Tuscan Kale with White Beets and Farro

kaledish

I know it’s been a while. I apologize for that. Life gets in the way, as it tends to do.

I have some good stuff coming your way though. Even some giveaways! So I hope you’re all still around.

So in addition to be finally sharing a fabulous dish with you today, I’m also excited that it’s been three years since our fabulous group of Kosher Connection food bloggers came together. I can’t believe it’s been three years! And in those three years, we’ve all grown. It’s amazing to see what our little foodie group can do and where we’ve been.

So today, we’re having a virtual potluck meal of sorts. And I’m bringing a fabulous vegetarian side dish to the table.

Summer in the kitchen, for me, is an exciting  time. The food that I serve is all about what’s in season and as much as possible, what’s local. My CSA pick-up is on Tuesdays and I tend to hit up the various local farmers markets Thursdays and Sundays. I’m thankful to have some amazing options near by.

This dish I’m sharing with you and with my Kosher Connection family is inspired by some greens I had a local restaurant and something I’ve played with over the past several weeks. You can change up any aspect of this dish based on what you have on hand. The greens are interchangeable with any hearty summer green – from kale to swiss chard to spinach to collard greens – you can play with it. I used beets today, but this dish is also wonderful with Japanese Turnips, radishes and other flavorful roots. Additionally, that farro can also be swapped out. I happened to have some ready made farro in my fridge from shabbat cooking, but you can also use quinoa or barley or whatever grain you prefer. The point is to use what you have – the freshest of what you have and to enjoy it.

The white beets that I used can be hard to find, but if you do see them, buy them. They are so great. If you can’t find them though, I’ve used Japanese Turnips in this dish. The taste is obviously not the same, but it’s another great root vegetable that works well against the greens.

I washed and peeled the beets and then I sliced them thinly with a mandoline. I then put them in the hot pan with some olive oil, shallots and garlic. Once the beets had softened, I added in the chopped greens. I added some salt and pepper to taste and stirred everything together. Greens don’t take long to cook.

white beets sliced

cooked beets

kale

Once everything was ready, I took everything off the heat and then stirred in the farro. And the dish is ready. It’s that easy. And it’s good. Hope you enjoy!

mixed




Tuscan Kale with White Beets and Farro
 
Author:
Recipe type: side dish
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • 3 cloves garilc, chopped
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
  • 2 white beets, washed and peeled
  • 1 bunch of Tuscan Kale, washed and chopped
  • 1 cup cooked Farro
  • Additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Wash and peel the beets.
  2. Slice the beets thinly. A mandoline is a great tool for it.
  3. Heat up the olive oil in a large pan.
  4. Add in the sliced beets, shallots and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes until soft
  5. Add in the chopped kale, salt and pepper. Stir and let the kale soften. Remove from heat when cooked.
  6. Mix in the cooked farro
  7. Serve

kale with white beets

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Kohlrabi, Apple and Carrot Slaw

Slawfront

I love this time of year. As the season changes, so does my palate. I look forward to every Tuesday as I go to pick up my CSA box. We’re still getting some sweet corn and tons of tomatoes, the apples are starting to come in and the greens are coming back. This past week, we had some fabulous kohlrabi and granny smith apples in the box.

I love the crunch of kohlrabi and it goes so well with apple. I decided to make a slaw out of it. We were having veggie burgers for dinner and I knew this simple slaw would top them well.

I julienned some carrots, apple, and kohlrabi. I also cut some of it into matchsticks. I then tossed everything with some fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I let it sit for a bit at room temperature before eating. Delicious! Perfectly crisp and great as a side dish or as a sandwich topper,

I think I’m going to serve some of the leftovers with sloppy joes this week!

Simple salad success!



 

Kohlrabi, Apple and Carrot Slaw
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 kohlrabi, peeled
  • 1 large carrot, peeled
  • ¾ Granny Smith apple, peeled
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • Juice of 1 small lemon
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Using a julienne peeler, cut up the veggies into matchsticks. You can also use a knife to cut the veggies up.
  2. Mix together in a bowl with the lemon juice and olive oil. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Serve and enjoy!

Slawtext

Massaged Kale and Persimmon Salad

persimmonandkalesalad

I’m always looking for ways to liven up the typical winter fare. I try to cook seasonally as much as possible, but I end up just craving different vegetables after a few straight days of root vegetables. What’s your solution for the winter fruit and vegetable rut?

I find that a leafy and yummy salad can save the day. Changing up your and adding new and interesting ingredients can boost it to a new level.

I love a good massaged kale salad. I tend to always stick to my reliable butternut squash and kale salad, but I wanted something a bit different. I had some Tuscan Kale in my fridge. Tuscan Kale has a bit of a different texture than the traditional kale. The leaves are darker and a little less curly.

I decided to pair it with some radicchio and endive, which I knew needed to be used up.

I was about to toss some butternut squash in the oven, yet again, when I glanced at my fruit basket. I had some beautiful, juicy persimmon waiting to be eaten. Persimmon are a fall and winter fruit. It’s one of my favorite fruits. I had a hunch that the persimmon would pair well with the kale and slightly bitter radicchio.

persimmon

I washed, cut and trimmed the Tuscan Kale. I transferred it to a large bowl and massaged it with some light sprinkle of sea salt.

tuscan-kale

I washed, peeled and sliced up some of the persimmon. The peel of the persimmon can be an irritant for some people.

I mixed up the softened kale with some red onions, radicchio and endive. I topped that mixture with the persimmons and some goat cheese. I love the way chèvre cheese adds a nice creaminess to a salad!

I made a simple olive oil and lemon dressing to go with the salad. I mixed the juice of one lemon with olive oil, salt, pepper, dijon mustard and a small bit of maple syrup.

The salad was delicious! I’m so glad I stepped away from the squash for the night.



Massaged Kale and Persimmon Salad
 
Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 4-5 cups of Tuscane Kale, stems removed, cut up
  • 1 small head of radicchio, chopped
  • 2 small heads of endive, chopped
  • 2 persimmons, peeled and sliced or subed
  • chèvre goat cheese
  • sea salt
Salad Dressing
  • Juice of 1 Lemon
  • ⅔ cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp. dijon mustard
  • salt
  • ground pepper
  • 2 tsp. maple syrup
Instructions
For the salad
  1. Place the washed, cut and stemmed kale in a large bowl
  2. Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt over the kale
  3. With your hands, massage the kale for a few minutes to break down and soften the kale. You can see how I did it here.
  4. Once the kale is ready, add in the chopped radicchio and endive
  5. Add in the persimmons and goat cheese
  6. Mix up the dressing ingredients in a separate container and shake well

persimmon-and-saladt

Kale and Butternut Squash Salad

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The first time that kale showed up in my CSA, I was petrified and had no idea what to do with the abundance of curly leafy greens sitting in my kitchen. Ever since then though, I have learned to love kale and all of its applications. While I love kale cooked in dishes like frittata and roasted kale, it’s also great raw, in a salad.

Massaged kale is a great way to eat raw kale. When you massage some kale with a bit of kosher salt, the kale begins to soften and break down pretty quickly. It only takes a few minutes to knead it to perfection.

As you may already know, I love fall veggies. The abundance of greens and gourds make me so happy. I seem to be roasting up squash weekly. The massaged kale pairs very well with the roasted butternut squash. I thought I’d share with you this fantastic salad.

I began by peeling and cubing my butternut squash. I sprinkled it with olive oil, salt, pepper, cloves of garlic and fresh herbs. I then roasted it at 400 for about 40 minutes.

cut-up-squash

While the squash roasted, I washed, trimmed and cut up the kale.

cut-up-kale

I placed the kale in a large mixing bowl and sprinkled some kosher salt over the kale. With my clean hands, I kneaded the kale well. Massaging the kale quickly brought out the water in the kale and broke it down. You will see in the before and after pictures of the kale how much it reduces as you massage it!

kale-before-and-after

I dressed the kale with some chopped shallots, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, ed wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and that yummy roasted squash.

kale-for-top

This salad is so delicious  and keeps well in the fridge for a few days. Hope you enjoy!

Kale and Butternut Squash Salad
 
Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Butternut Squash
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
  • 1.5 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
  • 5 cloves smashed garlic (optional)
  • 1-2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. ground pepper
Kale Salad
  • 1 bunch of kale
  • kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • additional salt and pepper to taste
  • 2.5 tbsp. pumpkin seeds
  • 2 tbsp. dried cranberries
  • 1 chopped shallot
Instructions
For the Butternut Squash:
  1. Preheat the oven to 400
  2. Peel and cube the butternut squash
  3. Toss the squash with olive oil and spread over a baking sheet
  4. Sprinkle over the herbs, salt and pepper
  5. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, checking on the squash and flipping, every 15 minutes.
  6. Remove from the oven once it's browned, but but not overdone. Cool.
For the Kale and Salad:
  1. Wash and trim the kale. Cut away the tough stems.
  2. Chop up the kale and place in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Sprinkle some kosher salt over the kale
  4. With you clean hands, knead the salt in to the kale. Knead for about 3-5 minutes. You will see the kale reduce and soften. The moisture will seep out of the kale.
  5. Toss the kale with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
  6. Mix in the rest of the salad ingredients, along with the butternut squash.
  7. Enjoy!

kale-salad

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Vietnamese-Rice-Noodles-SaladIt’s been crazy hot here on my part of the world. I’m trying to stay away from the stove as much as possible. I’m sure you all can relate.

I’ve been trying to come up with substantial dishes that can be served cool or room temperature that don’t require to much heating up of the kitchen. This especially applies to Shabbat, where I’m tasked with creating and serving multiple dishes for a crowd.

This Vietnamese Rice Noodle dish is a perfect example of a meal-in-a-salad that comes together quickly and is great both warm or cold. It’s also very adaptable. You can swap out some of the veggies and change the protein to whatever you prefer. For this dish, I used turkey. I knew that my guests would be looking for some kind of meat dish and I had the turkey ready to go.

I started by cooking up the rice noodles. I used the thin rice vermicelli, which I can pour boiling water over to cook. Super easy to do. After soaking for around ten minutes, I drained the noodles.

I then cooked up the turkey with some garlic, ginger, shallots and chopped shiitake mushrooms. I love the flavors that comes off of the meat. Once cooked, I added some tamari and lime lime juice to the meat directly.

I chopped up my veggies and made the dressing. I was ready to go.

I mixed the veggies with the noodles and layered the ground turkey over it and then poured on the dressing. Everyone was happy with the salad.

I also make a vegetarian version of this salad. When I do, I swap out the turkey and use chopped tofu or the soy beef-style crumbles. They work well. When I crumble the tofu, I tend to use an extra firm version and add some extra garlic, ginger and soy sauce for extra flavor.

Hope you enjoy!


Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
 
Author:
Recipe type: gluten free, salad
Ingredients
  • 1 package vermicelli rice stick noodles
  • 1 tbsp. rice bran oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. ginger, chopped
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • juice of ½ lime
  • 2 tsp. tamari
  • 2-3 scallions, chopped
  • 2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. mint, chopped
  • 2 carrots, shredded
  • ½ daikon, shredded
  • 1 red pepper, chopped or julienned
  • 1 seedless cucumber, julienned or chopped
  • 1 cubed avocado
  • 2 tsp. red pepper flakes
For the dressing:
  • juice of ½ lime
  • 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar or honey
  • 2 tbsp. tamari
  • 1 tbsp. water
  • ½ tbsp. rice bran oil
  • 1 tbsp. chopped peanuts (optional)
Instructions
  1. Cook the noodles by placing them in a large bowl and pour boiling water over it. Let sit a few minutes, drain and set aside.
  2. Heat up the oil in a large pan and saute the ginger, garlic and shallot.
  3. Add in the ground turkey and chopped shiitake mushrooms and cook until done.
  4. Squeeze the juice of a ½ lime and 2 tsp. tamari or soy sauce over the turkey and mix.
  5. Prep all of the veggies and set aside.
  6. Mix up the dressing ingredients and set aside.
  7. Mix the rice noodles with the veggies and then layer with the ground turkey mixture. Stir in the whisked dressing.
  8. Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Vietnamese-Rice-Noodles-Salad

Creamy Vegan Dill Salad Dressing

vegandilldressing

With my bounty of amazing salad greens from my CSA, I’ve been making salads most nights for the next day’s lunch. The other night, I had run out of vinaigrette, and was trying to decide what kind of dressing to make next.

I had just received a a huge amount of dill in that week’s veggie share. I was still wondering what I should do with it. It then occurred to me to use a small amount of it in to a salad dressing. I remember having a great creamy dill dressing. I wanted to recreate it in some way, but I didn’t want it to be the same gloopy dressing. I just wanted some of that flavor.

I’ve noticed that many creamy salad dressings tend to include either a sour cream or buttermilk on the dairy side. On the non-dairy side, I am always seeing mayonaisse in dressings. I didn’t want either of those things.

I wanted something vegan.

I thought about the cashew sauce I made for pasta this winter. The cashew cream brought so much creaminess to the dish. I wondered if I could do something similar with a salad dressing.

I quickly grabbed some cashews out of the freezer and began soaking. I let them soak for about an hour and prepped the other ingredients.

After about an hour, I drained the cashews and placed in my Cuisinart Food Processor along with some shallots, garlic, dill, salt, pepper and water.  With the machine running, I then slowly added some olive oil to the mix.  This dressing would also work well in a high-powered blender.

I transferred the dressing to a jar. Of course I tried a bit before placing in the fridge to chill for the next day. Delicious! I am definitely going to use cashews more often to add creaminess to dressings!

 

Creamy Vegan Dill Salad Dressing
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Salad Dressing
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • ½ cup cashews
  • water for soaking
  • ½ cup chopped fresh dill
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
  • ¾ cup water
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Soak the cashews in water to cover for at least an hour.
  2. Drain and rinse the cashews.
  3. Place all of the ingredients except for the olive oil in a blender or food processor.
  4. Process the dressing. Slowly add in the olive oil with the processor or blender going.
  5. Transfer the dressing to a bottle.
  6. Store in refrigerator.
  7. Enjoy!

vegandilldressing

Spinach and Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

http://www.salutbaramericain.com/

I never used to be a salad person. I would eat it and enjoy it, but I never really sought it out or really appreciated it. It wasn’t until I couldn’t eat salad that I started to crave it and get more creative with salad. Crohn’s has kept me away from raw vegetables on and off at different spurts in my life. So here I am now, Crohn’s free, and taking full advantage of this lull in my life. Summer has come on with full force and with that, we have some beautiful veggies showing up in the markets. Baby spinach is one of my favorite greens. You may have noticed that it shows up in some of my favorite dishes.

Since it’s summer time, I like to eat more fresh dishes that don’t require heating up the house.

I think it was my sister that introduced me to this Spinach and Beet Salad with Chèvre and Walnuts. I ate it on one of my visits back home to Minneapolis. Since then, I order this salad on whatever menu I see it on. I decided to make it myself. I had recently received some beautiful beets in the CSA and I had everything else in the fridge.

The spinach I used in this salad was prewashed and ready to go. I roasted some beets and I toasted some walnuts in the oven.

I served the salad with a red wine, basil  and shallot vinaigrette that I quickly whipped up in my Cuisinart Mini-Prep processor.

red-wine-vinaigrette


Spinach and Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
 
Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 small bunch of beets (about 4-5 small beets)
  • 1 bag of pre-washed baby spinach
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 small red onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • sea salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • goat cheese (Chèvre)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Trim off the ends of the beets and place in foil. Sprinkle olive oil over the beets and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap in the foil.
  3. Roast the beets in the oven for about 40 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and cool.
  5. While the beets cool, place the walnuts on some foil and toast in the oven for about 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and cool.
  7. When cooled down, slice the beets thinly.
  8. Layer the salad - first the spinach, then the beets, then the onions and walnuts, then the goat cheese.
  9. Sprinkle on a dressing of your choice. I would recommend a red wine vinaigrette.

 

Red Wine, Basil and Shallot Vinaigrette
 
Author:
Recipe type: Salad Dressing
Ingredients
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 15 basil leaves
  • 5 tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp. sea salt
  • 2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Place everything except for the olive oil in to the food processor.
  2. Start blending the mixture.
  3. Slowly pour in the olive oil and let the mixture emulsify.
  4. Transfer dressing to a container.
  5. Enjoy on your favorite salad.

spinach-and-beet-salad

 

Farro Salad with Carrots, Mushrooms and Baby Spinach

Farro with Carrots, Mushrooms and Spinach

I’m always looking for fun ways to use grains in my meals. I am a total carb fiend. Definitely not the best for me, but I love them and can’t stay away.

I try to get whole grains in to my meals as much as possible. One of my favorite grains is farro. Farro is a variety of wheat and can be cooked in a multitude of ways, with several delicious outcomes. Around the High Holidays, I cooked up a creamy risotto style farro, which was amazing. More recently, I decided to go with a simpler approach. I wanted a dish that would taste great – both as a room temperature salad and also when served warm, fresh from the stove. This farro dish fits that need.



Farro Salad with Carrots, Mushrooms and Wilted Spinach
Ingredients:

1 cup farro
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
3 shallots chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 cup shredded carrots
5 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1.5 cups baby spinach
additional salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place the farro in a pot over medium-high heat. Pour in the vegetable broth. Let the mixture come to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to medium low and cover the pot. Check on the farro every few minutes and stir a little. Once all of the liquid has evaporated, fluff the farro with a fork and remove from the heat. Set aside.

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Heat up the olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add in the shallots, garlic, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Cook the mixture for a few minutes until softened. Add in the carrots and the mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes. Do not overcook. You want the veggies to have a bit of a bite left. Once the mushrooms are slightly cooked, turn off the heat.

Stir in the baby spinach and let it wilt a bit. Take a bite. Add in additional salt and pepper if necessary.

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Mix in the already cooked farro.

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Serve warm or cool down and serve room temperature. It’s excellent either way.

Enjoy!

Farro with Carrots, Mushrooms and Spinach



Caprese Salad

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I was so happy when I found out that Matan and Ali of AliBabka, a fellow blogger, were getting married. The Kosher Connection group of bloggers is hosting a virtual sheva brachot to celebrate with them. The Sheva Brachot are the seven blessings said at a Jewish wedding and it is customary to hold special meals for the new couple for the days following the wedding. We call these meals Sheva Brachot.

For today’s meal, I decided to contribute one of my favorite salads. The caprese salad is a simple dish, but always looks elegant and is the perfect salad starter for a dairy or vegetarian meal. Remember to always use a good olive oil and balsamic vinegar and the freshest mozzarella you can find when making this dish. It truly makes a difference.




Caprese Salad
Ingredients:

1 pound fresh mozzarella
2 medium-sized vine ripened tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves  – a handful
Olive Oil for drizzling
Balsmic Vinegar for drizzling
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Slice up your tomatoes and mozzarella in to 1/4-1/8 inch slices and wash and stem your basil leaves.

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Lay out the tomato, mozzarella and basil in alternating layers on a serving dish.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with about a tablespoon or two of olive oil and vinegar.
Serve and enjoy!
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Roasted Corn and Avocado Salad

Summer is beginng to show it’s signs. Warm weather and fresh summer vegetables are starting to show their faces. Yahoo!

Summer produce makes me happy. On my Sunday trek to Trader Joe’s, they had the most lovely ears of corn taunting me. I usually wait until later in the summer, when the white, sweet corn comes out. I gave in to the urges. I grabbed a bunch. The whole family loves corn. The kids love the mess of eating it off the cob. I decided to roast the corn and then turn it in to a salad. Yum!

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Roasted Corn and Avocado Salad
Ingredients:

3 ears of corn, roasted (instructions below)
2 roasted peppers, diced
1/2 medium-sized red onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 avocado, cubed
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 plum tomato, diced
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. cumin
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Husk the corn. Make sure to remove all of the silk strands.

Brush corn with a little olive oil, salt and pepper

Wrap ears of corn in foil and roast in oven for about 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, remove the corn from the foil. Use oven mitts!

Hold the ear of corn over your stove flame and sear it a bit.

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Do this with caution. This activity is not intended for kids.

Cut the corn kernels off the cob. Best to do this by holding the ear of corn straight up, while resting the bottom on the cutting board.

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In a bowl, mix up all of the veggies, including the freshly roasted corn.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and spices. Mix in to the salad.

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Enjoy!

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