Tag Archives: salad

Feb23

Grilled sweet potato salad

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On President’s Day, we decided to have a last-minute barbeque. Paco made ribs, and I made a grilled sweet potato salad and a broccoli salad.

When choosing sweet potatoes for this recipe, choose big fat ones. If you slice the smaller ones, they will fall through the slots in the grill. I followed the original recipe pretty closely, except I skipped par-cooking the sweet potatoes, and I added red pepper flakes for a little heat.

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad
Adapted from Bobby Flay

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch slices
8 scallions
3/4 c olive oil
kosher salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T dijon mustard
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Put the sweet potatoes into a large mixing bowl, then toss with 1/4 c of olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes. Grill for a few minutes on each side, until they are fork tender.

Brush or spray the scallions with a little bit of olive oil, then grill until they have grill marks. Remove from the grill and slice.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the 1/2 c of olive oil, the apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and honey.

Combine the sweet potatoes, scallions, and dressing in a large bowl and toss to combine. Garnish with parsley and serve while still warm. (You could serve this cold, as well, but make sure to combine the ingredients while they’re still warm so that the potatoes absorb the dressing.)

Feb22

Broccoli and bacon salad

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A few weeks ago, our friend brought a broccoli salad that he had bought at a deli to our apartment. It was delicious, and I knew that I had to try to create something similar myself.  This version turned out quite well.  I didn’t use much mayo because I don’t really care for it, but you could definitely adjust the recipe to use more mayo and less vinegar and oil.

Broccoli and Bacon Salad

2 heads of broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
1/3 c slivered almonds
1/3 c dried cranberries
1/3 c finely chopped red onion
1/3 c (or more) diced bacon, about 5 strips
1/3 c mayonnaise
1/2 c olive oil
1 T sugar
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
kosher salt
black pepper

Combine the broccoli, almonds, cranberries, red onion, and 2/3 of the diced bacon in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, olive oil, sugar, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Taste the dressing and adjust seasoning.

Add the dressing to the broccoli mixture and toss to combine. Garnish with the remaining bacon.

Feb2

Chicken salad with apples

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I used my leftover roast chicken to make a simple and delicious chicken salad. I like something sweet in my chicken salad, as well as a variety of textures, so I added apples.

Especially considering that it took five minutes to make, it was ridiculously good.  You can use any type of chicken, but I think that the roast chicken made it more flavorful. If you don’t have a roast chicken lying around, you could buy a pre-made one from the supermarket.

Chicken Salad with Apples

2 c. chicken, diced or broken into small pieces
3 ribs celery, finely sliced
1 apple, diced
1/3 c mayo
kosher salt
lemon pepper
black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on toasted bread as an open-face sandwich.

Jan5

Panzanella salad

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Even though it’s January, the weather has been quite summery here lately. One of our favorite things to eat when it’s warm out is panzanella.  This “recipe” can be modified as much as you’d like. I don’t usually measure when I make this, so you can adjust the amounts  to taste.  You can also add cucumbers, olives, or anything else that sounds good to the salad.

Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
1/2 loaf of baguette
1 lb. tomatoes, I used mini heirlooms from Trader Joe’s
10 basil leaves, chopped or ripped
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, or as much as you like
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Parmesan or Romano cheese

1.  First make the dressing. Mix 2 parts olive oil with 1 part vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.  Add a bit of mustard or dry mustard if you’d like.

2. Toast the bread. Slice the baguette into 3/4 inch slices. You can drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, or you can leave them plain. If you like extra garlic, cut a clove of garlic in half, then rub it along the slices of bread before baking. Bake at 425 degrees F for a few minutes, until lightly toasted. Cut the bread into cubes. (OR, you can get really crazy like I did, and smear a little bit of this garlic crack spread that they sell at the farmer’s market on the bread before toasting, for extra garlic flavor.)

3. While the bread is toasting, slice your tomatoes into a size that works for you. I usually use cherry tomatoes and slice them in half. Slice the mozzarella balls into bite-size pieces.  Toss the tomatoes, mozzarella, and red onion with the dressing.

Look how cute the “mini heirlooms” are!

4. Add the bread, a sprinkle of parmesan, the basil, salt, and pepper to the salad.

Serve immediately, before the bread gets soggy.