Here’s another salad for your viewing and eating pleasure. I pulled out whatever vegetables and herbs were left before my CSA pick-up day and put ‘em all together with a simple mustard vinaigrette.
1 small fennel bulb
1/2 pound green beans
1 small carrot
1 tablespoon finely minced red onion
1 teaspoon grainy mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil
chopped herbs (I used dill and parsley)
Blanch or steam the green beans until they are crisp-tender. Dunk them in ice water, then dry them off and cut into bite-size segments.
Slice the fennel and carrots very thin using a mandoline or a very sharp knife (and crazy good knife skills if you want to compete with the mandoline).
Combine onion, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir until salt dissolves. Toss with vegetables. Finish with a good drizzle of olive oil and chopped herbs.
There is restaurant Indian food, and then there is homemade Indian food. The former typically features menus with deep fried things, tikka masala things, and a flavor that I can only describe as “Americanized sweetness” (you’ll find this at Thai and Chinese restaurants too). The latter is something I came to know a bit in the homes of childhood friends and more recently, their grown-up kitchens. As you might expect, the homemade stuff tastes like something you could eat everyday, not something heavy enough to mess up the rest of your night.
One of these aforementioned friends cooked up some baingan bharta (mashed eggplant with tomatoes and a whole lot of delicious seasonings) and I was a little jealous that this video of Rajen wasn’t taken in my kitchen. I had been saving a couple of eggplants to finally try it out, and this was more than enough inspiration to get me through being in a kitchen with all four burners (and the oven) blazing.
A brief overview of how I made it:
Roast, steam, microwave, or grill eggplant (the big purple globe kind) until soft. Set aside and let cool.
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, which will sputter and pop. Add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, minced hot pepper, minced garlic, and minced ginger. When everything has softened up, add chopped tomatoes, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and salt. Cover and let it all simmer into a loose sauce (add a bit of water if things start to stick).
Remove skin from eggplant and roughly mash the flesh. Add to tomato sauce mixture and heat through. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
As you can plainly see, this is among the least photogenic edible things I’ve made. I doubt anyone will be reblogging this one on tumblr. What it lacks in appearance it makes up for in flavor: a little sweet, gently garlicky, and brightened up by lemon juice. The recipe can be found here. I found that the roasted eggplant provided enough of its own natural sweetness that I cut the amount of honey called for by half.
I have another fresh, easy, interesting, everything-you-need-right-now salad to share. It’s from 101 Cookbooks, with a few tweaks: lime juice instead of lemon juice, and shredded coconut instead of big flakes. Be careful when toasting the coconut — it will brown pretty quickly.
And now, since it is too hot to even type, I must go lay in a bathtub full of ice water.
This week’s issue of New York Magazine has a delicious recipe from ABC Kitchen (a new favorite) for a simple salad with lettuce, radishes, olives, and a nutty vinaigrette. Perfect for enjoying summer radishes and all the beautiful frilly lettuces piling up at the farmers’ market and CSA shares around here. I used basil instead of tarragon and skinny green onions instead of chives. Still delicious.
I’m still on this cold/picnic/unintentionally vegan food kick. Cold sesame noodles are a classic Chinese takeout dish that easily please. They also make good use of leftover cooked noodles and warm summer days spent indoors poring over class lecture notes (no one has to smell my spicy garlic breath). I like my sesame noodles extra spicy and without peanut butter. Strips of cucumber add a little textural contrast and help cool off your tongue a bit. You can also add shredded chicken to make it a full-on meal.
(serves 1)
4 ounces fresh wheat or egg noodles, (or you could even use spaghetti)
2 tablespoons well-stirred Chinese sesame paste
1/4 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon finely minced garlic
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
garlic chili sauce (Sriracha works too) and/or hot chili oil, to taste
julienne cucumber, scallions, and toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool water. If you’re using leftover cooked noodles sitting in the fridge, loosen them up a bit by placing them in a colander and running some warm water over them. This way, you don’t get a giant, stuck-together clump of stiff and sticky noodles.
Combine remaining ingredients (except garnishes) to make sauce. Combine noodles with sauce and toss to coat evenly. Serve with cucumber, scallions, and sesame seeds.
I’ve always had a thing for tofu in all its forms. I kind of forgot about shredded tofu until I came across a small bag of the stuff at a supermarket in Chinatown. The noodly strands are served as a cold appetizer dish (sometimes for free) at casual Chinese restaurants here and there. I don’t remember exactly where I’ve had it, but the most memorable version had rice vinegar, sesame oil, edamame, shredded carrots, and scallions in it. I attempted to recreate it, with mixed results. How do they get such bland tofu so tangy? I feel like I dumped an awful lot of vinegar into mine but couldn’t taste it very well. In any event, it’s a light and delightful thing to have around when the weather is warm and you’d rather not do much cooking. Thinly sliced celery would also add a nice crunch.
Here’s a lentil salad I threw together for a weekend trip/beach picnic in Montauk. I scraped up some French green lentils from the back of the pantry and combined them with leftover cooked bulgur, chopped artichoke hearts, crisp radishes, minced red onion, lemon juice, olive oil, and lots of fresh scallions, mint, and parsley. (Tip: add a tiny splash of plain white vinegar to the cooking water to keep the lentils from getting too mushy.)
Pairs well with: half a baguette, a hunk of soft cheese, mixed olives, a sneaky carton of white wine, sunshine, the sound of the ocean, and a 1-year-old marriage. Anniversaries, Mitch & John style.
I know a lot of people out there identify with (and therefore have a strong sense of affection toward) fictional character Liz Lemon, but I had a moment with 30 Rock when she outlined her upcoming plans in a recent episode: “There’s just four things I wanna do this summer: be outdoors, wear shapeless clothing, do some mindless activity like gardening, and learn Spanish.” So far I haven’t done any gardening, but I think shelling fresh peas counts as an equivalent mindless activity. They are definitely worth the labor. Fresh peas aren’t starchy and mushy like frozen or canned peas. They are crisp and pop in your mouth when you chew them.
Another spring/early summer headliner at the farmers’ market is the new potato, so named because they’re harvested before they reach full maturity. New potatoes are small, have thin skin, and are lower in starch than older/regular potatoes. Steaming is a common way to cook these delicate little tubers. I had them warm and tossed with a simple vinaigrette, but the dish keeps well and is also good cold.
25 small (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter) new potatoes, cut in half
2/3 cup fresh peas
2 teaspoons minced shallot
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
7 large mint leaves, chopped or chiffonade
Steam potatoes in a steamer basket for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a knife cuts through one easily and there are no traces of crunchiness (just eat one). Add peas and steam for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, combine shallot, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper to make dressing.
Toss potatoes and peas with dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to let the potatoes marinate a bit. Add chopped mint leaves just before serving (they turn brown as they sit in the dressing).
After having several vivid dreams about shopping for spring vegetables (I am not joking), I decided to scratch that subconscious itch and head down to the Union Square greenmarket this week, with visions of radishes dancing in my head. And crunchy sugar snap peas. I combined them with a lightly tangy dressing, creamy white beans, and a bunch of fresh herbs to make a perfectly portable salad that I can bring to lunch at school, potlucks, barbecues, and picnics (check out an earlier post to see how much I over-think these kinds of things).
1 can (15 oz) of small white beans, drained and rinsed
3 radishes, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline set at 2.0mm)
about 1/3 pound snap peas, cut in half
1-2 teaspoons minced shallot (depending on how oniony you like things)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
a couple squeezes of lemon juice (about 2 teaspoons)
1 heaping tablespoon plain yogurt (optional)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Combine shallot, vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make dressing. Toss with beans, vegetables, and herbs. Taste and adjust seasonings.
