Strawberry, Feta, and Kale Salad

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Lattes and Leggings

“When you cook, you never stop learning. That’s the fascination of it.” – James Beard. This quote appeared in my Twitter feed yesterday and really resonated with me. When I prepared this salad, I discovered kale to be my new favorite salad green. What also surprised me was how strawberries can work well in a savory salad with roasted kale and salty feta and almonds tossed in a champagne vinaigrette.

Roasting the kale was a spur of the moment decision. I’m not fond of raw kale or chard, but I had plans to massage the raw kale and give it another whirl in hopes of changing my mind. The thought of roasted kale tossed in olive oil and coarse salt sounded more delicious.

Only the edges of the leaves get crispy so they don’t turn into kale chips. So keep an eye out so they don’t turn brown either because the leaves are so delicate. Roasting brings out a depth of flavor in the leafy greens compared to raw kale.

If you don’t have champagne vinegar, no worries! White wine vinegar is the perfect substitute. I used a bag of roasted, salted almonds and roughly chopped them for the salad. Because, you know, I love salt with just about everything.

Strawberry, Feta, and Kale Salad
inspired by Food & Wine

Careful not to over-roast. When roasting the kale, only the edges should be crisp while the inner leaves should be soft to keep them from turning into kale chips. Don’t have champagne vinegar? No worries. White wine vinegar will work perfectly. I also prefer using lacinato “dinosaur” “tuscan” kale because the leaves are flat versus the curly leafed kind, but either one will work.

serves 2

Ingredients
1 bunch lacinato kale, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
kosher salt
1 cup strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup roasted salted almonds, roughly chopped

Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degree F.

Arrange the kale on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Toss to coat. Roast for 6 to 8 minutes until kale is slightly crisp only around the edges. The inner leaves should still be soft. Remove from the oven to cool.

Meanwhile make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, add the champagne vinegar, dijon mustard, and olive oil. Whisk together until well blended. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the salad: Arrange the kale on salad plates. Top with strawberries, feta, and almonds. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and serve.

Chickpea and Tomato Salad with Basil and Mint

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Lattes and Leggings

Do you remember back in the day when daytime talk shows were the thing to watch during the summer? Not Dr. Oz or Ellen, but Ricki Lake, Maury, Montell, Geraldo, Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones, the good juicy ones full of drama. Drama aside, the topic I loved the most were the ones with makeovers. This chickpea and tomato salad got its own little makeover. If this dish looks familiar, it’s an oldie, but goodie that I made when I first started this blog.

It’s my go to dish for dinner parties, picnics…I even made it for a bachelorette party one time, and it was a hit, especially with the vegetarians. It’s probably one of the easiest dishes to transport since it’s meant to be served at room temperature. (I like it served warm too). For easy cleanup, I make this dish in a good tupperware and store it in the fridge for up to a week. Simple is that.

I’ll spare you the gory details of my knife trauma over the weekend chopping mint leaves. Let’s just say I need to invest in a metal cutting glove and be more cautious when using a Japanese knife since they can cut through just about anything. Including my fingernail. Enough said.

So why the makeover? What changed? The original salad was good on its own, but I wanted to update it with fresh herbs, add some mint, and cut down on the amount of pasta to make it more about the chickpeas and tomatoes. What’s great about this dish it’s so versatile and easily adaptable for your own likes and needs.

Chickpea and Tomato Salad with Basil and Mint
adapted from Giada’s Family Dinners

serves 4

Ingredients
1/2 cup orzo
1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon honey
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the orzo. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until tender, but still firm to the bite. Drain and transfer the orzo to a large bowl or tupperware. Add the beans, tomatoes, basil, mint, and vinaigrette. Toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve at room temperature or warm.

To make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, add the vinegar, olive oil, and honey. Whisk together until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Favas, Snap Peas, and Potatoes with Tarragon

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Lattes and Leggings

The other day I was listening to Cosmo radio on XM, and they were talking about a study that shows women are becoming depressed from Pinterest. They were saying that women try to recreate things they see on Pinterest at home, whether it’s food, decor, a DIY project, and it never looks like the photo they pinned. It got me thinking. Am I one of those women? I do admit I get bummed sometimes when I see amazing food photography from other food bloggers on Pinterest, knowing my food tastes great, but may not look as good as theirs in photos. We do eat with our eyes first.

Then I have to remind myself that I’m not a professional photographer and hardly a professional food stylist. I don’t have odds and end dishes and towels laying around the apartment just for styling. I don’t have a beautiful outdoor space or backyard to take pictures on a picnic table or by the grass. I live in a 600 square foot apartment in a high rise building surrounded by other tall buildings with very little light and tons of shadows. So I keep doing the best I can with what I have. Making lemonade out of lemons? Is that the cliche line? I don’t know.

It also got me thinking about social media in general, and how I don’t utilize it like I should. Lazy? Definitely. Shy and unsocial? Far from it. There came a point where I was tired of flashing my life for the whole world to see. My personal social media accounts that is. Friends don’t need to know where I am or what I’m doing at every given minute. Sorry, but I’m not checking in to your stupid Foursquare. Social media can really take over your life if you’re not careful. Which brings me back to social media for this blog. It’s a bit robotic actually. Simply posting the recipes with a link and that’s it. No engagement with followers. Nothing to start a conversation. My apologies to my Twitter followers. No pictures of restaurants or a cool drink at a bar. I recognized it needs to change. And so I installed Instagram on my phone for the fifteenth time this morning. I have installed and uninstalled that app so many times because I don’t really care for it, but I’m going to embrace it this time because phone pics do look better with a filter. I surrender. Even my fashion photographer friend uses it.

Ok. Let’s cook. Shall we? Fava beans. Last Saturday, I went to the farmers market excited to buy some favas. No luck. Whole Foods? No luck. Eataly, the Italian market? Score. All giddy, I bought almost the entire basket of favas.

That giddiness almost wore off when it came time to prepping the beans. Set some time aside for this dish. It’s definitely not the dish to make when you come from work. Shelling is no big deal. Rather painless and easy. I have a major cooking confession to make. A huge mistake and forgetfulness on my part. I forgot to peel the skins before sauteing them. Oops. It was quite hilarious actually. I stood there with a wooden spoon thinking why are these beans turning a purple gray? Oh that’s why. I need to peel the skins! Let’s just say I got a nice oily manicure. The labor was worth it in the end for vibrant green colored fava beans.

Favas, Snap Peas, and Potatoes with Tarragon
adapted from Molto Batali

This dish requires a bit of prep work for the veggies. Depending on what kind of pan you use, you may need to add more than 1/2 cup of water to the pan to keep the veggies from sticking.

serves 4

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds fresh fava beans, shelled and skins peeled (see note below)
1/2 pound fresh sugar snap peas, strings removed
1/2 pound baby yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves

Directions
In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the fava beans, snap peas, potatoes, and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until veggies are tender. Turn off the heat. Stir in the tarragon. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Note: The larger beans need the skins peeled. To remove the skins, blanch the beans. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the shelled beans and boil for 30 seconds to loosen the skins. Drain the beans and put them in an ice bath to cool. Drain again. To remove the skins, pinch one end of the beans to squeeze out the beans. The beans will be a vibrant green color.