This was billed as a 15 minute salad on the cover of BA magazine. Mine took a bit longer as I only had raw shrimp on hand but it was still pretty quick.

It was good but the dressing was a bit on the sweet side for my taste. I did like the mango, shrimp, avocado combo in a hot summer day.  I'll try it again with a different dressing.

Recipe HERE. 

Blueberries are in season and they're on sale so I've been buying a lot of them. I usually freeze them for smoothies but also love them in savory dishes.

This was really scrumptious and a recipe I'll be making again for as long as the berries last. I think this dressing would also work with grilled chicken.

Spinach Salad with Steak & Blueberries
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/sp...rry_salad.html

From EatingWell: July/August 2010

Combine steak, walnuts, blueberries and feta cheese in this simple salad and you have yourself a healthy and satisfying supper. Serve with grilled baguette and a glass of rosé.

Makes 4 servings, about 2 cups each | Active Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup fresh blueberries, divided
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
3 tablespoons fruity vinegar, such as raspberry vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
3 tablespoons walnut oil or canola oil
1 pound sirloin steak or strip steak (1-1 1/4 inches thick), trimmed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation
Preheat grill to medium.
Pulse 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/4 cup walnuts, vinegar, shallot, sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor to form a chunky paste. With the motor running, add oil until incorporated. Transfer the dressing to a large bowl.
Sprinkle steak with pepper and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Oil the grill rack. Grill the steak about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, 6 minutes per side for medium. Let rest on a clean cutting board for 5 minutes.
Add spinach to the bowl with the dressing; toss to coat. Divide the spinach among 4 plates. Thinly slice the steak crosswise. Top the spinach with the steak, feta and the remaining blueberries and walnuts.

Nutrition
Per serving : 392 Calories; 26 g Fat; 5 g Sat; 7 g Mono; 50 mg Cholesterol; 11 g Carbohydrates; 29 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 494 mg Sodium; 748 mg Potassium

I was first introduced to this salad about 20 years ago by a Thai friend. I was battling a bad sinus infection and she insisted her papaya salad would give me relief. I heard "papaya" and "salad" and assumed the Vitamin C would be the cure. Um no it was the handful of chile peppers. Sinus infection was gone that day. I'll spare you the details.

She made it quite a bit and when she couldn't get green papaya she would use shredded carrot.

This is one of my favorite Thai dishes of all time. I did cut back on the chiles from her handful. Dried shrimp are found in the refrigerated section of my Asian grocery. They also had bags of shredded green papaya in the produce section. I pounded the dressing in my giant mortar and pestle and added the papaya because that's how she did it.

You can definitely add to this. I suggest green onions, peanuts, carrot, radish or green beans.

Green Papaya Salad

Gourmet  | May 2000

1 tablespoon dried shrimp
6 Thai chiles
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons asian fish sauce
4 tablespoons palm or brown sugar
1 pound grated green papaya

Crush the dried shrimp with the chiles and garlic cloves, then whisk in the lime juice, fish sauce and the sugar. Toss the dressing with the papaya and serve.

This is a very refreshing summer salad that takes very little effort. The only cooking required is boiling the shrimp. I use Rick Bayless's method and simmer the juice and rind of one lime in water in a covered pan for 10 minutes, then add the shrimp. It gives it a lot more flavor.

One item that's a challenge to find is celery leaves. Seems the stores like to trim them off which is a shame because they really are a good addition to salads and stocks.

This dressing would also be great as a dip for vegetables.

Recipe courtesy of The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift

Crispy Cucumber Shrimp in Retro Goddess Dressing
Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a first course

Dressing

2 tight packed tablespoons of fresh tarragon leaves
3 large whole scallions
1 tight packed tablespoon of fresh parsley leaves
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Asian Fish Sauce
1 tsp dark spicy mustard
1 tbs white wine or cider vinegar
1 ripe Haas avocado
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used Kewpie-it's Japanese and fantastic!)Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine everything in a food processor and blend till smooth.

Salad

8 oz cooked shrimp
1 medium cuke, peeled seeded and cut into pieces(I didn't peel or seed)
1 medium head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
1-2 tight packed tablespoons of celery leaves chopped.

Combine salad ingredients and toss with dressing.

1. Combine the water, sugar, and salt in a large container with a lid or a large freezer bag, and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add the chicken to the brine, cover or seal, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and no more than 6.
2. Set up a steamer on the stove. Drain the chicken and discard the brine. Put the chicken in the steamer basket (if you are using a stacking Chinese-style bamboo steamer, put the legs in the bottom level and the breast on the top). Turn the heat to medium and set the lid of the steamer ever so slightly ajar. Steam the chicken for 40 minutes, then remove it from the steamer and put it on a cooling rack to cool. Chill it in the refrigerator, preferably on the rack, for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you fry it.
4. In a deep skillet, heat enough oil for the chicken to be submerged to 375F. Fry the chicken in batches, turning once, until the skin is deep drown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
5. Cut the chicken into a few pieces: cut the wing from the breast, cut the breast in half, cut through the knee to separate the thigh from the drumstick. Put in a large bowl, toss with the vinaigrette, and serve hot.

I went to see Julie and Julia yesterday and LOVED it! Meryl Streep's Julia Child was unbelievably believable. It really did make want to get her book and try some of those recipes. I won't be boiling calves feet for aspic (blechh) but I would like to try the beef bourguignon once the weather cools.

Some say the Julie character is too whiny, and I see their point, but in her defense she did have a sucky job. And yes blogging is narcissistic but not nearly as much as Facebook and Twitter. Then again those two sites weren't around in 2002.


I cooked some dried cannellini beans today for salads after coming across THIS recipe on the 101 Cookbooks blog.

I'm not a huge carrot fan. I'll eat them in dishes but rarely all by themselves. These carrots were so good! I was worried the dish would be too sweet and I did not add all the honey the recipe called for. It was perfect and something I'll definitely make again.

Yeah I know I tagged this as vegan/vegetarian but read on.....

I confess I'm not a huge fan of green salads. I eat plenty of them, but I usually start with all the additions and nibble at the greens.

I bought a Mr Bento Lunch Jar and have been searching for tasty grain, noodle and bean salads for the main course container.

This recipe seemed right up my alley. It comes from Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I did replace the tofu with shrimp because I didn't want to bake. I used water instead of sake and skipped the extra sugar. And i used short grain brown rice.

It is really good and mild compared to the spicy dishes I usually eat. i'm thinking it would be a bitbolder with the sake. Next time.

Japanese-Style Rice Salad
MARK BITTMAN
Time: 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the type of rice
Yield: 4 to 8 servings.

1 1/2 to 2 cups short-grain brown or white rice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1 small or 1/2 large red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped or shredded celery
1/4 cup finely chopped or shredded carrot
1 cup firm tofu, preferably baked, optional
6 tablespoons miso paste
3/4 cup warm water or sake
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon mirin or honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or more to taste
2 sheets of nori, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds, toasted.

1. Cook rice in abundant salted water, as you would pasta, until it's just done; white rice will take 10 to 15 minutes, brown 30 or a little longer. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, then combine with vegetables and tofu in a large bowl.

2. Put black pepper, miso, water or sake, sugar, mirin or honey, and vinegar in a small bowl, and whisk together. Taste, and add more vinegar and a pinch of salt, if needed.

3. Combine rice mixture with miso dressing with 2 big forks, fluffing rice and tossing gently to separate grains.

4. Crumble nori over salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds, taste, and adjust seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day, bringing salad back to room temperature before serving.

This was just OK for me. I think part of the reason is the Asian salad mix I used was a bag of Dole which consisted of lettuce and cabbage. I remember why I don't buy bagged lettuce. I think a trip to the Asian grocery could have reaped some better greens. Or even a few bunches of greens at the regular grocery store. But I'm going on vacation at the end of the week and don't want a crisper full of produce.

The dressing was also too sweet for my taste so I ended up adding more lime juice.

What I did like was the flavor the marinade gave the beef. I'll definitely do that again. But instead I'll make it with the Thai Lime Beef Salad from this blog and add in the noodles. A fusion of the two salads would be excellent.

The recipe for Asian Steak and Noodle Salad, courtesy of Gourmet June 2006, can be found HERE.

I wish my picture was a pretty as the one on Gourmet magazine. But it was very tasty!

This is actually a big salad. And by my calculations a pretty healthy one too! Lots of veggies and grain. You will need a knife and fork to eat it.

I plan on making this again soon. Like this week!

Recipe from Gourmet Magazine June 2009 HERE

This was listed as a healthy choice on the Epicurious site but not in the June 2009 Bon Appetit magazine. Hmmmm...The steak is a lean cut and I did only use 4 oz on the salad(thank you food scale). I happen to think eating quality food in reasonable portions is a good thing.

Anyway the salad is very very good. And fast! I loved the addition of the chipotle hot sauce to the chimichurri. I added a few extra drops and an extra clove of garlic. If you do this you may want to limit the amount of dressing one the salad. No vampires will be visiting me tonight! And in case you couldn't tell I like my beef on the rare side.

I have leftover steak and chimichurri so I will be making this again. Probably tomorrow.

Recipe HERE

This is on the cover of the current issue of Bon Appetit. It looked so good I had to try it.

It was so easy and very "fresh" tasting. I loved the pesto and want to try it on cold pasta.

My changes: I roasted a chicken over the weekend and used some shredded breast instead of grilling chicken, I used regular cuke instead of Japanese and I used less oil in the dressing.

Recipe HERE

I'm continuing my farro love and I want to thank Ashley for bringing this salad to my attention. It's perfect for a busy weeknight And Ashley you were right-the vinaigrette rocks!

This will definitely be on my regular rotation!!

Farro, Avocado, Cucumber, and Cherry Tomato Salad
Cooking Light July 2008

Farro is a whole grain with a pleasantly chewy texture. Look for it at specialty markets and gourmet grocers or health food stores. With crunchy cucumber, sweet cherry tomatoes, and buttery avocado, this dish makes a refreshing lunch. Pair it with a simple starter soup and whole-grain crackers for dinner.

1 cup uncooked farro or spelt
4 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon fresh grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups red, orange, and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ¾ cups chopped seeded English cucumber (about 1 small)
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
¾ cup sliced peeled avocado (about 1 small)

1. Place farro in a large saucepan; cover with water to 2 inches above farro. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well.

2. Combine oil, rind, juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add farro, tomatoes, cucumber, and cilantro; toss gently to coat. Place about 1 cup farro mixture on each of 5 plates; garnish evenly with avocado. Serve immediately.
Yield

5 servings

I've decided to start working my way through all the Rancho Gordo beans and various grains I have squirreled away.

I decided to start with RG's runner cannellini beans. I pre-soaked a cup of these bad boys for 2 hours, bringing the water to a boil first and keeping them covered.

Those I used in a salad inspired by THIS recipe on the RG website. I used fresh basil instead of oregano, canned tomatoes and olive oil and white wine vinegar. I spooned it on a bed of greens for lunch. It would also be a good filling in a whole wheat pita.



I soaked another half cup for the Farro-Mushroom soup.

Farro is my favorite grain and I need to eat more of it so choosing this recipe was a no brainer.

The farro-mushroom soup comes from Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. He says it's from Lucca, Italy. I've been to Lucca and loved it. Anything that reminds me of Tuscany is a good thing.

The recipe actually starts as a farro soup with a mushroom adaptation. Lo and behold I had some dried porcini's so there was another item liberated from my pantry.



The soup is excellent but next time I'll use canned beans to reduce the cook time. I did use canned tomatoes.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup farro, spelt or barley
1 cup dried white beans, soaked for several hours or overnight
2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; do not drain)
6 cups stock or water, more as necessary
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil,
optional Freshly grated Parmesan

Put oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat; a minute later add onion, celery, carrots, a large pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook until vegetables are glossy and onion is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, and stir; add farro, beans, tomatoes and stock, and stir.

Bring to a boil, then adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until farro and beans are tender, at least an hour, adding stock or water as necessary if mixture becomes too thick. Stir in parsley and basil (if using), then cook another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve with lots of Parmesan

This recipe was well reviewed on the Cooking Light Boards and I have to agree it's quite good! Easy and healthy too!

I chose it because I had everything on hand. I didn't use the canola oil because I didn't want to. I just wisked a little sesame oil and lime juice together with the garlic.



Sesame Brown Rice Salad with Shredded Chicken and Peanuts
Cooking Light June 2007

1 cup long-grain brown rice
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Preparation
Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Transfer rice to a large bowl; fluff with a fork. Cool. Add chicken, carrot, onions, 2 tablespoons peanuts, 2 teaspoons cilantro, and salt to rice; toss to combine.

Combine juice and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle oil mixture over rice mixture; toss to combine. Place 1 1/2 cups salad on each of 4 plates. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons remaining peanuts and 1/4 teaspoon remaining cilantro.
Yield

4 servings
Nutritional Information

CALORIES 393(30% from fat); FAT 13.3g (sat 2g,mono 6.3g,poly 4g); PROTEIN 27.8g; CHOLESTEROL 60mg; CALCIUM 44mg; SODIUM 424mg; FIBER 4g; IRON 1.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.2g

Summer to me means lots and lots of salads. It gets so darn hot I absolutely hate turning on the oven.

We painted walls over the weekend so the air wasn't on. I discovered my breaking point is 105 degrees. Today it was 110. It seems to early in the year for this and Mother Nature must agree as it's going to be back down in the 70's on Thursday. Go figure.

Today I have three salads, two I've never made before and one old favorite. What's great about these is that I usually have most if not all the ingredients on hand.

Salad #1 is Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Sweet Slaw from the June 2008 issue of Bon Appetit.

This was excellent although I must have had a turbo charged jalepeno. It was green since Fry's didn't have red. When I cut it open I could tell it would be strong so I used one half of one jalepeno seeded. The dressing was still a little too spicy and I am not a wimp to spice.

I also like that this is incredibly easy and you can chop the veggies and prep the dressing while the steak is marinating.



Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Sweet Slaw


1/4 cup soy sauce
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger, divided
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 1 1/2-pound flank steak
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 red jalapeños, thinly sliced into rounds
5 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage (about 9 ounces)
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Mix soy sauce, oil, 3 teaspoons ginger, and garlic in resealable plastic bag. Add flank steak and seal bag; turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Stir sugar and vinegar in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves; remove from heat. Add jalapeños and remaining 2 teaspoons ginger. Place cabbage and 1/2 cup green onions in medium bowl.

Pour vinegar mixture over and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand while grilling steak, tossing occasionally.

Grill steak until cooked to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to work surface. Let rest 10 minutes. Slice steak thinly against grain. Sprinkle 1/4 cup green onions over slaw.

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The following night I made Grilled Chicken and Romaine with Caper Dressing. I love grilled radicchio and was intrigued by the grilled romaine. I would say this is a salad that is good but needs some tweaking. I liked the grilled lettuce and the dressing is very similar to my standard home made vinaigrette but it needed more veggies. Grilled veggies!



Grilled Chicken and Romaine with Caper Dressing Bon Appetit, March 2008

3 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 pounds)
2 hearts of romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise, core left intact
Shaved Manchego or Parmesan cheese

Preheat barbecue (medium-high heat). Puree vinegar and next 4 ingredients in small processor until almost smooth. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Combine chicken and 1/4 cup dressing in medium bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Place romaine, cut side up, on baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup dressing; turn to coat. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Grill romaine until charred and slightly wilted on all sides, about 2 minutes.

Transfer 1 chicken breast and 1 romaine spear to each of 4 plates. Drizzle chicken with remaining dressing, sprinkle generously with cheese, and serve.
--------------

And finally we come to the classic Nicoise Salad which I've been making from memory for quite some time. The best Nicoise salad I ever had was in Nice of course. Mine will never be as good but that's ok.

And yes I know I have to turn on the oven for this one but it's worth it!



Unfortunately I don't measure when I make this. I just eyeball it until it looks right. Generally I use one egg, one small red potato and one 3 oz can of water packed tuna and a tablespoon of dressing per salad.

I use my basic vinaigrette dressing which is 1/4 cup olive oil and 3 tbs white wine vinegar whirled in a blender to emulsify. I then add some rough chopped shallot and dijon mustard, salt and pepper and whirl again, adjusting ingredients to taste. I keep this in a jar in my pantry.

For the salad make sure you have a hard boiled egg. You can also roast the green beans and red potato ahead of time. Just toss with olive oil salt and pepper and roast at 450. I start the potato first then turn at about 8 minutes, add the beans to the pan and roast another 8 minutes or so.

The salad consists of greens (I use romaine or whatever other greens are in the fridge), chopped hard cooked egg, canned tuna, capers, kalamata olives, and the roasted green beans and potato.

I just got a new fantabulous cookbook, The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift. I'm a faithful Splendid Table pocast listener and a fan of Lynne's other cookbooks.

This one is chock full of anecdotes, quotes, and tip including the one I adopted tonight-the garlic rock.

Sally prefers to smash garlic with a rock rather than the edge of a knife and I'll admit a rock does a pretty good job. I found mine in my front yard. It has a really nice flat edge. I plan on using it a lot!

My garlic rock.



On to the recipe...

This was quick and very good. With the bread it made a great light meal.

I used Great Northern beans but if I do it again I'll use cannellini as I prefer them. She says NOT to use any thicker skinned beans as they won't absorb the flavor as well. Also do not stir the beans as they will break apart. Instead fold them gently with a spatula.



Warm White Bean Salad with Fragrant Garlic and Rosemary

Topping:

1/2 slice of coarse whole grain bead course ground in a food processor(about 2 heaping tablespoons)

3 tbs fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Salad

5 large garlic cloves crushed with 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tight packed tbs fresh rosemary coarse chopped
2 15 oz cans organic cannellini or Great Northern beans drained and rinsed
Large handful of salad greens (I used baby greens)

In a dry skillet toast the crumbs till brown. Transfer to a small bowl and add the Parmigiano cheese and pepper when cool.

In the same pan slowly warm the garlic in the olive oil over low heat for 30 seconds. Add the rosemary, blending for another minute or so.

Raise the heat to medium, add the beans and fold them gently so they don't break apart until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the greens and fold until slightly wilted, 30 seconds to one minute.

Turn into a serving bowl and top with the crumb mixture and salt and pepper.

This recipe comes from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen. The cookbook is a good read but I'm having a hard time getting inspired to try the recipes. I think it's me and not the book though.

This salad is pretty good but I will warn you that the dressing is a nose runner. Very spicy. The dressing is also supposed to be red, which would make a prettier picture, but I used a green serrano instead of red Thai chile. The author suggests serving this with and even in rice soup. If I make this again I'm going to try it that way.



Spicy Cabbage and Chicken Salad
Goi Bap Cai Ga

Serves 4-6

1 tsp salt
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
About 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 small head green cabbage cut into 1/4 inch ribbons
1 carrot peeled and finely shredded
2 tbs finely chopped Vietnamese coriander or cilantro

Dressing
1 or 2 Thai or serrano chiles, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch salt
3 tbs fish sauce
6 tbs unseasoned rice vinegar

Fill a saucepan half way with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Add chicken breasts. When water begins to boil remove pan from heat and cover. Let sit for 20 minutes. Drain chicken, shred with 2 forks and let rest to room temperature.

Place onion in a bowl and cover with vinegar. Let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and add to bowl with shredded chicken, cabbage, carrot and cilantro.

Use a mortar and pestle to mash the chile, garlic, sugar and salt to a fine paste. Place into a bowl and add the fish sauce and rice vinegar. Taste and adjust as needed. Toss with salad.

My Secret Santa Bought me a cookbook called The Healthy Hedonist: More than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Feast by Myra Kornfeld.

What the heck is a flexitarian? Well it's someone who mainly eats vegetarian meals but occasionally has meat.

I've looked through it and it looks like it has some great recipes. This spring roll salad recipe caught my eye. I didn't want to serve 8 so I cut the salad recipe way back (you can easily eyeball it) and cut the sauce recipes in half. It really isn't as labor intensive as it first appears. I did make the sauces ahead of time.

Also once you have the ingredients on hand it's easy to toss another salad with the leftovers.

The effort is well worth the result. I love the peanut sauce and my try it with the tempeh recipe I posted earlier. Or maybe I'll drizzle it over soba noodles. I did over-roast my shiitakes so watch them carefully.

This would be an excellent side dish to a seafood entree. If you want to make the dish heartier you can add some glazed tofu.

Some changes I made: I didn't use shoyu, I used tamari. They're both soy sauce by the way. And I didn't use tamarind concentrate I used tamarind paste which I found with the Indian food.

Spring Roll Salad with Roasted Shallot Peanut Sauce and Tamarind Dipping Sauce

3/4 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons shoyu
4 ounces (4 cups loosely packed) fettucine-style rice noodles
2 carrots, sliced into matchsticks (1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Roasted Shallot Peanut Sauce (recipe follows)
Tamarind Dipping sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375.
Cut the stems off the shiitakes and discard them (or save them for stock). Thinly slice the caps; you should have 5 cups. Toss the shiitakes in a bowl with the olive oil and shoyu. Then spread them out on a parchment-covered baking sheet and transfer it to the oven. Roast, stirring twice, until the mushrooms are shrunken, browned, and fairly crisp, about 40 minutes. Place the mushrooms in a small bowl and set it aside.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat, add the noodles, and let them sit until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, and rinse the noodles for at least 30 seconds under cold water to prevent sticking.

Toss the noodles in a bowl with the carrots and herbs. Mound a portion of noodles on each plate, and drizzle the dipping sauce and the peanut sauce over the top. Sprin- kle with the mushrooms and peanuts.

Serves 8.

Roasted Shallot Peanut Sauce

This versatile peanut sauce is sweet with a spicy kick. It's great on a variety of dishes. Heat the sauce or serve it at room temperature.

3 medium shallots, unpeeled
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons natural sugar, preferably maple sugar or evaporated cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon shoyu
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Place the shallots on a parchment-covered baking sheet and roast until they are very tender and the juices have started to ooze out, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the shallots cool slightly, and then squeeze the pulp out of the skins. Place the shallot pulp and all the remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. The sauce will keep, covered and refrigerated for up to a week. Warm before serving.

Makes 2 cups.

Tamarind Dipping Sauce

This tangy sauce takes only a few minutes to make and complements the sweet and spicy peanut sauce, making the noodles come alive with flavor.

2 tablespoons natural sugar, preferably maple sugar or evaporated cane juice
6 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
1 tablespoon shoyu
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon finely slivered seeded red serrano or Thai bird chile

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan, and warm over medium heat until the sngar dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the lime juice, tamarind concentrate, and shoyu, stirring until smooth. Let the mixture cool slighdy, and then stir in the cilantro, garlic, and chile. The sauce should be tangy and slightly sour. The sauces will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 5 days.

I'll be getting back to the ethnic food soon so stay tuned!

It's really really hard to take a good picture of a meat pie but trust me when I say this is absolutely delicious and easy to put together.

The salad was a breeze too, although, the first time I made it I put a little too much lemon juice in it. It's beautiful to look at(although my picture isn't great) and delicious.

Both of these recipes are from Claudia Roden's Arabesque, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite cookbooks.



Eggplant and Tomato Salad(Batinjan Raheb)
6-8 servings

2-3 eggplants (about 2lbs)
Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon
3 garlic cloves, crushed(I chopped mine)
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper
large handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
4 sprigs mint, chopped
4 scallions, finely sliced
4 plum tomatoes, diced
handful of pomegranate seeds

Prick the eggplants in a few places with a knife and roast on a foil lined baking sheet for 45-55 minutes or until the skin is charred and the eggplant is very soft.

When the eggplants are cool enough to handle peel them and and drp them into a colander or strainer with fine holes. Press out as much of the juices as possible. With a small knife chop the eggplant(still in the colander) and mash with the back of the spoon to get more of the juice out.

Mix the eggplant puree with the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, parsley and pint. Spread the puree on a flat place and sprinkle with the scallions, tomatoes and pomegranate seeds.



Baked Kibbeh with Onion and Pine Nut Topping (Kibbeh Saniyeh)
serves 6

For the kibbeh
2/3 cup fine ground bulgur
1 medium onion quartered
1 lb lean boness leg of lamb(I bought ground)
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon


For the topping
1 lb onions liced thin
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup pine nuts
salt and black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch ground allspice
1/2 to 1 tbs pomegranate molassas(optional but recommended)

Rinse the bulgur in a fine sieve under cold water and drain well. Puree the onion in a food processor Add the meat and the spices and blend to a paste. Add the bugur and blend to a smooth soft paste.

Press paste into a well oiled round shallow baking dish or tart dish(I used a pie plate). Flatten and smooth the top and cut the contents into 6 wedges and run the knife around the edges of the dish. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

While the meat is baking prepare the topping. Fry the onions in the olive oil until they are golden brown, stirring often. Add the pine nuts andstir until lightly colored. Add the spices and the pomegranate molassas and stir a minute more.

Spread on top of the kibbeh and serve.

I love pomegranates, pistachios, prosciutto and persimmons so I HAD to make this salad. It was very little work and the outcome was wonderful! And it's such a pretty presentation for company.

For a special occasion I might spring for the pomegranate vinegar but it was delicious with the sherry vinegar. I bet you could use white wine or champagne vinegar with success too.

If you've never had persimmons you must get the Fuyus! the other kind, Hachiyas, are really meant to be cooked.




Prosciutto with Persimmon, Pomegranate, and Arugula
Bon Appétit December 2006

Makes 8 servings.

Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier

ingredients
16 thin slices prosciutto (about 8 ounces)
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
1 large Fuyu persimmon, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
4 ounces baby arugula
1/2 cup pistachios, toasted
Extra-virgin olive oil
Pomegranate vinegar* (pomegranate vinegar is $12.00. I used sherry vinegar I had on hand)

*Available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

preparation
Arrange 2 prosciutto slices on each plate. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over. Arrange persimmon next to prosciutto. Mound arugula atop prosciutto. Scatter pistachios over. Sprinkle with pepper; drizzle with oil and vinegar.


Yes it's another fab fricassee! This one has no garlic. I served it with roasted cauliflower (toss with a little olive oil salt and pepper. Spread on a foil lined cookie sheet and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes turning every 10 minutes).

I was a bit confused on the cooking instructions as the times don't jibe with the other fricassee recipe. I included my modification.

For the wine I used Viognier because it's my favorite white wine.



Fricassee of Chicken with white Wine Capers and Olives

1 3-4 lb chicken cut into 8 serving pieces
Sea Salt
Finely ground white pepper
3 tbs Extra Virgin Olive oil
2 onions, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cups white wine
2 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled seeded cored and chopped
1 cup Picholine olives, pitted, or pimento stuffed olives(I found Picholines at the olive bar)
1/4 cup capers in vinegar, drained.

Season chicken with salt and pepper.

heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Brown chicken for 5 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Reduce heat to low and add onions and cover pan. Sweat onions of 3 minutes. Add chicken back to pan and add remaining ingredients. Cover pan and simmer on low until chicken ins done. Recipe says 1 hour. I brought sauce to boil, reduced to low and simmered for 30 minutes.