Category: Salads

Roasted Fruits

So, you probably know that roasted vegetables have a sweeter and deeper flavor to them –  and the same applies to roasted fruit!   Roasted fruit is a delicious addition to salads, cereals, rice dishes, chicken, fish, tacos, desserts and more.

Directions: 

1) Toss sliced fruit with a few teaspoons of olive oil or canola oil
2) Use parchment paper or a Silplat mat for easy clean-up
3) If desired, sprinkle with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger
4) Roast in a 400° oven. Times will vary based on the size of fruit – anywhere from 15 – 25 minutes.

Tips on roasting specific fruits:

Oranges/Grapefruit – Slice thinly (1/8-inch thick) and roast for 25 minutes. You can drizzle a little bit of honey over the grapefruit slices. Toss in salads, serve over fish or snack and enjoy them on their own. Try Roasted Orange, Asparagus and Cheddar Grilled Romaine Salad or Roasted Citrus and Kiwi – @MJ and The Hungryman

Grapes – Keep on the stems and roast for about 20 minutes. Mix into oatmeal, granola or rice dishes or try these recipes:  Honey-Roasted Grapes with Peanut Butter Granola
Maple + Mustard Roasted Chicken with Roasted Figs & Grapes – @Katie Cavuto
Sweet & Savory Harvest Rice Bowl – Natalie @Nutrition Ala Natalie

Avocados – Use firmer avocados. Peal, cut in half and remove pits. Sprinkle with a dash of cumin and sugar. Place cut sides up and roast for 15 minutes. Serve with tacos, nachos, chicken, fish or mash onto toast or try this Roasted Avocado Salmon Taco Salad.

Strawberries: My new favorite – each piece is tastes like a burst of strawberry jam – without the added sugar. Slice in half and place cut side down on parchment. Roast for 20 minutes.  Try Maple Vanilla Oatmeal with Roasted Strawberries – @Uproot From Oregon

And here are even more types of fruit to try roast along with some recipes for inspiration:

Figs:  Roasted Figs Blue Cheese & Walnut Spread – @Craving Something Healthy

Peaches:  Roasted Peach Salad with Peach Vinaigrette @Marisa Moore, Roasted Peaches and Figs with Mascarpone and Almonds – @Avocado A Day

Apricots: Roasted Apricot-Almond Smoothie – @The Foodie Dietitian, Brown Sugar Roasted Apricots with Creme Fraiche – @Mom’s Kitchen Handbook

Cranberries:  Spiced Cheese Cakes with Roasted Cranberries @My Cape Cod Kitchen,
Roasted Cranberry Brie Pastry Puffs @The Nutrition Adventure. )I made these at Christmas – delish!) Butternut Squash and Roasted Cranberry Quinoa @Nutritioulicious

Pears: Maple Pecan Roasted Pears – @Your Choice Nutrition, Spinach Salad with Roasted Pears @Food Confidence, Roasted Pears with Dried Plums and Pistachios @Nutrition Starring You

Apples: Autumn Salad with Roasted Chicken and Apples @Edwina Clark, Cinnamon Roasted Apples @Amy Gorin

Roasted Grapes with Walnut Oil
Roasted Orange Wedges with Herbs

 

How to Roast Fruit

  • Select fruit that’s ripe, but still firm — using fruit that’s too soft will lead to the fruit steaming, which will minimize browning.
  • Tossing fruit with a touch of oil (olive or nut oils are nice choices), citrus juice, or a splash of wine (or rum or beer) will ensure the fruit produces a sauce during roasting.
  • Add a little sugar to further encourage caramelization. Dust cut sides of the fruit with raw sugar for extra crispy edges. Try mixing sugar with warm spices like cinnamon and mace before sprinkling on the fruit.
  • Spread fruit out in a single layer on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet to maximize browning and ensure even cooking.
  • Roast the fruit for 20-40 minutes depending on the size of the fruit. Roasted fruit should be tender throughout — test for tenderness by poking cooked fruit with the tip of a paring knife. If the knife easily pierces the fruit with little resistance, it’s ready.

Whole Fruit

  • Fall fruits with edible seeds, like figs and grapes, are excellent roasted whole.
  • Larger fruits like apples and pears should be cored before roasting (and stuffed, if desired), and then served whole or sliced.

Chopped Fruit

  • Fruit should be evenly chopped to ensure even cooking.
  • Fruit that is cubed then roasted will have a more uniformly browned exterior and crispier exterior than fruit that is roasted whole and then chopped.

Perfect Pairings

  • Cored apples stuffed with raisins, hazelnuts, and brown sugar, and then roasted whole.
  • Figs roasted with rosemary and walnut halves, served chilled with blue cheese (or goat cheese!) and crackers.
  • Pears roasted with cinnamon and a split vanilla bean, and then chopped and served as a compote over ice cream.
  • Toss quartered and seeded apples alongside a pork roast during the last 20-30 minutes of cooking.
  • Persimmon wedges (try underripe fuyu persimmons for best results) roasted with grated nutmeg and honey.
  • Roasted red grapes lightly coated in a splash of sherry vinegar and tossed with cooked farro and big flakes of Parmesan.
  • Tuck maple-drenched, roasted fresh cranberries into your favorite pancake batter.
  • Roast all the fall fruit you can get your hands on, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over the top (add a drizzle of honey, if necessary) and serve as an elegant warm fruit salad.

Mt Nebo Mock Lobster Salad

Look for the White Trash cookbooks – a real piece of Americana.  It reads like a history book with recipes.  By the end of the book you are practically one of the family.

Ingredient:

  • 1 c chopped celery
  • 1/3 c green peppers, diced
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 lb saltine crackers, broken into small pieces (1 sleeve, approx 40 crackers)
  • 1 c mayonnaise
  • 2 c tomato juice or V8

Directions:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine celery, green pepper, eggs, and crackers.
  2. Measure mayonnaise into a medium bowl.
  3. Whisk in tomato juice or V8 until blended.
  4. Pour over cracker mixture.
  5. Cover and refrigerate 3-1/2 hours or overnight.

Serves: 8 to 10, depending on serving size

Source:  White Trash Cookbook II:  Food for Gatherings

Jumbo Jim’s Tower of Fruit

Jumbo Jim’s Tower of Fruit is a tradition at our summer parties.  It is pretty free form and flexible – how big is the group, how much table space, what fruit is in season.  We sometimes have dishes of sweet dips for the fruit.

Ingredients:

  • kiwi
  • cantaloupe
  • honeydew
  • watermelon
  • oranges, lemons limes
  • pineapple
  • bunches grapes – red and green
  • strawberries

Tower:

  • lettuce, kale, Swiss chard (large leaves of something)
  • parsley
  • green Styrofoam pieces – cubes and/or rounds to use like building blocks
  • long skewers
  • toothpicks

Directions:

  1. Arrange Styrofoam (of various sizes)  to form the structure for the tower.  Stair step them up to a single round top piece.
  2. Skewer them securely together with long skewers.
  3. Cover them with lettuce, kale or other large leafed greens secured with toothpicks.
  4. Cut the whole pineapple in half lengthwise.  Leave the top on.
  5. Extract the fruit, leaving a shell to use as a dish.
  6. Cut the cantaloupe in half.  You can use a v shaped tool to make the edge fancy.
  7. Extract the fruit, leaving a shell to use as a dish.
  8. Cut the honeydew in 1/3 – 2/3 to make a deep shell.  You can also use a little watermelon.
  9. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so it will sit flat.
  10. Extract the fruit, leaving a shell to use as a dish.
  11. Cut all the fruit you extracted into large bite size pieces- keep them separate.
  12. Now comes the fun.  Place the honeydew at the top of your”tower”.
  13. Arrange the cantaloupe on the next layer.
  14. Use the half pineapples on the lowest corners.
  15. Skewer all these in place.  They will be the bowls for your fruit.  You can add other containers – large sea shells, pretty baskets, etc.
  16. “Decorate” the tower with parsley (fill in blank spots) half oranges, lemons, limes (cut side out) and even flowers (real or not).
  17. At party time, fill the containers with a variety of fruits – not necessarily what the container originally had.
  18. Don’t forget toothpicks for serving and a dish for used toothpicks.

Serves:  Usually more that you think it will.

Source:  Jim Kleerup

 

 Mediterranean  Island Salad

This salad got its name because we needed an “Island” name or a meal at the “Welcome to the Islands” camp-out.  Lettuce with “stuff” can be called anything you want!  Check out the “Oil and Vinegar Dressing: A Template” on the blog (Margie’s Kitchen, food is good.)

Ingredients:

  • romaine
  • goat cheese
  • beets – canned shoestring (pickled, if you can find them)
  • chives
  • oil and vinegar dressing

Directions:

  1. Cut or tear romaine into bite size pieces.
  2. Place in large bowl.
  3. Drain beets.
  4. Add to lettuce.
  5. In a jar with a screw lid mix chives, salt, pepper and goat cheese with the vinegar (1 part) and the  oil (3 parts).

Serves:  Figure 3 – 4 people to a head of romaine

Source:   ??

Antipasto Bar

Antipasto (plural antipasti) is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. Typical ingredients of a traditional antipasto include cured meats, olives, peperoncini, mushrooms, anchovies, artichoke hearts, various cheeses (such as provolone or mozzarella), pickled meats, and vegetables in oil or vinegar.  In other words – choose what you like to nosh on and put it out!  And guess what – it could even be dinner.

  • 1 bx cherry tomatoes
  • 1 *Spiced Vegetables – carrots
  • 3 *Spiced Vegetables –  beets
  • 1 lb *pickled mushrooms
  • 1 head *marinated cauliflower
  • 1 large jar marinated artichoke hearts
  • 2 jars pickled asparagus
  • 1 ½# salami – thinly sliced
  • 1 lb mortadella
  • 1 pk provolone cheese (cut in 1/4th)
  • 1 jar pepperocini
  • 5 jars assorted olives ( or fresh)
  • 1 lb Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese cubes
  • 1 tin anchovies
  • 2 tin sardines
  • 2 bunches parsley (decoration)
  • many flat breads
  • 4 bx bread sticks
  • 1 bag garlic bagel chips
  • 2 lbs grapes
  • *Italian Cheese Triangles

Just open cans, and arrange contents artfully, garnishing with parsley and grapes.

The * items can be prepared a couple of days in advance.  The Cheese Triangles freeze.

Serves:  This quantity was an appetizer for 75 people.  You can scale it down for a smaller group.

Spinach and Avocado Salad

Sometimes you just want easy!

  • 1/2 lb spinach (buy the packaged stuff!!)
  • 2# bacon, diced, cooked, drained (or 1/2 c cooked bacon pieces you can buy)
  • 1/3 c crasins
  • slivered almonds
  • 3 avocado
  • Honey Mustard Dressing (you can buy this too!)

Directions:

  1. Rinse the spinach.
  2. Dry in a towel.
  3. Remove the stems if so inclined.
  4. Add crasins, almonds and avocado
  5. Toss with about a half a cup of dressing.

Serves:  4 – 6

Source:  What we had on hand.

Honey Mustard Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 3 c mayonnaise
  • 1/2 c sugar
  • 1/2 c honey
  • 1/4 c prepared mustard
  • 1/4 c white vinegar
  • 1/4 onion, minced
  • 1/4 bunch parsley, chopped
  • 1 c vegetable oil

Directions:

  1.  Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, honey, mustard, vinegar, onion and parsley.
  2. Blend in oil.
  3. Chill about 1 hour before serving.

Serves:  Makes about 6 cups

Green Bean and Mozzarella Salad

This is one of those salads that can be done early – even the day before.  Using Roma tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes allows the tasty tomato juice to mix with the dressing.  You can cut the green beans into two inch pieces or leave them whole.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed (or frozen in a pinch)
  • 12 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 4 Tab olive oil
  • 2-3 Tab red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 6 oz fresh mozzarella 1/2 inch pieces (or little balls)
  • 1 bunch fresh basil leaves

Directions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  2. Add 1 tsp. salt.
  3. Cook beans until tender, 5-10 minutes (green beans tenderness is a personal preference).
  4. While beans cook, prepare a large bowl with an ice water bath.
  5. Immediately drain the beans into a colander, draining all hot water.
  6. Place the drained beans in the ice water for a few minutes to stop the cooking. This keeps green beans bright green and perfectly tender.
  7. Drain beans.
  8. Pat dry.
  9. Toss beans lightly in a bowl with the tomatoes.
  10. For the dressing, whisk together oil, vinegar, dried basil, garlic salt, and pepper.
  11. Pour the mixture over the green beans.
  12. Toss gently to coat.
  13. Cover the bowl.
  14. Chill for an hour before serving.
  15. Stir in the mozzarella, basil and sea salt right before serving.
  16. Serve chilled or at room temp.

Serves:  6

Source:   A composite of several recipes.

Gerardo Gonzalez Caesar Salad

The number of “Original Caesar Salads”  is equal to the number of cooks, wait staff and relatives of “that restaurant in Tijuana”. 

Ingredients:   The Dressing

  • 8 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained, finely chopped
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • juice of 1 Mexican lime
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 c olive oil
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 c finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:  

  1. In a large wooden bowl use a wooden spoon to mix garlic with anchovies, pressing ingredients with the back of the spoon to form a paste.
  2. Add egg yolk
  3. Squeeze lime over yolk and stir to blend.
  4. Add Worcestershire, mustard, pepper and half the grated cheese
  5. Mix to form a loose paste.
  6. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, vigorously stirring until dressing is thick and glossy, 2 minutes.

Ingredients:  The Croutons

  • 1/2 a baguette, cut into 1 1/2 inch slices
  • 2 Tab olive oil
  • salt
  • 1/4 c grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Ingredients:  

The Salad

  • 3 romaine hearts, leaves separated. Use whole leaves; they provide the ideal mix of crispness, surface area, and structure.

The Cheese

  • Caesars crowned with a mound of grated Parmesan may look impressive, but all that clumpy
    cheese mutes the dressing. Instead, use a vegetable peeler to thinly shave a modest amount
    on top for little salty bursts.

The Assembly:

  1. Skip the tongs. Use your hands to gently toss the lettuce, croutons, and dressing.
  2. Then top off with the shaved Parm.

Serves:   4-6

Source:  Gerardo Gonzalez, Wall Street Journal

Heart (of Romaine) Salad

In keeping with the Halloween theme, we created a “creepy” (at least in name) salad.

Ingredients:

  • 6 heads of romaine
  • 12 oranges, peeled and cut into pieces (Apples would also work.)
  • 1 # feta cheese crumbles (or blue cheese, or ???cheese)
  • 2 bunches green onions
  • 3 c olive oil
  • 1 c red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 c honey

Directions:

  1. Cut (or tear) the lettuce into bite size pieces.
  2. Mix the oil, vinegar and honey in a jar.
  3. Shake to mix.
  4. Put everything in a white trash bag.
  5. Add dressing.
  6. Shake to mix.
  7. Place bag in a box to serve – no dishes!

Serves:  50

Source:   Anything goes with romaine lettuce and we had oranges on the tree.

Salad Margaritaville

Romaine lettuce keeps the longest, so if you are planing a four day camp-out, that is the salad for the last night.  Variations are unending!

Ingredients:

  • 6 heads of romaine
  • 1 can pineapple chunks
  • 1/2 bag dried cranberries
  • 3 cans mandarin oranges
  • 1 bag candied pecans
  • 1 bottle berry salad dressing

Directions:

  1. Cut (or tear) the lettuce into bite size pieces.
  2. Add rest of ingredients
  3. Mix  (this can be done in a large trash bag – shake to mix, place in a box to serve – no dishes!)

Serves:  50

Source:   Practicality – salad sells better than vegetables with our crowd and you have to have something green.