Crunchy Veggie Lentil Salad

Crunchy Veggie Lentil Salad. I haven’t had lentil salad in a long time. And this was one of the recipes that came up on Sprouted Kitchen Cooking Club this week. Sarah called it “Crunchy Lunchy Lentils.” This is the type of salad you make ahead. It can last for days in the fridge and generally (always) tastes better after it’s had time to sit for a day or so. I’ve made a few adjustments to the recipe but didn’t deviate all that much. I used a trio of green, brown and black sprouted lentils that cooked in 6 minutes versus French lentils that take about 20 minutes. I think my ratios of veggie to lentils were off a bit, I think there should have been more lentils, but it still worked out to a great salad regardless. 

This month has been pretty crazy. A few weeks ago there were a series of fires that erupted here in Oregon, then came a wind storm that blew all the smoke over here in Portland. We had to literally seal all the openings in the house because the air quality outside was hazardous, it was coming in from the fireplaces, any opening in the house, and remained like that for nearly 10 days. When that started I had already begun my project to paint the kitchen cabinets and countertop, the kitchen was in complete disarray but I had to move forward and get it done. We had air purifiers and fans running 24/7. It was pretty horrible happening on top of a pandemic, we couldn’t spend time outside at all. A lot of businesses and restaurants (that are already hurting) had to close, and there were some days where I couldn’t get grocery delivery or take-out, which was kind of big deal because we couldn’t use the kitchen much, everything was covered in drop cloths, so not much cooking other than microwaving something or eating sandwiches. I had prepared a couple of dishes in advance and was planning on grilling outside while the kitchen was unusable, but that didn’t work out. It was just one disaster layered on top of another. Many people lost their homes due to the fires, so we were lucky that we didn’t have to go through anything like that. I finished my kitchen project, the outside air cleared up and it rained and rained. And now we’re having a beautiful week of sunshine, with windows open and fresh air everywhere. But I feel a little PTSD from the smoke episode, all this sunshine and dry weather is dangerous this time of year, even with a burn ban people still do stupid stuff and light camp fires or whatever. I’m so afraid of new fires and that smoke coming back. It was just too much. I think I should just have a cocktail and enjoy a few rays of sunshine for now. And really, we had so much rain last week I think things are ok and I shouldn’t worry so much.

Anyways, if you’re still reading, I hope you enjoy this salad, it’s vegetarian and could be vegan if you skip the feta cheese, but I just love cheese in this salad. Enjoy!

Crunchy Veggie Lentil Salad

• 3/4-1 cup of French / De Puy lentils

• 2 Persian cucumbers (or a 1/3 of an English Cucumber) - seeded

• 1 apple

• 1 medium fennel bulb - fronds reserved

• 1 small shallot or 1/2 large shallot

• 1/2 cup of pecans (or walnuts) chopped

• 1/3 cup feta or parmesan cheese (+ more for serving)

• 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves

• 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves

For the vinaigrette

• 1 clove of garlic, minced

• 1 lemon - juiced

• 2 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar

• 1 Tbsp. of maple syrup

• 3 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 tsp. of dried dill

• 1/2 tsp. of coriander

• flaky sea salt

• fresh ground pepper

Rinse your lentils. Put them in a pot with 1 ½ cups of salted water or broth. Bring the liquid up to a simmer, put the cover on ajar and cook for 20 minutes until tender. (if using different Lentils, cook per package instructions) Fluff the lentils, and set them aside to cool completely.

While the lentils cook, fine dice the cucumbers. Core and finely dice both the apple and fennel and mince the shallot. Chop the herbs.

In the bottom of your mixing bowl, combine all the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the cooled lentils, all your chopped vegetables, walnuts, cheese and herbs. Toss to coat. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour, the longer it sits the better it tastes! It will keep a few days in the fridge, so this is a great side dish or lunch throughout the week. Top with fennel fronds when serving.

Grilled Corn and Pepper Salad

Grilled Corn and Pepper Salad. I hadn’t planned on posting this but damn, it came out so good I decided to take a few photos and do a blog post. I made this based on what I had on hand and what needed to be eaten pronto! And we’ve had a mini heatwave these past couple days so I wanted to cook as little as possible. I put the corn and peppers on the grill early in the day before it was unbearably hot. I can’t complain though, this summer has been remarkably mild. So salad. There is so much flavor going on in each bite it’s just a complete joy. Make sure to chop the vegetables small, close to the size of corn kernels but they don’t have to be that small. Recipe below, enjoy!

Grilled Corn and Pepper Salad

• 2 ears of corn, charred

• 2 bell peppers, charred

• 1 red chili pepper, chopped small

• 1 small cucumber (about 1/2 cup chopped small)

• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

• 1/4 cup feta cheese

• 3-4 tablespoons Dijon vinaigrette 
  

Husk the corn and place it in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove corn and place on a large dish with the 2 bell peppers. Brush the corn and peppers with avocado oil (or any high heat oil), and sprinkle with salt. Place them on a preheated grill (400°-500°F) for about 15-20 minutes, turning them every once in a while so they char on all sides. Remove vegetables from the grill and place the peppers in a bowl topped with plastic wrap for 15 minutes or so. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skin, core and seeds, then chop into small pieces. 

Cut the kernels off the corn cob by sliding a knife down the side. When the corn and peppers are completely cooled add them to a large bowl. Add the chili pepper, cucumber, and basil and mix to combine. Add the feta and Dijon dressing along with salt and pepper to taste.

Panzanella

Hello tomatoes! Wow it’s been such a cool summer that it has taken a bit longer for them to ripen in the garden, but last week all four plants decided it was time. The yellow Taxi tomatoes along with the Sungold cherry tomatoes were the first on the scene, followed by Black Krim, and lastly the Brandywine. I’ve been wanting to make this Panzanella for a while, and since I had made a loaf of No-Knead bread a couple days prior it worked out great. Most recipes say to put the bread cubes in the oven, but I opted for the skillet which went pretty quick and ya know, fried bread? So good. You could serve this as a side dish or appetizer, or it makes a great vegetarian meal when you want something light. 

And speaking of serving, I received sample dishes from Carthage.co Stoneware which you see here and they are just beautiful! The large white plate is the Dadasi Dinner plate in chalk and the dark bowl is the Zaghwan Soup Bowl in Old Silver. I think they both look great but especially love the Zaghwan bowl with these bright colored tomatoes. And the prices are quite reasonable for high-end ceramic dishes. You can read more about these hand-crafted ceramics here. They have a nice weight to them and they’re a pleasure to photograph. I’ll be back with more tomato and/or zucchini dishes this month. Until then I recommend this Panzanella, enjoy!

Panzanella

• 3 cups baguette or rustic bread, preferably stale, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more to taste

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher sea salt, more to taste

• 2 pounds very ripe tomatoes, preferably a mix of varieties and colors

• 6 ounces small fresh mozzarella balls (or shredded chunks of fresh mozzarella)

• 1/2 cup torn basil leaves

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar (or white balsamic vinegar)

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil

• Salt and Pepper

In a large bowl mix together the bread cubes with olive oil and salt. Add a bit of olive oil to a  large cast iron skillet and heat on medium, when warm place the cubes in a single layer, tossing as needed until crisp on all sides. When done place the bread cubes on a plate and allow to cool a bit. 

To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the Dijon and vinegar, then whisk in the olive oil.

Cut the tomatoes into chunks and then add them to a large bowl, add the mozzarella, bread cubes and the basil leaves (but leave a few to top the dish), add some salt and pepper and stir gently. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. Top with remaining basil leaves. Serve at room temp.

10 Summer Favorites

It’s summer! I love summer even when it’s scorching hot. I’ve put together ten of my favorite-make-again summer recipes. Below is a mix of salads, desserts and keepin’ kewl iced drinks. Picking berries, shucking corn, drinking bourbon iced tea - oh yeah!

Berry + Cherry Galette

Berry Clafoutis

Margarita Ice Pops

A Summer Salad!

Watermelon with Feta + Basil

Cherry Tomato Galette

Quick Dill Pickles

Cold Brew Iced Coffee

Cucumber Infused Vodka

Bourbon Iced Tea with Mint

Green Bean Salad with Mustard Seeds and Tarragon

Green on green on green. We’ve been eating more vegetarian meals for dinner lately. Sometimes with fish, others just vegetables and quinoa or rice. It’s been a while since I’ve looked through Ottolenghi’s Plenty, and it wasn’t hard to find something new right away. The book is front to back vegetarian dishes with amazing flavors. This recipe caught my eye because of the tarragon, I have so much tarragon growing in the garden and I don’t use it as often as I like. It works great in this salad as lemon and tarragon are a perfect match. 

I skipped the nigella seeds because it sounded like one of those expensive exotic spices I might only use once. But who knows it might taste really good, people cannot even agree on what the flavor actually is. We had this last night over a bed of quinoa and a drizzle of sriracha, I skipped the red chile so this added some heat. I’ve tweaked a few things here but overall this is a great salad.

Green Bean Salad with Mustard Seeds and Tarragon

• 1 1/4 cups green beans, trimmed
• 2 1/4 cups snow peas, trimmed
• 1 3/4 cups green peas, (fresh or frozen)
• 2 teaspoon coriander seeds, roughly crushed with mortar and pestle (or 3/4 teaspoon ground)
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon nigella seeds (huh?)
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup sherry vinegar
• 1 mild fresh red chile, seeded and finely diced
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup baby chard leaves or pea shoots

In a small bowl place the finely chopped red onion and add the sherry vinegar (enough to cover onions) and allow to sit for 30 minutes or so. When ready drain the onions.

Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Prepare a large bowl with water and ice. Blanch the green beans for 4 minutes, then remove and place in ice bath. Drain and dry. Then blanch the snow peas for 1 minute, place in ice bath then drain and dry. Blanch the peas for 20 seconds, refresh, drain and dry. Place all the beans and peas in a large bowl.

Put the coriander seeds, mustard seeds and oil in a small saucepan and heat up. When the seeds begin to pop (after a few minutes) pour the mixture over the vegetables. Toss together and add nigella seeds, red onion, chile, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest and tarragon. Mix well and season with salt to taste. Before serving fold in the chard leaves, or top with pea shoots, or both! 

Adapted from Plenty

Toro Bravo’s Radicchio Salad

This is really an outstanding salad considering it only has a few ingredients, but those few have a lot of flavor that all work great together. We went to Toro Bravo for Jeff’s birthday a couple weeks ago and ordered a few dishes and this was one of them. Everything we ate was amazing, they really know flavor there. If you are ever visiting Portland I would put this place at the top of your list for dining.

The weather has really improved here with more sunshine than rain, finally! This past winter was rough with 6-7 months of near constant rain and/or snow. But that’s behind us now and we’re finally getting to all the yard clean up and it feels good. I’m just so happy to feel sun on my skin that I don’t even mind the boring task of sweeping dirt. Well that’s all for now, hope you have a chance to try out this salad. Enjoy!

Toro Bravo’s Radicchio Salad

• 2 to 3 heads radicchio
• 1/4 cup good-quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup good-quality sherry vinegar
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 + 1/2 cups Manchego, grated and divided

In a large bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, and chopped red onion (I used 1/2 of a large red onion). Let it sit for 1 hour and then strain out the onions. (you can keep the pickled onions for another dish if you like)

Remove core from the radicchio and chop into 1-inch pieces. Place the chopped radicchio in a large bowl, fill with cold water and some ice cubes. Let it sit for 15 minutes to remove some of its bitterness, strain and then spin in a salad spinner until dry. 

Add the honey and olive oil to the strained vinegars and whisk well, I use this stick blender which works great. Depending on the size of your radicchio you may not need all the dressing.

Toss the radicchio with the dressing until evenly coated. Add 1 cup of finely grated Manchego, salt, and toss again.

To serve, top the salad in a serving bowl with the remaining 1/2 cup grated Manchego. Serves 4-8.

Adapted from Food52’s Toro Bravo recipe