Category: Salad

10/22/2012 1 Comment

Caribbean Sweet-Potato Salad

I'm on a mission to get through the rows of cookbooks I have and either use them or find them a new home.

Browsing through "Vegetarian Planet 350 Big Flavor Recipes for Out-of-This-World Food Every Day" by Didi Emmons I came across an interesting potato salad.

It's refreshing blend of corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes dressed in s cliantro vinegratte with a suprising ingredient, cucumbers. I think this book is a keeper!

1 large russet potato, peeled and quartered
1 large sweet potato, peeled and quartered
1 cup corn kernels (from about 1 1/2 ears)

1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced into thin rounds
1/2 red onion, sliced thin

1/4 cup finely chopped dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts

Put the russet pieces into a large saucepan and cover them with salted water. Bring the potatoes to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium, and simmer the potatoes for 10 minutes more. Add the sweet potato pieces, and cook about 15 minutes more. Remove a piece of each potato, and cut it in half to see if it has cooked enough. You should feel a bit of resistance with both potatoes; don't let them cook until they are breaking apart. Once the potatoes are tender, promptly add the corn kernels, and cook another 30 seconds. Quickly drain the vegetables in a colander, and fill the saucepan with cold water, and leave them for 5 minutes to stop the cooking.

In a large bowl, combine the mustard, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic. Stir with a whisk. Slowly add the oil while whisking. Add the salt and pepper.

Drain the cooked sweet and white potatoes, and cut them into 1" cubes. Add the potatoes, the cucumber, and the red onion to the vinagrette. Toss well.

Serve the salad at room temperature or chilled. Toss the peanuts in just before serving. Well covered in the refrigerator, this salad keeps for 3 days.

1 Comment

7/16/2012 1 Comment

Grilled Zucchini & Corn Salad

One of my favorite things about Wisconsin summers is enjoying fresh zucchini.

A good friend is keeping us supplied since I didn't get any planted this year.

For a party I was hosting I just knew there had to be some of this amazing veggie so I turned to my grill and some other local veggies available at Growing Power!

FOR THE GRILL:
4 ears corn, shucked and soaked in sugar water overnight or longer
(I fill a container with water and sprinkle some sugar in and cover and set in the fridge for a couple days)
1 large zucchini, ends cut off and sliced the long way into 4-8 pieces depending on the thickness
1 large bell pepper, any color
1 serrano chili pepper

Grill the above veggies on medium heat until you see grill marks or blistered skin on the peppers. I go for low fat so I grilled all naked. For a richer salad, you can coat all the veggies in olive oil.
Allow all veggies to cool. Cut corn off cobs, chop zucchini into 1/4" wide triangles and dice peppers. Toss with drssing below.

FOR THE DRESSING:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
Whisk the above together. Season with salt and pepper (I prefer celrey salt) here.

FINISH WITH:
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion (Red or whatever you have on hand, I used a nice local cippolini)
1/4 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese
1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Mix veggies with the dressing along with the feta, onions and cilantro. Save a little cilantro to put on top for garnish.

1 Comment

6/28/2012 0 Comments

Wisconsin Egg Salad

I love egg salad and trying different variations. My last craving took me to a recipe from Martha that had an interesting blend of Greek Yogurt and Ricotta. I didn't have ricotta but I had some Quark from a local cheese shop I recently visited. So I adapted the recipe a little and ended up making it into a great sandwich using several of my favorite local Wisconsin products! The end result was a rich creamy egg salad winner...
4 Large Eggs (Growing Power)
1 1/2 Tbsp Quark (Clock Shadow Creamery)
1 1/2 Tbsp Greek Yogurt (Sugar River Dairy)
1 Tsp Dijon Mustard (Organicville)
1 Tsp Freshly Chopped Chives
1/4 Tsp Salt (I went with celrey salt)
Freshly Ground Pepper
4 Slices Bread (Sprouted Bakehouse)
1 Cup Lettuce (i used microgreen mix)

Sugar River Dairy's Greek Yogurt is rich and creamy, perfect along with Clock Shadow Creamery's fresh Quark! And Organicville's Dijon Mustard is a staple in my fridge!

Whisk quark, yogurt, mustard, chives, and salt in a small bowl;
season with pepper.

I am hard boiled egg making challenged so I use an egg helper! Just throw in with the eggs, it's fool proof!

When egg turns black they are good to go! Add cold water to the pot and allow eggs to cool before handling.

When eggs are cool, chop and add to
bowl with remaining ingredients.

Toast the bread.
I love sprouted grains, and The Sprouted Bakehouse makes some great versions!

Spread egg salad on bread and top with greens!

0 Comments

5/20/2012 5 Comments

Zombie Killer Salad

Workplace potlucks... love 'em but sometimes deciding what to make is too much. I knew I wanted to take advantage of the great Growing Power greens we have available at the farmer's market at my work but decisions, decisions. Aftter thinking then finally going through my recipe files I found the perfect thing... a green salad with a Fruit Ale Dressing from Vegetarian Times. I thought this would be perfect since I recently met the sister in law for dinner at a restaurant in her workplace, Bartolotta's Rumpus Room and tried this amazing Zombie Killer beer that I immediately hunted down after that amazing meal and still have 2 bottles left in the fridge. It has a nice sweet cherry flavor that would work well for this recipie. I gave it a try, nervous since I prefer to do tried and true recipies for gatherings like this, but it turned out great and was pretty simple for this Thursday night in the kitchen.

DRESSING:
1 - 750ml bottle ZOMBIE KILLER by B. Nektar
2 Tbsp
Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 Cup Olive Oil (I used a Spanish variety)

Bring ZOMBIE KILLER to a boil in a 2 qt saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and
simmer about 30-45 minutes until liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Cool.
Whisk ZOMBIE KILLER, Maple Syrup, and Mustard together. Slowly whisk in Olive
Oil. Season with salt and pepper (I used home made celrey salt).
Store dressing until ready to use. I put back in the ZOMBIE KILLER bottle and
closed with a wine stopper from my Rabbit Wine bottle opener but I'm sure a cork
would work too).

SALAD:
1 Large Bunch Arugula or other Greens (I used combination of Arugula, Bib Lettuce, Spinach)
2 Thinly Sliced Gala Apples (or any other sweet apple will work)
1/2 Cup Golden Rasins
1/4 Cup Chopped Toasted Pecans

I tore up the greens and threw in the salad spinner to wash and left there for transport. The apples were cut up the night before and I let them sit in some lemon juice in the fridge to prevent browning. Toasted pecans were mixed with the rasins and put in their own container ready to take to work in the morning.

The next morning I grabbed the beer bottle of dressing, salad spinner, apples and nut/raisin mix along with a serving bowl and salad tongs. Salad was tossed with about half of the dressing at party time.

It was a hit and gone in no time! Salad and beer was quite the pairing in our office! I already have requests to make again... I might mix it up with some blue cheese or dried cranberries depending on the mood.

5 Comments

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Caribbean Sweet-Potato Salad

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