Since the weather has becomes milder with some beautiful days in the mid-80’s I have been preparing more cold salads, naturally. Even though they were salads they were substantial and totally satisfying as most of them had grains, noodles or pasta as an ingredient. The salads need a bit of planning since they have some cooked ingredients, otherwise they’re a quick fix. Here are some recipes I enjoyed this weekend (each serves 4):
Paella Salad was the culinary hit of the weekend with mussels, squid, green peas and sweet grape tomatoes.
I prefer risotto rice such as Arborio to make paella. Bring a gallon-sized pot filled with water to boil and cook the rice for 25 minutes. Season the water with two bay leaves and salt and pepper, to taste. Once the rice is cooked strain the excess water off in a colander. Heat a skillet on high heat setting and add 8 oz of fresh squid rings (¼-inch), cook for 1 minute and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1 lb of cleaned, debearded mussels. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes and season with black pepper and a pinch of saffron. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 cups of English peas and 1 cup of grape tomatoes and cook or 5 minutes longer. Cool the paella in the refrigerator. Meanwhile clean 1 bunch of kale with water and cut ½-inch wide and discard stems. Toss kale with the rice mixture and drizzle with fresh lemon juice, EVOO and fresh chopped parsley.
Mediterranean Cous
Cous Salad – Cous cous is a fast and simple meal to prepare and it is light
and satisfying. To this salad I added roasted
zucchinis, grilled peppers with sliced, chopped apricots and a generous amount
of fresh, chopped parsley.
Use a 2:1 liquid to cous cous ratio. I enjoy a mixture
of 50:50 water and orange juice and
spice the liquid with sea salt and pepper
flakes. Bring the liquid to boil and combine it with cous cous in a shallow
pan. The pan should be covered with plastic saran wrap and kept in a warm place
close to the stove so that the cous cous absorbs the spiced liquid. After about
15 minutes the cous cous is ready to be scraped with a fork to make it fluffy.
Slice zucchini and chopped red peppers and quickly sauté in olive oil and toss
into the cous cous. Then, shower the
cous cous with a generous amount of freshly chopped parsley just before
serving. Sprinkle peppery arugula over the cous cous.
Angel Hair Pasta with
Basil and Parmesan - Pasta does not
have to go out the window when the weather gets warm, just add spring to
it. My go-to spring pasta dish is simply
cooked pasta tossed with shredded fresh basil, Calamata olives, feta and a
drizzle of EVOO.
Cook the pasta in generously salted water. Then drain into a
colander and cool the pasta by rinsing it under the faucet rather quickly to ensure there is still some natural starch
attached to each spaghetti string. The starch will make the dressing stick to
the pasta. Then add ½ cup chopped olives, 3 oz crumbled feta, the juice of 2
lemons and 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Season to taste with sea salt and fresh black
pepper grindings
Chef’s tip: The salads are terrific to bring along to a picnic. If the lettuce is kept separate from the grains you can serve it for up to three days.
