(917) 209-4801 [email protected]
My Big Fat Greek Salad

My Big Fat Greek Salad

Quinoa Greek Salad in a blue bowl with feta, tomatoes, cucumber, scallions and parsley

I created this salad earlier this summer – in part because it is so tasty (of course), and in part because it is a starch that is hearty and filling without being potato salad. Yawn.  Plus that whole mayo aversion thing I got going.  It made its first appearance at the Burger Pot Lucky.  And ever since, I have been getting requests for the recipe.  One of the great things about adding grains to any salad is their ability to stretch.  The ingredients normally found in a Greek salad are all primo, which is to say pricey.  The addition of quinoa gives you bang for the buck.

Red Quinoa in a measuring cup, spilling onto a board with fresh mint

If you aren’t familiar with quinoa, get to know it.  It’s kind of a miracle food: it comes in several colors including black, white and red, cooks in 10-15 minutes, is high in protein, fiber, and folate, is gluten-free, and is a decent source of iron, zinc and magnesium.  First cultivated in the Andes (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador) some 4000 years ago (with non-domesticated sightings dating back more than 7000 years), Incans considered quinoa the “mother of all grains” and held it sacred, which caused the Spanish colonists to consider it pagan and led them to forbid it.  But, quinoa is finally having its day – the United Nations General Assembly gave quinoa its own year – 2013 the International Year of Quinoa – to celebrate the Incan ability to preserve this ancient tradition and live in harmony with nature.  Hallelujah!  It was the hope of the UN that quinoa would be a major player in attaining MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and be instrumental in maintaining SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) by providing food security, nutrition and aiding in poverty eradication.  And while you are getting to know quinoa, get to know the UN and its work on food security.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen: I know I can only ask you to pit olives so many times in one summer (looking at you panzanella), so here I am telling you to pick up a jar of an olive relish or tapenade or bruschetta topping – grab a product that has done the heavy lifting for you – and make that the base of your dressing.  I’m all about short cuts in cooking when possible.  Trader Joe’s has a green olive tapenade that I really like and it makes a super tasty green olive vinaigrette, but check your condiment section at the grocery and see what you have available.  If you can’t find something olive based, then try a pepper relish or whatever kind of bruschetta or crostini topping your joint offers.

My Big Fat Greek Salad

Quinoa Greek Salad in a blue bowl with feta, tomatoes, cucumber, scallions and parsley

Green Olive Vinaigrette:

  • 1 cup green olive tapenade (I like Trader Joe’s and use the whole 10-ounce jar.  But you can also use any kind of tapenade or bruschetta spread, or just use 1 cup chopped oil-cured green or black olives.  Please! No California black olives in water!!!!)
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup EVOO
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper or favorite pepper blend (lemon pepper would be amazing)
  • Zest of two lemons

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.

Store, refrigerated, in an airtight container.

Makes 2 cups.  (This salad will use about 1/3 of this Vinaigrette recipe.)

Prepping the Ingredients for the Greek Salad with Quinoa: quinoa, scallions, feta, garbanzo, cucumbers, tomatoes

Greek Salad:

  • 1 cup raw quinoa (red or white)
  • 1 16-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ seedless English cucumber, cut in ½” dice
  • 4 scallions, sliced
  • 1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • 8 ounces feta, cubed
  • ¼ cup each: chopped parsley, mint, dill and cilantro

Rinse and drain the quinoa, then add to a pot with tight-fitting lid along with 2 cups water or stock.  Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool.

When cool, add garbanzos, cucumbers, scallions, tomatoes and feta.

Dress the salad with the green olive vinaigrette, using about 1/3 of it or more, as needed.   Refrigerate until ready to serve, then add chopped herbs and check seasonings. I like to finish it off with my beloved Maldon Sea Salt Flakes. This dish can easily be made a day or so ahead, but add herbs and check seasonings and acidity at serving time.

Makes about 1 ½ quarts.

Burger and a Salad - a Greek Salad with Quinoa on a blue plate with fresh mint

This post contains affiliate links.  For more of my must-have faves, check out my shop.

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

Hey, we want to hear from you!

Don’t forget to Comment, Share & Subscribe to our blog.

Rustic Tuscan Panzanella Bread Salad: Best-Ever Bread Salad with Peak of the Season Tomatoes

Rustic Tuscan Panzanella Bread Salad: Best-Ever Bread Salad with Peak of the Season Tomatoes

Rustic Bread Salad in a square white bowl with olives, caper berries, bread, scallions and tomatoes

This time of year when the tomatoes are hanging ripe and juicy, heavy on the vine I am often reminded of two lively ladies from London whom I met styling Panzanella Bread Salad at the Today Show for their River Café Cookbook.  Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers set up shop in the Hammersmith section of London along Thames Wharf in the late 80s. It was a stylish and very popular place (still is) and a launching pad for the new generation of star chefs, Jamie Oliver and April Bloomfield, among them.  But despite its iconic status and reputation for exclusivity, the restaurant is most famous for serving the kind of familiar food you might eat in an Italian home.  Simple, rustic and full of flavor.  But don’t be fooled by the seeming simplicity.  It takes a lot of work to look that simple.  The recipes in that first book were extremely demanding and there is some chance that I resented all those details, if ever so slightly.  I had to squeeze and sieve tomatoes by hand to get cups and cups of tomato juice.  I had to make A LOT of dishes and each seemed to have endless lists of both ingredients and steps.  But I did get what they were doing. They had an immense respect for ingredients and exerted what some called a “moral pressure” to be precise.  I like to think I am a bit more of realist than they, and I always point the way toward short cuts when possible.  But then again, the Queen hasn’t awarded me with the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.  Yet.

Sourdough bread with garlic head and tin of olive oil

Panzanella – a Tuscan bread salad which incorporates day-old bread – is best when tomatoes are at their peak.  N.O.W. Authentic bread salads do not toast bread, but rather rely on stale bread.  The traditional panzanella is made with a bread that stales quickly on its own, having been made without salt, a tradition that dates back to the days when salt was heavily taxed and therefore used only for essentials like curing meat and preserving milk (cheese).  Bread made without salt will dry out quickly – hence the abundance of Tuscan recipes using stale bread, many of which Ruth and Rose served at River Café: bread soups like ribollita, pappa al Pomodoro or acquacotta.  These recipes use this very stale bread, soak it in liquid, and then crumble it into the dish.   In our modern American lifestyle, we’re less likely to have stale bread laying around, so I stale it up here by rubbing with garlic, brushing with olive oil and putting the slices on the grill (or under the broiler), then hand tearing and leaving the cubes out to stale a bit more.

Salted Anchovies straight from the tin

Another precise ingredient Ruth and Rose call for in this recipe is salt-packed anchovies. I know you are already moving toward delete and curling your lip. Stop it. Right now!  I promise there are other options, but let me make a brief case for the lowly anchovy, starting by pointing out that I think I know why you are not a fan. In the US, we are exposed to tiny tins of little hairy fish often slapped atop pizzas. Why? Exactly! Why? They are hairy, oily and full of little bones.  On the other end of the slimy fish spectrum (trademark pending) are salt-packed anchovies, bearing little resemblance.  They are big enough to pry open with a thumbnail and easily lift out the bones.  And the salt has wicked away the nasty fishy oils that we don’t so much like.  The rich and unctuous saltiness amplifies other flavors and provides an umami (the fifth taste after sweet, salty, sour, bitter) that is impossible to recreate with salt alone.  #depthofflavor  You won’t have a clue there are fish in this, but you will wonder how tomato juice got this damn tasty.   If you don’t want to take the trouble sourcing them (Trouble? Really? Salt-Packed Anchovies are in my shop and available at amazon prime!), go ahead and use the hairy fellas in the little tin.  Just cover them in kosher salt and set aside for 20 minutes.  That is the easiest DIY way to pull out the fish oils.  Just be sure to rinse well and pat dry.  These little ones are okay to throw in the blender whole, as their bones will pulverize.  If you go the distance – yeah, you! – don’t worry about all the leftovers.  Just transfer the remaining salt-packed anchovies from the metal tin into a glass container with air-tight lid, and cover with sea salt and a few drops of water to dissolve the salt. They will keep for a very long time, refrigerated and covered.

Rustic Tuscan Panzanella Bread Salad

Full disclaimer: you would be hard-pressed to find a salad in Tuscany that looks like this.  I have taken the liberty to super-size it American-style:  Bigger, less delicate, chunks and a combo of ingredients (in addition to the ubiquitous bread, peppers, and tomatoes) that add both pops of flavors and texture contrasts. Caper berries and oil-cured olives are mine, all mine.

The panzanella bread salad below will use a bit more than half of this dressing.  But if you are putting the time into sourcing the ingredients, you will be sorry if you don’t have leftovers.  I stopped short of giving you the ratios needed to fill a tub, but you may want to bathe in it.  It’s that good.  I have short cut the hand squeezing of tomatoes, so use that time to try to find oil-cured olives. Of course you can use pitted water-packed canned black olives….if that’s your cup of tea.  But some day give the oil-cured olives a whirl. They are what olives should taste and feel like.  And when you are pitting them by hand, don’t cuss at me – think of Rose and Ruth, putting a little “moral pressure” on you.

Oil-Cured Olives, Caper Berries, and Salted Anchovies and a lemon, halved

Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette:

  • 1 1/2 cups tomato juice (or two 5.5 ounce cans)
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 6 Salt-Packed Anchovies, soaked for 5 minutes, rinsed, bones pulled out, and patted dry (see notes above and below about anchovy options)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup EVOO

Combine all the ingredients, except olive oil, in a blender and puree until the garlic and anchovies are incorporated.  With the motor running, pour the olive oil in a thin stream, until all is incorporated and the dressing is emulsified.  Listen for the motor to change sounds as you finish with the oil and saturation is reached with the emulsification.  It should go from a noisy high-pitched whine to a smooth whir.

Keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container until needed.

Makes 2 2/3 cups vinaigrette.

Grilled Bread

Panzanella – Best Ever Bread Salad

  • 1 pound loaf 1-2 day-old chewy good-quality bread (I used sourdough with seeds), cut in 1 ½” wide slices (about 5 slices)
  • Garlic and oil to brush the bread
  • 1 ½ cups Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette
  • 3 large ripe tomatoes (combo of red and yellow), cut into large chunks
  • One 12-ounce jar of roasted red peppers, drained and diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1 bunch of watercress, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 bunch scallions (about 5 or 6), sliced
  • ½ cup pitted oil-cured black olives (or whatever olive you prefer)
  • One 4-ounce jar of Caper Berries in Brine (or capers), drained
  • ¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley

Rub the bread slices on both sides with a smashed garlic clove and brush with olive oil.  Grill over a hot grill or toast both sides under the broiler or in toaster.  Let cool, and then tear into large bite-sized pieces.  You should have about 8 cups of bread chunks.  Spread out on a sheet pan and let “stale up” a bit more.  You can prep to this stage several days ahead.  Once they are dried out, store in a zip bag.

Two hours before serving, toss the stale bread cubes with ¾ cup Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette. Set aside.

When ready to serve, add the remaining ingredients and toss with additional vinaigrette, as needed.  This is where I normally say taste seasonings and adjust, but this is so full of flavor I can’t imagine what you could do to improve it.  Damn, that’s tasty!

Closing arguments for the Case of the Anchovy:  If you really really really can’t see your way past their bad reputation, use salt to taste, and maybe even a splash of soy in your vinaigrette. Soy Sauce in all its fermented glory might give you a hint of the umami you’ll be missing. Just know that Rose is rolling in her grave and there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Ruth will ever confirm your dinner reservation.  Choice is yours.

Serves 8-10 and makes fabulous leftovers.

Rustic Bread Salad in a square white bowl with olives, caper berries, bread, scallions and tomatoes

This post contains affiliate links.  For more of my must-have faves, check out my shop.

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

Hey, we want to hear from you!

Don’t forget to Comment, Share & Subscribe to our blog.

Save

Summer Grilling: South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl

Summer Grilling: South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl

It was a perfect confluence of events.  I was invited to a dedication at a local yacht club, complete with naval officers and Girl Scouts, and asked to bring a side to share.   I had just loaded up with fresh corn, heirloom tomatoes, peppers and tomatillos (it’s true, I have been to five farmers market in six days – it’s that time of year – and no, I don’t have a problem, but thanks for your concern)!   And then a fabulous box filled with RiceSelect Texmati Rice appeared on my doorstep awaiting a review (two thumbs up), courtesy of culinary friends at Mambo Sprouts.  The wheels were already turning.  Rice. Grilled Veggies. Salad Bowl. Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl. Voila! A summer salad jammed packed with flavor was born.

RiceSelect Texmati Rice

RiceSelect Texmati, in case you don’t know, combines the best qualities of basmati and American long-grain rice and has a popcorn-y aroma and nutty taste. Because the grains cook up dry, separate and fluffy, it is the ideal choice for a rice salad.  Flavor + Texture.  Win. Win.  I was off and running to whip up a big batch of South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Vegetable Salad.  With Lime Cilantro Dressing!!  Oh, yeah!

As my mind was spinning around southwestern flavors, I remembered a vinaigrette that was a fan-favorite in my earliest catering days.  Lots of cumin.  It was pretty basic – a bit of a one note samba by today’s palate’s cries for layers of flavor – so I dosed it with Sriracha, a serious hit of lime (juice and zest) and cilantro. Yum.   I can’t be sure, though there are rumors of hoarding and hiding the leftovers, but I do believe this dish got better the next day.   Even the grilled romaine held up.  Especially with starch based dishes, it’s always important to re-taste for seasonings and acid both before you serve it and again the next day.  To my palate, it was still well-seasoned the next day, but it’s your kitchen, you be the judge.

Couple of quick notes to keep in mind as you are cooking:

  • Once the rice sits off the heat to absorb the final liquid, remove the lid, fluff it with a fork.  Since we are making a cold salad, drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil to coat and seal each grain. This will keep the rice from over-absorbing dressing later. And that friends, will let you serve it again over the next couple days.
  • The dressing recipe below makes a double batch and is a good one to keep on hand in the fridge. However if you want to store it for longer than a few days, add the cilantro to the salad, not the dressing.  The cilantro-free dressing will keep refrigerated for a couple weeks.
  • When chopping the grilled tomatillos, be sure to catch and add the juices to the salad. These liquids are a great way to add depth of flavor to your salad.  Single-handedly they add a rare combo – smoke AND acid
  • And zesting: if you aren’t fully stocked with a Microplane Zester/Grater, why are we even friends? For real. These zesters put the joy in zesting.  No chance of getting too much bitter white pith in the zest. No more scraped knuckles. Perfect every time.  And they are awesome for grating hard cheeses or spices like nutmeg. Run. Now.

Let’s get busy. This flavorful salad pairs perfectly with grilled meats or fish, or is a stand out as a vegetarian entrée.  Add toasted pepitas for a dose of protein if serving as a main.

Drizzling Little Gems with EVOO

South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl

  • 1 cup RiceSelect Texmati White Rice
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus more to drizzle on Little Gems
  • 3 tomatillos, husks removed
  • 3 ears corn, husks and silk removed
  • 1 poblano pepper
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, trimmed and seeded and cut into 4 sides and tossed in olive oil
  • ½ 6-pack Little Gems baby romaine (3 heads), trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
  • Ground coriander
  • 6 ounces heirloom cherry and/or grape tomatoes cut in quarter wedges
  • 4 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
  • 1 Avocado, chopped

Cook RiceSelect Texmati rice according to package directions.  After you remove the pan from the heat and let it stand 5-10 minutes, transfer the rice to a mixing bowl and drizzle with 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil, fluffing with a fork.  Set aside.

Corn, Tomatillos, Bell Peppers and Poblano on the Grill

Grill the vegetables over a hot grill: tomatillos, corn, poblano pepper and yellow bell pepper.  Let the poblano char completely and transfer to a plastic bag to sweat.  When cool enough to handle, pull off the char under running water and remove stem and seeds.

Coarsely chop the tomatillos, poblano and bell pepper and cut corn from cob.  Add to the rice, along with any juices that release from the tomatillos.

Drizzle the Little Gems with olive oil and sprinkle with coriander.  Grill cut side down until the lettuce just starts to wilt and gets grill marks.  Chop coarsely and add to the salad.

Grilled Little Gem Baby Romaine Heads

Add tomatoes, queso fresco and avocado, and dress the salad with the Cumin Lime Cilantro Dressing.

Adjust seasonings before serving.

Makes about 3 quarts and is a fabulous leftover.

 

Cumin Lime Cilantro Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup EVOO
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro (see note)
  • 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons Sriracha
  • Zest and Juice of 2 limes
  • ½ Tablespoon ground cumin
  • ½ Tablespoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

Note: This will make twice the dressing needed for this salad and it will keep for several weeks refrigerated if you add the cilantro to the salad instead of  the dressing itself.  Or make a double batch of the salad and use it all!

Southwest RiceSelect Texmati and Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl topped with grilled baby romaine

This post contains affiliate links.  For more of my must-have faves, check out my shop.

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

Hey, we want to hear from you!

Don’t forget to Comment below, Share & Subscribe to our blog.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Oh Sweet Pea, Won’t You Dance With Me….

Oh Sweet Pea, Won’t You Dance With Me….

More People Are Eating Alone

Say it ain’t so!!  This sad infographic appeared this week from a consulting company that focuses on food and beverage trends.  For me, the really sad part is the title – Erosion of Meal Rituals.  According to the Hartman Group, more people are eating meals alone and most meals are planned in less than an hour.  The last part sounds really good to me. With a well-stocked pantry, and the fact that spring has sprung and sweet peas are starting to appear, this soul-satisfying dish can be whipped up in no time.  But it’s just as easy to make this for two – or three – or four or more – so please don’t eat alone.  Breaking bread with friends and family is one of life’s great treats and truth be told is the real soul-satisfying part of any meal.

Avocados! Peas! Tuna! Oh My!!

This spicy horseradish lemon dressing is a fantastic vinaigrette to make in a big batch and have on hand.  I always have four or more vinaigrettes available at any time and the flavor profile of each can take a dish in a whole new direction.  Lemon/EVOO is a staple, doctored here with a dose of spicy mustard and horseradish. I love a creamy miso dressing, an Asian ginger/soy/sesame oil one and of course something balsamic-based – maple, raspberry, white balsamic, etc.  The possibilities are endless.

Using classic French technique, salt and pepper are added first with the acid so that they can dissolve before drizzling in the oil in a thin stream for a perfect emulsion.  Seemingly every kitchen in France had a different benchmark as to what was the right amount of seasonings.  And no matter how I did it, I was American and it was wrong. Oh wait, I was an American Woman, and it was really wrong.  I will dedicate a whole post to the classic technique, but for today we will just dump and whisk.  As an American, I reserve the right to change the technique and I find that using a grainy salt and pepper in just a measured dose at the end – here I use it strategically on the avocado where its texture and flavor make it a standout – allows for more control over sodium intake which isn’t a bad thing. Certainly not as bad as eating alone.  These are my favorite salts todayMaldon Sea Salt Flakes and Maine Coast Sea Seasonings.

Sweet Peas are Here!

Sweet Peas, Tuna and New Potato Salad

  • 1 pound small new potatoes
  • ½ pound fresh (or frozen) shelled sweet peas
  • 10 ounces tuna (I prefer chunk light tuna in water – especially love the pouches that need no draining)
  • 5 ounces arugula
  • 1 avocado, sliced or chopped
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Spicy Horseradish Lemon Vinaigrette

  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon prepared horseradish
  • 1 Tablespoon spicy Dijon mustard

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.   Drain liquid and let potatoes cool to room temperature.

While the potatoes are cooling, place an inch of water in the pot and bring to a boil.  Transfer the peas to a steamer basket and add the basket to the pot and cover.  (Frozen peas can just be thawed – no need to cook).  When tender (about 2 minutes), remove the basket and run under cool water to stop the cooking.

Prepare the Spicy Horseradish Lemon Vinaigrette:  Combine all ingredients in a shaker with a tight-fitting lid and shake to combine well, or place in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Deconstructed Sweet Pea Salad

Arrange greens in four bowls and divide and arrange potatoes, peas, tuna and avocado. Drizzle with spicy horseradish lemon vinaigrette.  Or combine all ingredients in a large serving bowl and drizzle with the dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Either way – composed (aka deconstructed) or tossed – it’s as fresh as the spring air.

Serves 4.

Spring has Sprung!

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

Hey, we want to hear from you!

Don’t forget to Comment below, Share & Subscribe to our blog.