Category: Side Dish

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Greek Salad

Why This Recipe Works

Most versions of Greek salad consist of iceberg lettuce, chunks of green pepper, and a few pale wedges of tomato, sparsely dotted with cubes of feta and garnished with one forlorn olive of questionable heritage. For our Greek salad, we aimed a little higher: We wanted a salad with crisp ingredients and bold flavors, highlighted by briny olives and tangy feta, all blended together with a bright-tasting dressing infused with fresh herbs. For a dressing with balanced flavor, we used a combination of lemon juice and red wine vinegar and added fresh oregano, olive oil, and a small amount of garlic. We poured the dressing over fresh vegetables, including Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers, as well as other ingredients, including fresh mint and parsley, roasted peppers, and a generous sprinkling of feta cheese and olives.

 

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
½ teaspoon table salt
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium clove garlic, pressed through garlic press or minced (about 1 teaspoon)
6 tablespoons olive oil

Salad

½ medium red onion, sliced thin (about 3/4 cup)
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
2 hearts romaine lettuce, washed, dried thoroughly, and torn into 1 1/2-inch-pieces (about 8 cups)
2 large vine-ripened tomatoes (10 ounces total), each tomato cored, seeded, and cut into 12 wedges
¼ cup loosely packed torn fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup loosely packed torn fresh mint leaves
6 ounces jarred roasted red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 by 2-inch strips (about 1 cup)
20 large kalamata olives, each olive pitted and quartered lengthwise
5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
Nutritional Information

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Per Serving (Serves 6)

  • Calories 244
  • Cholesterol 21 mg
  • Fat 20 g
  • Sodium 532 mg
  • Saturated 5 g
  • Carbs 11 g
  • Trans 0g
  • Dietary Fiber 3 g
  • Monounsaturated 12 g
  • Sugar 5 g
  • Polyunsaturated 1 g
  • Protein 5 g

Instructions

Serves 6 to 8

Marinating the onion and cucumber in the vinaigrette tones down the onion’s harshness and flavors the cucumber. For efficiency, prepare the other salad ingredients while the onion and cucumber marinate. Use a salad spinner to dry the lettuce thoroughly after washing; any water left clinging to the leaves will dilute the dressing.

1. Whisk vinaigrette ingredients in large bowl until combined. Add onion and cucumber and toss; let stand to blend flavors, about 20 minutes.

2. Add romaine, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and peppers to bowl with onions and cucumbers; toss to coat with dressing.

3. Transfer salad to wide, shallow serving bowl or platter; sprinkle olives and feta over salad. Serve immediately.

Per Serving:

Cal 180; Fat 14 g; Sat fat 3.5 g; Chol 10 mg; Carb 8 g; Protein 5 g; Fiber 2 g; Sodium 600 mg

Posted on » by Dino » Theme:

Australian Sausage Rolls

Australian Sausage Rolls are a seasoned sausage wrapped in a flaky, buttery pastry. They are very popular in Australia and Europe and are delicious for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer.

Recipe by Andy Allen taken from Tastemade

Ingredients

  • 6 garlic cloves, diced (but finely chopped)
  • 6 french shallots, diced (but finely chopped)
  • 1 long red chili, diced (I used two pinches of cayenne pepper)
  • 1 medium fennel bulb, diced (but finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup fennel seeds
  • 4 thyme sprigs, leaves removed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 granny smith apple, grated
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 1 kilogram pork (or turkey) mince
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ tablespoon black pepper
  • 40 grams breadcrumbs
  • 3 sheets of puff pastry
  • 1 egg for the wash
  • Black sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Pre heat the oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large frying pan, gently saute the garlic, shallots, chili (or cayenne) and diced fennel in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the fennel seeds and also the thyme leaves. Cook the mixture down for a further 2 minutes.
  3. Then, add the apple and the carrot. Continue to saute the mix for a further 3 minutes and then take off the heat. Place the mixture in the fridge to cool.
  4. Once the mix has cooled, in a large mixing bowl, combine the meat mince with the vegetable mixture. Add salt, pepper and the breadcrumbs. Using your hands, combine the mixture until everything is just incorporated. You don’t want to stir too much, or the mince will go tough once it has been cooked, due to overworking the protein.
  5. Place the puff pastry sheets onto the bench and cut them in half, giving you 6 pastry sheets. Then, divide the mixture into 6 even portions. Form the mince into a long, thick sausage at one end of the pastry. Roll the pastry over the length of the sausage to create the sausage roll. Brush the sausage roll with egg wash and then slice into 3 identical smaller sausage rolls.
  6. Transfer the sausage rolls, seam side down, to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with the black sesame seeds and leftover fennel seeds. Bake the sausage rolls for 25 minutes (closer to 35) or until they are golden brown and cooked through.

Video

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

A Trio of Japanese Vegetable Side Dishes

Loren made these…
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Daikon-Carrot Salad
Am easy recipe from FoodNetwork.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds daikon, peeled
Kosher salt
1 pound carrots
1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
1/8 of a Napa cabbage (optional)
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1 3/4 teaspoons black sesame seeds
Directions:
Shave the daikon into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Toss with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a colander; let drain in the sink, tossing occasionally, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, shave the carrots into ribbons with the peeler and slice cabbage into thin pieces.
Make the dressing: Whisk the ginger, vinegar, lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the vegetable oil and sesame oil until blended. Toast the sesame seeds in a skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until the white seeds are golden, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon seeds to the dressing. Toss the daikon, cabbage and carrots with the dressing and season with salt. Top with the remaining sesame seeds.
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Cucumber Sunomono
Ingredients
2 large cucumbers, peeled
1/3 cup rice vinegar
4 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
Directions
  1. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out any large seeds. Slice crosswise into very thin slices.
  2. In a small bowl combine vinegar, sugar, salt and ginger. Mix well. Place cucumbers inside of the bowl, stir so that cucumbers are coated with the mixture. Refrigerate the bowl of cucumbers for at least 1 hour before serving.
SPINACH WITH SESAME SEED DRESSING #2 (HORENSO NO GOMA AE)
PREP TIME: 10 mins TOTAL TIME: 12 mins
SERVES: 4
ABOUT THIS RECIPE
“The first version of this salad that I ever made, from “The Japanese Cooking Class Cookbook”. I think it’s still my favorite version. If you don’t have 2 tbsp. of dashi on hand (and who does?), or want a vegan version, use vegetable stock or water instead. NOTE: Sesame seeds love to pop right out of the skillet; I’d recommend using one with high sides or even a medium saucepan for toasting them.”
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dashi
1 quart water
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces spinach
DIRECTIONS
Heat sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring or shaking pan constantly, until seeds are light brown and first popping sound occurs, about 2 minutes.
Reserve 1 teaspoons (5 ml.) of the toasted sesame seeds. Grind remaining seeds in a mortar and pestle or grinder until smooth. Combine ground seeds, sugar, soy sauce, and dashi in a small bowl to make dressing. Set aside.
Heat 1 quart (1 liter) water and the salt to boiling in a 2-quart saucepan; add spinach. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until spinach is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain spinach. Rinse undeer cold running water; drain. Squeeze spinach to remove excess moisture. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
Combine spinach and dressing in a medium bowl and toss lightly until thoroughly mixed. Divide evenly into 4 small bowls and garnish with reserved sesame seeds.