June 14th, 2015
By the time this post goes up, Paloma and I will be in Russia spending some much anticipated time with grandma. I will try to keep Instagram updated with some snaps from our travels.
I leave you with this salad, made with plenty of nutritious grains, herbs, and two stars of the spring/summer farmer’s market – asparagus and strawberries. It’s a variation on one my all time favorite salads, from our book (Fava Bean, Quinoa, and Mint Salad on pg. 89) – simple, rich in textures, filling and very fresh. Mint is essential to the flavor here, so try not to skip it.
Enjoy the beginning of summer!
Multigrain Summer Salad with Strawberries and Asparagus
for the salad
1 bunch asparagus
2 cups strawberries – sliced
handful fresh mint leaves – chopped
handful basil leaves – chopped (optional)
2 cups cooked grains (I used a combination of sorghum, red rice and spelt, but any grains like quinoa, faro, frekkeh, any type of rice, or even buckwheat would work fine here)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)
for the dressing
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of sea salt
1. Cut tough ends off the asparagus. Cook it your preferred way – blanch, steam or grill. I like to blanch asparagus in salted water for 3 minutes, then shock it in an ice bath, so it stays bright green and crispy. Slice into bite sized pieces.
2. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until well combined and set aside.
2. Place cooked grains into a large mixing bowl. Add asparagus, strawberries and herbs. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired. This salad tastes best when eaten within a day.
Tags: asparagus, basil, grain, mint, red rice, rice, salad, sorghum, spelt, strawberry
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May 12th, 2015
Sarah B. of My New Roots hardly needs an introduction. Her blog has been a major source of inspiration for a long time now, and I look forward to her new posts, which are always full of interesting culinary ideas and encouraging nutritional facts. Sarah has a talent for explaining the benefits of whole foods in a friendly, approachable, yet very knowledgeable way, which without fail leaves me hungry after reading her posts. Sarah was one of the few people to see an early copy of our cookbook and wrote a very kind review, for which we are thankful.
Sarah’s new, much anticipated cookbook is a beauty, full of inspiring photographs, engaging writing and appetizing recipes. She covers the basics – sprouting, nut milks, ghee and the like – and then goes on to presenting delicious, healthy recipes for all five seasons, dividing Summer into Early and Late Summer (with which I agree with much enthusiasm – those two are quite different in terms of produce).
I chose to make this spring salad with Ghee Poached Radishes, having never tried cooked radishes before. I immediately regretted waiting to try it as long as I did. Sautéing radishes rids them of any bitterness, transforming them into mildly sweet, silky spheres. I even threw them on pizza, which turned out delicious. Smoked sea salt is another interesting ingredient that this recipe calls for. I bought a bottle of it months ago but could never find a dish to incorporate it into. I was happy to finally utilize the beautiful, grey colored salt in this recipe, and it worked perfectly with the buttery radishes.
Among the recipes I plan on trying from the My New Roots cookbook are Caramelized Fennel on Herbed Polenta, Roasted Cauliflower with Lebanese Lentils and Kaniwa, Ginger-Rosemary Roasted Grapefruit, Salt ‘n’ Pepper Chocolate Chip Cookies, and I’m confident that any reader of this blog will benefit from having Sarah’s book on their kitchen bookshelf.
Salad with Ghee Poached Radishes and Smoked Sea Salt
1 bunch radishes – tops removed
2 tablespoons ghee (I’ve also tried unrefined neutral coconut oil here, it works well)
2 garlic cloves – minced
pinch of sea salt
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons raw honey or pure maple syrup
about 3 cups arugula or other salad greens (the original recipe calls for dandelion)
smoked sea salt – for sprinkling over the salad
sunflower sprouts or other microgreens for garnish – optional
1. Slice radishes in half lengthwise or quarters for bigger sized ones.
2. Melt the ghee (or coconut oil) in a large pan over medium low heat. Add garlic and saute for about one minute. Increase the heat to medium and add radishes, cut side down, together with a pinch of salt. Saute for about 10 minutes until they become translucent and tender, but not mushy.
3. Drizzle the vinegar over the radishes and toss to coat. Remove the pan from heat and drizzle honey over, tossing to incorporate.
4. Arrange arugula or your greens of choice on plates, top with radishes and drizzle the juice from the pan over the salad. Garnish with microgreens, if using, and season with smoked sea salt.
Tags: radish, salad, smoked salt
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February 22nd, 2015
I’ve been on a forbidden black rice kick this winter. I love its pleasant texture, mild flavor and sweet aroma, and it also makes for some very pretty meals. We’ve been living off of variations of this salad for our lunches, but this version, with curried chickpeas, toasted pine nuts, squash or sweet potato and chard is my favorite. This recipe utilizes chard stems as well as leaves – I always think it’s a shame when recipes instruct to discard the stems, especially when they are as beautiful as on this rainbow chard I picked up. The key is to cook the stems a little longer than the leaves, so that they are soft and not too chewy.
For this recipe, I made my own curry spice mix from Amy Chaplin’s book, and I cannot recommend this enough. Homemade curry tastes worlds better than any store bought curry mix ever will. It’s just a matter of toasting, grinding and mixing fresh spices (a fun process if you ask me) and is completely worth the extra effort.
I developed this recipe for Natural Vitality, a line of premium quality natural supplements, see the recipe here.
Tags: black rice, chard, chickpeas, curry, pine nuts, salad
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