Recently in Salad Category

Chicken Shawarma with Fattoush Salad

Yummy and VERY easy. I didn't put the tomatoes on our pitas, because we were already having a lot of tomatoes in the salad, in fact, Girl dumped her bowl of salad ONTO her pita and ate it that way.

For the fattoush, I adapted a recipe for "chopped vegetable salad" that was in the same issue of Cooking Light, but changed it around so much that it really wasn't the same, so here's my version:

Fattoush

2 cups chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
(The original recipe also called for some chopped green bell pepper, but I didn't have any on hand. It would have been a nice addition, so I'll add some next time. Maybe some garlic, too?)

Gently fold all above ingredients to combine. In a small, separate bowl, whisk together:

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Pour over salad and toss gently to combine.

Toss in 2 cups coarsely crushed pita chips (recommended: Stacy's brand, from Costco) and 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of ground sumac powder (If you can find it. Try Kalustyan's, if you're determined to find some.) and toss salad gently again to combine. Sprinkle a little more sumac on top. Serve immediately, before the pita chips get soggy. If you're not serving it right away, reserve the pita chips separately until ready to serve.

This was my very favorite salad dressing when I was a kid. I haven't made it in ages, so I don't have a photo, but it's really yummy and is a perfect dressing to use when you have kids around and want to encourage them to eat their greens! I'll be making a batch for Boy and Girl soon.

Mom's Salad Dressing
(sort of a sweet, Catalina-ish dressing)

1 cup oil, your choice
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup vinegar (your choice)
(maybe start out with apple cider for kids and then work your way up to balsamic)
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
dash of onion and/or garlic powder
(you may prefer to use some - maybe 2 Tbsp - finely chopped, fresh shallot instead)
sprinkle (1/2 tsp?) of your favorite dried herb, optional
optional: a dash of celery seed and/or prepared mustard

Penzey's Sunny Paris seasoning is also great in this dressing (omit the onion, garlic, shallots, and herbs)

Whisk together all ingredients, EXCEPTING THE OIL, into a medium-sized bowl. Slowly pour the oil into the mixture, whisking constantly to blend and incorporate.

UPDATE:
Here's a photo!

I saw this recipe in Southern Living magazine last year and thought that it looked good. We added some Baby Bam croutons and it was pretty yummy, although the photo on Southern Living's site is better than mine. We also sliced up the onions after grilling them, because the kids aren't into big chunks of onion (although cutting them was difficult, because the olive oil made them slippery!).

My brother was the first person to tell me about grilling romaine. He saw Alton Brown make this recipe on his show and said it looked good, so I'm going to give that one a try soon. All in all, this salad was good (the grilled onions were deliciously sweet) and the dressing was yummy, but it would have been equally good with plain, ungrilled romaine. The grilling is just kind of a novelty. The Alton Brown recipe, however, adds a crunchy, grilled parmesan crustiness that might make the grilling worthwhile (and that whole "frozen vinegar crystals" thing sounds really cool).

We served this salad with Sweet and Sour BBQ chicken tenders and some "Parisian" carrots. The carrots are odd and have a long (and a bit embarrassing) explanation. Every year, I make a big lunch for Boy and Girl's teachers. One of the dishes that I make is a green bean and yellow wax bean salad. Fresh green beans and especially the yellow wax beans are hard to come by, so I buy a frozen yellow and green bean blend (HEB's "Prince Edward Medley), which also happens to contain the little, round "Parisian" carrots. So...in order to make the bean dish, I have to sort out the carrots (Girl helped this year) and I save them for future use, like tonight, when I micro-steamed them in some chicken stock and sprinkled them with....you guessed it....Baby Bam.

We recently discovered lovely halloumi cheese. It's a salty, firm, Greek cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk. The unique thing about halloumi is that it doesn't melt when it's heated, so it can be pan-seared or grilled for a delicious flavor. We pan seared some and then sliced it up and topped a salad with it. Yum! One word of warning, though: halloumi can be quite rubbery when it's not very hot, so if you have it on a salad like this, eat the halloumi FIRST. It's quite unappetizing when it cools down.

Vinaigrettes are simple, versatile, classic and almost universally well-received. There are endless ways to make them. They are limited only by your own creativity.

The basic formula that I use is: 1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, but that's just a jumping-off point. A tiny bit of something sweet (honey, maple syrup or even plain sugar) is a good flavor balance. Be sure to whisk together all of the liquid ingredients (except the oil) and then VERY slowly pour in the oil, continuously whisking, to thoroughly combine and emulsify the ingredients.

For example:

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. prepared mustard, optional
1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. honey
(depending on how sweet you want the dressing to be - you can substitute sugar if you prefer)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard and honey. Slowly pour in the olive oil while continuously whisking, until dressing is thoroughly blended. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

(I make at least one batch of that per week - I can practically make it in my sleep now.)

If you happen to have some puree or coulis (of any sort) on hand, you can use that as a flavoring base to make a specific kind of vinaigrette: roasted red pepper, canned pumpkin, raspberry puree, cranberry sauce, etc. You can adjust the vinegar-sweetener combinations accordingly. Apple cider vinegar is great if you want your finished vinaigrette to have a leaning towards the sweet side. Canola or safflower oil is great if your salad will have a lot of fruit in it (olive oil can be overpowering for a not-too-savory salad) and you want a lighter oil. White balsamic vinegar is great if you want the herby flavor of balsamic, but don't want to discolor the composition of your salad. Feel free to substitute any vinegar (raspberry? champagne?) or any oil (walnut?) to complement the flavors of your salad ingredients.

Other possible additions:
poppy seeds, minced garlic, ginger (with a bit of soy sauce, chopped peanuts or peanut butter, rice vinegar and peanut oil with a small splash of sesame oil mixed in to give an Asian flavor), chopped fresh (or even dried) herbs, a bit of jam or concentrated fruit juice, toasted nuts, citrus zest, or a bit of freshly-grated parmesan cheese.

Don't be afraid to be generous with the salt - each portion of the dressing only gets a portion of the salt, so it's really hard to make it taste too salty (taste it to be sure, of course!). Salt can really add the perfect flavor punch and is really pretty crucial.

I like to store prepared vinaigrette in small, lidded glass jars or bottles. I really like the glass bottles that Starbucks Frappuccino comes in. I don't drink them, but have a wonderful neighbor that does and she saves them for me (I run them through the dishwasher before using them). They're the PERFECT size to hold about a cup of dressing (with enough head space for shaking before serving, if it's been sitting a while and has settled or separated a bit).

Here is the recipe for my pumpkin vinaigrette (everyone that I've ever served this to has LOVED it):

Pumpkin Vinaigrette

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
4 Tbsp. pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin)
4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
8 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil into a small bowl. Whisk well. Add olive oil and whisk until incorporated. Makes about 1 cup. The full directions for a spectacular fall salad can be found here.

and here is a great recipe for Raspberry Vinaigrette that Girl absolutely LOVES:

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
pinch of salt (I don't use pepper in this vinaigrette, since it's meant to be sweeter)
4 Tbsp. raspberry coulis
(the coulis is a bit of a pain to make, but you can use it to garnish desserts also and it will keep nicely in the freezer - ignore the directions about the chocolate sorbet)

I serve this over a salad of baby spinach and apple or mango chunks and girl is in HEAVEN.

This was a great lunch the next day (see previous post for duck recipe).

We had a family dinner party last night to celebrate Hubby's 40th birthday. Hubby requested Mangia's Pizza (the Jeff's Special is TO DIE FOR) and salad for the meal. I had some leftover Jerked Pumpkin Seeds from the Butternut Squash soup that I made recently and decided to come up with a salad that would work with them. This salad was a MAJOR hit - the guests loved it and there was absolutely not one bite left - a few guests even went back for seconds! This will make a HUGE batch (about 16 servings), so feel free to adjust quantities as necessary to suit your needs. Girl is a big onion fan, so she liked this salad better than Boy. The salad is is still pretty kid-friendly (apples, carrots, sweet peppers), though. If your kids aren't fans of slightly spicy things, you might leave the pumpkin seeds out of the kid portions.

Fall Greens with Pumpkin Vinaigrette and Jerked Pumpkin Seeds

For Salad:
1 pound of your favorite greens or lettuce mixture (the mix that I used had romaine, oak leaf, lolla rosa, tango, chard, mizuna, arugula, frisee and radicchio)
1 roasted red bell pepper, peeled, seeded and cut into slivers
1 large (or 2 small) Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 grated carrot (or about 8 baby carrots, grated)
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced into strips
3/4 cup shaved (use a veggie peeler) Parmesan
3/4 cup Jerked pumpkin seeds (see below)
1 batch Pumpkin Vinaigrette (see below)

Gently toss together all ingredients EXCEPT pumpkin seeds, Parmesan and vinaigrette. Pour vinaigrette over salad (you'll probably need all of it) and gently toss again to coat. Sprinkle a little Parmesan and a few pumpkin seeds over each salad serving as it is plated. Pass remaining pumpkins seeds for anyone that likes their salad "extra crunchy" and would like more.

Pumpkin Vinaigrette

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
4 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
8 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil into a small bowl. Whisk well. Add olive oil and whisk until incorporated. Makes about 1 cup.

Jerked Pumpkin Seeds

3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
about 1/4 cup Jerk seasoning (see below)
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter

Pour the melted butter over pumpkin seeds, add the Jerk seasoning and stir. Bake at 250 degrees for about an hour, turning and stirring about every 15 minutes.

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
This is Chef Jeff Blank's recipe from his WONDERFUL book Cooking Fearlessly, I've just cut the quantities down some:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
6 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne
4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. ground clove

This seasoning can also be used as a rub on meats before smoking or grilling.
I also used it to make Jerked Cashews and Pecans recently for a great cocktail snack (follow the same instructions for making the Jerked Pumpkin Seeds).