When it cools off, warm up with these simple, speedy salads
Sometimes it’s hard to know what time of year it is in North Texas. The temperatures can vary wildly from one day to the next, and it’s just as likely to have an 80-degree day in the fall or winter as it is in the spring. All of which totally messes with your eating habits.
It’s normal to eat heartier dishes when the weather demands it, and lighter things when it’s insanely hot, but those in-between times are trickier — those days when something big would be too much and a bowlful of lettuce not nearly enough.
Like right now, when it’s no longer officially summer but it doesn’t feel like fall.
Which is where these warm French-inspired salads come into play — not too heavy, but substantial enough to be a meal. They’re simple, can be made in advance, and add new twists to old favorites — purple sweet potatoes plus orange ones, slender haricots verts instead of fat green beans, and lentils with eggplant and radicchio.
All are wildly colorful, with varied textures and bright flavors to offset the idea that these are merely salads, not that I ever think of salads as mere or small, but I know some people out there might (you know who you are).
I suggest making these the way that I did for this story so you can have them to eat all week for lunch or dinner. Prep, roast, or cook your vegetables in advance, make the vinaigrettes while the veggies are cooking, and prep anything else that goes along with it — tear radicchio and put it in a plastic bag and keep it in your crisper and get those little goat cheese rounds ready to go in the skillet.
There’s not much to do, but when you come home in the evening, tired and hungry, just warm these up, open the wine, and cue up Netflix. Not that I would know anything about that.
Ellise Pierce is the author of “Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking With a French Accent” (Running Press). Read her blog (www.cowgirlchef.com), and follow her on Twitter (@cowgirlchef) and Instagram (cowgirlchef)
Roasted sweet potato and broccoli with feta vinaigrette
Makes 4 servings
1 purple sweet potato
1 orange sweet potato
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Sea salt and cracked pepper
2 small or 1 large head broccoli
Feta vinaigrette
1 shallot, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup feta, crumbled, plus more for serving
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast until browned on both sides, turning once, for about 40 minutes.
2. Put the broccoli florets on another large baking sheet. Toss with 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper and roast until the florets are just slightly brown — you don’t want them to get too brown or they’ll turn bitter. It’ll take about 20 minutes.
3. While the sweet potatoes and broccoli are roasting, make the Feta vinaigrette. Put the shallot, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, feta crumbles, and sea salt and pepper to taste in an old jam jar. Shake. Add the oil and shake again. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. To serve, put the still-warm sweet potatoes and broccoli in a bowl and toss with some of the Feta vinaigrette. Add more feta on top and serve.
Lentil salad with roasted eggplant and radicchio
Makes 4 servings
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
Sea salt and cracked pepper
1 rib celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 cups French green lentils, rinsed
4 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 eggplant, chopped into 1-inch cubes
1/2 head radicchio
Shaved Parmesan for serving
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Balsamic vinegar for serving, optional
1. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil, diced onion, and garlic in a medium-size stockpot over medium-low heat with a little salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent and you can smell the onion and garlic, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the celery and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until it softens. Add the carrot and let it cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly soft.
2. Add the lentils, vegetable stock, and bay leaves. Half cover the pot and let it boil. Reduce the heat and let it cook until the lentils are cooked but still have a little bite to them. This normally takes about 45 minutes.
Save time: Make the lentils in advance and keep in the fridge. Simply warm them up before serving.
3. While the lentils are cooking, roast the eggplant. Heat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Put the cubed eggplant on the baking sheet, drizzle with the other 4 tablespoons of olive oil (I know this sounds like a lot, but eggplant is like a sponge and it loves olive oil), some sea salt and pepper, toss, and cook until slightly browned, about 40 minutes, turning once.
4. To serve, put some lentils in a shallow bowl and top with some of the radicchio, about a fourth of the eggplant, a few pine nuts, and shaved Parmesan. I like to top with a splash or two of balsamic vinegar.
Haricots verts and ham salad
Makes 2
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
8 ounces haricots verts, trimmed
2 eggs
Sherry vinaigrette, recipe follows
8 slices San Danielle ham
1. Toast the breadcrumbs. Heat the oven to broil. Put the breadcrumbs on a small baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and pepper. Put in the oven for a minute or two, stir, and give them maybe 1 more minute. This is a fast process, and if you leave them alone, they’ll burn — I speak from experience. You may also do this in a skillet on the stovetop over medium to medium-high heat.
2. Rinse the haricots verts, trim the ends, and put them in a steamer basket over simmering water. Let them cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until they’re no longer crisp. Put in a bowl.
3. Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and put it onto boil. When it boils, turn it down to a simmer. Crack each egg into a small bowl or ramekin and gently lower it into the water. Set the timer for 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and put them on a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Add some of the Sherry vinaigrette to the haricots verts, plus salt and pepper to taste. Toss and taste for seasonings. Divide between 2 plates, top with breadcrumbs, ham slices, and the poached egg.
Sherry vinaigrette
Makes ¾ cup
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
1. Put the sherry vinegar, chopped shallot, Dijon mustard, and sea salt and pepper to taste in a jam jar and give it a good shake. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Add the olive oil and shake again. Taste for seasonings.
Cowgirl tip: Keep what you don’t use in the fridge. This vinaigrette will keep for about a week.
Carrot ribbons with blackberries and goat cheese
Makes 4 servings
Blackberry vinaigrette
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
6 blackberries
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
6 carrots (I used 2 orange, 2 yellow and 2 red)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
4 ounces blackberries
1/4 cup pistachios, roasted and roughly chopped
1. Make the blackberry vinaigrette. Put the first three ingredients in a blender along with sea salt and pepper to taste. Blend. With the blender on, add the grapeseed oil in a slow stream until the mixture comes together. Keep in the fridge.
2. Peel the carrots, then with the peeler, make long ribbons out of them. Set aside.
3. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, add the carrot ribbons along with sea salt and pepper to taste, and cook until slightly wilted, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and put on a platter.
4. Slice the goat cheese into 6 slices. If the cheese isn’t firm, put it back in the fridge so it’s easier to slice.
5. Put the flour in a small bowl, the beaten egg in another, and the panko breadcrumbs in a third bowl. One by one, dip the goat cheese rounds into the flour, then in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs and put them on a small plate. Put 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in a skillet over medium heat and when it’s hot, cook the goat cheese on both sides until lightly browned. Put these around the platter, add some blackberries and pistachios on top and serve with the Blackberry vinaigrette on the side.
This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 10:43 AM with the headline "When it cools off, warm up with these simple, speedy salads."