Donna Walsifer
give it a toss
It was beautiful Saturday afternoon as I sat on my porch typing and glancing over to view the river. During the past several weeks, I found some tasty salad recipes in which to use the wonderful produce from my Dreyer Farms’ CSA box of Cranford and Matt’s Farm Market in Wall Township.
There was no need to blanch and freeze any more broccoli. I previously made a broccoli salad recipe by Trisha Yearwood, but I found a recipe by Kay Chun of The New York Times and realized while typing this blog post, that it’s almost identical to Ms. Yearwood’s. Ingredients for Ms. Chun’s recipe are kosher salt, bacon, broccoli florets, mayonnaise, red onion, apple cider vinegar, granulated sugar, coarsely grated cheddar cheese, golden raisins and roasted, salted sunflower seeds. In some instances, the quantities are the same or slightly increased and she uses a red onion whereas Ms. Yearwood just calls for “an onion.” Ms. Chun also added grated cheddar cheese to her recipe. Though Ms. Chun is a native New Yorker, her recipe for “Southern Broccoli Salad” clearly comes through as southern. How did it taste you ask? Quite yummy. I like the fact that there are different textures and mouthfeel from the shredded cheese, to the softened raisins. I use Duke’s Mayonnaise, a southern product, for the nice twang it lends to the broccoli. Overall, a recipe just as good as Ms. Yearwood’s.
There was no need to blanch and freeze any more broccoli. I previously made a broccoli salad recipe by Trisha Yearwood, but I found a recipe by Kay Chun of The New York Times and realized while typing this blog post, that it’s almost identical to Ms. Yearwood’s. Ingredients for Ms. Chun’s recipe are kosher salt, bacon, broccoli florets, mayonnaise, red onion, apple cider vinegar, granulated sugar, coarsely grated cheddar cheese, golden raisins and roasted, salted sunflower seeds. In some instances, the quantities are the same or slightly increased and she uses a red onion whereas Ms. Yearwood just calls for “an onion.” Ms. Chun also added grated cheddar cheese to her recipe. Though Ms. Chun is a native New Yorker, her recipe for “Southern Broccoli Salad” clearly comes through as southern. How did it taste you ask? Quite yummy. I like the fact that there are different textures and mouthfeel from the shredded cheese, to the softened raisins. I use Duke’s Mayonnaise, a southern product, for the nice twang it lends to the broccoli. Overall, a recipe just as good as Ms. Yearwood’s.
In my file box for many, many years, I had a recipe for pickled eggplant. I think it came from one of the teachers from the first school my children attended, but I’m not sure. When I was growing up, my mother used to purchase jars of pickled eggplant that she would squeeze the vinegar out of, add olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. We would sandwich the mixture on Italian bread for lunch and perhaps add a few slices of mild sopressata on top of the eggplant; it was different and delicious. With my recent globe of eggplant, I decided to give pickled eggplant a try. Did I mention this is a no cook recipe? Besides eggplant, you’ll need kosher salt, white wine vinegar, fresh garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and basil. I used fresh herbs from my garden.
The eggplant is peeled and sliced like French fries. You can either place in a bowl, or I prefer a colander. You need to layer the eggplant and sprinkled kosher salt over each layer. Next, a dinner plate goes on top and a weighted tea kettle (or a couple of heavy cans) go on the eggplant to drain out the water. This stands on the counter overnight.
On the second day, the water is squeezed out. I saw a video online of an Italian nonna using a potato ricer for this purpose; I tried it and it worked beautifully. Rinse the bowl, if using, or get a large bowl to place the squeezed eggplant. Next, you’ll add white wine vinegar and season with fresh garlic cloves, fresh or dried oregano, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper and fresh or dried basil. This recipe was given to me without measurements, so I guesstimated the amounts based on the pickled eggplant. I used one 16-ounce bottle of white wine vinegar, several large cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of freshly chopped oregano and basil, and 1/8-teaspoon crushed red pepper. Once done, I placed the eggplant in a one-quart mason jar and shook everything up. I let the flavors meld before trying.
The pickled eggplant came out perfectly; it transported me back fifty plus years to when I was sitting at our kitchen table in Totowa, NJ eating this with Italian bread and nibbling on sopressata…yum!
The peaches this summer have been sweet and juicy. What better way to try them than in a salad. I found a recipe by Lidey Heuck on The New York Times/NYT Cooking page for Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Basil. Both the peaches and arugula came from Dreyers. For the recipe you’ll also need pine nuts, extra-virgin olive oil, champagne or white wine vinegar, kosher salt, black pepper, two sliced ripe peaches, julienned fresh basil leaves and creamy goat cheese. Pine nuts are rather pricey, so I substituted toasted walnuts for crunch. The salad dressing is made of olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper that can made in a measuring cup which makes for easy pouring. The arugula is placed in a large bowl, make sure you have enough room for tossing, and dressed lightly to coat the greens. The sliced peaches, basil, goat cheese and nuts are added and the greens are tossed again. What a light and refreshing summer salad. The peaches were at their peak of ripeness, the champagne vinegar is more delicate and mellower than white wine vinegar and is best in raw applications. To make this a complete meal, you could add some protein to the salad such as grilled chicken or even shrimp.
The last salad I prepared was a Roasted Zucchini Pasta Salad also by Kay Chun. For this recipe you’ll need two pound of zucchini, scallions, extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, a short pasta such as medium shells or fusilli, lemon juice, tahini, minced garlic, sunflower seeds, golden raisins, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Although I had to purchase a few ingredients for this recipe, I did overlook purchasing the tahini sauce. A quick internet inquiry led me to substitute sunflower butter instead. As it was quite hot last week, I used my barbecue roasting basket to cook the vegetables after they were chopped accordingly and tossed with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
While they roasted, I made the dressing with lemon juice, tahini, extra-virgin olive oil, water, salt and pepper. I whisked the ingredients together while I waited for the veggies and pasta to finish cooking. I also held back some of the pasta water in case I needed to thin the dressing.
Once the pasta was drained, you added the cooked vegetables, sunflower seeds, raisins and tossed. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper along with the cheese and parsley.
I think it best to make the salad ahead so the flavors can marry. Keep refrigerated, but do remember to bring it to room temperature before serving. My, my, my, what a scrumptious pasta salad. The dressing was creamy and clung to the pasta and vegetables which added a lovely flavor. The vegetables were tender and had a nice chew against the pasta. My husband really enjoyed this pasta salad. It was a nice way to incorporate your starch, along with vegetables for a healthy, balanced meal.
The eggplant is peeled and sliced like French fries. You can either place in a bowl, or I prefer a colander. You need to layer the eggplant and sprinkled kosher salt over each layer. Next, a dinner plate goes on top and a weighted tea kettle (or a couple of heavy cans) go on the eggplant to drain out the water. This stands on the counter overnight.
On the second day, the water is squeezed out. I saw a video online of an Italian nonna using a potato ricer for this purpose; I tried it and it worked beautifully. Rinse the bowl, if using, or get a large bowl to place the squeezed eggplant. Next, you’ll add white wine vinegar and season with fresh garlic cloves, fresh or dried oregano, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper and fresh or dried basil. This recipe was given to me without measurements, so I guesstimated the amounts based on the pickled eggplant. I used one 16-ounce bottle of white wine vinegar, several large cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of freshly chopped oregano and basil, and 1/8-teaspoon crushed red pepper. Once done, I placed the eggplant in a one-quart mason jar and shook everything up. I let the flavors meld before trying.
The pickled eggplant came out perfectly; it transported me back fifty plus years to when I was sitting at our kitchen table in Totowa, NJ eating this with Italian bread and nibbling on sopressata…yum!
The peaches this summer have been sweet and juicy. What better way to try them than in a salad. I found a recipe by Lidey Heuck on The New York Times/NYT Cooking page for Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Basil. Both the peaches and arugula came from Dreyers. For the recipe you’ll also need pine nuts, extra-virgin olive oil, champagne or white wine vinegar, kosher salt, black pepper, two sliced ripe peaches, julienned fresh basil leaves and creamy goat cheese. Pine nuts are rather pricey, so I substituted toasted walnuts for crunch. The salad dressing is made of olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper that can made in a measuring cup which makes for easy pouring. The arugula is placed in a large bowl, make sure you have enough room for tossing, and dressed lightly to coat the greens. The sliced peaches, basil, goat cheese and nuts are added and the greens are tossed again. What a light and refreshing summer salad. The peaches were at their peak of ripeness, the champagne vinegar is more delicate and mellower than white wine vinegar and is best in raw applications. To make this a complete meal, you could add some protein to the salad such as grilled chicken or even shrimp.
The last salad I prepared was a Roasted Zucchini Pasta Salad also by Kay Chun. For this recipe you’ll need two pound of zucchini, scallions, extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, a short pasta such as medium shells or fusilli, lemon juice, tahini, minced garlic, sunflower seeds, golden raisins, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Although I had to purchase a few ingredients for this recipe, I did overlook purchasing the tahini sauce. A quick internet inquiry led me to substitute sunflower butter instead. As it was quite hot last week, I used my barbecue roasting basket to cook the vegetables after they were chopped accordingly and tossed with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
While they roasted, I made the dressing with lemon juice, tahini, extra-virgin olive oil, water, salt and pepper. I whisked the ingredients together while I waited for the veggies and pasta to finish cooking. I also held back some of the pasta water in case I needed to thin the dressing.
Once the pasta was drained, you added the cooked vegetables, sunflower seeds, raisins and tossed. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper along with the cheese and parsley.
I think it best to make the salad ahead so the flavors can marry. Keep refrigerated, but do remember to bring it to room temperature before serving. My, my, my, what a scrumptious pasta salad. The dressing was creamy and clung to the pasta and vegetables which added a lovely flavor. The vegetables were tender and had a nice chew against the pasta. My husband really enjoyed this pasta salad. It was a nice way to incorporate your starch, along with vegetables for a healthy, balanced meal.
Southern Broccoli Salad
By Kay Chun
The New York Times/NYT Cooking
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 8 to 10
Ingredients
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and pepper
8 ounces bacon (any type)
10 cups (1½ pounds) 1- to 1½-inch broccoli florets
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup coarsely grated Cheddar
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds
Preparation
By Kay Chun
The New York Times/NYT Cooking
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 8 to 10
Ingredients
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and pepper
8 ounces bacon (any type)
10 cups (1½ pounds) 1- to 1½-inch broccoli florets
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup coarsely grated Cheddar
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds
Preparation
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium. Add bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until golden and crispy, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; discard bacon fat or reserve for another use. Chop the bacon into bite-size pieces.
- Meanwhile, add broccoli to boiling water and cook until bright green, 1 minute. Rinse under cold water until cool (or transfer to an ice bath). Drain broccoli well and pat dry.
- In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, onion, vinegar and sugar and mix well. Add the broccoli, cheese, raisins and sunflower seeds. Season with salt and pepper, and toss until well combined. (If time allows, refrigerate for 30 minutes to 3 hours to allow flavors to meld, stirring occasionally.)
- Transfer broccoli salad to a serving bowl or platter. Top with bacon. Salad can be served immediately, or refrigerated and served chilled.
Pickled Eggplant
Source is unknown
I’ve been holding onto this recipe for a number of years, so long that I can’t remember who shared the recipe with me. One of my fondest memories is when my mother would go to the pork store on 21st Avenue in Paterson, NJ for soppressata, an Italian cured meat.
My mother would purchase Italian bread, fill it with pickled eggplant that was dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper then fill a chunk of Italian bread with the eggplant and slices of either sweet or hot soppressata. Sometimes, we would eat the eggplant as a salad along with the bread.
Day 1 – peel eggplant and slice like French fries
In a large glass, pottery bowl or colander, layer eggplant and season with kosher salt. Put a dinner plate on top and a weighted tea kettle or 28 ounce an of tomatoes to drain water. Let this stand on the counter overnight.
Day 2 – Squeeze water tightly out of eggplant. Rince bowl, put eggplant back into bowl. Cover with wine vinegar.
Add spices: fresh garlic cloves, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, basil . Put eggplant into jars and refrigerate.
Note: This recipe was given to me with no ingredient amounts. The eggplant I used was rather large, however, after draining, the quantity reduced down to fill a two-quart jar. I used a 12-ounce bottle of white wine vinegar, a large sliced clove of garlic and eyed-balled the hers and spices.
To serve, I remove and squeeze some of the vinegar out of the eggplant, then drizzle olive oil on before eating.
Source is unknown
I’ve been holding onto this recipe for a number of years, so long that I can’t remember who shared the recipe with me. One of my fondest memories is when my mother would go to the pork store on 21st Avenue in Paterson, NJ for soppressata, an Italian cured meat.
My mother would purchase Italian bread, fill it with pickled eggplant that was dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper then fill a chunk of Italian bread with the eggplant and slices of either sweet or hot soppressata. Sometimes, we would eat the eggplant as a salad along with the bread.
Day 1 – peel eggplant and slice like French fries
In a large glass, pottery bowl or colander, layer eggplant and season with kosher salt. Put a dinner plate on top and a weighted tea kettle or 28 ounce an of tomatoes to drain water. Let this stand on the counter overnight.
Day 2 – Squeeze water tightly out of eggplant. Rince bowl, put eggplant back into bowl. Cover with wine vinegar.
Add spices: fresh garlic cloves, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, basil . Put eggplant into jars and refrigerate.
Note: This recipe was given to me with no ingredient amounts. The eggplant I used was rather large, however, after draining, the quantity reduced down to fill a two-quart jar. I used a 12-ounce bottle of white wine vinegar, a large sliced clove of garlic and eyed-balled the hers and spices.
To serve, I remove and squeeze some of the vinegar out of the eggplant, then drizzle olive oil on before eating.
Arugula Salad with Peaches, Goat Cheese and Basil
By Lidey Heuck
The New York Times/NYT Cooking
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Yield 4 Servings
Ingredients
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
½teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
4 to 5ounces baby arugula
2 ripe peaches, pitted and cut into ¼-inch slices (about 10 ounces)
½ cup julienned fresh basil leaves
2 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup), plus more to taste
Preparation
By Lidey Heuck
The New York Times/NYT Cooking
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Yield 4 Servings
Ingredients
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
½teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
4 to 5ounces baby arugula
2 ripe peaches, pitted and cut into ¼-inch slices (about 10 ounces)
½ cup julienned fresh basil leaves
2 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup), plus more to taste
Preparation
- In a small sauté pan, toast the pine nuts over medium heat, tossing often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- In a small liquid measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Place the arugula in a large salad bowl. Pour just enough dressing over the greens to moisten, and toss to coat. Add the peaches, basil, goat cheese and toasted pine nuts and toss to coat. Add more goat cheese and dressing if desired. Toss gently and serve immediately.
Roasted Zucchini Pasta Salad
“Kick Off Summer with These 5 Breezy Make-Ahead Salads,”
By Kay Chun
The New York Times, May 18, 2023
Total Time: 50 minutes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 to 8
Ingredients
2 pounds zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced ¼ inch thick (8 cups)
1 cup chopped scallions
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
1-pound short pasta, such as medium shells or fusilli
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
1tablespoon minced garlic
½ cup roasted sunflower seeds
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
½ cup chopped parsley
Preparation
“Kick Off Summer with These 5 Breezy Make-Ahead Salads,”
By Kay Chun
The New York Times, May 18, 2023
Total Time: 50 minutes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 to 8
Ingredients
2 pounds zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced ¼ inch thick (8 cups)
1 cup chopped scallions
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
1-pound short pasta, such as medium shells or fusilli
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
1tablespoon minced garlic
½ cup roasted sunflower seeds
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
½ cup chopped parsley
Preparation
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed sheet pan, combine zucchini, scallions and 3 tablespoons of the oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then spread in an even layer. (It’s OK for the slices to overlap.) Roast until tender, stirring halfway, 20 to 25 minutes.
- When zucchini is almost done, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente; drain.
- In a large bowl, combine lemon juice, tahini, garlic, the remaining 6 tablespoons of oil and 3 tablespoons of water; season with salt and pepper and whisk until well blended.
- Add the warm pasta, zucchini mixture, sunflower seeds and raisins to the dressing. Season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Stir in the cheese and parsley.
- The pasta salad can be made a few hours ahead and kept refrigerated. Bring to room temperature and toss well before serving.