Roasted Sweet Potato, Pear & Barley Salad

Sometimes good things come in small packages.  Sometimes through the mail slot.  My Feb/Mar 2015 issue of Fine Cooking arrived with thunk and clunk through the mail slot last Friday, which meant I spent the evening flipping through the pages, dreaming of my next meal.

Our refrigerator was nearly empty, containing the last bits and spoonfuls and leaves from grocery shopping done days ago.  But, with proper inspiration, you can make something from nearly nothing…and p.46 brought just the inspiration I was looking for: ‘hearty roast vegetable salads‘ was the title of the article, and called for a pile of mixed greens, caramelized fruits and vegatables, a warm vinaigrette, and any other toppings that might suit a person’s fancy:  nuts, dried fruit, cheese.

I pulled every available item out of the fridge and made inventory: one pear just shy of expiration. 1/2 of a sweet potato.  A few leaves of kale.  Several Brussels sprouts. An onion half.  Mustard.  A lemon.  A knob of ginger.  Yes, this could definitely be dinner.

I followed the instructions for roasting the fruit and veg, slicing the pear and sweet potato into pieces, tossing with olive oil and a little salt, and put them to roast in a hot oven.  I shredded the kale and sprouts, made a modified version of the lemon-ginger vinaigrette from p. 49, and on a whim, set a pot of pearl barley to cook on the stovetop.

If ever there was a winter salad that everyone should add to their menus, this is it.  You can, of course, feel free to swap other winter vegetables and fruits for the ones I chose; select a different variety of greens; add nuts if you please, or cheese, as suggested by the article’s author, Susie Middleton.  Buy the magazine.  Take a look.  And consider adding whole grains, as I did, for the perfect and complete meal.

Roasted Sweet Potato, Pear & Barley Salad
inspired by and adapted from Fine Cooking Feb/Mar 2014 issue

Roast:
1/2 sweet potato, washed, peel left on, cut into sticks.
1 pear, washed, peel left on, core removed, cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine the sweet potato, pear, olive oil and salt and spread into a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a 450°F/225°C oven for 20-25 minutes, until the potato and pear are tender and slightly browned.  Remove from oven.

Cook the pearl barley:
1/2 cup pearl barley
1.5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the barley, water and salt in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer; cover, and allow to cook for 15 – 20 minutes until tender.  Drain, and set aside.

Note:  please make sure you are using pearl barley as regular barley takes much longer to cook.  If you prefer to use regular barley grains, make sure you allow for a 50 minute cooking time.

Prepare the dressing:
1/2 onion, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup or liquid honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, reduce temperature to medium, and allow the onion to simmer until it is very soft, about 7 minutes.  While the onion cooks, combine the remaining ingredients except for the ginger in a small bowl and whisk well to combine.

Once the onion is soft, add the ginger, stirring well to combine for another 15 seconds to heat the ginger, but not cook it.  Remove from heat and spoon the onion mixture into the vinegar mixture. Stir well to combine.

Prepare the salad leaves:
4 large kale leaves, rib removed and sliced thinly
8 Brussels sprouts, shredded
Combine the kale and Brussels sprouts in a bowl.  Pour the warm dressing over the top and smash the salad greens together with your fingers to tenderize them slightly.  Set the salad aside until the sweet potatoes and pear are roasted and the barley is cooked.

Assemble the salad:
Add the drained, hot barley and the roasted sweet potato and pear to the bowl containing the salad leaves and dressing.  Using your fingers, toss well to make sure that all salad ingredients are lightly coated with the dressing.  Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

Serves 4.

This salad.  Anytime.

It’s nice to have a go-to dish that you know will always work, no matter where you are going or when you need it or how many people you’ll be feeding.  For me during the Winter months, this salad is that kind of dish.  I love it. I’ve made it for a party of one (that would be me).  I’ve made it for a party of 40. I’ve served at birthday parties; at Christmas parties; at New Year’s parties; and for “hey, you’re coming over?  Sure, I’ll make something quick” kinds of occasions. I’ve eaten it for lunch, dinner, and as a snack, and it’s never been a disappointment.  In fact, on days when you want to celebrate, and on days when you feel like there is nothing worth celebrating, this salad is a winner.

The ingredients are easy to come by and there are no special tricks.  But the magic is in the dressing and the way it ties all of the other ingredients together.  You’ll need to get yourself some raspberry vinegar and a little maple syrup.  Add in some good quality olive oil, a little salt and a little less paper.  Shake it vigorously.  Set it aside.  You’ll pour over salad just before serving.  Mix the salad just enough to coat everything in the dressing – but make sure you don’t drown it.  Serve immediately.

As for the other ingredients:  buy a mix of different salad greens.  Toast the pecans (don’t skip this step –  the toasted flavor is key.  Buy good-quality warm-smoked salmon.  Fresh, juicy, sweet pomegranate seeds add a pop of jazzy color.  Cucumber for some crunchy fun. And the cheese.  In Finland there is this wonderful oven-baked cheese called “leipäjuusto” in Finnish and “squeaky cheese” by some of my American friends because of the sound it makes between your teeth when you first bite into it. Since it’s extremely hard to find outside of Finland, Indian paneer cheese or even a nice mild Gouda cut into bite-sized pieces will work just as well.

This will brighten even the gloomiest of Winter days

Smoked Salmon, Pomegranate, Pecans, Cheese & Mixed Greens Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Make the dressing: 
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon genuine maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Prepare the salad:
8 cups / 2 liters of washed, loosely packed mixed salad greens
200g / 1/2 pound hot-smoked salmon, cut into pieces
100g of Finnish leipäjuusto or Gouda, cut into bite-sized chunks
100g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
1 English cucumber, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
seeds of 1/2 pomegranate

Combine the salad greens, cheese, pecans, cucumber, 3/4 of the pomegranate seeds, and 2/3 of the salmon in a bowl.  Just before serving, shake the dressing in the jar to make sure it is well mixed.  Pour it over the top of the salad and mix the salad with your clean hands to coat everything.  Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and top with the remaining smoked salmon and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 4-6.

Pomegranate, Mango & Orange Salad with Honey, Mint, Lime Dressing

Nearly every day right now, I find myself reaching for fruit.  Clementines that just barely fill my palm, with a skin that peels easily off of the fruit providing easy access to the sweet half-moon citrus segments inside.  Persimmons that are just ripe enough to feel a wee bit squishy when pressed lightly with a finger but firm enough to peel with a vegetable peeler, and sweet and succulent inside. Pomegranates under whose leathery skin lie some of the world’s most beautiful edible morsels: those shining, ruby-red, jewel-like, sweet and sour seeds.  Oranges that are simply perfect and at the peak of their season with a heaviness to each fruit that gives a hint of the juicy perfection underneath the nubbly, bright orange peel.  I can’t seem to get enough.  Maybe I’m detoxing from indulgence. Maybe I need a dessert that’s lighter than those I enjoyed during the holidays.  Or maybe…it’s just one more way to bring the sunshine indoors.

We’re at that point in the year when it can be a bit of a challenge to figure out which fruits and vegetables are best to buy now; and when we find them, how to use them so they really shine.  Of course, you can always eat them one at a time, au natural, no accompaniment required.  Or, you can dress them up so they are ready for a meal or a party.

Removing peel and pith from oranges

I smiled when I noticed that Food52 published an article few days ago calling our attention to the seven fruits you should eat more of this month, covering many of those I mention above and including one I’d never even heard of: finger limes.

I couldn’t agree more with their list: for New Year’s, I had created a new recipe using 4 out of the 7 – subbing in regular lime for finger lime (which at the time I didn’t even know was a thing…limes in Finland tend to be of the standard variety only). For this refreshing salad, slices of orange, chunks of mango, and the luminescent seeds of pomegranate were tossed in a honey, mint and lime dressing to create a light, refreshing, eye and palate pleasing dish that works for any meal of the day, including dessert. After enjoying a plate piled high with savory and salty snacks, the light, crisply fresh sweetness of fruit was exactly the balance needed to get us all in fine form for welcoming in the new year.

This can be made up to a day ahead, and is best served at room temperature or slightly below. In any case, allow at least 30 minutes for the fruit juices to combine with the dressing.  Stir the salad briefly just before serving to thoroughly coat the fruit with the juices one more time.

And whether you call it detox or call it dessert – you’ll need no excuse to dig in.

Pomegranate, Mango & Orange Salad with Honey, Mint, Lime Dressing

Pomegranate, Mango & Orange Salad 
with Honey, Mint, Lime Dressing

6 large oranges
1 large, fully ripe mango
1/2 pomegranate
juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced

To prepare the oranges:  cut the top and bottom off of each orange and stand the orange on one end. Using a sharp knife, cut away the peel and the pith of the orange so that you have an exposed edge of orange all around (see second photo, above).  Cut the oranges in half from top to bottom.  Remove the white pith from the center, and cut each orange half into thin half moons. Place the oranges in a medium-sized bowl. Repeat with the remaining oranges.

To prepare the mango:  Peel the skin off of the mango using a vegetable peeler.  Cut a thin slice off of the top and the bottom of the angle.  You should be able to see a firm white part of the mango: this is the seed.  Stand the mango on one end with the plumper sides of the mango on the left and the right. Cut along either side of the white seed, about 1/2″ / 1.25cm from the center, to get the most of the mango flesh.  Cut again from the thinner sides to get as much of the flesh as possible.  Cut the large mango pieces into medium-sized chunks and add them to the bowl with the oranges.

To prepare the pomegranate:  Using a sharp knife, make a cut around the center of the pomegranate, just barely piercing the leathery skin.  Using your fingers, break the pomegranate in half.  You will feel a bit of resistance at first, and then the fruit will pop open to reveal the seeds.  You will need the seeds from just one pomegranate half for this recipe.  To remove the seeds easily, hold the pomegranate over the bowl containing the oranges and mango.  Using your fingers, with the seed side facing downward, partially break the pomegranate open, but do not break it apart.  Hold the pomegranate half in your open hand, with the seeds facing your fingers and your fingers spread open slightly.  Using a wooden spoon, rap the top of the pomegranate firmly and consistently all over. The pomegranate seeds will begin to fall out of the shell into the bowl.  Continue to hit the top of the pomegranate until most or all of the seeds have been removed.  You can remove any remaining seeds with your fingers.  Some of the white pith from the pomegranate may have fallen into the bowl of fruit. Remove this and discard as it can be bitter.

To finish: Combine the honey and lime juice in a small microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for 20 seconds so the honey warms up.  Stir; add the mixture, along with the mint, to the bowl of fruit.  Stir the fruit and dressing mixture really well to combine.  Allow the fruit salad to sit for at least 30 minutes.

Serves 6.