Roasted Butterflied Chicken with Cardamom and Yogurt

An email to a friend about salads:
Get it in your house:
You can either buy produce per recipe or just take a lap around the produce section and grab a bunch of what looks good. You can think about what to do with it all while you’re in the bath tub later. I pretty much buy the same stuff every week with one or two additional eccentricities to mix up the game for a total of $50 every time for a week’s worth of salads, soups, and if I’m desperate, stir-fry. If you only buy one thing organic, make it the greens.

Make it great:
The FUCK OFF, WINTER salad:
Lacinato Kale - Roll up 1/2 a bunch real tight and slice into thin ribbons
Red Onion - 1/6 finely chopped
Shredded Carrots - one cup, you can buy it pre-shredded to save time but the texture is important
Dried Tropical Fruit (mango, pineapple, coconut shreds) - how ever much you please
Walnuts - small handful
Dressing - 3 parts Olive Oil: 1 part Balsamic Vinegar, can add honey, mustard, salt, or herbs but I dont OR buy a bottle of the good pre-mix stuff, i suggest newman’s own
Tricks: the greens are tough enough to hold up in the dressing over night so this is a good salad to make the day before. shake it around a couple of times on your way to work

Secret Asian-Man Salad
(the song is supposedly secret “agent” man… prove it)
Arugula
Marinated Mushrooms in soy sauce (see below)
slivered almonds or cashews
broccoli florets or pea pods
sliced red bell pepper
a tiny bit of chopped red onion
mandarin oranges
tricks - use the soy sauce from the mushrooms as the dressing for the greens

Italian Mafia Salad
Spinach
Marinated Mushrooms in Italian herbs and olive oil
Sun Dried tomatoes - in addition to tossing some maters in your salad, tip a bit of the oil from the jar into your greens
Walnuts or pecans
feta or whatever cheese crumbles you love
bacon crumbles if you’re feeling lucky, punk.

Marinated Mushrooms:
1½ pounds button mushrooms, cleaned with a towel or paper towel, sliced 1/8^th inch
1-2 cups Balsamic vinaigrette 3 oil:1 vinegar OR soy sauce OR whatever sauce you’re feeling saucy for like Italian dressing
Soak in a container in the fridge overnight. Boom. Done.

the Where JewRussian to, French?
(This is also referred to as a Nicoise salad in France but my Jewish neighbor makes it every time we come over for lunch and I love it. Dinner is a different story)
Spring mix with herbs - organic girl pre-packed greens and herbs (dill mainly)… i cant believe it’s called organic girl, it’s just fucking greens, you know?!
Fresh green beans, not cooked
Smoked fish like trout or lox, tuna is fine
goat cheese crumbles
hard-boiled egg slices
other add-ins: red onion, olives, fresh tomato slices, cucumber, edamame or fava beans
Dressing - I use the basic vinaigrette with anchovies smushed in. She usually makes “Russian” dressing which is similar to thousand island and it’s not my favorite:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) chili sauce, cocktail sauce or ketchup (see note below)
• 1 Tbsp drained horseradish
• 1 tsp minced onion

Tricks: In France, I used to make this salad into a sandwich, which is then called a Pan Bagnat. I’m back to eating the proper salad again, against my will. So make the salad to go to work, dressing separate, and take a piece of bread with you if you’re feeling especially French (which you are…so).

Gazpacho Salad - Salad
Adapted from The New Spanish Table
Serves 4 - i know you. you would drink this with a straw…
2 1/2 cups cubed day-old dense country bread (1-inch cubes) - i omit this part, obviously, but also adds to the amount of time you can keep it in the fridge.
2 medium-size garlic cloves, chopped
1 large pinch of coarse salt (Kosher or sea)
1 small pinch of cumin seeds
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 2/3 pounds very ripe but firm tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 small cucumbers, cored, seeded and diced
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1/2 cup seedless green grapes, cut in half
About 1/2 cup fresh mint, basil, or cilantro (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until they are just beginning to turn golden, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once. Lead the bread cubes cool.
3. Dressing: Place the garlic, salt, and cumin in a mortar and, using a pestle, mash them into a paste or just mush them in a bowl like I do. Add the vinegar and olive oil and whisk to mix.
4. Place the toasted bread and the tomatoes, cucumbers, Italian pepper, onion, grapes, and mint, if using, in a large bowl and toss to mix. Add the dressing to the salad and toss to combine well. Let the salad stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving to allow the bread to soak up the dressing.

I add this to a huge bowl of spring-mix greens and call it Gazpacho Salad-Salad

That should be enough to get you going! Let me know how it goes.

xxoo,

W