Salad Recipes
Salad Frisée Lardons
This is a classic bistro salad that is a particular favorite of the Accidental Locavore’s husband and her father. A poached egg is the traditional accompaniment. I usually eat mine without as I have an old abhorrence of runny egg yolks, but I’m told it adds that certain je ne sais quoi (f you need help poaching the eggs, click here). It’s quick to make and is a good winter salad.
Salad Frisée Lardons
Print recipe| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 20 minutes |
| Meal type | Salad |
| Region | French |
Ingredients
- 1 head frisée, washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 4 thick slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch matchsticks (lardons)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 small shallot, finely minced
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon herbs de Provence
- 1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled (use a good Roquefort)
- 1 egg per person (optional)
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| If you are poaching the eggs, start them first. Heat a small sauté pan with a tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is cooked but not crispy. Remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Reserve all the fat for the dressing. In a small bowl or 1-cup measuring cup, add the shallot, mustard, salt and pepper, herbs de Provence and red wine vinegar. Slowly whisk in the bacon fat until the dressing starts to emulsify. Taste and adjust olive oil and seasonings as desired. | |
| Step 2 | |
| To construct the salad: Place the frisée and bacon in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to combine. On individual plates, put a mound of the dressed frisée. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and a poached egg if using. Serve and enjoy! | |
My verdict: This is a great salad that I don’t make enough! If you see frisée in the market, give this a try. Mushrooms or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped are also a nice touch. The frisée on its own is also a good side salad for rich foods like duck (confit) or fois gras.
Grilled Corn Salad
As much as the Accidental Locavore loves corn on the cob, there does come a time, later in the summer, when a little variety is welcome. This is a great side dish salad, adapted from Food & Wine. I served it with some grilled pork chops, but it would work with just about anything. Serves 4.
Grilled Corn Salad
| Serves | 4 |
| Meal type | Salad, Side Dish |
Ingredients
- 4 large ears of corn, shucked
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons mint leaves, coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons parsley, coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons cilantro, coarsely chopped
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Heat a grill or grill pan. Brush the corn with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat, turning until cooked and charred in spots, about 12 minutes. Let cool. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the onion and lime juice and let stand 10 minutes. Add the syrup, jalapeno, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well. Working in a large bowl or on a cutting board, cut the kernels off the cobs (you want chunks here). Add the onion dressing, mint, parsley and cilantro, and toss. Serve and enjoy! | |
My verdict: This was a great, fresh side dish! I made it on a grill pan and it came out fine. It would probably be even better on a charcoal grill. I did use the maple syrup, but am not sure how necessary it is. Wondering how some cheese (feta or a Mexican queso fresco) would be. I find cutting the kernels off of corn more difficult in a bowl, but if you don’t want to be cleaning corn up, it’s neater that way. For this, I started in a bowl, but ended up on a cutting board. You can save the cobs and freeze them for corn chowder later on in the fall.
Grilled Caesar Salad: The Best Thing We Ate All Weekend!
This weekend, the Accidental Locavore finally got back in the kitchen. Time to play with some recipes and ideas I’d been kicking around; some of which, like this grilled Caesar salad, for a while. This is really easy and if you want to make it even easier, you can use your favorite bottled dressing. I decided to make my own, which was a big hit. This started out from a recipe in the NY Times, but then I skipped half the steps…
Recipe for Grilled Caesar Salad
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 1 minute |
| Total time | 16 minutes |
| Meal type | Salad |
| Occasion | Barbecue |
Ingredients
- 3 anchovies, finely minced
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled and run through a press (or finely minced)
- 1 egg yolk (I used a jumbo egg, if you have smaller ones, you might want 2)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup olive oil (use a good quality oil)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 head romaine lettuce, quartered the long way and gently washed
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Light the grill. | |
| Step 2 | |
| Mash the garlic and anchovies together to make a paste. I use a 2-cup measuring cup for this but a small bowl would work fine. Add the egg yolk and mustard and whisk well. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream. The dressing should start to emulsify. Continue whisking and adding the olive oil until it has reached a fairly thick consistency (it should be like a thin mayonnaise). Beat in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, taste and add salt and pepper and more oil if necessary. | |
| Step 3 | |
| With a pastry brush, brush the romaine quarters with the dressing on all sides, making sure to get it between the leaves. Lightly grill the lettuce on all sides, about 15 seconds on the back (leaf side) and 20-25 seconds on each side, until it starts to brown. Brush with the remaining dressing, sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, cover and grill for about 30 seconds until the cheese has started to melt (you want to cook the leafy side (the back) a little less than the sides, so that when you put the cheese on to melt you’re not burning it). Serve and enjoy! | |
My verdict: this was a surprising hit! Recently, there have been lots of recipes for grilling salad, but I was a little skeptical…who needs to cook lettuce, when it’s so good cold and crispy? We made this for friends for dinner and it was so good, we went back out, bought more romaine and made it the next day for lunch. There is something so good about the warm, almost charred outsides and the cool, crispy interior. Definitely worth a try!
As I was writing this, I realized that anchovy paste would probably be a great substitute here for the minced anchovies, but you do need anchovies! The first batch of dressing I made with minced garlic, then I got wise and used the garlic press. You could sprinkle croutons over the grilled lettuce if you wanted, but trust me, no one will miss them.
Moroccan Inspired Eggplant Salad Recipe
The Accidental Locavore’s friend Jamilla was describing how she makes eggplant while we had lunch recently, across the street from the Union Square Greenmarket. If I wasn’t already on the verge of looking like a bag lady, I would have dashed back and grabbed some eggplants. But being the mature individual I am (stop snickering), I waited and got a beauty from Stokes Farm a couple of days later. If you’re worried about heating up an oven, do it early in the morning, or grill the eggplant. This will serve about 4 as a salad or dip.
Moroccan Inspired Eggplant Salad
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 10 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 40 minutes |
| Dietary | Vegan, Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Salad, Side Dish |
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced lengthwise into 3/4“ slices
- 1 head garlic, unpeeled
- 1/2 cup olive oil (for brushing the eggplant and garlic)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground corriander
- salt, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon harissa (more to taste)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the top 1/3 of the garlic off. Place the sliced eggplant and the garlic on a baking sheet (don’t crowd, you might need two pans). Sprinkle the garlic and both sides of the eggplant with olive oil, half the cumin and coriander, and salt. Roast for 10 minutes or until it starts to turn golden brown. Flip and cook the other side for 10 more minutes until the eggplant is golden and tender. | |
| Step 2 | |
| When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, coarsely chop it and put it in a medium sized mixing bowl. Squeeze the roasted garlic into the bowl. Add the remaining cumin and coriander, paprika, harissa. Mix until everything is well combined. Taste, add salt and more harissa if necessary. Add the cilantro, parsley and lemon juice, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve chilled or at room temperature and enjoy! | |
My verdict: this was really good even though I messed up and forgot to season the eggplant with the cumin and coriander before roasting it. I added it afterwards while it was still warm and it tasted fine. Jamilla was concerned that it wasn’t going to be the same. Then I cheated and added some garlic confit to it before mixing it up (no such thing as too much garlic, right?). If you can be patient, this was even better the next day, sweet and jam-like.
Playing With Your Food: the 2012 Recipe for Lemon Vinaigrette
As you know, the Accidental Locavore has a copy of Modernist Cuisine, as you probably don’t know, I’m now the proud owner of a toy box full of all the powders and potions you need for playing with your food, the molecular gastronomy way. The July issue of Food & Wine, has a whole section devoted to using xanthan gum, (which stabilizes and thickens) something that was conveniently a component of my box.
Even though it was late and I was hungry, today seemed like the day to bypass the usual lemon vinaigrette and go for the modernist version (and I recently acquired a blender, so I was really set). This is adapted from Food & Wine, mostly because I didn’t have enough lemons or any grapeseed oil. Use it an inspiration for other types of salad dressing. My version made about ½ cup and took 10 minutes. It’s really simple, don’t let the weird ingredient (supposedly, widely available) fool you.
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons water
- 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ cup good olive oil
- Salt & white pepper (you can use black but it will leave spots)
In a blender, mix the lemon juice and water at low speed. Add the xanthan gum and blend until the liquid is slightly thickened, about 15 seconds. Increase the blender speed to medium and slowly add the olive oil. Blend until creamy. Add the salt and pepper and check for seasoning. Serve over your favorite salad and enjoy!
Notes: This is pretty cool stuff! On a hot day, it just looked refreshing, tasted great and really coated the greens well. I added a couple of chopped-up lemon verbena leaves, so mine is not as pure as it could be. I will definitely try it again, next time with my stick blender. When tomatoes are really ripe it will make a much better balsamic vinaigrette for a salad caprese (tomatoes, mozzarella and basil). Downside…I should have taken a photo of my kitchen when I was through. Juicing ½ a lemon and pouring that on a salad with olive oil, salt and pepper is a lot less mess. Is that the price for being cutting edge?
Carrot Salad Recipe with Harissa, Feta and Mint
In sorting the recipes the Accidental Locavore had on the cloud, this salad sounded like the perfect accompaniment to steak tartare on a very hot evening. Added bonus: our friend Jamila gave us a jar of harissa she made from a family recipe. It’s great, a little chunky, nice and spicy! This feeds 4 as a side dish, is quick to make but needs some marinating time for the flavors to really develop.
Carrot Salad with Harissa, Feta and Mint
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Salad, Side Dish |
| Misc | Serve Cold |
Ingredients
- 3/4lb carrots, peeled, trimmed and coarsly grated
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
- 3/4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika (I used hot smoked paprika just for fun)
- 3/4 tablespoons harissa (for a solid kick of heat; adjust yours to taste, and to the heat level of your harissa)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| In a small sauté pan over medium low heat, cook the garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, harissa and sugar in the oil until fragrant, about one to two minutes. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Pour over the carrots, add the herbs and mix well. | |
| Step 2 | |
| Leave the salad to marinate for an hour at room temperature. Just before serving, add the crumbled feta. Serve and enjoy! | |
Notes: You can grate the carrots on a hand-grater on the big holes. It’s slow and carrot bits will be all over the kitchen. I pulled out the food processor with the grater blade and was done in less than a minute, however, cleaning it…The original recipe called for caraway seeds (and cumin seeds) to be ground. I didn’t think I had any caraway seeds so I used ground coriander instead. If you don’t have friends making harissa for you, this is the Locavore’s recent favorite (and not because it comes from Provence): Domaine de Provence Harissa Paste. It’s expensive for a condiment, but worth it!
Verdict: I’ve always preferred raw carrots to cooked ones, so this along with the harissa kick was a hit in my book! I added a little more cumin and harissa than the recipe calls for and since we didn’t have any parsley, tossed in a little more mint. Frank really liked it, once he got over the initial surprise of seeing a plate with carrot salad on it. I’ll definitely make this again.
Quick update: I made this again, this time trying for more of an Asian inspiration. I used Sriracha instead of the harissa, juice of a lime, about 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar and added some chopped cilantro along with the mint, no cheese. It was good, very spicy, so next time I’ll taste before madly squirting in the sriracha.
Recipe for Chive Blossom Vinegar
Cruising the Internet the other day, the Accidental Locavore came across a discussion about chive blossom vinegar. Like tarragon or other flavored vinegars, it’s super-easy to make and will give a lovely, fresh taste to salads. Added bonus: it’s really beautiful, isn’t it? I probably went overboard and beheaded all my chives, but you can do it with only a handful of blossoms. I recycled this bottle (and pushed the blossoms through with a chopstick), you can use any jar or bottle, just run it through a hot dishwasher to sterilize it.
- 1 cup chive blossoms
- Enough white wine vinegar to fill your container
Put the chive blossoms in a clean bottle or jar. In a medium saucepan, heat the vinegar to a simmer. Pour the vinegar over the blossoms (you may want to use a funnel). Cover and let sit for a week to let the flavors develop. Serve and enjoy!
To make tarragon vinegar, do the same thing with a big sprig of tarragon and cider vinegar. It’s great with chicken or in place of the lemon in mayonnaise.
Smoked Trout and Potato Salad Recipe
As things sometime turn out, the Accidental Locavore had just finished reading a recipe for smoked trout with potatoes from April Bloomfield’s A Girl and Her Pig when my husband started talking about how much he liked smoked trout, a factoid I filed away for future reference.
A week later I was at the last indoor version of the Rhinebeck Farmer’s Market, where one of the vendors had some lovely looking smoked trout. I got one and proceeded to give April’s recipe a shot. The original recipe was for 4 people, this was adapted to feed 2. If you want to make your own crème frâiche click for the recipe.
Smoked Trout and Potato Salad
| Serves | 2 |
| Prep time | 20 minutes |
| Cook time | 1 hour |
| Total time | 1 hour, 20 minutes |
| From book | A Girl and Her Pig |
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil (use a good quality oil)
- 1/2 teaspoon Maldon sea salt (you could substitute kosher or other sea salt, but Maldon has a lovely flat flake, so you might want to check it out)
For the salad
- 3-4 Yukon Gold potatoes (washed and cut into 1" chunks)
- 1/8 cup olive oil (use a good quality oil)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 unpeeled garlic cloves
- 3 sprigs thyme (I used 4 sage leaves)
- 1 medium smoked trout
- 2 tablespoons crème frâiche
- 2 tablespoons chives (finely chopped)
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Preheat the oven to 400. Put the potatoes in a bowl, drizzle them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Arrange the potatoes in a mound in the middle of a baking dish (don’t spread them out). Drizzle with the liquid from the bowl. Sprinkle the garlic and thyme around the potatoes. Add ½ cup of water to the pan, but not on top of the potatoes. Cover with two layers of aluminum foil. Bake for about 40 minutes until the potatoes are tender. | |
| Step 2 | |
| While the potatoes are cooking, make the dressing. In a small container with a lid, combine the lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Shake well. Peel the skin off the trout. Pull the fillets from the center bone. Check for small pin bones and remove them. Break the trout into bite-sized pieces and put in a small bowl. Add ½ the dressing and toss to combine. | |
| Step 3 | |
| When the potatoes are tender, remove the foil, give a quick stir and cook for another 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes and place in a small bowl, leaving any oil behind. Toss with the rest of the dressing. | |
| Step 4 | |
| To serve: arrange the potatoes on a plate. Scatter the smoked trout on the potatoes. Add a dollop of crème frâiche to each plate and garnish with the chives. Serve and enjoy! | |
My verdict: Delicious! This is a great way to roast potatoes. You could use any herbs, rosemary especially would be nice if you were just doing the potatoes. After this, I may start smoking my own trout and since I seem to have saved at least three recipes from the book, I may have to own it…
I’m experimenting with a new layout for posting recipes and would love your comments!
Accidental Locavore: Recipe for Quick Chickpea Salad
Last week the Accidental Locavore met a friend at French Roast for lunch. With my lamb sandwich, there was a delicious chickpea salad. We gobbled it down and tried to figure it out. Turns out to be super easy to make and so good! This will feed two hungry people as a side salad and can be made in about 10 minutes.
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup good olive oil
- Juice of 1 large lemon or to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
- ¼ rind of preserved lemon or zest of ½ lemon
In a small bowl mix all together, serve and enjoy!
Notes:
The flavors will intensify if you let it sit out for an hour before serving.
You could also add 1 small clove of garlic, minced and/or some chopped parsley.
Recipe for Classic Vinaigrette
Usually the Accidental Locavore makes a vinaigrette using lemon juice and olive oil, but every now and then you need to revert to a classic French vinaigrette.
- 1 small shallot or garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
- 1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (smooth or coarse or a mix)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence (optional)
Put everything in a jar and shake it up, otherwise, add everything to a small bowl or measuring cup and beat it with a fork until well combined. It will start to thicken as it becomes emulsified. Pour over salad greens, toss to mix well, serve and enjoy!
