Tag: salad

Roasted Carrot & Onion Salad

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It was a roasted veggie kind of holiday around here. This one I initially served lukewarm with a rib roast and killer lactose-free potatoes au gratin, but I’m happy to report that it makes a killer hot hash the next day with eggs and chunks of beef. 🤤

Next time I may either not share with friends, or make more: this dish turned out really well.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, Whole30

Roasted Carrot & Onion Salad

2 lbs. carrots
1 – 2 fennel bulbs
2 large red onions
Neutral oil for roasting
4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. pepitas
2 tsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. smoky chili powder
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Small hand full fresh mint, chopped
Salt & pepper

In a 200-ish C (around 425F) oven, bake your fennel & onion which you’ve sliced into thin wedges, arranged with plenty of space on a baking sheet, drizzled with oil and sprinkled with salt & pepper. Bake 25 minutes.

On a separate baking sheet, add the carrots which you’ve cut into 3-ish inch chunks, oiled & seasoned. Bake 25 minutes or until everything is well browned and almost burnt in spots.

Actually, if the onion is a bit crispy, it’s even better.

Toss the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl to form a vinaigrette.

Add the veggies & toss again.

Serves a bunch

Orange Beet Salad

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This dish made a nice light little punch of vegetable brightness for a holiday potluck.

Hence the fake picture.

I’ll insert the real and terrible pic I took after the recipe – suffice it to say, wine + taking pictures basically in the dark is not a great combo.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, Whole30

Orange Beet Salad

5 roasted and de-skinned beets
1 small head roasted cauliflower (toast until deeply browned)
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. hazelnuts
4 small oranges (not naval – something tastier)
1 shallot (about 3 T when minced)
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. pomegranate molasses
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley
4 – 5 Tbsp. fresh tarragon
Salt & pepper

Add your cauliflower to a large bowl. Chop the beets and add. Peel, segment, de-seed and halve the oranges minus one half.

Squeeze that last half orange into a small bowl (about 2 Tbsp. juice). Add the lemon juice, olive oil, molasses, vinegar and spices. Chop and add the parsley. Mince and add the shallot. Add salt & pepper.

Pour over the salad and toss.

In a dry pan, toast the hazelnuts. Chop and toss on the top of the salad with the chopped tarragon.

Serves a party

Pear + Radish Salad

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It’s the season of potlucks – or one of them, at least, and as such I’ve been in my typical ‘vegan veggie things in a bowl with zero gluten – but nuts, so no suitable for almost but not quite everyone’ mode.

This salad as written makes a ton. Like 2 trays full, which is overkill for a 10-person potluck. Hopefully, more will turn up – or everyone comes hungry. I’ve got too many party leftovers at my house.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan

Pear + Radish Salad

A crapton shredded kale (I used something like 6 – 8 cups because that was the size of my package – this dictated the size of my salad because I didn’t want leftovers)
2-3 cups chopped red cabbage
6 smallish pears, chopped
20 radishes (I used English Breakfast, but watermelon or another peppery variety would be even better)
2 hand fulls slivered almonds
1 hand full raw pepitas
2 hands full pine nuts
1 bunch snipped chives

For the dressing

Note: I doubled this recipe to get the amount of dressing I wanted

1/4 c. lemon juice
4 cloves garlic
1.5 Tbsp. date molasses
4-5 glugs or turns around the mixer olive oil
Hand full parsley
4 sprigs thyme
1/4 c. tahini
1/4 c. water
1 Tbsp. grainy mustard (if you’ve been reading awhile, you’ll know by this I always mean Maille Wholegrain because it’s my 😍)
1 green onion
Generous salt & pepper

Prep all salad ingredients and add to a vessel of some sort. Whiz the dressing together in your food processor and pour over the salad. Massage with your hands to combine and work into the kale.

Serves a party

Mushroom Lime Salad

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This recipe was inspired by an Instagram pic posted by one of my absolute favorite veg bloggers, @heidijswanson from 101 Cookbooks.

Aaaand now that I’m actually looking at the recipe for her salad, she’s got a lot more going on flavor-wise. Mine turned out great – but I bet hers is even more exciting. I was super curious to see if lime + roasted mushrooms would be a good combo, and I’m happy to report it is!

And I bet you could make this even more Fall-feeling with a creamy dressing or some butter in the roast. Or roasted garlic. Everything’s better with roasted garlic.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, Keto, Whole30

Mushroom Lime Salad

500g your favorite mushrooms (I used half crimini and half button, but fall wild mushrooms would be amazing here)
1 lime
1/2 bunch chives
1 big hand full roasted salted peanuts
1/2c. baby greens or a nice herby salad
Chili garlic spice mix (I use a prepackaged blend)
Your favorite sprinkleable stock starter (I used chicken here – but only because I ran out of my favorite roasted mushroom & onion)

Preheat your oven to 200C and prep a baking sheet with foil.

Quarter the mushrooms and lay in a single layer on the sheet. If you want to bump this up into a full meal and you’re not veg, add chicken breasts to one side of the pan.

Sprinkle everything liberally with the chili garlic spice blend & stock starter and bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until the chicken is done (~25 mins) and the mushrooms are nice and roasted (~35, maybe 40 minutes).

To serve, plunk the warm mushrooms on a bed of baby greens, and sprinkle all with snipped chives, chopped peanuts & lime juice.

Serves 2 for dinner with meat; you may want more greens if veg

Low Carb Broccoli Chicken Salad

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This salad is great as a side for a potluck, is even better when it sits for awhile, and can be easily made vegetarian/vegan/Keto/allergen-friendly.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, Keto, vegetarian, vegan

Low Carb Broccoli Chicken Salad

2-3 cups broccoli, chopped
1/4 head (about 1 cup) red cabbage, chopped
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 scallion, sliced
Almonds – mix of slivered raw and smoked, chopped

Dressing

1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons almond butter
2 teaspoons white miso (can sub if strict paleo)
2 Tablespoons neutral oil

Optional Toppers

Shredded rotisserie chicken
Your favorite raisins

Chop and steam your broccoli until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

While the broccoli is cooling, prep all ingredients, adding all but the dressing and toppers to a large bowl. Add the broccoli.

Whisk the dressing and pour over the bowl.

Toss (I massage in with my hands). Hit with salt & pepper.

To serve, top with your desired extras.

As written, serves 2-4 for dinner

Mango Kimchi Salad

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Yeah – I know. Another seemingly weird flavor combination that I swear works. And is delicious.

This summer salad is quick to throw together, tastes great after hanging out for awhile in the event of some sort of potluck affair, and can stretch with a protein or bulk item like quinoa or blanched broccoli.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan

Mango Kimchi Salad

1 medium mango – I used the light green kind

1 medium cucumber

1/4 – 1/3 c. Kimchi – I used spicy but could have done with a shot or two more spice

Juice 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup pistachios

2 Tbsp. Fresh mint

Salt

Pepper

Curry powder

Garlic powder

Peel and chop the mango and add to a bowl. Chop the cucumber, kimchi, mint and pistachios and add to the bowl. Add the lemon juice and toss. Sprinkle with the spices and toss.

As written serves 1 for lunch – 2 if you stretch it with a protein (chicken, shrimp, beef, salmon or even canned tuna would work)

Winter Salad with Haloumi Croutons

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This salad was inspired by this French cafe I love to grab coffee and lunch at, makes a great standalone lunch or dinner, and was well-received at a holiday potluck.

Glad to see my salad potluck touch didn’t disappear with the hemisphere jump. 🙂

If you’ve never had it before, Haloumi Cheese is a neat one. It’s firm, kinda salty, and doesn’t melt all the way down when you heat it – making it perfect to make crunchy little croutons out of. If you can’t find it, Parmesan crisps would be great or even that salty softer white cheese (gradana padano?).

Vegetarian, primal, almost keto

Winter Salad with Haloumi Croutons

4 cups mixed lettuce (I used baby chard and red leaf)

4 clementines

1/4 – 1/3 cup pomegranate arils

200g Haloumi Cheese

1/4 cup pistachio dust

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. zaatar

2 tsp. Pomegranate molasses

1 Tbsp. Lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Grainy mustard (I always use Maille)

Salt & pepper

First, make your Croutons by cutting the Haloumi into thin slices and frying over medium/medium-high in a Tablespoon or two of ghee or other fat of your choice until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Your cheese will melt a bit, but won’t melt enough to stick to the pan even if your pan is crappy like mine. I ended up flipping mine with chopsticks and a spatula and then cutting the bits that had fused together back into chunks.

To make the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together the oil, zaatar, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, mustard, salt & pepper. Set aside until it is time to serve.

To assemble the salad: combine the lettuce and pomegranate arils in a large bowl. Peel and segment the clementines and add (you may want to cut the segments in half and de-seed first). Toss to combine. Top with the croutons and pistachio dust.

Drizzle the dressing over top and serve.

Serves 6-8 as a potluck side

Probiotic Salmon Salad

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Q: What does one do with kefir when you’re tired of drinking it? 

A: Kefir makes a great salad dressing for delicate early season greens and salmon.

Gluten-free, paleo if you use non-dairy kefir


Probiotic Salmon Salad

3 Tbsp. kefir
Juice of half a lemon
Big pinch sea salt
Few cracks black pepper
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. avocado oil mayo
1 clove garlic, grated
3 Tbsp. chives, chopped
4 c. salad greens
2 Salmon filets
2 Tbsp. fat of choice
4 Tbsp. hemp seeds, divided in half

Thaw your fish if frozen and pat dry. Salt and pepper each side.

Set a large pan over medium-high heat. Add your fat of choice. When the fat comes up to temperature, add the salmon skin-side down. Cook 3 – 4 minutes without touching. Gently flip and cook an additional 3 – 4 minutes or until your desired doneness has been reached. 

While the salmon is working, add the greens to a large bowl.

Whisk together the kefir, lemon juice, honey, mayo, garlic, chives, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside. 

Combine the greens with the dressing. Split between two bowls.

When the salmon is finished, place on top of the salad. Sprinkle half the hemp seeds per dish and enjoy.

Serves 2 as a light dinner. 

Brussels & Kale Caesar

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This is a recreation/improvement on a salad I bought from Dean & Deluca last week. This version is eeeeeerrrrything I wanted that version to be – and then some (so good, in fact, that I got distracted while tasting it and putting my rings back on the wrong hands). The D&D version was good – but not Hannibal Lecter good (lost? explanation coming). Fine to smash at 9pm while waiting for the Ferry, but not what one would unpack ceremoniously from a fine box while going someplace.

I remember the first time I saw Silence Of The Lambs – the movie was great and all, but what *really* struck my little food nerd of a preteen heart was the end scene where Hannibal Lecter unpacks a Dean & Deluca picnic spread with great relish while on a plane. That spread (minus the brains, of course) set some life goals in place immediately (namely to shop there, live in NYC so I can shop there at will, and get one of those picnic packs). I also mailed away for a subscription to their quarterly catalog and kept that subscription going until I went away to college. Never ordered anything, but I drooled and dreamed.

While I’ve achieved two of those goals, I’m sad to say I have not gotten a picnic pack – mostly because while I love Dean & Deluca in theory, in practice most of the freshly made food I’ve gotten from D&D isn’t as amazing as I want it to be – and I’m not spending a Quintilian dollars on plane snacks when I can make my own. Possibly also because preteen me’s love of fancy packaging and tiny food is a tall order to live up to, and those packs always feature a bunch of stuff I’m not excited about – like gummy bears and other candy. Note to self: make my own tin-based travel pack packed with stuff I *do* like.

Gluten-free, paleo


Brussels & Kale Caesar

2 cups roasted Brussels sprouts halves (I roasted mine in some bacon grease on 400 for 25/30 minutes until deeply nutty brown)
3 cups baby kale
1 large clove garlic, smashed in a mortar & pestle
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 big pinch sea salt
Black pepper
1/2 tsp. lime juice (lemon would be more classic, but all I had was a bottle of my favorite Key Lime juice)
3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. rice vinegar
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 raw egg
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped
1 anchovy, minced

To make: Roast the Brussels. While roasting, assemble the dressing.

Put two of your eggs in a small pot and cover with a couple inches water. When the water is boiling, lower a third egg down in a ladle so it is covered by the water but you still have a hold of it. Boil 1 minute and remove, immediately running under cold water or dunking into an ice bath. Let your other eggs go until you whisk the dressing, cover the pot and kill the heat, let sit until you’re done with the rest of the salad.

Crush the garlic in a mortar and pestle; add to a large bowl. Mince the anchovy and add. Add the coddled egg, Worcestershire, citrus juice, salt, a bunch of pepper, olive oil, and vinegar. Whisk to combine.

Chop the almonds and set aside.

When the Brussels are finished browning and have cooled until mostly not hot, add to the bowl with the dressing. Add the kale and almonds; massage to combine thoroughly.

Peel the 2 hard boiled eggs and chop. Fold in gently.

Serves 2 – 3 as a nice lunch or dinner side

Springy Honey + Olive Salad

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This crowd-pleaser is perfect for an early Spring potluck when you’re stuck between that ‘Yay! Winter citrus!’ and ‘All I want are fresh greens’ stage of life. This salad has enough going on that it will impress your foodie friends, is user-friendly enough that you *should* be able to convince everyone to be on board with olives, and can be tweaked just a bit to satisfy your vegan friends.

Gluten-free, vegetarian, primal 


Springy Honey + Olive Salad

4 – 6 cups cut kale
1/2 head red radicchio, chopped
Zest + flesh (supremed and chopped) of 1 sumo or other orangey/grapefruity citrus
1/3 cup nice olives, chopped
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
Juice 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tsp honey
1/2 cup olive oil
Kosher salt & black pepper

Add the kale to a large bowl. Zest the citrus on top. Chop the radicchio and add.

Toss to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard, salt & pepper. 

Pour the dressing over the greens and massage by hand to work the dressing into the leaves.

Chop the olives and add. Toast the pecans, chop and add. Supreme the citrus, chop and add. Crumble the goat cheese and add. 

Toss gently to combine.

Serves a crowd