Vegetables + Salads – Page 27 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Zucchini Chicken Salad

My parents buy their groceries in bulk. I found a box of Perdue smoked chicken breasts in the fridge and they turned out to be the perfect salad ingredient. This recipe is also good with leftover roasted chicken. I had a zucchini in the fridge which I thinly sliced and then I tossed a small bunch of spinach in the bowl at the last-minute. The result? A salad you can eat without any proding from your nutritionist.

Ingredients:
Perdue smoked chicken breasts, cut in smaller pieces
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
a bunch of spinach, thoroughly washed and roughly chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
lemon juice
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Whisk lemon juice with olive oil in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss in the rest of the ingredients and let sit for a few minutes to let them marinate in the dressing.

Tomato and Feta Cheese Salad

My friend Stacie, who is Greek, taught me how to appreciate feta cheese. Feta is traditionally made from goat or sheep’s milk. It’s salted and brined and dries easily when drained. It’s the crumbly texture that makes it a perfect dressing for a tossed salad. I combined some feta cheese I bought with some beefsteak tomatoes. Drizzle some very good olive oil and you’ll have the perfect summer salad.

Ingredients:
beefsteak tomatoes, diced
fresh feta cheese, crumbled
baby Yukon potatoes
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
a squirt of lemon juice
a jig of red wine vinegar
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and quarter them to smaller pieces.
2. Combine and toss all the ingredients in a big bowl and season to taste.

Tomato Pasta Salad

This is one of my favorite dishes to make in the summer when all kinds of tomatoes are in season. For this recipe, I use beefsteak tomatoes, a round and bigger type, because they’re not as juicy as the heirloom ones. I toss them with pasta shells to mimic the shape of the sliced tomatoes and then I add some boiled baby Yukon potatoes to make it heftier. It’s a great dish to pack in a Tupperware for the beach–all the carbohydrates will keep you alert even if you’re under the sun all day.

Ingredients:
pasta shells
beefsteak tomatoes, diced
baby Yukon potatoes
fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Cook the pasta in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Drain and shock in an ice bath to stop its cooking.
2. Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and quarter them to smaller pieces.
3. Combine and toss all the ingredients in a big bowl and season to taste.

Penne with Homemade Pesto

Basil was abundant in Vermont so the boy made pesto for our pasta meal. It’s amazing how easy it is to make dinner with just the right, fresh ingredient. Back in New York City, I replicated the dish. Can you guess which one is mine?

Ingredients:
half a box of penne
1/2 pound of fresh basil leaves, rinsed well and roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a handful of pine nuts
2 tsps lemon juice
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Make the pesto. In a food processor, pulse basil, pine nuts and garlic to combine. Slowly drizzle a little bit of olive oil while pulsing. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Boil a pot of water and add penne with a little salt and olive oil for about 15 minutes. Shock cooked pasta with cold water and drain.
3. In a large bowl, combine a small amount of pesto with the penne. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if necessary or add another jig of olive oil for more moisture.

Sauteed Ramps with Pancetta

I first heard of rampsÂ while eating at The Tasting Room. I found out later that they are only available in the spring. Ramps belong in the leek family and they taste like onion and garlic combined. A co-worker told me she used to eat them rawÂ as a child growing up in Virginia. We were in Vermont one spring for a canoe trip and the boy’s professor directed us to the side of the lake where they grew like weeds. We harvested them and made a really nice duck dinner with them as a side. When I stopped by the New York City farmers’ market,Â they had them for sale and sure enough, people were standing in line to buy them even at $2.50 a bunch.

Ingredients:
2 bunches of ramps
a thin sliver of pancetta, diced
a bowl of ice water
salt, pepper

1. Add thoroughly washed ramps in boiling water for four minutes. When they’re done, drain and shock them in ice water to stop its cooking.
2. Fry the pancetta in a skillet and drain on a paper towel.
3. Using the same skillet, add the ramps and toss them in the rendered fat with salt and pepper.