Rosemarried

Posts Tagged heirloom vegetable

Pumpkin & Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing (Recipe Swap)

Last month, I wasn’t able to participate in the Recipe Swap, as I was driving across the country with my sister. In two years of swapping, this is the only post I’ve missed! I was bummed to miss out on all the recipe swap fun, but driving across the country isn’t exactly conducive to cooking. (On the contrary, driving across the country is conducive to eating a lot of crappy food and drinking gas station coffee.)

That being said, it’s good to be back.

There are times when Christianna emails the swap group our recipe for the month, and I’m completely inspired by it. This was not one of those times. This month’s recipe – “Russian Salad” is just plain nasty. It’s essentially a potato salad with veal and herring. (Yes, herring.) If I’m being truly honest, I got to the herring part of the recipe and decided to read no further. I am just not down with fish in my potato salad. So, I went in a totally and completely different direction. Really, the only thing my pumpkin kale salad has in common with Russian Salad is that they are both….salads. That’s it.

I blame this salad on Pinterest. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s been a bit of a ‘pumpkin craze’ on Pinterest as of late. It’s all pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin cookies and pumpkin cocktails, etc, etc. I hate it! You see, I love pumpkin. I love it in curries and soups and stews. I love pumpkin in salads, gratins, and casseroles. Pumpkin is an amazingly flavorful and versatile fruit. And, sure, I love pumpkin pie as much as the next person, I just happen to believe that pumpkin does not belong in coffee. ;)

So, this is my take on the Russian salad, as well as my official submission to the great pumpkin craze. I hope you like it.

PUMPKIN & KALE SALAD WITH TAHINI DRESSING
Makes 6-8 servings

Salad ingredients:
1 small heirloom pumpkin (or 1/2 of a large pumpkin)
2 heaping cups of chopped lacinato kale
2 heaping cups of roughly chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 cup candied pecans*
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
1 teaspoon nutmeg

For the Tahini dressing:
2 tablespoons sesame tahini paste
2 small cloves of garlic
the juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon water (more, if needed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper

*You could easily make your own spiced or candied pecans, or use plain pecans. I happened upon some candied pecans at Trader Joe’s that I thought were quite tasty in this salad.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or a Silpat.

Using a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and then cut each half in 2 or 3 pieces (whatever is easiest to handle). Using your knife, carefully remove the pumpkin skin from each segment. Once the skin is removed, chop the pumpkin into 1″ cubes. In a bowl, toss the pumpkin cubes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to coat. Spread the pumpkin pieces into an even layer on the baking sheet, and roast until fork tender, but firm (about 30 minutes). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

While the pumpkin is cooling, mix the dressing together. Stir together tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice. The mixture will thicken and turn a lighter shade. Begin adding water, a little at a time. Stir until the mixture is light and creamy, and the desired thickness. Stir in yogurt and garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the chopped lettuce and kale. Toss with tahini dressing, and gently mix in the pumpkin cubes, pecans, and minced parsley. Toss with a bit more tahini dressing, until coated. Taste, and season with extra salt & pepper, if needed.



Chioggia Beet Salad with Raspberry Mint Vinaigrette and Feta

So, a couple months back I wrote about my newfound love of beets. And while I was enjoying the wonderful world of beets, I also made sure to apologize to all the beet haters of the world and promised that I would cool it on the beet posts for awhile. I did mention, however, that I had just planted a bunch of chioggia beets and said that I would probably post about beets again when I harvested my beets. Well, my friends, that time has finally come. My beets are ready!

But let me back up for a second. As you can probably tell from the above photo, this is no an ordinary beet. Chioggia beets are an Italian heirloom varietal of beet, known for their gorgeous red and white striped flesh (they are also called candy cane beets, which makes perfect sense!). I first heard about this type of beet when I read Barbara Kingsolver’s book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”. While I had mixed feelings about the book, I did come away from it with a clear understanding of what it means to cultivate heirloom vegetables. Currently the term ‘heirloom’ gets thrown around a lot in trendy restaurants and high end food stores. However, there really is something to be said for planting (and eating) heirloom foods.

I won’t attempt to take on the whole of the American food system today (I’ll save that for another day!). Instead, I would simply like to point out a few major changes that have taken place in the agricultural system. As you can see in the diagram below, the availability of different types and varieties of vegetables has greatly dwindled. Just take beets for an example: 100 years ago, there were 288 varieties of beets. Today, there are just 17 varieties of beets in existence.


(Graphic from Prana.com)

If nothing else, these figures are incredibly sobering. Fruits and vegetables are now bred and modified to be resistant to pests, to last longer on grocery store shelves, and to look more appealing to the eye. While the nutritional value of heirloom vs. genetically modified produce is often debated, I happen to believe that heirloom vegetables simply taste better. I also love the variation and beauty that is often found heirloom varietals: purple, yellow and green tomatoes; black zucchini; candy cane striped beets, and more.

It is for these reasons (and more) that I am personally a fan of heirloom vegetables. If nothing else, I find that they are often much prettier than their hybrid counterparts! (Note: To learn more about heirloom varietals and ongoing attempts to save and share heirloom seeds, visit the Seed Saver’s Exchange)

As for the recipe, I made this salad when I was home alone one evening. I went to my backyard, picked some raspberries, mint, and beets…and an hour later I had an incredibly fresh and tasty dinner (I ate the salad alongside a baguette and Salted Molasses Butter). Sadly, the chioggia beets lose a lot of their candy cane brilliance once you roast them, but they still taste amazing!

Roasted Beet Salad with Raspberry Mint Vinaigrette and Feta

4-6 small to medium sized beets (If you can’t find chioggia beets, red or golden beets will also work)
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh mint
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (could substitute lemon or lime juice)
1 small shallot, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled

Method
Roast the beets: To roast the beets, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim beet greens off (reserve for other use), leaving 1/4 inch of the stems in tact and leaving the skins on. Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil and bake until tender when pricked with a fork or knife (30-45 minutes). The times will vary depending on the size of the beets. Set beets aside and allow to cool. Once cooled, peel off beet skins. The skins should come off easily when rubbed with a paper towel (or you can just use your fingers).

To make the vinaigrette: Macerate raspberries and mint in a small bowl. Whisk in shallots, olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper. Add more olive oil if you desire a thinner consistency. Allow vinaigrette to set for 30 minutes or more, to allow the flavors to meld together.

To assemble the salad: Slice cooled beets into quarters, and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle crumbled feta over the beets, and drizzle raspberry vinaigrette over the beets and feta. Garnish with fresh mint. Serve immediately. (Note: this beet salad could be served atop a bed of arugula, spinach, etc.)