Yum! Mark Bittman's Date and Bean Salad

                 I really heart Mark Bittman.  For those who aren’t familiar with him, he’s a food columnist for the New York Times, and in several previous columns I’ve referred to some of his work.  One of my favorites came from a 2009 column “101 Simple Salads for the Season.”  Here were his instructions: “Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half; toss with soy sauce, a bit of dark sesame oil and basil or cilantro.”  I’ve made that so many times it is almost embarrassing.

                I recently picked up one of his books, “Kitchen Express” and the format was similar: no real recipes, just sort of chatty little paragraphs suggesting how to make something tasty, divided by seasons.

                I saw this dish, listed under winter recipes and thought how very “interesting” it sounded. (In my parlance that’s like saying “he has a nice personality.”)  

                Well, it was not only interesting, it was really delicious.  I did add the optional fillip of the crisped coppa (Italian cured pork loin) on top, and the tiniest splash of balsamic dressing on the greens.  Coppa or another option, prosciutto, can be found in most supermarkets, packaged, very thinly sliced.

                I served it as a side salad for dinner, but it is pretty hearty.  It would make a great luncheon main dish, or as a brunch side to an egg casserole of some sort.  Doubled, it would serve six to eight as a main dish.

                If you’re not a bacon eater, you could leave it out, but you might compensate for the loss of the smoky taste by a goodly pinch of Spanish smoked paprika. 

                You could easily make the salad a bit ahead and warm again slightly just before serving.  We had a bit left, and I had it for lunch the next day, and I still would have happily served it to guests.  There’s always room in my repertoire for a dish like that!

MARK BITTMAN’S DATE, BACON AND BEAN SALAD

4 slices good quality smoked bacon

2 15-oz cans cannellini or northern beans, drained

½ cup dates, pitted and chopped (or use packaged diced)

6 very thin slices coppa or prosciutto (optional)

1 container arugula

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp good olive oil

                Cut the bacon into 1” pieces.  In a good sized skillet, cook until just barely crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain, and pour off about half the fat. To the pan add the beans and dates.  Warm on low for a few minutes, stirring around a bit.  When ready to serve, put the bacon back into the pan and heat it all together for another minute or two.

                Meanwhile, if you’re using the coppa or prosciutto, heat another skillet over medium high heat.  Put the meat in one layer and cook, turning once, until just crisp. Put on a paper towel to drain.

                In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar and oil. Add the arugula and toss. The dressing will very lightly cover the greens.  Divide the greens among six plates and top with the bean salad.  Perch the crispy coppa or prosciutto on top and serve.  Serves six as a generous side or first course salad.

Leftover Crabcake Salad!

We stopped at Sharky's yesterday evening for a bite to eat in the bar.  I got the crab cakes, which were delicious but I'd had a salad first and just couldn't finish them.  We brought them home, and instead of my usual habit (stick carry-homes in the fridge and toss when they start growing green hair) I decided we needed to use them.  I crumbled them on a bed of lettuce, added slivered fennel and little grape tomatoes.  With a lemon-ginger vinaigrette it made a lovely complement to our dinner!

Lovely and delicious cranberry mold!

 

For a recent holiday gathering with friends, I was looking for an alternative to the usual cranberry-orange relish or salad. I came across a recipe for a sweet cranberry panna cotta on the Viking Cooking School website. I made a few changes to make it a savory mold, and everyone pronounced it quite tasty.

I made it in a two-cup mold, but it would be equally attractive made in individual ramekins and turned out onto greens for a first course salad. A sherry vinegar dressing would make a nice complement to the flavors in the mold.

The Viking recipe called for cranberry Jello, which I used,. If you would rather, you can soften one envelope of unflavored gelatin on a couple of tablespoons of cold water, then substitute cranberry juice for the one cup of water. Heat it, add the gelatin, stirring until dissolved, and then 2 tablespoons of sugar and the seasonings listed below.

One of my friends at the gathering said she’s going to use the recipe in a heart shaped mold for Valentine’s Day, so if you’ve already planned all your holiday gatherings, there’s always another appropriate time to use it!

SAVORY CRANBERRY MOLD

1 cup water
1 package cranberry-flavored gelatin
¼ tsp. kosher or sea salt
Juice and finely grated zest of one lemon
2 tbsp bottled grated horseradish
½ tsp. dried dill weed
1 cup sour cream

Spray a two-cup mold generously with cooking spray.

In a saucepan, heat the water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the gelatin, stirring until completely dissolved. Whisk in the remaining ingredients in the order listed and pour into the mold. Refrigerate at least four hours, or until completely set. This may be made one day in advance if tightly covered with plastic wrap or foil.

When ready to serve, dip the mold in very hot water, being careful not to get water in the mold itself. Turn a serving plate upside down on the mold, then invert and give it a little shake. If the mold doesn’t come out, repeat the hot water process. Serve with crisp toasts or crackers. Serves 8-10 as an appetizer, or 4-6 on a first course salad.

NOTE: I wanted to make this again but had used all my horseradish. I had a container of Penzey's horseradish dip mix and added 3 tablespoons of that instead of the seasonings. It turned out to be delicious, although less piquant than the one with real horseradish.

Golden Beet-Avocado Salad

 

A few weeks ago I wrote about Montmartre, a great little French restaurant I found in D.C. It was the sort of neighborhood bistro that you might find in France, with several tables of folks speaking French (always a good sign).

I ordered gazpacho and a salad. The gazpacho was delicious but I really loved the salad. I spoke to the server, Anne, who gave me a little hint as to how it was prepared. It was composed of roasted yellow beets, grape tomatoes, red onion and avocado. It was a very felicitous combination, and I couldn’t wait to make it at home.

Anne said they rubbed the beets with olive oil and roasted them. I’ve always wrapped beets in foil to roast, but found that this method sort of concentrated the natural sweetness of the golden beets.

They sprinkled it with a mixture of chopped fresh herbs; I used cilantro with equal success. And they used grape tomatoes, but in this season, good farmers’ market or home-grown tomatoes would be perfect.

Because of the lemon juice in the dressing, you can keep this for a day or two without having khaki colored avocado. This will make a great side dish to any of your grilled dinners this summer.

MONTMARTRE SALAD

Juice and finely grated zest of 2 lemons
¼ cup good fruity olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 ripe but still firm avocados, peeled and cubed
3 golden beets, roasted, peeled and cubed (see note)
¼ cup slivered red onion
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (or 2 cups diced tomato)
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup minced cilantro, plus a couple of sprigs to garnish

Whisk the lemon juice and zest with the olive oil in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the remaining ingredients and toss just until combined. Let rest for an hour or so for flavors to meld. Serve garnished with additional cilantro sprigs. Serves 6 or so as a side dish.

NOTE: Golden beets are available at Fresh Market. Cut off tops, leaving 1" of stems. Rub with olive oil, put on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Check to see if a small pointy knife can penetrate easily. If not, roast until it can. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then peel and cube.