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The August Garden Salad

August Salad

When I was less adventurous about food I always though about salad in terms of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and french dressing. That was the salad I grew up with, the lettuce was always iceberg, the tomato was from the garden in the summer and from the grocer throughout the rest of the year. Now I don’t eat much iceberg unless I have a craving for a wedge of it smothered with blue cheese and bacon and in that case I’ll be honest, it’s more a crunchy-cold delivery system for the cheese and bacon than an actual salad.

In the past ten years or so I’ve come to appreciate the fact that if you’re eating locally and fresh from the farm you may only have a handful of opportunities to eat fresh lettuce (romaine, butter, green leaf, french head…whatever) alongside a fresh tomato because the growing needs of the two are so different. Tomatoes need long hot, humid, sunny days and lettuce prefers cool damp mornings, sunny, dry afternoons, and cool nights.

That means that in August when the tomatoes are practically jumping off the vine and following me home I have to get creative. My refrigerator is absolutely jammed with ears of corn and bags of potatoes, and piles of eggplants and zucchinis and a cold salad is all I want to eat. That’s when I whip up this salad which is fabulously healthy, filling, and tasty for lunch or dinner. Plus it is so colorful and flavorful that I always look forward to the opportunity to serve it to friends or family.

It’s simply corn that has been cooked on the cob and then sliced off and chilled, tomatoes, either cherry or chunks of whatever big fat tomato needs to be eaten first, a can of black beans, drained and rinsed, roasted peppers, crumbled chevre goat cheese or even better, a lovely french goat feta, and a zippy cilantro vinaigrette. It makes sense that the flavors all work so well together because they all share the garden at the same time. Best of all it is a resilient salad. I’ll toss it together and serve it for dinner and then I pack up the leftovers in a jar and take them to work for lunch the next day and they’re even tastier. Here’s the recipe for the vinaigrette…I think it really brings the flavors together:

Cilantro vinaigrette
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1 very large handful of cilantro, rinsed
½ a small onion
1 clove garlic
½ cup olive oil
½ cup water
¼ cup lime juice
pinch of cumin
salt

Throw everything into the food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Check seasonings and adjust accordingly. I also add some hot sauce if it’s just for me.

August 31, 2008 | Filed Under Local, food, low carb, low cal, quick and easy, recipe, sides, soup, salad, sandwich, vegetable | 12 Comments 

3 Bean Salad

3 bean salad

I can’t explain my love of three bean salad. It’s not a discerning love because I’m equally accepting of a jar of S&W 3 bean salad or a pint from the deli. But a freshly made bowl of this odd salad is so fabulous that it’s all I wanted to eat. There are so many recipes out there for this salad and they often include canned beans, bottled dressings, or even worse, homemade dressings that include binders like corn starch or brassy flavorings like mustard. I think the point of this fresh gem is to let the simple, cool flavors stand on their own.

I picked out the most beautiful green beans and yellow beans at the farmers’ market. After I snapped off their little heads I gave them a 2 minute swim in a pot of boiling water and then immediately transferred them to a ice cold bath, then the refrigerator. I soaked the dried red beans in cold water for a few hours then simmered them on a low flame for about 20 minutes until tender. They got an overnight chill in the refrigerator. The only other ingredient is a diced bright red onion. The dressing is my standard simple mix of apple vinegar, canola oil, and a clove of fresh garlic all whirled around in the blender until it’s thick, tangy, and tasty. I tossed the salad, added some salt, tossed again, and let it spend several hours in the refrigerator mingling the flavors.

I served this alongside a flavorful flank steak that I marinated in my usual balsamic bbq sauce. I see a trend this summer and it’s all about the vinegar, which means it’s all about simple flavors. This salad had it for sure. I love the sweet snappy flavor of the green and yellow beans and the red beans had a deeper, richer, almost nutty flavor. The onion and dressing rounded out the picture to perfection. I can’t wait to make this salad again.

July 26, 2008 | Filed Under food, recipe, sides, soup, salad, sandwich | 10 Comments 

Hash Brown Potatoes

Hashbrown potatoes

Hash brown potatoes turn up in diners and restaurants all over America. They are often served as a side at breakfast and they are well suited to that role. But my favorite place for hash browns is as a side to nice piece of meat. There they shine as the perfect savory foil to the robust beefy flavor of a steak or a slice of brisket, or a tasty, plump pork sausage is perfect too. There are even times, during potato season, that I have served hash browns and that’s it, just hash browns. As a child I remember my mom would often make hash browns in a large electric skillet and she always had the same problem I do, in the end you can never make enough.

I use a cast iron skillet and I always prefer to use boiled potatoes that have been chilled at least overnight. I’ll make hash browns from fresh potatoes but they are never as flavorful and never as good. So ideally you should be thinking ahead and boiling potatoes a day or two in advance.

There are a few other helpful things to know about making hash browns. One is that you must use a lot of butter. It is, after all, one of the main ingredients and there is no way can you get away with a tablespoon of butter..oh no, you’re going to have to start with half of a stick of butter, that’s 2 ounces of good, sweet cream butter. You may need more later if you’re using fresh potatoes, but you probably won’t need more if you’re starting with boiled/chilled potatoes.

The other important tip to remember is leave them alone. Don’t stir them all the time because if you do you’ll never get those fabulous little brown bits of potatoey goodness that are the complete reason for the existence of hash browns in the first place. So just don’t do it. You can scrap them up and flip them every 8 minutes or so. I actually set the timer so I know I can’t touch them until it goes off…that really works well for me. I also suggest you use a semi-sharp, flexible metal spatula for this job because the right tool makes all the difference between perfect hash browns and and just so-so.

For those of you who need it, I’ve included a recipe:

Savory Hash Brown Potatoes
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3 pounds of potatoes, boiled and chilled*
1 large yellow onion, diced
½ stick of butter
salt
pepper

*I almost always leave the peel on my potatoes as it’s less work and more flavor.

Heat a large heavy skillet over a medium flame. Add the butter and swirl the pan to melt the butter while not allowing it to burn. Add the chopped onion and sprinkle it with salt.

Dice the potatoes into chunks not more than one inch square in size. Transfer the potatoes into the skillet. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt. When you start to smell the onions browning it is time to stir/flip the hash browns (usually this is 3 or 4 minutes after I’ve added the potatoes, depending on how long it takes me to dice the potatoes). Slip a thin, sharp, flexible spatula under the onion layer and flip, continue to work your way around the pan until it has all been flipped. Don’t expect it to look tidy or evenly browned or flipped…it will be chaotic looking.

After about 7 or 8 minutes flip again. Resist flipping earlier…resist it! Do the flip thing a total of 3 or 4 times depending on how brown you like your hash browns. Usually start to finish it takes about 30 minutes, maybe a little more.

July 23, 2008 | Filed Under food, quick and easy, recipe, sides | 10 Comments