Salad Elizabeth Food

GRILLED MEXICAN STREET CORN SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the grill with all burners on high. Once preheated, adjust the temperature to medium high for direct grilling.
• Soak all 6 ears of corn in water to cover for 10 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and pat dry with paper towels. Brush the shucked corn on all sides with the olive oil and leave the other corn in the husk.
• Grill all the corn, turning occasionally, until the shucked corn is well browned and charred in places and the husks of the unshucked corn are dried out and charred in places, about 10 minutes.
• Remove all the corn from the grill and let rest until easy to handle, about 5 minutes. When you can handle the corn comfortably, shuck the unshucked cobs. Then, stand a cob on its flat end on a cutting board. Holding the cob steady, take a sharp knife and carefully cut the kernels off, sliding the knife down the cob from top to bottom. Rotate the cob, cutting off a section at a time. I usually do 5 turns per cob. Repeat with the remaining corn. Discard the cobs, transfer the kernels to a bowl, and mix with the melted butter.
• In a separate bowl, stir the mayonnaise, minced cilantro, lime zest and juice, garlic, chile powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper together until well mixed. Stir in the cheese and toss the buttered corn with the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Garnish with a little more grated cheese.
• Serve warm or cold; either way, reserve topping with the bacon crumbles until just before serving, or they will get limp. Garnish with the cilantro sprig and the lime wedges, if desired.

SUPERFOOD BLACK BEAN & QUINOA SALAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Prepare the quinoa:
• Rinse it well in a fine mesh colander and drain all the water.
• Add the rinsed quinoa to a pot and add double the amount of purified water or veggie stock.
• Bring the pot to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low for about 15 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed.
• Fluff with a fork, and you're done.
• While the quinoa is cooking, whisk the olive oil, cumin, garlic, lime, salt, and cayenne together in the bottom of a large bowl to let the flavors marry.
• Rinse and drain the black beans.
• Chop the veggies until roughly the same size as the black beans.
• Add in the cooked quinoa, beans, and diced veggies to the bowl and gently fold it together with the dressing and cilantro.
• Let the salad chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors come together. It tastes best served at a chilled or room temperature.

OLIVIER SALAD - RUSSIAN SALAD

Steps:

• The first step is to cook your potatoes and carrots. I used a steamer, but you can always go the traditional route and boil them. In either case, peel the carrots but not the potatoes. If you are steaming (or nuking in the microwave to streamline the process), make sure to prick the potatoes with a fork. I'm not sure that they would actually explode in a steamer, but given that you want to end up with neatly diced potato cubes, better safe than sorry. And did I mention that stabbing potatoes with a fork does wonders for relieving stress?
• Steam the potatoes for 30 minutes to start with, and then add the peeled carrots. Continue steaming for 10-15 more minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are firm but tender when poked.
• Meanwhile, cook your frozen peas according to package directions. I use the kind that can be steamed in the package in the microwave. When they are done, set them aside to cool.
• Note: there are traditionalists who will argue that nothing but canned peas will do in this salad, but I beg to differ. The faded, dull color and taste of canned peas just cannot compare to fresh or frozen steamed peas.
• When the potatoes and carrots are done, allow them to cool to the point that you can handle them easily.
• Peel the potatoes. Using your fingers or the back of a knife, gently scrape the thin layer of skin off of the potatoes. Dice them into ½-inch cube-ish shapes and put them into a medium serving bowl.
• Next, dice your carrots. I've heard it said that a Soviet housewife could be judged on her housekeeping skills by how finely she could dice vegetables for her soups and salads. I, however, won't judge you. In fact, if you chop your potatoes and carrots a little larger, I would probably even thank you. I happen to like chunky salads.
• Toss the carrots and a cup of steamed peas into the bowl with the potatoes.
• Peel and dice your hardboiled eggs. Again, I know some like to have their salads with finely diced ingredients, but I don't. So dice them however you like.
• Chop pickles finely. I used small snacking dill pickles, so I needed to use six of them. If you have larger pickles, try using three and see if that is enough for you.
• Add the ham if using and mix everything together gently before you add the mayonnaise.
• Stir in one cup of mayo to start with, and add more if you think that the salad needs more binding together.
• Cover the salad and chill for at least one hour or overnight to allow the flavors to come together. And of course, garnish with dill. This is a Russian salad, after all.

ELIZABETHAN ENGLISH HERB AND FLOWER SALAD WITH HONEY DRESSING

Steps:

• Toss together the watercress, lamb's lettuce, spring onions, sorrel, sage, mint and rosemary leaves.
• Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice and honey - season with salt and pepper. Toss the salad with the dressing.
• Place the salad in an attractive serving dish. Scatter the edible flowers over the top of the salad.

THE WHOLE CARROT SALAD

Steps:

• For the carrots and lentils: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Slice half the carrots into thin slices with a mandoline. Reserve in cold water and keep refrigerated.
• Cut the remaining carrots into bite-size pieces or halve them lengthwise and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil along with the cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon each of the Aleppo Urfa chile, 1 teaspoon salt and a little black pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet and cover. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to roast until browned, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Cook the red onion with the remaining tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the lentils, thyme sprigs and 2 cups water. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes on a simmer, adding more water as necessary. Season with freshly ground pepper, the remaining teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each Aleppo and Urfa chile. Set aside.
• For the seeds: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Toss the pumpkin and sunflower seeds together with the olive oil on a baking sheet and toast them, raking every 5 minutes, for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Dry roast the sesame seeds either in the oven or on the stovetop until toasted. Add the cumin and fennel seeds and toss to combine. Turn off the heat.
• Mix all the seeds together with the Aleppo and Urfa and a little salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• For the pesto and yogurt: Blanch the carrot top leaves, garlic and parsley in boiling water until brightened in color, about 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water.
• Combine the blanched carrot tops, garlic and parsley with the olive oil, a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup reserved toasted seeds in a blender. Swirl the pesto with the Greek yogurt and set aside until ready to use.
• For the vinaigrette: Add the olive oil, sherry vinegar, honey, orange flower water if using, salt, pepper to taste and tangerine juice and zest. Blend until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
• For serving: Drain the raw carrots well and toss with about a third of the vinaigrette in a bowl and set aside. Toss the roasted carrots with about another third of the vinaigrette. Toss the lentils with the remaining third of the vinaigrette.
• Set a large spoonful of the lentils in the bottom of a large serving bowl. Set a large spoonful of the pesto-yogurt mixture on one side. Pile the roasted carrots over the rest of the lentils. Top the roasted carrots with the dressed raw carrots. Sprinkle more of the roasted seeds on top and serve. Repeat to make more bowls.

SALAD ELIZABETH

Steps:

• Combine cream, juice, sugar, and lemon zest and whisk till smooth.
• Let stand for a couple of minutes.
• Rinse and dry lettuce.
• Arrange lettuce on salad plates and drizzle with dressing.
• Serve immediately.