June 4, 2015 – New Salads
Seven Tips for Making Better SaladsRECIPE: Grilled Potato Salad with BaconCooking with Fresh HerbsRECIPE: Cauliflower Salad with Yogurt & Chickpeas< Making Salads Just Got Easier!>RECIPE: Tomato & Pickled Green Bean Salad with Whipped FetaCookbook Review“New, Seriously Good Summer Salads”

INTRO TEXT   Summer brings a bonanza of fresh vegetables, and so little time to enjoy them all! But with a knife in hand and cutting board at the ready, you’ll be ready to tackle the summer’s harvest.IN THIS ISSUE, we’re slicing and dicing a few new summer salads! With fresh herbs and garden produce taking on the starring role, the season’s table becomes vibrant with flavor. You’ll want to try each of this issue’s featured salads: Grilled Potato Salad with Bacon, Cauliflower Salad with Yogurt & Chickpeas, and Tomato & Pickled Green Bean Salad with Whipped Feta. All deliciously satisfying!Thumbnails“fresh & fabulous”MAIN BODY:Seven Tips for Making Better SaladsWhether enjoying salad greens, or hearty vegetable salads, follow these tips for making better salads:(1) Wash, wash, wash all produce well. Bathe and spin fresh greens, brush firmer vegetables. A thorough washing helps to remove any dirt and bacteria while also freshening and crisping the produce. (Ignore the “triple washed” assurance on any purchased greens, wash them again!)(2) Keep produce cool in the refrigerator until time to use, with some exceptions such as tomatoes, potatoes, and avocadoes, etc.(3) Maintain a sharp edge on all your knives; this will make the slicing and dicing faster, easier, and safer. Hone the knife’s edge frequently to straighten any wobbles or bends, then have all knives professionally sharpened frequently. (4) Use well-cleaned, sturdy cutting boards for chopping and slicing fresh vegetables. Keep cutting boards used for meat separate from those used for fresh vegetables. This is the first line of defense against cross-contamination in the kitchen and food-borne illness.(5) Save one side of your favorite cutting board for preparing aromatics such as onions, garlic, and ginger; use the other side for everything else. This keeps onion odors and tastes away from foods not benefitting from the strong flavors.(6) Store prepared salads in the refrigerator to maintain freshness. Don’t allow salads to stand at ambient temperature for more than an hour or two. Better to freshly replenish the salad with a second, cooled stash, than serve all at once when dining al fresco.(7) Pair produce with potent dressings that bring out the best in the vegetables. A good dressing awakens and tantalizes the taste buds when it contains sour, salty, sweet, and bitter components. Experiment with different oils and a variety of vinegars for unique salads.Grilled Potato Salad with BaconWe’ve eaten a lot of potato salads in our lifetime, but this one may top the list of hands-down, no-contest, with a doubt, the best-tasting potato salad we’ve had in a very, very long time. There’s no mayo in sight, just simple, grilled potatoes, the crispy saltiness of bacon pieces, the mild bite of peppers, and the sweetness of caramelized onions. The vegetables are dressed in a spicy apple cider vinaigrette, and topped with a mélange of fresh herbs and a few briny capers. We predict you’ll be making this more than once this summer! Reprinted with permission from Bar Tartine, Techniques & Recipes by Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns. Copyright 2014. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. All rights reserved.Tips for Making this Salad:(1) To dice bacon into small pieces prior to cooking, have the bacon cold or partially frozen. We find that the best tool to use for this task is our kitchen shears; they work better than a knife in this situation.(2) If the bacon being used renders an unusual amount of fat, drain some away and reserve off to the side. Some bacon fat is needed as part of the salad’s dressing, but too much may be, well, too much. It’s easy to add some of the drippings back in to the final salad if needed.(3) The amount of salt used in this recipe surprised us – we had to check it twice, even thrice. Because the potatoes are not salted in the grilling step, the amount of salt in the dressing actually distributes nicely once the potatoes are added. If wary of the salt amount, start lower, and add more as desired. An extra splash of vinegar sometimes compensates for some of the salt in these situations.Cooking with Fresh HerbsWhat would tomatoes be without basil? A julep without mint? Béarnaise without tarragon? Pickles without dill? It’s difficult to imagine creating great flavors and wonderful aromas without the help of herbs. Even if your gardening space is limited, it’s worth growing a few herbs each summer in pots, a window box, or a small corner of the yard. Most are very easy to grow, and so rewarding to harvest when needed. We keep the following handy: basil, oregano, thyme, chives, dill, rosemary, tarragon, marjoram, and a few different mints. Tips for cooking with herbs:(1) Rinse fresh herbs in a cold water bath to remove any dirt and “freeloaders.” Shake the water away and allow them to air dry a few minutes before chopping. For larger quantities of herbs, put your salad spinner to work for washing and drying.(2) Strip away woody stems, or tough fibrous stems from fresh herbs. It’s usually the tender leaves that have the flavor and texture desired in cooking.(3) Mince fresh herbs just prior serving in most cases. The chopping process bruises the leaves and releases many of the herb’s essential oils and aromas; capture these essences and use them immediately.(4) Store fresh cut herbs in the warmest part of the refrigerator such as the crisper drawer, until ready to use. Many herbs, such as basil and mint, are very tender and susceptible to the 38-40°F temperatures found in most refrigerators.(5) Substitute dried herbs if fresh herbs are not available. Because the dried versions are more concentrated in their flavors, use less, typically one-third the quantity of dried herbs compared with fresh herbs. Replenish dried herbs every 6-12 months for maximum flavor.(6) Harvest extra herbs. Chop and freeze in a single layer, then package in small portions for later use. Or, add chopped herbs to water or olive oil and freeze the slurry in ice cube trays; package individually once frozen and use all year long.(7) For a unique and tasty garnish, sauté sprigs of fresh herbs such as sage or parsley, in olive oil or butter until they begin to crisp. Remove and drain on a paper towel, then serve as a unique and textured topping.Cauliflower Salad with Yogurt & ChickpeasA hearty style of salad, this one features a healthy dose of robust garden vegetables: cauliflower, cucumbers, radishes, and a couple of hot serranos. Additions of fresh mushrooms, chickpeas, and sunflower seeds complete the full profile raising this salad to entrée status. The yogurt dressing, spiked with lemon and red wine vinegar, accent the vegetables to perfection. It’s a dressing and vegetable formula that’s versatile and amenable to whatever is fresh from the market. Try it, you’ll like it!Reprinted with permission from Bar Tartine, Techniques & Recipes by Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns. Copyright 2014. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. All rights reserved.Tips for Making this Salad:(1) Use a regular mandoline, or a handheld mandoline to achieve the desired paper-thin slices of radishes. Always, always use the tool’s finger guard or a cut-resistant kitchen glove when using these razor-sharp slicers.(2) The yogurt dressing used with this salad is a thin dressing, don’t be surprised or dismayed. Think of it as more of a marinade than the thick dressing that you might be expecting. You’ll find yourself appreciating the dressing’s freshness and lightness.(3) This recipe makes a large quantity, enough as an entrée salad, or a side salad for many. It’s easily halved, or stays prime for a day or so, but not much longer.Making Salads Just Got Easier!OXO GOOD GRIPS SALAD SPINNERA good wash of fresh produce is a necessity, and cool water freshens. Spin dry with minimal effort.

PREPWORKS HANDHELD SLICER
Handy slicing tool for quick slicing tasks. Features three thicknesses plus a julienne blade. Finger guard included.

WUSTHOF GOURMET 8” VEGETABLE RIDGE KNIFE
Uniquely designed knife especially for vegetables. Integrated ridge and holes release slices naturally.

MICROPLANE HERB MILLA classic pot in the original “Flame” color. A kitchen workhorse for braising, roasting, and soup-making.

CHEF’N KALE & GREENS STRIPPERIngenious little tool that you’ll love! Separates stems and leaves from large kale to tiny thyme. Thread and zip!

PREPARA HERB KEEPERKeep fresh herbs fresher! Easy-fill water reservoir for stems, covered top for leaf protection.

OXO GOOD GRIPS VEGETABLE BRUSHAn easy-to-use design offers a firm hold and bristles that are sturdy, yet flexible. Just right for scrubbing vegetables.

CUTTING BOARDSKeep a few cutting boards ready in the kitchen for different uses. Clean often and replace periodically.

Tomato & Pickled Green Bean Salad with Whipped FetaA plentiful summer supply of petite tomatoes calls for a salad that celebrates their perfect bite-sized quality, the burst of flavor, and the wonderful way they hold on to a vinaigrette. Add cucumbers, green onions, and a healthy dose of fresh herbs, and the veggie portion of this salad is ready for the coup de grâce, whipped feta. The whipped feta with this salad is the equivalent of whipped cream on a slice of pie, a perfect, slightly salty foil for all of the salad’s vegetables. It’s a great combination, no question about it!Reprinted with permission from Bar Tartine, Techniques & Recipes by Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns. Copyright 2014. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. All rights reserved.Tips for Making this Salad:(1) Cutting a quantity of cherry tomatoes can be tedious. Accomplish the task quickly with this kitchen hack involving two plates and a long serrated knife!(2) You’ll find this salad delicious on it’s own without the whipped feta, and the whipped feta appetizing with crackers without the salad. Or, try serving this salad as a topping for crostini. Fresh oregano would be a fine substitute for the minced marjoram.(3) The pickled green beans in the recipe take 3 weeks to ferment. We brined them overnight in the refrigerator (a quick pickling technique), and found they added a nice salty pop to the salad. Alternatively, substitute another brined vegetable (capers, peppers, onions) if time is short.COOKBOOK REVIEW:Bar Tartine, Techniques & Recipes by Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns. Copyright 2014. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.Based on the food served at this San Francisco restaurant, this cookbook exudes the zeitgeist of the farm-to-table movement. Long before everyday discussions of local food systems, this restaurant was practicing local sourcing while deploying time-honored methods of food preparation. The first half of the book is devoted to techniques for filling the pantry, or “larder” as they term it. Spices, stocks, sprouts, and preserves are assembled from scratch in a rich homage that borrows heavily from historical and global food traditions. The second portion of the book is filled with recipes that include wonderfully fresh takes on everyday ingredients. Some of the offerings are familiar-with-a-twist, others are edgy. We’ve really enjoyed working through this cookbook and the novel takes on everyday food that it offers.Closing:At the market, in the garden, and on the kitchen table, savor the aromas and flavors of summer’s herbs and vegetables.