Antipasto Ease

I love a dish that’s simple to prepare, yet presents with such elegance everyone assumes you’ve toiled all afternoon in the kitchen.  The sort of culinary sleight of hand that leaves a cook quietly smiling, as diners gush with equal amounts of enthusiasm and incredulity. Having a few such tricks tucked away in your recipe box will save you in a pinch.

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Salad-e Shirazi — Persian Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Named for the ancient Persian city of Shiraz—reknown for it’s connection to wine, poetry and flowers—this simple salad is best at the height of summer when juicy tomatoes and crisp cucumbers abound.  Persian cucumbers are delicate with few seeds.  If your cucumbers have larger seeds, just scoop them out with a spoon and use the remaining flesh.  Peeling is not necessary if you’re using organic fruit—much of the nutritional content is concentrated in the skin and seeds.

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Vegetarian Kale and Romaine Caesar

Raw kale is the perfect foil for garlic and lemon-laced Caesar dressing.  The substantial leaves stand up to the thick, flavorful mix.  I like to add some lettuce, too—to soften up the overall mouthful. You might add another green as well, perhaps a bit of spinach or arugula, or a few herbs. I developed the egg and anchovy-free dressing for my egg-avoiding, vegetarian husband.  You’ll hardly miss either.  The dressing is thick, fragrant and packs a lemony punch.  Just what you’d expect with Caesar.

Try adding some ripe avocado to the bowl—it adds a pleasant creaminess to balance the crunch and chew.

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Kohlrabi Slaw with Peanuts, Carrot and Ginger

By now you may have noticed that I like a crunchy slaw. There are endless versions to try. What renders salad into slaw at a most basic level, is an abundance of crisp vegetables—cut just so.  Shredded with a box grater or sharp knife or cut into julienne, matchstick-sized lengths—any of these will do.  It all depends on your preference.  For some reason the mere act of cutting the veggies this way creates a different feeling in the mouth—something close to sublime.  Ask any crunchy-raw-vegetable-addicted slaw fiend.

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