Prickly Pear, Feta, and Watercress Salad

This salad is a bit of a stranger in a strange land. Wandering through my local Loblaws (hey, I moved to Canada!), I discovered something I had not imagined I'd ever seen in the Great White North.
Prickly Pears!
Glorious glorious prickly pears!
They called out to be used, as it seemed cactus was not a big ingredient up here in the snowy lands. I couldn't resist.
So I improvised and used them as a variation in a standard sweet/savory combination, much like a traditional watermelon salad, but more in homage to my southwestern roots.

Prickly Pear, Feta, and Watercress Salad

Serves 3-4 as a starter or side salad


4 ripe prickly pears, peeled (careful of spines!) and cut into half moons
1 medium heirloom tomato, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
2 bunches watercress, washed
100 grams of feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
50 grams of pumpkin seeds (salted or unsalted)
Lime juice (to taste,  but approximately from 1 1/2 limes)
Cilantro, washed and chopped
Chili Flakes
Olive Oil 


Method

Arrange the watercress at the bottom of the salad bowl. Add avocado, prickly pears, tomato, and feta cheese. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top. Add the chili flakes and cilantro on top, to taste. Right before serving, finish with a squeeze of lime juice over the salad and a drizzle of olive oil.

Zucchini and Hazelnut Salad

Guess who had some hazelnuts left over from the last recipe? I thought I was going to be stuck forever with about 1/3 cup hazelnuts, destined to sit in my pantry for all time. But, yet again, Yotam came to my rescue. Why didn't I think of adding hazelnuts to salads before? So easy! So delicious! Such a great way to use up a pointlessly small amount of hazelnuts!!

And it was delicious. I rarely serve zucchini in a salad-type setting, but I'm going to have to do it more. And the recipe also gave me a chance to use my oft-neglected griddle pan, allowing me to make those lovely little charred marks on each zucchini slice. Adding a touch of class to the whole dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
7 small zucchini (1 3/4 lbs in total)
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cups greens (e.g. lettuce, spinach, etc.)
small handful of basil leaves, torn
3 oz Parmesan, broken up or thinly sliced
Optional: 2 tsp hazelnut oil (if you happen to be one of the 5 people in the world who have this on hand)

Method
For toasting the hazelnuts: Preheat the oven to 300 F. Scatter the hazelnuts over a baking sheet and roast for 12-15 minutes, or until nicely browned. Let them cool down before chopping roughly or just crushing lightly with a large knife.

For the salad: Place a ridged griddle pan on a high heat and leave it there until it's almost red-hot, at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, trim the ends of the zucchini and cut them on an angle into 1/4 inch slices. Place them in a bowl and toss with half the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Place the slices in the hot grill pan and char-grill for about 2 minutes each side; turn them over using tongs. You want to get distinct char marks without cooking the zucchini through. Transfer to a mixing bowl, pour over the balsamic vinegar, toss together, and set aside.

Once the zucchini have cooled down, add the remaining olive oil, the basil, greens, and hazelnuts. Mix lightly, then taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Transfer the salad to a flat place, incorporating the Parmesan, and (if you're using it), drizzle over the hazelnut oil.

Beet, Orange, and Black Olive Salad

Yes, yes, I know. This is an unusual flavor combination. If I saw this item on a restaurant menu, I'd think "how bizarre" and order something far more prosaic, like a Caesar or Cobb, or some other salad named after someone.

But I found myself in an increasingly common situation. The need to use up the plethora of vegetables that arrive in the weekly box. My parents have jumped on the proverbial vegetable box band wagon and now, like my own house, they take each week's box as a challenge. A challenge to use up the sometimes bizarre varieties of fruits and vegetables that arrive on their doorstep every Friday morning, delivered by a veritable vegetable Santa.

And this week? It was beets. Beets and oranges. Now, oranges, sure. Everyone can use oranges one way or another. But beets present a different kind of challenge. And beets and oranges together? Madness. Surely.

But trust Yotam to not only face the beet and orange issue head-on, but also throw another unusual item into the mix: black olives. In his preface to this recipe, he makes some claim about the wonderful blend between the sweetness of the oranges and the spiciness of the olives. I thought this was all blather, until I made the salad. And bizarrely, he was right. Eating the olive right after the orange and beet highlighted the special spiciness of Kalamata olives, balancing it perfectly with the citrus. And, again, I had to bow to those more knowledgeable than myself.

Try it, I dare you. You might actually like it.

Serves 2 generously

Ingredients
5 small or 2 large beets
2 oranges
1 bunch chard (or 1 Treviso or red chicory)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp chopped parsley
5 tbsp black olives, pitted and halved (try to find Greek black olives of the dry and wrinkled variety)
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp orange flavoring (optional or orange flower water)
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and black pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place the beets in a roasting tin unpeeled and pop them into the oven for an hour to an hour and a half, until they are soft when prodded with a knife. Once tender, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Once cool, peel the beets and then cut each beet into wedges about 1 inch thick. Place the beets in a mixing bowl.

Take the oranges and use a small sharp knife to trim off their tops and bases. Now cut down the sides of the oranges, following their natural curves, to remove the skin and white pith. Over a small bowl, remove the segments from the oranges by slicing between the membranes. Transfer the segments and juice to the bowl with the beets; discard the membrane.

Cut the chard into bite-size pieces (or, if using the chicory, slice it vertically into 1 inch thick slices).

Finally, add the remaining ingredients and toss everything together gently. Taste and adjust seasonings and serve.

Red Cabbage, Orange and Date Salad

Red cabbage is one of the best winter vegetables by far. It last forever but has a wonderful earthy sweetness, perfect for a late night quick stir fry. But I find that cooks often don't know what to do with red cabbage. Besides your typical braising (which, let's not lie, is phenomenal) and the aforementioned stir fry, what's to be done with it? Yes, yes, coleslaw will work in a pinch but the loads of mayo the dish requires completely masks the glory that is the red cabbage.

Well, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall may have found the answer. In his section on the Guardian's "Best Christmas recipes" he features a salad that was so unusual in its ingredients that I simply had to try it. Who would have thought to combine raw cabbage, *grated* parsnip and orange juice for a salad? To be honest, I was dubious. But the wonderful sweet mixture of dates with the root vegetables, not to mention a healthy dose of white truffle oil and some nuts, was absolutely divine. In Hugh's recipe, he sticks to the simplicity of only the orange juice, olive oil, and thyme. But add in some walnuts or pecans, not to mention the secret weapon of truffle oil, and the dish becomes sublime.
Another bonus point?
It takes five minutes to make.
This makes the second of the glorious "raw food" salads I've stumbled onto over the years (the first being Bittman's raw butternut squash salad). And I've yet to find a reason to dislike them. Curse them for their simplicity.

Serves: 4

Ingredients
2 oranges
1/2 small red cabbage, core removed and finely shredded
3 parsnips, peeled and grated
2-3 small handful dates, chopped

2-3 handfuls of walnuts or pecans, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp white truffle oil (optional, if you don't have some lying around, just up the olive oil by a tablespoon)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Squeeze the juice from the oranges into a small bowl.

Combine the parsnips and cabbage in a large bowl. Add the dates and nuts. Trickle the olive oil and truffle oil (if using), then sprinkle the thyme leaves on top. Serve at once.

Eggplant Salad with Miso

Whenever I head back to the Phoenician homelands I have a few restaurants on my "must visit" list. One of these, the Cherry Blossom Noodle Cafe, is perhaps the best thing since sliced bread, serving a wonderfully eclectic blend of sushi, Asian soups, Italian soups, and freshly baked banana bread served with every meal. Yes. That's right. With every meal. It's like someone downloaded my mind and created a restaurant menu from it. This place is heaven.

Anyway, on their menu they feature a fairly standard Asian eggplant salad. Silky cooked eggplant with a soy miso dressing. Fabulous. I've never been able to figure out exactly how they made it, but when I saw a recipe that looked similar in Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian", I knew I had to try it.

Alas, it wasn't exactly the same as Cherry Blossom's salad o'glory (I blame my lack of white miso for this), but, hey, you can't imitate heaven. And, that being said, this version is still pretty good. The walnuts make for a good addition, providing a nice crunch against the softness of the eggplant. My quest for the perfect eggplant salad continues, but until then, this recipe will do nicely.

Serves 4


Ingredients
About 1 lb eggplant
2 tablespoons olive oil 
Salt
1/3 cup white miso (mine was a dark miso, if using it, I'd recommend no more than 1/4 a cup)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
Cayenne (to taste)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts


Method
Trim the eggplant and cut it into 1-inch cubes. If the eggplant are large, soft, or especially seedy, sprinkle the cubes with salt, put them in a colander, and let them sit for 30 minutes, preferably 60. Rinse, drain, and pat dry.

Put two tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Whisk together the miso, soy, mirin, and vinegar in a serving bowl. Thin with a tablespoon or so of water if necessary. Add the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and cayenne, then toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve topped with the walnuts.