April – Roasted Salmon with Pistachios and a Spring Salad

April – Roasted Salmon with Pistachios and a Spring Salad

Roasted Salmon with Pistachios and a Spring Salad

Roasted Salmon with Pistachios and a Spring Salad

The inspiration for this dish came from the cookbook salad freak by Jess Damuck. Of all the cookbooks I own (and there are many), this one has the most earmarked pages. The original recipe called for snap peas, snow peas, pea tendrils, and creme fraiche, none of which were on hand. However, I did have a bunch of fresh asparagus, arugula, and sour cream in the fridge. And, always, frozen peas in the freezer. If you are lucky enough to have snap and snow peas, please feel free to substitute. Only have green beans? Go for it. Baby baby carrots with peas would be a classic combination, and colorful as well. I think the only rule is to blanch the vegetables so they are still crisp-tender. What do I mean? A bit of bite but not raw.

I dislike the restaurant trend of undercooked vegetables.

I think this is the perfect dish to celebrate spring. If you can get fresh-shelled peas from the farmer’s market or your vegetable garden, please use them. Their tendrils could replace the arugula or spinach. If not, frozen peas (I always have a bag in the freezer) will be just fine. Put them in a colander and run boiling water over them. That’s all they need. When our child was a toddler we called them “ice peas”. They were a favorite, still frozen.

Wild Spring Onions

Wild Spring Onions

I have a patch of wild spring onions in the garden and used some of the flowers in the salad. Chive flowers would be lovely if you happen to have some.

Ingredients for 4 people:

  • 1 large bunch of asparagus (about a pound), cut on the bias into pieces about 1 inch long
  • 1 cup of fresh or frozen peas
  • 2 handfuls of baby spinach or arugula
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 pound of fresh salmon, skin removed (cut into 4 portions)
  • 2 tablespoons of sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons of grainy mustard
  • 1/3 cup of finely chopped pistachios
  • 1 tablespoon of white wine or white balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F or 165 degrees C
  2. Pat the salmon dry, season it with salt and pepper, and place it in a baking dish with what would have been the skin side down.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon of the sour cream with the 2 tablespoons of mustard. Smear this mixture over the salmon and sprinkle the pistachios on top to coat the fish.
  4. Prepare a bowl with ice water in the sink.
  5. Put the peas (if frozen) into a colander in the sink.
  6. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the asparagus, blanch for 2 minutes until bright green and crisp-tender. Use a spider or tongs to transfer the asparagus to the bowl of ice water. If you are using fresh-shelled peas, you can add them to the boiling water with the asparagus and add them to the ice water as well.
  7. If using frozen peas (which are now in the colander), pour the remaining boiling water over them to defrost and cook them slightly.
  8. Bake the salmon for 20 to 25 minutes if you prefer it completely opaque, and 15 minutes if you like it on the medium rare side. The timing will depend on the thickness of your fish.
  9. While the salmon is baking, prepare your dressing. In a small bowl, combine the zest and juice of one lemon, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, the remaining tablespoon of sour cream, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Whisk or mix well and season with salt and pepper.
  10. Drain and dry the vegetables on paper towels, then combine them with the greens in a large bowl. Add the dressing and mix well. Garnish with edible flowers.
  11. Serve the salad alongside the salmon with additional lemon wedges.

 

 

 

 

 

October – Health Food Salad

October – Health Food Salad

Health Food Salad

Health Food Salad

I am giving you a post Thanksgiving recipe today, a salad you may want to eat after the glorious overindulgence in traditional Thanksgiving sides and desserts. I know I will be serving it. You could even toss in some leftover turkey to make it a whole meal. I think the folks over at Fiesta Friday may want to tag it. Fiesta Friday is hosted by Angie, it’s Fiesta Friday #458 this week. Come on over and plan your menus for the holidays, decorate your home, or keep the kids busy with activities or baking.

This is another recipe from salad freak. You are going to be seeing more great recipes from this book. My version, as usual, has some changes as not all the ingredients were available. But it is definitely true to the spirit of the recipe. I added a small handful of shredded pecorino which was not in the book, leave it out for a vegan version.

Adding the cheese was inspired by a recipe in Molly Wizenberg’s book A Homemade Life. She has a very simple but delicious Red Cabbage Salad with Lemon and Black Pepper which couldn’t be easier. Here it is:

In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of grated garlic, 1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt. Very finely (essential) shred about 1-1/2 lbs of cored red cabbage. Discard any with white cores. Toss the cabbage in a bowl with a large spoonful or two of the dressing. Add the Parmesan and toss again. Add a generous grind of fresh pepper. Taste and add more dressing or salt and pepper.

Anyway, on to the current version of this cabbage salad.

I used the fine blade of my food processor to shredd the cored cabbage, and the shredding blade for the carrots. You could certainly do this with a knife (a bread knife might be easier for the cabbage) and the large shredding side of a box grater.

Feel free to improvise here with whatever is in your fridge. Thinly sliced fennel would be good, celery as well.

Health Food Salad

Health Food Salad

Health Food Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 small head of red cabbage
  • 4 carrots, peeled
  • 2 large handfuls of sprouts, any kind you find. I used sunflower and pea shoots, but radish, lentils or alfalfa would all be fine.
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 cup of raisins (I used a mix of golden and black currents because of was out of the dark ones…much to my last minute surprise)
  • 1 cup of roasted shelled sunflower seeds (I think pumpkin seeds would also be delicious)
  • 1/4 cup of hemp seeds (I didn’t have any and left them out)
  • 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
  • 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan (leave out for a vegan version)
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt

Method:

  1. Core the cabbage and shave it thinly into a large bowl. Grate the carrots into the same bowl.
  2. Toss in the sprouts, raisins, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds and hemp seeds, if using. Mix it all up and then add a large pinch of salt, a glug of olive oil and the juice of half the lemon. Taste and add more lemon juice, salt, Parmesan or olive oil if needed.

This salad keeps incredibly well and was still delicious the next night for dinner with some added rotisserie chicken.

Health Food Salad

Health Food Salad

From:

salad freak

Salad Freak by Jess Damuck