Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 8

Inspired by: I like the crunch and spiciness of radishes. This is a salad I’ve started to make more often because it has a fabulous combination of spicy and sweet with the acid of the dressing and goes well with just about any other combination of fish and vegetables that we enjoy.

Salad Ingredients:

• 8 handfuls of Arugula and/or other peppery greens
• 2 cups radish sprouts
• 4-8 radishes sliced 1/8″ thick
• Nectarine or pear sliced into 1/8″ thick pieces
• Persian cucumber (optional) sliced into 1/8″ thick pieces
• Toasted almond slices

Dressing Ingredients:

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 clove crushed garlic (optional)
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• Mix the salad dressing ingredients in a shaker. I like the simplicity of this lemon dressing for this salad.
• Toss the greens with the dressing first.
• Add the radish, fruit, cucumber and toss well.
• Top off with the radish sprouts and toasted almonds.

Time: 90 minutes

Serves: 20 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 pound French green lentils (3-4 cups)
• 3 medium yellow onions, chopped (3-5 cups)
• 2 leeks (white part only), chopped (2-4 cups)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt (+ add additional at the end to your desired taste)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• ½ – 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional – adds a bit of a kick)
• 2 carrots, chopped (1 – 1.5 cups)
• 4-5 stalks celery with leaves chopped (3-4 cups)
• 3 quart chicken broth
• 2, 28oz cans fire-roasted tomatoes, diced
• 1 bunch collard greens with tough ribs removed (or Kale), chopped (3-5 cups)
• Juice of one Meyer lemon

Preparation:

• Rinse and drain lentils.
• In large soup pot, heat olive oil. Sauté leeks and garlic for 2 minutes. Add onions, salt, pepper, cumin, thyme, and optional red pepper flakes. Saute for another 5-8 minutes until soft and translucent.
• Add the celery and carrots and sauté for another 10 minutes.
• Add chicken broth, tomatoes with their juices, and lentils.
• Cover and bring to boil. Then uncover and simmer for 1 hour, until lentils are cooked (French green lentils will still hold their shape and firm texture even when cooked through).
• Add greens and simmer for another 5 minutes or so until they have softened.
• Add the juice of one lemon and mix well.
• Taste and add salt if necessary. If you are using a broth that already has the appropriate seasoning, you may need very little salt. But if you are using low to no sodium chicken broth you’ll likely want to add more salt.

Notes: This is a large batch, but it freezes well. The recipe is modified from one published by Ina Garten in the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook 1999.

Time: 60 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 5 – 6 tomatillos
• 1 large Anaheim pepper
• 1 very small Jalapeño pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 leek (white part only), halved lengthwise and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 pound shrimp, cleaned with shells removed – you can leave tails (or substitute black beans, white beans or shredded chicken)
• Cilantro or another green for garnish (I’m not a fan of Cilantro, but had some arugula)

Preparation:

• Roast the tomatillos and peppers at 375 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes. Turn half way through roasting. They will be done when soft, lightly browned, and oozing liquid.
• Meanwhile, sauté leek and onion in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until they are well cooked, but not browned. Add approximately ¼ teaspoon of salt while cooking.
• Put all of the above ingredients into a blender and purée. Return to soup pot. Add the chicken stock and cumin and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-20 minutes covered.
• Add the shrimp 2-3 minutes before serving (if the soup is boiling, medium-sized shrimps will take approximately 2 minutes to cook). Rock shrimp or other small shrimp will likely cook in a minute. Previously cooked shrimp, beans or chicken will heat through in 2-3 minutes. If chicken is your protein of choice, you can add a chicken breast when the soup comes to a boil. It should get cooked through in about 20 minutes. You can remove it, shred it with a fork, and put it back into the soup.

Notes: This will likely be relatively spicy with the roasted peppers and pairs well with an off-dry or dry riesling. It should also pair well with any white wine with nice acid – either light and crisp or full and round. It went really well tonight with a beautiful Chassagne-Montrachet.

Serves: 4-6 as a side dish

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Inspired by: Tony Khalife, amazing musician/artist. He taught me so much about the beauty and nuances of food.  This was one of those many salads that he just threw together one day because it sounded good and we had the ingredients. It has become a favorite because it balances out many of the spicy dishes I love to make, and when I’m in Mexico, which is quite often in the winter, I can easily find all the ingredients at a tiny market. It is often my contribution to potluck parties there with friends.

Ingredients – Salad:

• Papaya  – 1 cup diced
• Cucumber – 1 cup diced
• Slivered almonds – 1/2 cup
• Jicama – 1 cup diced (optional)
• Avocado – ripe but firm (optional) – 1 cup diced

Ingredients – Dressing:

• Juice of 1 lime
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Spice it Up …by Karen™ (optional)

Preparation: Put all ingredients into glass bowl and toss gently (if you include avocado add this at the end). I do not normally add the spice, but this is fun if you want to add some zing.

Notes: This is an easy salad to bring to a party. Use the entire papaya with the same cucumber and almond proportions. Dice the cucumber and papaya in advance and add the almonds and dressing near serving time.

Time: 45 – 60 minutes (ideally with a couple of hours cooling time for the grilled veggies midway). Grilled veggies and dressing can be prepared ahead.

Serves: 6

Inspired by: My friend Rikke who always makes delicious food brought this to a party recently. I made just a few modifications. The dish was fabulous and will be something I make often.

Salad Ingredients:

• 3 small bell peppers (red, yellow, orange) – about 1 pound, stemmed, seeded and quartered
• 5 slender zucchini (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut lengthwise in half
• Olive oil, salt, and pepper to toss the peppers and zucchini in before grilling
• 4 small Persian cucumbers, halved, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (or English cucumber… or if you use another type, remove the seeds and some of the peel)
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
• 4 ounce square of feta cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup (packed) finely chopped mint leaves
• 1/2 cup (packed) finely chopped Italian parsley
• 2-3 teaspoons ground sumac to sprinkle on top

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic crushed (optional)

Preparation:

• Heat your grill (medium).
• Toss or rub zucchini and peppers with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Grill peppers and zucchini until slightly charred and just tender, turning often, about 12 minutes.
• Transfer to a baking sheet to cool. Once cooled, refrigerate if you are preparing this ahead.
• To make dressing: whisk 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, cumin, and optional garlic in small bowl to blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Cut peppers lengthwise into 1/2 inch wide strips, then crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces.
• Cut zucchini lengthwise in half, and then into 1/2 inch pieces.
• Put zucchini, peppers, cucumber, tomato, olives, mint and parsley into a large bowl and toss with dressing.
• Add feta and toss gently.
• Transfer to a large, shallow bowl. Sprinkle ground sumac over the top.

Wine Suggestions: A medium bodied red with some spice and earthy flavors is ideal. The first time we made this, it was with a vegetarian dinner of spiced lentils. A red burgundy, or earthy rustic Italian red or Southern Rhone would all be good pairings.

Time: 20-30 minutes

Serves: 12

Inspired by: I’m always reworking spinach and mango to come up with something just a little different. This is definitely my new favorite spinach salad. It is excellent with anything spicy such as blackened chicken, grilled spicy shrimp, pan fried spicy shrimp, grilled vegetable lasagna, and I love it with seared scallops as well.

Salad Ingredients:

• Spinach leaves for 12
• 1-2 cups of roughly chopped fresh mint
• 2/3 of a mango diced into 1/4 or 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 English cucumber diced into 1/4 or 1/2 inch cubes (or can use Persian cucumbers)
• 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 3/4 – 1 cup sliced almonds or pistacios

Dressing Ingredients:

• The other 1/3 of the mango (scrape fruit off of the seed and use the riper, soggier, less pretty pieces)
• Juice of 1-2 limes
• 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing Preparation:

• Peel mango, remove seed, and dice fruit into ¼ inch pieces and set aside.
• Put about 1/3 of the mango into the blender to make the dressing (about ½ cup).
• Add the juice of 1 lime and a dash of salt and pepper to blender and puree/blend well. Then start adding the juice of the second lime until you find the balance of sweetness/acidity you like.
• Pour the mango puree into a small pitcher and add in 2-4 tablespoons of olive oil and mix well.

Salad Preparation:

• Wash spinach leavees, remove stems, and spread into a wide salad bowl.
• Wash fresh mint, roughly chop, and sprinkle over spinach so it’s mixed evenly.
• Slice cucumber into thin slices (or dice into pieces the same size as the mango).
• Pour dressing over the spinach leaves and mint and mix well – the dressing should be relatively thick so mix until the leaves are lightly coated everywhere.
• Add the diced mango, cucumber, crumbled goat cheese and sliced almonds and mix well.
• Optional – top with blackened chicken, spicy shrimp or seared scallops.