Napa Cabbage Slaw with Ginger Dressing
This is one of those recipes that is invented just because the ingredients were the last things in our fridge before a weekend away.
When this happens, and the stars align, a new recipe is born.
- 3 large spoonfuls rice vinegar
- 1 large spoonful sesame oil
- 1 large spoonful rapeseed or salad oil (any light oil designed for cold preparations)
- 1 1-inch cube ginger, peeled and grated
- Grated zest of 1 lime
- Fresh juice from 1 lime
- A pinch of Aleppo chile
- 1 Half Napa cabbage, washed and chopped
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 4 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, canola oil, lime zest, lime juice, and aleppo chile. Set aside.
- In a different bowl, mix the cabbage, carrots, scallions, and cilantro.
- Pour the dressing into the cabbage mixture and toss again. Let stand for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.
Parsley-Tomato- Bread Salad
This recipe was created one day when I was having a crisis looking for something in between tabouleh, salad, and a slightly carby side.
This is actually nothing like Italian Panzanella, it’s really a different beast.
What I think is so amazing about it is that there is no vinegar. You don’t need it as long as you are using ripe and flavorful tomatoes.
You can serve in a variety of ways- with the croutons separately so everyone can top themselves- bonus- you can just sit around and eat croutons all night.
OR if you like having the croutons just a bit soft from the salad juices, add directly and serve as one dish.
I love when the bread cubes are still hot, so I choose to eat immediately. Regardless this isn’t the type of dish that is delicious the next day. But I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about.
- 3 Very ripe tomatoes (get the tastiest ones), chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 Cucumber, cut lengthwise in half, again lengthwise in half, and into tiny half moon shapes
- 1 bunch of parsley, washed and chopped
- 2 large slides of stale bread, cut into cubes (the same size as the tomatoes)
- 2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
- A large glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- A large pinch of high quality salt
- Combine in a large bowl the tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, salt, and olive oil. Stir together and let sit at least 1 hour.
- In the meantime, sauté the bread cubes in another glug of olive oil, and another pinch of salt. When they start to get crispy throw in the garlic. Stir until well browned, but do not burn the garlic.
- Add the bread cubes to the salad, stir, and serve.
Zucchini Salad with Lemon & Sunflower Seeds
Zucchini noodles are revolutionary. Whatever you call them, zoodles, courgetties, zucchini spaghetti.
They are a healthy and filling alternative to real pasta when served as a main, but also a really nice light salad served as a first course.
Ideally, you own a spiraliser. If not, go on amazon and buy one right now, it’ll be the best 25 bucks you’ve ever spent. If you don’t have one, just use a vegetable peeler to peel the zucchini the long way.
- 4 small or 2 large zucchini/courgettes
- Juice of half a lemon
- A handful of toasted sunflower seeds
- A large handful of parsley
- Salt & pepper
- Make the zucchini/courgettes into noodles using a spiraliser or vegetable peeler, into a large bowl (not your serving bowl).
- Add a liberal amount of salt, and rub over all the noodles with your hands.
- Let sit for 15 minutes, until it starts to let off some liquid. Add the lemon juice and let sit in the fridge for another 10 minutes.
- When ready to serve, take out and mix in parsley & toasted sunflower seeds.
Black Bean Salad
Black beans are the best. Super healthy, super delicious. I could eat them every day. This summer salad can be tweaked in a number of ways, and makes a great side for almost anything.
In this case, pictured with 24 hour marinated steak on the grill, and fresh corn on the cob. Is this not the definition of summer?
- 2 Cans black beans
- 2 Bell peppers, washed and chopped (recommend using yellow and orange if possible. Second choice red. Last choice green)
- 1 Onion, washed and chopped (or a red onion)
- 2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted (in a pinch just use ground cumin)
- 2 tbsp Sherry wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- Toast the cumin in a dry pan if using seeds.
- In a large bowl, combine the beans, peppers, and onion. Add in the cumin seeds.
- In a mug, combine the oil and vinegar, and drizzle over the bean mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Egg & Watercress Salad with Curry Vinaigrette
Found this recipe in an airport magazine. The airport: JFK, the magazine: Cook Fresh.
It is truly delicious. But, I’m not going to lie… it’s also labour intensive. It’s not difficult, it just takes time.
It was a little reminder for me that eggs really can be the crown jewel of a salad, and homemade croutons are worth every extra second spent.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Salt & pepper
- 4 slices bread, cut into small cubes
- 2 slices prosciutto, coarsely chopped
- 3 large spoonfuls of white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 8oz watercress, trimmed
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
- 2 spoonfuls chopped fresh tarragon
- Heat the oven to 450f/225c, and put a small pot of water on to boil.
- Combine the bread cubes with a splash of olive oil & the pinch of cayenne, and lay out on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet. Pop into the oven until golden brown (5-8 minutes).
- When the water is boiling, hard boil the eggs.
- Separately, in a dry skillet over medium heat, cook the prosciutto, stirring occasionally, until crisp (about 4 minutes). Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, curry powder, syrup, mustard, 3/4 tsp salt. Slowly whisk in 3 spoonfuls of olive oil.
- In a large bowl, toss the croutons with 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette to soften them slightly. Add the watercress and toss again, add the egg, prosciutto and tarragon, and the rest of the vinaigrette (to taste).
- YUM!
Avocado, Orange & Onion Salad
Unusual? Yes. Delicious? Also yes. The combination of avocado, orange and onion is just wonderful, the textures, the tastes, all merried by a drizzle of balsamic. It’s painfully easy, and very attractive.
The biggest challenge you’ll face (if you live in Belgium), is finding ripe avocados and juicy oranges.
If you open your onion and it tastes a bit too strongly, you can ‘flash pickle’ it, by slicing it in a bowl, and covering the slices for 5 minutes with hot water and a few spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar.
- 1 sweet onion
- 2 oranges
- 2 avocados
- High quality extra virgin olive oil
- High quality balsamic vinegar
- Fleur de sel
- Slice the first ingredients to roughly the same thickness, and arrange nicely on a platter.
- Sprinkle salt, and drizzle on oil and vinegar.
Fiesolana: Italian Cabbage Salad with Ham & Fontina
- 1 Head green/white cabbage , washed and chopped into tiny strips
- 1 Bunch parsley, washed, dried, and chopped
- 6 Slices of ham, chopped into tiny bits
- 8oz/220g Fontina cheese, chopped finely (see below)
- A Few spoonfuls of parmesan
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar or lemon juice, your pick
- Fleur de sel & pepper
- Fontina is notoriously hard to grate or chop finely, because it’s quite soft. Cut it into relatively small bits, freeze it, and then put it into the food processor with a few tablespoons of parmesan. This will help it stay tiny.
- Combine all salad ingredients (cheese, cabbage, parsley, and ham).
- Drizzle olive oil, and toss.
- Add salt and pepper and toss.
- Drizzle vinegar, and toss. (DO NOT OVERDRESS THIS SALAD. It’s not about the vinegar right now. Just let the cabbage work it’s magic.)
- Taste and add whatever’s needed to make it perfect.
It is SO GOOD. There is barely any dressing, and yet the salad is so flavourful. It is perfect for a blisteringly hot summer day, and you’ll be able to eat a GIANT bowlful because it’s basically only cabbage with some fixins.
Serves 6 as a side dish or appetizer, 4 as a main course.
- 1 Head green/white cabbage , washed and chopped into tiny strips
- 1 Bunch parsley, washed, dried, and chopped
- 6 Slices of ham, chopped into tiny bits
- 8oz/220g Fontina cheese, chopped finely (see below)
- A Few spoonfuls of parmesan
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar or lemon juice, your pick
- Fleur de sel & pepper
- Fontina is notoriously hard to grate or chop finely, because it’s quite soft. Cut it into relatively small bits, freeze it, and then put it into the food processor with a few tablespoons of parmesan. This will help it stay tiny.
- Combine all salad ingredients (cheese, cabbage, parsley, and ham).
- Drizzle olive oil, and toss.
- Add salt and pepper and toss.
- Drizzle vinegar, and toss. (DO NOT OVERDRESS THIS SALAD. It’s not about the vinegar right now. Just let the cabbage work it’s magic.)
- Taste and add whatever’s needed to make it perfect.
Via Giulia Rice Salad
- 1lb Lobster meat, cleaned and chopped
- 2 lb Shrimp, fresh or frozen
- 2 bay leaves, peppercorns, and fennel seed
- 2 Cans tuna fish
- 2 Jars of capers
- 10 Eggs
- ½ Cup frozen peas
- 1 Cup green olives, depitted
- 3 Cups finely chopped celery
- 1 Bunch of each, Parsley and Mint
- 2 Cups white rice
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 1 cup olive oil
- Hard boil all of the eggs. When they are cooled, peel them.
- Defrost the shrimp, peel and devein them.
- Wash and chop the parsley and mint.
- Boil them with 2 bay leaves, peppercorns, and fennel seed, and cool.
- Wash and dry the celery, and chop it up.
- Mix the lemon juice and olive oil together to make the dressing
- Cook the rice, and spread it on a tray to fluff it up, cool it down, and keep it as dry as possible.
- Mix together the lobster, shrimp, tuna fish, capers, eggs, peas, olives, celery, herbs, and rice.
- Pour half of the dressing on top and toss. Add more if you wish, depending on your preferences. Decorate as festively as possible !
- The key here is to keep everything as dry as possible. You don’t want a goopy salad. When you’ve washed the vegetables, let them dry thoroughly before mixing in the salad.
My great grandfather George Breck was the head of the American Academy of the Arts in Rome between 1905-1909, and we still have a wonderful family living in Italy.
Every time I visit Rome, and every time my family has visited Rome, we are welcomed by the most loving faces, amazing food, and beautiful weather.
There’s no place like Rome.
Quinoa & Wild Rice Salad With Ginger Sesame Dressing
This is taken from the NY Times recipe by Martha Rose Shulman.
It is super healthy, and super delicious.
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 cup cooked wild rice
- Salt to taste
- 1 red bell pepper, cut in 2-inch strips
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 cup edamame
- 1 bunch chopped cilantro
- 3 tablespoons chopped or thinly sliced spring onions or scallions
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- Pinch of cayenne
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
- ⅓ /80ml cup light oil (canola, rapeseed, etc.)
- Toss together all of the salad ingredients.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.
Asian Napa Cabbage Salad
I’m going to be perfectly honest about the fact that I have no idea about the measurements for this recipe. I got so caught up on the moment, throwing around bottles of sesame oil and a sprinkle of this, sprinkle of that. I completely forgot to measure anything.
In any case you should make it to taste, so you should play with the amounts until you are happy with it.
- 1/2 head Sliced Napa Cabbage, Or More To Taste
- 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
- 1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Thinly Sliced
- Chopped Cilantro, Up To 1 Bunch, To Taste
- 3 whole Scallions, Sliced
- 3 whole Cucumbers Peeled And Sliced
- 1 whole Lime, Juiced
- 4 Spoonfuls Olive Oil
- 4 Spoonfuls Soy Sauce
- 2 Spoonfuls Sesame Oil
- 1 Spoonful Brown Sugar
- 2 Spoonfuls Fresh Ginger, chopped
- 1 Clove Garlic, chopped
- Chopped Cilantro
- Chop up all your vegetables in the biggest salad bowl you can find.
- Mix up all of the dressing ingredients in a mug or separate smaller bowl.
- Pour the dressing on top and stir it up. Fiddle around with the dressing ingredients until you get it just right!
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