Dunk & Crumble

Salads

Roasted Padron & Fresh Tomato Salad

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Today, a salad.  Because in exactly one week I will be 28 years old and, on a day like that, salad is not going to cut it.  On that particular and quickly approaching day, some sort of chocolate/peanut butter/more chocolate monstrosity will likely be in order, but today? Today we will stick with this simple and lovely, bright and mischievous salad.  We’re only 27, after all.

Padron peppers are full of mischief.  Buggery.  Small and unassuming, they look out brightly from the stalls of the Bay Area farmer’s markets, their green skins smooth and shiny. Look at the cute and tiny peppers!  You’ll probably buy some, because you will buy pretty much anything in miniature form (I can’t be the only one who does this. …No?  Right?  Anybody?!?).  You’ll try one.  It will be crisp, mild, herby.  Another one!  It’ll go down snappy and smooth.  Then, a third…

Straight buggery.

Your eyes will widen and your jaw, it’ll slack.  That third pepper will be SPICY.  It will slap you in the face with spice, firstly because it’s just plain spicy, but secondly because you hadn’t expected it to be so.  Mischief!  Wonderment!  Pepper roulette!

It’s sort of fun, really.  This time of year, late summer, Padron peppers contain more capsaicin than in June or July (now, about 1 in 5 is spicy, says my farmer’s market vendor) a phenomenon which makes for one interesting salad, no?

So let’s roast some Padrons with olive oil and salt, and then pair them with fresh, cooling tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon.  We’ll get a good balance of sweet and spice, salt and citrus and, most importantly, it will be a salad that’s fun to eat.  Exciting, even.  I mean, we’re 27 years old.  Next week we’ll be 28.  Let’s get our kicks while we still can, eh?

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Scarlet Queen Red Turnip Salad

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I’m not usually one to buy turnips at the farmer’s market, especially during the summer when my eyes are easily taken by all of the other beauties of the season — fuzzy peaches, ruby raspberries, fat tomatoes, squash blossoms.  Show me a turnip amidst this gold mine of summer produce and I’ll probably look at it and say something like “oh.  A turnip.”

But!  Show me a deep pink bulb attached to bright green, stalky leaves, and I’ll probably say something like “oh!  A radish.”  Which would be an honest mistake.  Luckily, you’d correct me by saying something like “actually, it’s a turnip!  A Scarlet Queen Red turnip!” Then you’d give me a sample (I think it’s pretty clear that you are now the owner of a vegetable stall at the Ferry building farmer’s market) and I’d look at you, wide eyed, my jaw neatly crunching the raw, surprisingly sweet and very faintly bitter root.  I’d swallow and smile, and then make that guy Ben come over to taste it, too.  He’d say “yum,” and then you’d say “right?” and then we’d say “sold!”

And then we’d have a bunch of radish-looking turnips lying around.

Since you (you veggie-stall-owning-genius you) had informed us that we could, indeed, eat them raw (and I’d be feeling too lazy to turn on the stove for roasting or quick pickles) we’d use them in a salad. A supremely crunchy, bitter, sweet and salty, bright and verdant salad.  With a hunk of crusty bread and some cheese, it’d be lunchtime perfection, without a berry or peach in sight.

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Grilled Pineapple Salsa

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Certain events unfolded over the weekend which left me feeling, what’s the word?  Oh, awful.  And by “certain events,” I mean “margaritas,” and by “awful” I mean “terrible.”

So, so terrible.

Naturally, this tequila-induced Awfulness lead to a declaration on my part to, from here on out, subsist on nothing but vegetables and water.  I could do it, too.  I could walk on sharp tacks, bathe in rubbing alcohol (ugh, please don’t say alcohol), watch a horror film with my eyes open — any one of these things might feel better than the Awfulness.  Vegetables and water.  Detox.  I’m doing it.

Saturday morning, this was.  So I drank some water, ate sliced cucumbers, went out for a walk.  Easy.

That’s when I got hungry.

While Ben laughed at my inability to eat only vegetables for one day, I revised my previous declaration to state that I would only eat vegetable-based meals for an entire week.  You know, as opposed to pastry-based ones.

It’s been two whole days, and the declaration remains intact.  I tried to bake a pound cake today and it exploded in the oven.  (What?  Even professionals explode cakes from time to time.)  If that’s not a sign, I’ll eat my foot (covered with cucumbers, obviously).

So, in honor of the Awfulness, I present to you a delicious, veggie- (fine, fruit-) based recipe.  Grilled pineapple salsa.  To be eaten over greens and maybe some black beans or tofu.  Or chicken.  Maybe turkey burgers?  Pita chips.  Whatever.  Just, please, hold the margarita.

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Casey’s Apple Date Walnut Salad (Charoset)

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I did Passover a little differently this year.  I did it on the west coast, for one, and I did it without the usual crowd — no Aunt Lissie, Mom, Dad, sisters, original girl cousins, or any other east coast family, for that matter.  Lucky for me, I have family, both real and makeshift (which, let’s be honest, also counts as real), here in the Bay.

There were 10 of us at last night’s Seder (a little late, yes, but no matter – Elijah still came), only two of us actually Jewish, but all of us open-minded and enthusiastic.  We drank wine, we said prayers, we ate matzoh balls, and we tore through our hosts beautiful apartment in search of the Afikomen.  We told the story of Passover, drank more wine, and ate flourless chocolate cake while singing Happy Birthday, competing with each other to see whose voice sounded best.  I don’t want to say we’re bad singers, but the Happy Birthday contest probably could have been the 11th plague.  Was it unconventional?  Yes.  Was it perfect?  Yup.

Happy Passover, everyone.

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Warm Truffled Mushroom Salad

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This is a salad.  That is correct.  Sure, it gets drizzled with truffle oil, sprinkled with strong cheese and topped with fried shallots… but!  Technically, salad.  I mean, there are vegetables in this thing and you eat it with a fork.  So, salad!  Perfectly acceptable for consumption in this austere month of January.  Don’t you agree?

Don’t tell my mother, but I almost ripped out the battery from my smoke alarm making this salad.  The thing is exceptional, in that if I accidentally breath on it wrong, it beeps uncontrollably.  Beep!  Beep!  Beeeeeeep!  It loved the “sautée the mushrooms in batches” step of this recipe.  Loved it.  BEEP BEEEEEEP!

But you know.  All’s well that ends well, some people say.  And I think I may have mentioned that this ends with truffle oil and crispy shallots.  So, yes.  Ends well.

 

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Roasted Acorn Squash & Arugula

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As I sit here on my bed, otherwise known as my office, Sunday light streaming through my window and Sam Cooke bopping from my speakers, I can’t think what to write.  My toes are tapping and I want to go outside.  I suppose I’ll just get straight to the squash.

I know come February I’ll be entirely sick of it, but I can’t help it – I’ve started in on the cool weather squash.  Smooth or nubbly, dark green or deep orange, long-necked or squat – I need the squash.  In my kitchen.  Pretty much now.

 

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Roasted Fennel Panzanella

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Excuse me?  Yes, um, hi.  Sorry to bother you, but there seems to be, um… there’s bread in this salad.  Also, there’s no lettuce.  In the salad.

Yep.  It’s true.  There is bread, and I mean hunking cubes of baguette, not measly croutons, in this salad.  Also there’s nary a leaf of lettuce.  In the salad.  Nobody panic.

This, my friends, is called panzanella.  Hi.

Contrary to popular belief, panzanella is not the last name of the newest cast member of the Jersey Shore.  Rather, it’s salad of bread and tomatoes, and it is genius.

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Green Tomato and Honeydew Salad

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It’s not really summer yet, you know. I mean yes, it’s hot, and yes, my hair is extra frizzy, and YES, it feels perfectly okay to replace lunch with frozen yogurt. The shorts are short and the coffee is iced and the subway smells like subway. And there are cherries at the market. Summer!

But the tomatoes are green. It’s only almost summer. Almost time for barbecues and popsicles and sunsets on the beach.

It’s getting close. I’m stocking up on sunscreen and skirts. And, for now, green tomatoes will do just fine.


Green Tomato & Honeydew Salad

Green tomatoes and honeydew might sound like an odd pairing, but this salad is bright and fresh and full of flavor. It’s also gorgeous. An edible study in shades of green.

Ingredients:

  • 3 green tomatoes, chopped into bite sized chunks
  • 1/2 honeydew melon, chopped into bit sized chunks
  • 2 limes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 1 bunch scallions (about 4-5 scallions), sliced into thin rounds
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine chopped green tomatoes and honeydew melon. Squeeze the juice from the limes over the fruit, and drizzle the olive oil on top. Throw in the cilantro, scallions, salt and pepper, and toss everything to combine. Sprinkle the feta cheese on top, and serve chilled or at room temperature.

This serves 2 people as a main course for lunch, or 4 as a monochromatic side dish, maybe to grilled chicken or a smoky BLT.

Mediterranean Bread Salad with Chickpeas

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As most of you know, this past weekend was Memorial Day Weekend. You probably know this because, instead of going to work on Monday, you spent the day paying homage to our American heroes and celebrating the beginning of summer by eating juicy burgers, drinking cold beer, and slurping ice cream at various picnics and backyard barbecues. A pretty wonderful holiday, in my opinion. This year, my family decided to take a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, for the long weekend, where we skipped the traditional Memorial Day fare of burgers and dogs and focused mainly on pulled pork. And coleslaw. And lemon icebox pie.

We ate all this at Jim and Nick’s, and if you’re ever in Charleston, I highly recommend a trip. You could also take tours of the old Plantations and the famous Fort Sumter (the site of the start of the Civil War), if you’re so inclined. We did most of that, but when push comes to shove, my family is less historically inclined and more gastronomically inclined (really, can you blame us? Just look at that pie, for goodness sake). Basically, our trip to Charleston consisted of a few horse-drawn carriage tours and way too much food.

As it happens, we were sampling some (more) local cuisine one day at lunch, and I noticed that one of the salads on the menu boasted “chic peas” as an ingredient. This intrigued me greatly. I have never heard of chic peas, but they certainly sound like a very elegant and stylish pea, don’t you think? Anyway, I was pleased to hear my mother order the salad featuring chic peas, and was itching with anticipation to learn the identity of such a fashionably named legume. Lo and behold, my mother’s salad was brought to the table, and I finally learned that a chic pea is… actually just a misspelling of the word “chick pea.” Garbanzo bean. What a letdown.

At any rate, my sister and I shared a good laugh over the orthographical error of the chic pea, and when I got back to New York yesterday and found scant little in my pantry, I decided to open a can of my very own chic peas as inspiration for a quick, thrown-together-from-the-pantry dinner. Not quite as good as Charleston barbecue, but chic enough for me.

Mediterranean Bread Salad with Chick Peas

This is a take on traditional bread salad, or panzanella, which usually incorporates day-old bread scraps, tomatoes and olive oil. I use crumbled pita chips instead of stale bread, and I pair it with a mix of bright Mediterranean flavors, including tomatoes, olives, chick (chic) peas, cucumbers, and lemon juice. For a thrown-together, no-cooking involved dinner, it’s pretty darn satisfying. I ate the salad as a stand-alone meal, but it would be delicious served alongside some grilled chicken or fish for a more robust lunch or dinner. Keep in mind, this is more recipe guide than actual recipe – I guessed on most of the measurements, and the ingredients themselves are merely suggestions. Feel free to add or subtract certain veggies, or, for extra chic-ness, throw in a handful of feta cheese… you little salad stylista, you.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup canned chick peas, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 large cucumber, chopped
  • 1/4 cup mixed olives, chopped (I used a Greek mix)
  • 1/2 cup pita chips, lightly crumbled into bite-size pieces
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Mix together the chick peas, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and pita chips in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic. Mix until incorporated, and serve immediately if you want the pita to stay crunchy.

Serves 1 for lunch or dinner, 2 if eaten as a side dish.