Roasted Asparagus Salad with Chevre and Honey

The farmer's markets are in full spring mode right now here in Toronto and the main seasonal items on offer are asparagus, rhubarb...and this week Ontario's first strawberries of the year.  Of course I bought some of each, as well as a nice assortment of herbs from my usual place in the North Market.

I am finding that I really enjoy going back to the same vendors week after week seeing what they've brought in with them.  The fellow I usually get my potatoes from (purple fingerlings are my current fave) was telling me today that he has been bringing his produce to the St. Lawrence Saturday Farmer's Market for 37 years!

There is another vendor outside the Market on Jarvis that I like to get tomatoes from (esp. the multi-coloured cherry tomatoes) and now I have a few options for strawberries.  I am thinking of picking up a flat next Saturday since we don't have any plans and $30 plus some work will get me a good amount of strawberry jam.

Today I bought for bundles of Ontario asparagus at $1 each.  Quite a bargain for what I'd likely pay $7-$9 for in a grocery store and THAT asparagus still comes from Peru.    Incidentally in case you wondered, asparagus is NOT native to Peru....go figure right?  However, in the early 90's Peru was granted tariff-free access to U.S. markets as part of the U.S. war on drugs. Basically the U.S. encouraged growing asparagus to deter the growth of coca - the basis for cocaine.  Now most of the off-season asparagus you see is from Peru instead of California.  Both have year-round growing conditions but the prices that Peruvian farmers can sell for in the market eclipses U.S. production costs - they just can't compete.

Roasted Asparagus Salad with Chevre and Honey

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/2 small log chevre (goat cheese), crumbled
2 bunches of green asparagus
3 cups arugula

1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To make the dressing, beat together 4 tablespoons olive oil with the vinegar and mustard. Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Set aside.  Roast the pine nuts in a non-stick frying pan until golden brown.  Crumble goat cheese. Set aside.

Trim the bottoms of the asparagus stalks to remove any woody bits.  You can do this using a knife or just by bending the asparagus spear at the base and it will snap where it is freshest.  Lay asparagus in an oven safe casserole, and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add a little pinch of salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for about 8-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the spears) until spears are cooked but still crispy.

To serve, arrange the arugula on a platter and sprinkle with salad dressing. Now place the asparagus on top and sprinkle with a bit more of the dressing.  Top with crumbled chevre, pine nuts and a drizzle of honey.

Orange and Roasted Beet Salad with Lemon Fetish

Yes, yes I did say Lemon Fetish, not lemon feta!  Lemon Fetish is a sheeps milk cheese we picked up at the Wychwood Barns farmer`s market from Fifth Town Cheese located in Picton, Ontario.  Lemon Fetish is a small cylindrical cheese, with a rind washed in Red Fife flour.  It tastes like a creamy, lemony, less salty version of feta.  It is perfect on a salad of roasted beets, oranges, greens and watercress.

Orange and Roasted Beet Salad with Lemon Fetish

4 large beets (about 1 pound)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil for roasting
4 mandarin oranges, peeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 oz Fifth Town Lemon Fetish Cheese (or regular feta cheese)
2 cups watercress, arugula or mixed baby greens

Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup walnut or extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tsp liquid honey
Pinch each salt and pepper

To roast beets:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put on some rubber gloves.  Trim beet tops and scrub beets well if they are young and fresh from the market.  If they are a bit older, you may need to peel them a bit to remove any thick skin.  Cut beets into quarters (or could be more small pieces if your beets are larger).  Place beets in a cast iron pan or other heavy roasting pan, and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil.  Roast for approximately 45 minutes until beets are fork tender and well caramelized on the outside.  Set aside in a bowl to cool slightly.

To make vinaigrette: 

In bowl, whisk together oil, shallot, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper; set aside.

To assemble salad:

Peel oranges and separate into segments and remove any extra pieces of pith.  In a pinch you could use a can of mandarin oranges, but as with most things, fresh is best.  Set aside in a separate bowl.

In small skillet, toast pine nuts over medium-low heat, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.  Cut cheese in to a small dice and set aside.

Place salad greens in a large bowl and toss with half of the dressing.  Divide greens over 4 plates.  Layer  beets and oranges around the salad greens. Sprinkle with nuts; drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Scatter cheese over top.

Basil Oil

This is an incredibly versatile oil that can be used to fancy up plates, in a salad dressing or as part of a marinade.

If you find yourself with a lot of basil to use up, I highly recommend this.

And its got me wondering about a basil simple syrup for a savory cocktail of some kind, as they are all the rage in T.O. right now.

Basil Oil

2 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves

1/8 piece preserved lemon (or regular lemon)

1 clove garlic, just pressed the the tine of your knife to crack the skin a bit
1 cup olive or cannola, grapeseed or vegetable oil (see notes)

Directions:

Rinse and drain basil leaves. Pat leaves dry with a towel. In a blender or food processor, combine basil leaves and oil. Whir just until leaves are finely chopped but not puréed.

Pour oil and basil into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until oil bubbles around pan sides and reaches 165° on a thermometer, 3 to 4 minutes. 

Remove from heat and let stand until cool, about 1 hour.  Using an immersion blender, pureé basil into the oil. It will become a bright lovely green colour.

Use immediately or cover in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator up to 3 months. The olive oil may solidify slightly when chilled, but it will quickly become liquid again when it comes back to room temperature if you give it a shake.

Culinary School Chronicles - Tusan White Bean Salad

Even though I started Culinary Arts at George Brown two weeks ago - we skipped last weekend for Easter tho - this really felt like the first week we REALLY started because we actually got to cook something.  The first week was orientation, safety and sanitation procedures and then we watched the Chef demo how to make fish stock, chicken stock and beef stock.  Pretty basic stuff but important to get the basics down first before you move on to the next more complicated dish.

The class not only demonstrated the basics of stocks, it also focused on knife cuts - in this case - the dice.  I hadn't really thought about this too much but the size of the dice should be proportional to the length of time you are cooking a stock.  The longer the stock cooks, the longer you have to extract the flavours from the vegetables, so the larger the dice can be.

A fish stock takes only about half an hour, so the dice should be small (1/4" x 1/4" x 1/4").  For a chicken stock, which takes 2-3 hours normally, a medium dice is required (1/3" x 1/3" x 1/3").  And for a beef stock which requires roasting of bones and vegetables and takes 8-10 hours, a large dice is called for
(3/4" x 3/4" x 3/4").  There is a smaller cut still called brunoise which is teeny tiny at 1/8" x"1/8"x1/8".

From Columbus State Community College

This week we focused on the julienne cut.  Julienne is the cut where vegetables or fruits are cut into long thin strips, or matchsticks.  There is a fine julienne (1/16"x1/16"x1-2"), julienne allumette  (1/8"x1/8"x1-2") and then the batonnet (1/4"x1/4"x1-2").  You can apply a similar technique to meat, but it is called emincé, and if you roll and very thinly slice herbs it is called a chiffonade.  Here's a link to a great knife cuts chart if you'd like a visual beyond the photo above.

I wasn't too excited about the Tusan White Bean Salad on the slate for today's lab, but it turned out to be a nice lunch, and something I could actually see myself taking to a summer potluck or family picnic. This recipe calls for dried beans that have been soaked over night (canned ones really wouldn't work in this preparation), so if you try it, be sure to soak yours the night before, or for at least 4 hours for same day use.  As usual, recipes in a kitchen are scaled, or weighed, so I have converted as best as I can the measures from weight to volume measure.

Tusan White Bean Salad

3/4 cup dry white navy beans, pre-soaked
1 package of proscuitto (115g or 4 oz), emincé
1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated
3 plumb tomatoes, seeded and julienned
1/2 yellow pepper, julienned
1/2 red pepper, julienned
1/2 red onion, peeled and julienned
1-2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
10 sundried olives, pitted and finely chopped (add more if you like)
2 sprigs fresh oregano, chiffonaded
1/2 bunch basil, chiffonaded
3-4 sprigs parlsley, chiffonaded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sachet:

Wrap together in a piece of cheesecloth and tie off with kitchen string:

1 sprig parsley or a few parsley stems
1-2 bay leaves
12 black peppercorns, crushed
2 cloves

Instructions:

Soak the beans over night in enough water to cover by 2 inches.  Drain and rinse before using.

Place beans in a pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches.  Add the satchet to the pot.   Simmer until the beans are tender, about 30-35 minutes.  Drain and allow to cool.

Cut up all vegetables, herbs and seasonings and combine in a large bowl.  Add olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.  Add in cold beans, proscuitto and asiago cheese and combine.  Adjust seasoning and serve!

An interesting note is that if you are serving the dish same day you can add the proscuitto, but if you are making ahead a day, then wait to add the proscuitto until a few hours before serving as the acid in the salad (vinegar and lemon juice) will bleach the meat making it look grey and unappetizing.

Fennel Lemon Salad

Another favourite from my cottage-camping repertoire.  The salad is simple, yet elegant and would be at home on any dinner table.  Interestingly, fennel actually comes in two different shapes - round and then more oblong and slightly flattened.  The round bulbs, called maschi, are actually the male fennel and the oblong bulbs, or femmine, are the female fennel.  The round bulbs tend to be more available at the beginning of the season and the oblong, female ones later in the season.  Apparently the female ones are more prone to seed, hence the fertility connection to the feminine.  I do not really find that there is a taste difference between the two, but the maschi are supposed to be sweeter. As if a male could be sweeter than the female!  Pfffft!!

Ingredients:

1 bulb fennel (look for one with lots of fronds)
1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar

Slice the fennel in half and remove the hard, central core and cut off the tops at their base. Pluck the fronds off the tops and reserve for later use.

Slice the fennel bulb very thinly using a knife or a mandolin if you have one.  Place in a medium sized salad bowl. Zest the lemon and sprinkle on top of the fennel.  Add reserved fronds.  Squeeze juice from lemon on top of the salad.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Toss.  Allow to macerate for about an hour before serving.

Blue Cheese Potato Salad

This potato salad is my favourite and a perfect accompaniment to grilled flank steak.  Do not be frightened by the blue cheese - it adds an amazing tang to the potatoes that is just out of this world.  My suggestion - as always - if you don't like blue cheese is.....try it again.  There are so many wonderful varieties out there that it is just a shame to exclude such an amazing type of cheese from your life.  If you must, just add a small amount of cheese to the salad to start (maybe 1/4 cup) and build your way up.

Blue Cheese Potato Salad

(Serves 4 to 6)

Ingredients:

1½ lbs mini potatoes (white, ruby red, mini purple or a combo are great)
3 strips bacon
1 red pepper, cut into ½-inch (1-cm) pieces
2 green onions, thinly sliced

10 chives, finely chopped

Dressing:

1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
2 tbsp (25 mL) lemon juice
A couple of dashes hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup to 1 cup crumbled blue cheese (Rosenburg Blue is preferred for this salad)
Salt and pepper to taste

Scrub potatoes then cut into quarters. Place in a large saucepan of salted water, set over high heat and bring to the boil.  Cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, then set aside in a bowl. 

Meanwhile, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate, then crumble. Alternatively, use 3 strips of pre-cooked bacon, finely chopped (works a charm when camping and no mess!)

For dressing, combine mayonnaise with sour cream, lemon juice and hot pepper sauce in a bowl. Stirblue cheese, chives and green onion.

Stir dressing with warm potatoes until mixed. Add bacon, red pepper and green onions.  Refrigerate for minimum 2 hours before serving, or make the night before to ensure that the flavours have time to absorb into the potatoes.

Enjoy!

Panzanella Salad

Today is Family Day in Ontario - thank you Dalton McGuinty!  Basically it is a the mid-winter blah day off we all need and now look forward to.  So my plans today include a bit of packing for our holidays and spending some time in the kitchen with my two favourite boys.

I thought I would make a simple but elegant meal to cap off a great long weekend and feed my need to cook until I get back from my cruise.  I am looking forward to seeing Belize again, going to Roatan, visiting Cozumel and then hitting Key West and Miami.  We have lots planned - snorkling, sea kayaking, catamarans, air boats through the Everglades - which is a good thing since I hear that the food on cruises is endless.  We'll do our best to not go too crazy!

I have a somewhat stale loaf of rustic Italian bread and have always wanted to make Panzanella so I decided since we are making lamb today, it would be a good idea.  I took the inspirational lead for tonight's salad  from the Barefoot Contessa but in the end made the recipe my own.

Panzanella Salad

Toasted Bread:

1 loaf of day old rustic bread, sliced on an angle (about 4 cups)

2 teaspoons olive oil for grilling + 3 tablespoons for salad dressing

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed (not chopped - you will be rubbing the bread with them)

Preheat grill or panni press to 400° (medium-high). Cut bread loaf into 8 (1-inch-thick) slices; cut slices in half, if desired.  Rub each slice of bread on both sides with raw garlic cloves.  Brush each side of bread slices with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Grill at 400° (medium-high heat) 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and toasted and has grill marks.  Set aside to cool. Cut bread into 1 inch pieces and place in large salad bowl and set aside.

Dressing:

1 half piece Preserved Lemon, well rinsed and chopped finely
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground pepper

Whisk all ingredients together quickly until they become emulsified.  Set aside until ready to use.  You will have to whisk again prior to dressing the salad.

Main Salad:

2 pounds tomatoes (about 3 large) or 1- 12 oz. container a mixed tomatoes (yellow, orange and cherry)

1/2 English cucumber, quartered and cut into small chunks (similar size to tomatoes)
1/2 red onion

1/4 cup packed fresh basil (I forgot to buy some so I used Arugula)
3 tbsp dill fronds, torn

salt and pepper to taste

Coarsely chop tomatoes (cut in half if using cherry tomatoes) and cucumber. Peel and thinly slice red onion and place everything in a medium bowl.   Cube toasted bread.  Toss cubed bread in with the tomatoes and cucumbers and pour dressing over the salad.  Toss well.  Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.  Lay salad out on a beautiful plate and sprinkle with fresh herbs (or Arugula in my case).

Serve and enjoy!

Cook's Note:  The salad will hold well for about half an hour but you should plan to serve it fairly soon after you add the dressing so the bread does not become soggy.  A nice addition would be some feta or torn fresh mozzarella cheese.

You can't beat beets

Here's a cool article on beets and an awesome sounding salad recipe ( alert - contains goat cheese). Maybe next weekend when I hit the market...
http://www.thatsfit.ca/2010/09/26/beet-salad-recipe/?icid=main|canada-toshiba|dl3|sec1_lnk3|172950

Roasted Beet Salad with Walnuts

4 medium red or golden beets (choose organic if possible), stems and leaves removed (don't discard)

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 handfuls of arugula or spinach
2 ounces of goat cheese

Directions:

Wash and cut beets into bite sized pieces. Bake the beets in your oven at 375F for 45 minutes in a covered baking dish, or steam until fork tender. (Avoid boiling them, you will leach out all the minerals). Once cooked, cool slightly. Toss the beets in a salad bowl with the walnuts, olive oil, vinegar, black pepper and greens. Crumble goat cheese over top, just before serving. 
Serves 2. Enjoy!

Apparently the Rex likes roasted beets. I love roasted beets. The Omnivore has recollections of harvard beets from a can as a child so I think he remains suspicious of these little nutritional marvels. Most recipes I see say to cook beets in their skins then put on rubber gloves to rub off the skin, but I really like to wash and peel them before I roast them so they get really crispy and caramelized.

The other easy recipe my BFF Ann makes is roasted beets with a bit of cumin, lime juice, honey (or agave nectar) and cilantro. Luv luv luv.

What the hell is agave nectar?

I first heard of agave nectar from Gwyneth Paltrow. Yes, Gwynie and I are close – in fact she sends me an email every month with the cute pet name called GOOP. (It truly is a great website with great ideas for cooking, travel, reading and lifestyle www.goop.com)

Anyway, Gwynie’s recipes kept calling for the use of agave nectar in baking and other foods but I had never seen it until recently.Agave nectar comes from Mexico and is sweet like honey, but not as thick, so I find it combines more easily in dressings and marinades. Wiki says…..."Agave nectars are sold in light, amber, dark, and raw varieties. Light agave nectar has a mild, almost neutral flavor, and is generally used in delicate tasting foods and drinks. Dark agave nectar has stronger caramel notes, is sometimes used "straight out of the bottle" as a topping for pancakes and waffles."

I also learned that it has a much lower glycemix index than honey (83) or corn syrup (89) at 27. This is quite important since the Adventurious Teen is a type 1 diabetic so we are encouraged to consumer foods lower in the glycemix index because they impact blood sugar levels differently. And because it is processed at a temperature below 118F, it is considered a “raw food”. Who knew!?!?

A few weeks ago when I was visiting mecca for food hoarders – Costco – and they had a 2 pack on for $7.39!! What a deal. So I bought it and then had to find a use for it. Hence it’s use in today’s sweet potato and black bean salad.This recipe is adapted from a video from the on-line NY Times that my friend Michelle from North Carolina, who I met in Belize, posted to her FB page a few months back. It has become a staple for me. I make it for lunch sometimes and just toss it on salad greens. It is pretty and kind of Hallowe’en-ie even.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad

400g sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped in a plastic box makes life easier)
1 cup cooked or canned black beans (rinse if they are canned)
2 tsp. agave nectar (you can substitute honey)1/2 -1 clove garlic, chopped (the stuff in the jar is fine)
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 of a red pepper and 1/2 a yellow pepper, sliced and chopped
1/3-1/2 cup chopped cilantro (depending on your taste)

Roast sweet potoatoes in the oven or toaster oven for about 45 min. Let cool slightly while you chop the vegetables. Combine agave nectar and lime juice in a bowl. Toss everything together and add salt and pepper to your taste!

We paired this with a pork roast from the freezer that we threw in the slow cooker still frozen this morning.  We were smart when we vac-sealed it as we poured in some PC marinade at the time.  While I have a slow cooker with a  timer, I prefer to use my old one with knobs for all day cooking – the secret is to plug it into a wall timer (yes that you’d use for your lights).  I have it come on 2 hours after I leave for work (roast is still pretty frozen), let it cook for 5 hrs, have it turn off, then I turn it on again when I get home.  Works perfectly and the meat doesn’t get dried out