Glen Arbor Sun

For many years I’ve noticed that when I abandon recipes and choose my ingredients by color the food is more appealing. I’ve come to believe that a balance in color equals a balance in flavor, texture and nutrients. Salads are the perfect place for this approach. They can incorporate a wildly different selection of ingredients from leftover grilled chicken and yesterday’s bread, rice and steamed asparagus to smoked fish, pasta and beans. In other words, just about anything in your pantry might go into a great salad. Perhaps you sleepwalk through the produce aisle, drawn again and again to the watery crunch of head lettuce served baroque with blue cheese, or romaine tossed slippery and sweet with Caesar dressing? Salads can have far more passionate aspirations than you might suspect. With salad making, combinations are everything. Indonesian gado gado salad blankets shreds of curly cabbage, green beans, carrots and cucumbers with a spicy peanut sauce. California salads are compositions of apples and walnuts over endive. Italians top crispy little pizzas with arugula anointed with olive oil, salt, and lemon. The French toss butter lettuce with bitter greens like chicory and escarole and serve them after the main meal with mustard vinaigrette as a digestive.

Dive deep into the produce section for salad-makings like baby spinach, radicchio, chicory, escarole, mache, Bibb, endive, baby chard, oak leaf, green leaf, flat leaf parsley, and baby mustard greens. Wash them in cold water and spin them dry. Layer your green gatherings with paper toweling in ziplock bags and refrigerate.

Lettuce isn’t necessary for salads. Grains and beans, chopped raw vegetables and fruit can form the base for your next creation. How about diced cucumber, avocado, radish and pickled ginger or diced beets, dill and fennel?

Dressing for salads are essential — they pull a simple salad together with style. Although bottled dressings are great in a pinch, you might consider doing as the Italians do: extra virgin olive oil, salt and either fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar. I go a step further to prepare a large quantity of French style emulsified vinaigrette. You can vary it a thousand ways by adding herbs, bleu cheese, dried cherries, mango, capers, olive paste and more.

City Kitchen classic mustard vinaigrette
Makes about 2 cups

1 heaping tablespoon Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil or a mixture of half canola and half XVO

Pour the mustard, vinegar and water into a blender (or food processor) and blend till smooth. With the machine running, slowly, in a thin stream, add the oil until the vinaigrette is thick, creamy and delicious. Add water to thin and make less acidic.

Variations for 2 cups mustard vinaigrette:
Curry: 2 tablespoons toasted curry powder
Cumin/Southwestern: 2 level tablespoons ground toasted cuminseed
Herb: 2 tablespoons chopped herbs like basil or cilantro or parsley or dill
Pesto: 2 tablespoons basil pesto
Roasted garlic: 2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped roasted garlic
Wasabi: 3 to 4 teaspoons wasabi paste
Dried cherry: Simmer 1/4 cup dried cherries in 1/2 cup water till soft. Puree and add to mustard vinaigrette. Sweeten with 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup.

Just about any combination of cooked or raw vegetables will become wildly appealing with this dressing. I like it with avocado and cucumbers.

Asian sesame/rice vinegar vinaigrette
8 to 10 servings

1/4 cup Japanese brown rice vinegar
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce—I like San-J shoyu
1/4 cup Asian (roasted) sesame oil

Whisk together the ingredients.

You can find the TLC Tomatoes’ hydroponic bibb lettuce in grocery stores now. Its sweet tenderness is perfect for these rolls. Experiment with other combinations of fillings.

Fresh herb and salad spring rolls
4 servings—about 8 rolls

Mustard Vinaigrette

1 large head Bibb lettuce, leaves separated but left whole, washed and dried
1 cup assorted torn basil and flat leaf parsley leaves, washed and dried
2 pounds asparagus or green beans, trimmed and steamed till tender (about 5 minutes)
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and sliced into thin strips
1 package Thai dried rice paper wrappers

Prepare the vinaigrette and set it aside. Place a pan of warm water on your counter. Wet and wring out two clean cotton towels. Place one on the counter. Arrange the lettuce, herbs, asparagus, and chicken on a platter. Quickly immerse two rice paper wrappers in the water and let them sit until softened, about 1 minute. Keep the remaining wrappers covered in plastic or in their bag while you work.

Pull the wrappers out of the water and let them drain for a few seconds. Lay both side by side on your cotton towel and cover with the second towel. Blot well. Lay one wrapper on top of the other. If your wrappers are round, fold over the right side. Press to break the rib of a lettuce leaf and lay it on the bottom of the wrapper parallel to your counter edge with the top of the leaf overlapping the folded edge. The end of the lettuce leaf should be at least 1 1/2 inches from the opposite unfolded edge. Layer an eighth of the parsley and basil, asparagus, and grilled chicken breast strips over the lettuce leaf.

Fold up the bottom of the wrapper and tuck the unfolded left edge over. Continue to roll, as tightly as you can without tearing the wrapper. If the wrapper tears, simply lay it on top of another soaked and blotted wrapper and continue to roll. Lay the completed roll on its seam side into a pan and cover with plastic wrap. Finish seven remaining rolls. Cut the rolls in half and serve them on a plate drizzled with some of the vinaigrette.

These rolls are ideal traveling companions. You can make them ahead but be sure to wrap them well. If the wrappers dry out they become tough.

©2003Nancy K. Allen, CCP

This is my northern Michigan adaptation of the classic French Nicoise salad with tuna, green beans, tomatoes, and olives—all food found in or near Nice. It is a composed or arranged salad.

Michigander salad
Four servings

Mustard vinaigrette
Pickled forest leeks, finely chopped
1 cup drained and rinsed canned Great Northern white beans
1 large head hydroponic Bibb lettuce, whole leaves, clean and dry
8 small new redskin potatoes, steamed till tender, about 10 minutes
1 pound smoked whitefish, skinned, boned, and flaked
1 pound asparagus or green beans, steamed
1 large tomato, cut into wedges

Mix the vinaigrette and leeks together to taste. Toss the white beans with some of the vinaigrette. Slice the potatoes while warm and toss them with some of the vinaigrette and set the remainder aside.

Arrange the Bibb leaves on a platter. Arrange the beans, whitefish, asparagus, potatoes and tomato decoratively over them. Serve with the vinaigrette.

©2003Nancy K. Allen, CCP

Individual pizzas with shrimp and chopped salad
Four servings

Frozen pizza dough or 4 small prepared frozen pizza crusts, thawed
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves finely minced garlic
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced into rounds
Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

18 to 24 large cooked shrimp, shelled
2 cups clean, sliced arugula or baby spinach
3 to 4 tablespoons toasted walnuts

Preheat your oven to 425F. Divide the dough into four equal balls. Shape each into a disk that is 1/4 inch thick and 6 inches or so round with thicker edges for a 1 inch crust. Place the pizza disks on an oiled sheet pan and then brush the dough with olive oil. Divide the garlic and sprinkle it on the pizza. Cover the garlic with tomato slices and salt. Bake the pizza rounds until golden, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk the vinaigrette together and season it with salt and pepper. Dice the shrimp into large pieces and toss them with the salad greens and the vinaigrette to taste. When the pizzas come from the oven place them on plates and top each with the salad mixture. Garnish them with walnuts and serve.

©2003Nancy K. Allen, CCP

Spicy Thai chicken salad

4 servings
Sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon palm sugar or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon Thai chilli paste or red curry paste

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, grilled and finely sliced
3 scallions, finely minced
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/3 cup finely shredded Thai or Italian basil
cilantro leaves
1/2 head Romaine leaves

Prepare the sauce. Taste it and adjust it to your liking. Toss the chicken with the sauce, scallions, carrots, and herbs. Arrange the Romaine on a platter and top with the chicken salad. OR finely shred the Romaine and toss it with the chicken mixture. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Raeeda's fetoush salad

Sumac dressing
1/4 cup each: olive oil and fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sumac powder, available at Middle Eastern stores
salt and pepper to taste--optional

2 cups thinly sliced red onions
3 cups lightly packed mint leaves or Romaine, washed, dried and torn
1 cup parsley leaves, washed and dried
2 medium tomatoes, wedged or coarsely chopped
1 pita, toasted and torn

Whisk all the ingredients of the dressing together and set aside. Prepare the salad ingredients. Toss the onions, mint or Romaine, parsley and tomatoes with the dressing. Top with bits of toasted pita. Pass a small bowl of sumac powder for each diner to sprinkle on his or her salad, if desired.

The sumac is slightly sour and somewhat fruity flavored. It makes a wonderful dressing for any summer vegetable salad. You could also toss this salad with chopped romaine.

City Kitchen tabouleh

Yields about 2 quarts

2 cups fine cracked wheat bulgar
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large tomato, medium dice, about 2 cups (or roasted tomato)
1 large bunch flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped, big stems removed
2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt, more to taste
4 whole scallions, finely chopped
2 cups peeled, seeded and finely diced cucumber
OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup torn mint leaves

Mix the cracked wheat and boiling water in a large mixing bowl and cover. Set it aside for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Fold in the remaining ingredients to the cracked wheat bulgar. Allow the tabouleh to rest in the refrigerator. Taste before serving and add more salt and lemon if necessary.

Wheat-free tabouleh: substitute 2 cups quinoa for the cracked wheat that you have simmered for 15 minutes in 2 1/2 to 3 cups boiling water.

Summer cucumber and smoked salmon pasta salad

8 to 10 servings

1 pound large tube pasta
salt
6 to 8 small to medium redskin potatoes
1 large English cucumber, peeled or fresh Kirbys, peeled and diced
About 3 peeled ears of corn—2 cups corn kernels
1/2 pound smoked salmon, diced into 1/2 or so inch pieces
2 to 4 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh dill
Mustard vinaigrette

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Use cold water--hot water has sediment. When the water boils, salt it well, enough so the water tastes gently salty. Add the pasta and boil it until it's tender but not soft and mushy. Use the box directions as a general guideline--NOT gospel. No, flipping it on the wall to see if it will stick is NOT a good indicator of doneness. Your teeth are.

While the pasta is merrily bubbling, prepare the vegetables. Cube the potatoes and cucumbers into half inch or so cubes. Make them precise and pretty. Cutting techniques are what separate home cooks from professional ones. Next, cut the corn from the cob. If you want less mess, stand the ear of corn with the stem side down into a large mixing bowl. Cut down the ear from top to bottom and the kernels will fall into the bowl not on your floor. Keep the potatoes in a bowl of water until you cook them so they don't turn black.

Set up a steamer and steam the potatoes and then the corn until tender. The potatoes will take about 5 to 10 minutes depending on how well you did cutting them into uniform sized pieces. The corn will take a minute or so. Chop the dill--we don't want a lot of large stem but some smaller stem is okay. Don't overcook the vegetables--only till tender. Cool them.

When your pasta is done, pour it through a colander and immediately run cold water over it to stop its cooking. Now if you were in Italy and performed this heinous act, you'd be run out. But we're in America and making a pasta salad, not pasta so it's okay. Toss everything together with vinaigrette to taste. Season with salt and pepper if desired.