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  • Red-leaf Lettuce and Celery Salad
    • 1 cup water
    • 1/2 cup chopped onion
    • 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, toasted
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
    • 1/3 cup olive oil
    • 1 head of red-leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
    • 3 large (outer) celery ribs, very thinly sliced on a long diagonal (about 3 cups)
    • 1 cup tender inner celery leaves, coarsely chopped

    Simmer water and onion in a small saucepan, uncovered, until onion is softened and most of water is evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. Purée in a blender with vinegar, caraway seeds, sugar, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. With motor running, add oil in a slow stream and blend until dressing is emulsified.
    Combine lettuce, celery, and celery leaves in a large bowl and toss with just enough dressing to coat.
    Adapted from epicurious.com

  • Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad
    • 3/4 cup French green lentils
    • 6 cups 1-inch pieces peeled seeded  pumpkin
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon hot paprika
    • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    • 4 cups greens or torn lettuce leaves
    • 1 cup soft goat cheese, crumbled
    • 1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
    • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

    Place lentils in small bowl. Cover with cold water and soak 10 minutes; drain.
    Cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Drain lentils. Rinse under cold water, then drain.
    Preheat oven to 375°F. Place pumpkin in large bowl; toss with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika, and sea salt. Arrange pumpkin in single layer on baking sheet; roast 20 minutes. Turn pumpkin over. Roast until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool.
    Combine lentils, pumpkin, and oil from baking sheet with greens, half of goat cheese, mint, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among plates; sprinkle remaining goat cheese over.
    Adapted from epicurious.com

  • Green Bean and Roasted Tomato Salad
    • 5 plum tomatoes, each cut lengthwise into 4 slices
    • 1/4 pound green beans, trimmed
    • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
    • 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
    • a heaping 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon minced shallot
    • 1 cup mixed baby salad greens or torn lettuce leaves

    Preheat oven to 450° F. and lightly grease a baking sheet.
    Arrange tomatoes in one layer on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until edges are browned, and cool.
    While tomatoes are roasting cook beans in salted boiling water 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. In a colander drain beans and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain beans and pat dry.
    In a bowl whisk together juices, zest, mustard, oil, shallot, and salt and pepper to taste.
    Arrange tomatoes, overlapping them, on 2 plates and mound mixed baby salad greens and beans on top. Drizzle salads with vinaigrette. Serves 2 as a first course or side dish.
    From epicurious.com

  • French peas

    Makes 6 servings
     
    3 Tbsp. olive oil
    1/4 cup finely chopped romaine lettuce
    1 1/2 cups shelled peas
    1/4 cup minced shallots or chopped green onion
    1 large sprig of parsley
    2 tsp. sugar
    1 tsp. salt
    1/8 tsp. white pepper
     
    1.  Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add lettuce, peas, shallot or onion, parsley, sugar, salt and pepper.
    2.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 10-15 minutes, or until peas are just tender.  Stir occasionally.  Remove parsley sprig before serving.

  • Roasted asparagus, dijon style

    Makes 4 servings
     
    12-20 asparagus spears
    1/4 tsp. grated lemon peel
    1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
    1 Tbsp. chicken broth
    3/4 tsp. dijon mustard
    1/2 tsp. olive oil
    salt and black pepper
    lettuce leaves
     
    1.  Place asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet.  Spray with vegetable oil spray.
    2.  Roast asparagus in 500 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until crisp-tender and lightly browned.
    3.  Meanwhile, combine peel, juice, broth, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste in a screw top jar.  Cover and shake until blended.
    4.  Place asparagus on a lettuce lined serving plate.  Drizzle vinaigrette over asparagus.  Toss gently to coat.
     
    Note:  Good warm, cold, or at room temperature!

  • Roasted Beet, Shallot and Pecan Salad

    Ingredients

    • 6 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 6 small-medium unpeeled beets, scrubbed, tops trimmed
    • 1 big bunch of shallots, peeled
    • 2/3 cup pecan halves
    • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    • 1 large garlic clove, minced
    • 2 small heads lettuce, torn
    • 2/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 3 ounces)



     
    Preparation
    Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush large baking sheet with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Place beets on prepared baking sheet and roast beets 30 minutes. Add shallots to same sheet. Sprinkle beets and shallots with salt and pepper and roast 30 minutes. Push beets and shallots away from 1 corner of sheet and scatter pecans in corner. Roast beets, shallots and pecans until vegetables are tender and pecans are golden brown, about 6 minutes. Cool vegetables and pecans to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
    Whisk remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar and garlic in small bowl to blend. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
    Transfer pecans and shallots to large bowl and add lettuce. Peel and slice beets; add to salad. Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Sprinkle with Gorgonzola cheese and serve.

  • Nicoise Salad

    Salad Niçoise (pronounced nee-suaz) is essentially a French composed salad, much like our American Cobb Salad but with tuna, green beans, and potatoes, instead of chicken, bacon, and avocado. Salad Niçoise hails from Nice, on the Mediterranean Sea, though like so many foods we enjoy here of French origin, has changed a bit to adapt to our tastes. Like its American Cobb salad cousin, the Salad Nicoise takes some time to prepare, given all of the ingredients. This is one dish where setting up your mise en place (all ingredients chopped and ready to go) will help the salad come together smoothly.
     

     
    Vinaigrette
    Rounded 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste, mashed with 1 clove of garlic
    1/2 cup lemon juice
    3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    1/2 small leek, minced
    1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
    2 Tbsp minced fresh basil leaves
    2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
    1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
     
    Salad
    2 grilled or otherwise cooked tuna steaks* (8 oz each) or 2-3 cans of tuna
    6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and either halved or quartered
    1.5 pounds new potatoes, each potato scrubbed and diced into 1" cubes
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    2 medium heads butterhead lettuce or other leaf lettuce, leaves washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
    3 small ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into eighths
    1 small red onion, sliced very thin
    1 sweet pepper, sliced into long, thin strips
    3/4 lb. green beans, stem ends trimmed and each bean halved crosswise
    1/4 cup niçoise olives
    2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and/or several anchovies (optional)

     
     
    *Marinate tuna steaks in a little olive oil for an hour. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat, or place on a hot grill. Cook the steaks 2 to 3 minutes on each side until cooked through.
    1 Whisk lemon juice, oil, shallot, thyme, basil, oregano, and mustard in medium bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
    2 Bring potatoes and 4 quarts cold water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and cook until potatoes are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon (do not discard boiling water). Toss warm potatoes with 1/4 cup vinaigrette; set aside.
    3 While potatoes are cooking, toss lettuce with 1/4 cup vinaigrette in large bowl until coated. Arrange bed of lettuce on a serving platter (I used two serving platters, shown in the photos). Cut tuna into 1/2-inch thick slices, coat with vinaigrette. Mound tuna in center of lettuce. Toss tomatoes, red onion, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste in bowl; arrange tomato-onion mixture on the lettuce bed. Arrange reserved potatoes in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.
    4 Return water to boil; add 1 tablespoon salt and green beans. Cook until tender but crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain beans, transfer to reserved ice water, and let stand until just cool, about 30 seconds; dry beans well. Toss beans, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste; arrange in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.
    5 Arrange hard boiled eggs, olives, and anchovies (if using) in mounds on the lettuce bed. Drizzle eggs with remaining 2 tablespoons dressing, sprinkle entire salad with capers (if using), and serve immediately.

  • Molly's Famous Kaleslaw

    When we make kaleslaw - which is alot, especially in the fall and winter when the lettuce is gone but the kale, cabbage and carrots still persist - we kind of just wing it each time, using whatever we have on hand. The basic trio is kale, cabbage and carrots, but it's great to add apples, nuts, feta or anything else to jazz it up.
     
    Slaw
    1 bunch kale, stems trimmed, leaves finely chopped
    1/2 of a red cabbage, thinly sliced
    1 bunch carrots, grated
    Handful of currants, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, toasted pinenuts (or any other nut) or any other treats you like
    Optional: chopped apple, celery, onions or any other veggies you're fond of
     
    Dressing
    1 cup olive oil
    1/3 cup rice and/or cider vinegar
    splash of tamari or soy sauce
    splash of sesame oil
    spoonful of tahini
    a few big spoonfuls of mayo or vegenaise
    2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
    dash of chile flakes or fresh minced chiles
    Tbs. of sesame seeds
    Glug of maple syrup, or a heaping Tbs. of brown sugar
     

    • Prep the slaw and mix together
    • Make the dressing, pour it over the slaw and toss.
    • YUM.

     

  • Strawberry, Fennel and Orange Salad

    2 navel oranges
    16 strawberries
    1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthwise, some fronds reserved for garnish
    1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
    1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
    coarse ground black pepper
    8 lettuce leaves ( boston, bibb or flashy trouts back lettuce)
     
    Zest one orange ( 2 teaspoons)  Cut peel and pith away from both oranges.  Use a paring knife, cut out segments, cutting over a bowl to reserve the juice.
    Add strawberries, sliced fennel, orange zest and fennel fronds to the bowl of orange segments and toss together gently.  stir in the lemon juice and olive oil, season with the salt and pepper.  add lettuce, toss again and serve
     
    104 calories  18g carbs
    Body and soul magazine