Spring is officially here! Sure there's still a chill in the air in the mornings, and sometimes even still at lunch time, but flowers are blooming, grass is turning green and if you're a gardener, you might even be harvesting some lettuce.
While I'm not growing any lettuce this spring, I've still been on a salad kick, and have been looking for ways to make salads fun. I seriously get in a rut of lettuce, red peppers, baby carrots, chopped cucumber, and grape tomatoes, with whatever almost-used up salad dressing bottle we have left in the fridge. These are sad salads. I want good salads, like the ones you order at restaurants because you don't want to eat something too heavy but still want to get filled up and enjoy all that freshness.
The first recipe today is for a southern fattoush. I discovered fattoush — a Middle Eastern salad with cucumber, pepper, tomato and fresh herbs chopped up with the lettuce — about a year ago, and I've been making it every now and then since. This recipe makes it "southern" by adding some Vidalia onion and a can of black-eyed peas, making it a little more filling. I'm excited to try this variation the next time I want fattoush.
Second, I saw this recipe for a rainbow cauliflower rice bowl, which is not a traditional salad, but it looked interesting. The rainbow part of the name is a little misleading, since the colors only come from the toppings you add into it, such as rainbow Swiss chard stems and avocado. But the main body of the salad is "riced" cauliflower, which is where you steam cauliflower and then cut it into tiny, tiny bites like rice. That may sound difficult, but if you've ever tried cutting cauliflower florets up into bite-size pieces for a toddler, you'll know that those little bits of floret start falling apart themselves quite easily.
And finally, another spin on the strawberry and spinach salad, with the addition of cooked quinoa and goat cheese to make it more filling. I think the maple-balsamic dressing will really brighten up the quinoa, making both the salad and the quinoa taste more delicious.
Do you have a favorite spring salad? I'd love to hear any suggestions, so feel free to email me a recipe.
Enjoy!
Southern fattoush
Dressing:
4 teaspoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3/8 teaspoon ground sumac
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salad:
2 (6-inch) pitas, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup sliced English cucumber
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped arugula
1/4 cup minced Vidalia onion
1 (15-ounce) can unsalted black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Gradually drizzle in oil, stirring constantly with a whisk.
To prepare salad, arrange torn pita in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes, stirring after 4 minutes. Cool completely. Reserve 1/2 cup toasted pita.
Combine tomato and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add remaining toasted pita and dressing to bowl; toss well to coat. Top evenly with reserved 1/2 cup toasted pita. Serve immediately.
Source: www.myrecipes.com
Rainbow cauliflower rice bowl
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Fine grain sea salt, to taste
1 teaspoon ghee, coconut oil, or olive oil
1 bunch of chives
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into eights
Fresh lemon juice
Some or all of the following: little lettuces or micro greens, sliced chard stems, sliced avocado, toasted seeds, hard-boiled egg
Combine the turmeric, cumin, generous pinch of cayenne and salt, with the ghee in a large bowl. Set aside. Puree the chives with the olive oil and another pinch of salt in a blender. Blend well, and set aside.
Steam the cauliflower until tender, about 7 minutes. Alternately, cook in a pot of lightly salted water until tender, just 2 minutes or so. (If using chard, you can also cook chard stems along with the cauliflower at this point, just until tender.) Drain and proceed.
When cool enough to handle, transfer the cauliflower to a cutting board, and chop into small, rice-sized pieces. Transfer to the bowl containing the spices and stir until everything is equally coated. Taste, and add more salt if needed.
To serve, toss any lettuces with a bit of the chive oil and arrange in individual bowls (or on a family-style platter). Add the cauliflower rice, as well as any avocado, egg, seeds, and/or chard stems. Drizzle with more of the chive oil, and finish with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Serves 4.
Source: www.101cookbooks.com
Strawberry, quinoa and chopped spinach salad
Dressing ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon real maple syrup
1 teaspoon shallot, finely chopped
Salad ingredients:
3/4 cup cooked quinoa, warmed
2 to 3 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled
Black pepper and sea salt, to taste
2/3 cup strawberries, chopped
2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons pecan pieces
Cook the quinoa: Note that 1 cup of dry quinoa yields over 3 cups cooked quinoa. Rinse the quinoa well in a mesh colander, then combine the rinsed quinoa with twice as much water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed, remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
Make the dressing: In a small jar, combine the ingredients listed below. Either use a fork to whisk the ingredients well or screw a lid on the jar and give it a few good shakes. Taste the dressing and adjust the flavors if necessary (add vinegar for a more tart dressing, or maple syrup for a sweeter dressing). Set the dressing aside.
Toast the pecans: In a small pan over medium heat, toast your pecan pieces until they are fragrant and golden (stir often). This should take around five minutes.
In a bowl, mix together ¾ cup or more of warm quinoa with the goat cheese, salt and pepper. Mix in the strawberries and spinach, drizzle with as much dressing as desired, and mix well. Top with pecan pieces.
Source: cookieandkate.com
