I Owe You a Salad

After all those Nutella treats last week, I was left craving a salad.
A really good salad. The kind that makes you not care if there's anything else for dinner.

When I was growing up (and probably you too), salad consisted of a cellophane wrapped head of iceberg lettuce, a pinkish tomato or two from that plastic cello-pack and a cucumber. Dusty croutons from a box were a special treat. In those days, I didn't even care for salad dressing. 


Thankfully, salads have evolved a lot since then. The choice of lettuces is wide and varied. It can be topped with anything from sunflower seeds to exotic mushrooms, goat cheese to artichoke hearts.
This one has roasted carrots and spicy jicama. It may sound like an odd combination, but it was really, really enjoyable. The soft, sweet carrots contrasted nicely with the cool bite of the jicama.
Don't fear the jicama. It's vegetable you may not be familiar with, but it's easy to prep and has an awesome crunch and refreshing taste. 
Peel the rough skin off with a paring knife, including the fibrous flesh that's just below the skin. Slice jicama then cut into strips.

And the dressing is divine - a tangy yogurt base, boosted with garlic, shallot and basil. I know I will make this over and over to use on many other salads. It makes a great dip too. 


Picante Jicama and Roasted Carrot Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing
adapted from Epicurious


8 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3" pieces


1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted


1 small jicama, peeled and cut into matchstick-sized pieces (about 1 1/3 cups)


freshly-squeezed juice of one lemon OR 2 limes


2 tsps. mild chile powder


1/8 tsp. cayenne (optional, use it if you like your food spicy)


4 cups mixed baby greens


1 head Belgian endive 


1 blood orange, peeled and thinly sliced (also optional)


Preheat oven to 400. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Spread carrots on baking sheet, then very lightly spray the carrots. Roast until soft and lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Let cool.


In a small bowl, toss jicama with lemon or lime juice. Sprinkle with chile powder and cayenne of using.


To serve, pile greens on large serving platter. Top with carrots and jicama. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Tuck endive leafs around the edges and garnish with orange slices.
Serve with dressing.

Creamy Basil Dressing


1/2 cup low fat or nonfat yogurt


2 Tbsps. white balsamic vinegar


1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice


2 Tbsps. fresh basil, chopped


1 tsp. chopped shallot


1  small clove garlic, chopped


sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until very smooth.

Oh Really? Salad?

Aside from the Orange-scented Brownies with Cranberries, Pistachios and Ginger and the Chocolate Macaroon Mountains, believe it or not, the best thing I've eaten in the past two weeks was a salad.
Yes, a salad.

You may think I'm all about chocolate. This blog would certainly give you that impression.
But a girl needs some healthy and lighter foods occasionally.

Salad sounds like summer food doesn't it?
My friend Betsy made this salad for our book group meeting last week (in case you're interested, we discussed The Book Thief) and it's the perfect winter salad, featuring roasted pears and fennel. I've already made it twice since then, and plan on doing it again this weekend, to go with our Hanukkah dinner.
If you have to bring a salad to a potluck in the next couple of weeks, this is the one. Easy and impressive.

Greens with Roasted Fennel, Pears and Parmesan

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced

2 ripe (but not mushy) pears , quartered, cored and thinly sliced
(I used Bosc)

2 large heads endive, trimmed and sliced crosswise

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/2 cup freshly shaved Parmesan cheese

4 cups mixed salad greens, or 4 cups arugula

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brush a baking sheet with one Tbsp. oil. Add the fennel, toss to coat and spread in an even layer.
Brush a second baking sheet with the remaining oil, add pears and toss to coat evenly. Spread in a single layer. Bake the fennel and pears until tender, about 30 minutes.

Place endive and greens in a large salad bowl. Top with pears and fennel, then shaved Parmesan and pine nuts.

Toss with vinaigrette:

2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. herbes de Provence

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil. Add herbs and salt and pepper, then whisk again thoroughly.

What's the best thing you ate all week?

Off to College and a Salad

I apologize for the recent absence from posting.
It's been a crazy and emotional week (or so) as we took our first born to college for the first time.
Lucky girl - at a beautiful school surrounded by mountains and a huge blue sky in Colorado.

Move-in day, while exhausting for all, could be viewed with humor.
As fresh-faced 18 year olds, glowing with anticipation, hauled boxes and bags, their parents straggled behind, schlepping even more stuff.

Dads, who in their "regular lives" are successful captains of industry, vice presidents of this or that, entrepreneurs, are suddenly superfluous and embarrassing. At least until the tuition bill comes.

 Mothers, stylish and competent at home or in the office, are feeling frumpy and melancholy for their younger selves. How can we possibly be old enough to have a child in college?

Girls, accustomed to private bedrooms and good water pressure, have to get used to shared space and shared bathrooms.

Boys check out the girls, who check out each other. The brave and confident introduce themselves at every opportunity. Life long friends?
Maybe. Maybe not.

The whole scene could be a case study for Anthropology 101.

And the kids who have food bloggers for parents?
Despondent at the thought of cafeteria food.

We treated our girl to a last supper at Osteria Marco.
Delicious chewy-crusted pizza with sausage and house-made ricotta.
Caprese with perfect ripe tomatoes.
And a beet salad, that inspired this recipe.

Like several of my other recipes, this one has easily interchangeable ingredients.
Switch hazelnuts or almonds for the pistachios. Sunflower seeds would be good too.
Use any kinds of greens you like.
Don't care for goat cheese? Try feta or gorgonzola.
And if you shudder at the thought of mixing fruit into your savory salad - just don't do it.
I'm also not going to give you exact measurements, because it's easy to add as much as you need for however many people you're serving.

Roasted Beet, Pistachio and Goat Cheese Salad


Arugula, or other leafy greens, such as a mesclun mix or spinach

Fresh beets, roasted and cut into chunks
To roast, trim off beet green stem. Wrap each beet in foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until a knife can be easily inserted into the center of the beet. Times may vary according to size of beets.
When the beets are cool, unwrap and peel off skin. Note: Use clean rubber gloves, or put your hands inside plastic sandwich bags to avoid staining your fingers bright pink.

Pistachios, or other nuts.
 If using almonds or hazelnuts, I would lightly toast them first.

Pink grapefruit sections
Do you know how to supreme a grapefruit? Watch this.

A couple of scallions, thinly sliced

A handful of chopped parsley

Goat cheese, whatever type you like

Start with the greens on the bottom of the salad plate or bowl. Add cheese, then beets, grapefruit and nuts. Sprinkle with chopped scallions and parsley.
Just before serving dress with a light vinaigrette, and toss.

You can make individual salads to serve at a dinner party, or layer everything in a large shallow bowl and serve family-style.
Even if your family has suddenly gotten smaller.