly steamed
Cut the beets into quarters or smaller. Whisk everything but the olives and greens in a bowl, or put in a jar and shake until mixed. Toss the beets with enough dressing to coat. Dress the greens with the rest, arrange on plates, add the beets and olives, and serve. Enjoy!
Easy Cabbage Salad
This is one of the staples of my lunchbox over the winter. Making it in the morning for lunch or dinner gives the cabbage a chance to soften up a little, but it's also great fresh and crunchy.
1 cup cabbage, sliced thin
pinch salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, or to taste
1 scallion, chopped (optional)
Mix it all together, and enjoy! You can also add (or substitute) finely-chopped broccoli or kale to this.
Massaged Kale Salad
This salad is made with raw kale, and the "massaging" softens it up. It's especially delicious with fall and winter kale that has already been softened and sweetened by frost, but good even with tougher summer (or Californian) kale. You can make it in a big batch to have on hand, as it keeps (and improves) over several days.
Adapted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.
1 bunch kale - lacinato or "dinosaur" is especially yummy raw, but any variety will work
generous pinch sea salt
1/4 cup diced red onion
handful currants, raisins, or dried cranberries
1 small apple, diced
handful sunflower seeds or your favorite nut, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil (sesame oil is also really yummy)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, or to taste (or try lemon juice or rice vinegar)
1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese
Pull the kale leaves off the midrib, rinse, and dry. Cut or tear the leaves into small pieces. Put into a large mixing bowl, add salt, and massage the salt into the kale with your hands for a minute or two.
Stir onion, apple, dried fruit, and seeds or nuts into the kale. (My brother makes a version of this where he just throws in a big handful of whatever trail mix he has on hand.) Dress with oil & vinegar - tasting for vinegar and salt. Let sit for a few minutes before serving, or stick in the fridge to eat all week. I prefer to add the cheese when serving, but you could throw it in now and let it sit with the salad, too.
Tomato Cucumber Salad
This is adapted from Cooks Illustrated magazine. The key here is to extract and reduce the tomato juices, then add them back in the dressing. It takes a little longer than your average tomato and cucumber salad, but it's really good. This method also makes a nice fresh pasta sauce with really great tomato flavor. Yum.
4 cups chopped tomatoes
salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
ground black pepper
1 small cuke, diced
1/2 c chopped kalamata olives
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
3 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
- Toss the tomatoes, 1/4 tsp salt, and sugar in a bowl, then let stand for 30 minutes. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and shake gently to loosen seeds and juice, then strain, or place in a salad spinner and spin all the goop out. You should have about 1/2 cup goop.
- Simmer the 1/2 cup tomato goop, oregano, shallot, garlic, and vinegar in a small saucepan. Reduce to 3 tablespoons, 6-8 minutes. Let cool, then whisk in oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste
- Mix cukes, olives, feta, tomatoes, and dressing - and enjoy!