Winter Salads with a Touch of Spring

The weather is all over the place.  One minute it is sunny, the next it is freezing and it is difficult to know what to eat.  The odd glimpse of sunshine puts me the mood for something more Spring-like, like a lovely fresh salad after a winter of stodge. Not Summer salads quite yet but a more substantial Wintery Salad with a hint of Spring. Lots of really healthy but more filling ingredients such as Buckwheat Noodles, pulses or rice fill you up and the first of the seasons Spring vegetables add colour and flavour. 

I have not one but three Winter salads. I think all three are really interesting. he first can be eaten either hot or cold. Two of them use home-made crispy onions. These are really easy to make, really delicious and produce a lovely, delicately flavoured onion oil which can be used in salad dressings.  The last salad is the most amazing as it can be not only be eaten as a salad but just add hot water and you have a soup.

So, first of all, I am using Wheatberrys which are whole wheat kernals similar to Farro, another favourite of mine and are also super good for you, high in fibre and protein but low in fat. They have a delicious nutty flavour and a nice chewy texture. I have been perfecting this salad for some time and I think the combination of New Season's Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Chilli and Crispy Onions is a winner and is delicious hot or cold.

The next is Baby Spinach, Black Rice, Butter Bean, Broad Bean and Pomegranate Salad. This is a salad was probably the invention of Gail Stephens and I used to make everyday at Baker and Spice and I love it. I don't know why but it just works. Black Rice is super good for you too.

My final salad is one I invented for a Riverford Dinner and I was trying to think up new ways with Sweet Mama Squash. I went for a Japanese theme comprising Soba Buckwheat Noodles with a Miso Dressing and finished the whole dish off with lots of crunchy seeds to add texture. I was really happy with my creation but it was too rich and I felt it needed lots more vegetables to balance the dressing so I added some roast cauliflower but some asparagus, beans sprouts or French beans would have been delicious too.  What is so bizarre about this salad is that if you add hot water you have a really lovely soup.

I know this selection of rather peculiar salads may sound like a lot or rather random ingredients thrown together but I honestly do recommend you try all three.



Crispy Fried Onions
You can make up a big batch of these and use them in all sorts of delicious ways.  The onions will keep for a week or two in air tight Tupperware.
Thinly slice a few large onions. Place in a saucepan and add vegetable oil to about half way to the top of the onions. You don't want to use too much oil as the more intense the flavour the better. The onions will cook down a huge amount. Place on a medium heat and cook carefully until they have sunk below the surface of the oil. Turn up the heat and deep fry until golden brown. Be careful not to burn, stirring regularly, especially in the corners where the onions will cook most quickly. Drain immediately and break up any clumps. Scatter onto some kitchen paper and leave to crisp up. Season lightly with salt. When cool pour the oil into a bottle for further use.

Check out my Saffron Basmati Rice with Saffron, Roasted Cauliflower and Crispy Fried Onions recipe too.

Baby Spinach, Black Rice, Butter Bean, Broad Bean and Pomegranate Salad
Black Rice (Try Tilda)
Baby Spinach 
Broad Beans (I hate to say it but frozen are great and save you some time.)
Butter Beans, drained (tinned or cook your own)
Crispy Onions and Onion Oil (See above)
1 Pomegranate

Cook the rice according to the instructions.  Unlike white rice, it is quite hard to overcook. In fact, be more careful of under-cooking. It should be chewy, not tough. Remember, like with all rice, to salt the water. Drain well and allow to completely cool. Cook your broad beans and shell unless really sweet and small.  Cut the pomegranate in half and bang each half quite hard with a wooden spoon to release all the seeds. Remove any white pith.

Put your black rice in a large bowl with the broad beans, butter beans and pomegranate. Add some onion oil and season with sea salt and a little black pepper. The salt will bring the whole salad alive. Add some crispy fried onions and the baby spinach leaves.  Mix well and serve.

Wheatberries, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Crispy Fried Onions, Chilli and Garlic

Serves 2
100g Wheatberries (Try Merchant Gourmet) or you can use Freekeh, Farro, Bulgar or Barley
100g Purple Sprouting Broccoli
1 Fresh Red Chilli, very finely sliced
2 cloves Garlic, very finely sliced
Crispy Fried Onions and Onion Oil (see above)

Trim and cook your broccoli in plenty of salted boiling water. Remove and scatter the broccoli onto a tea towel to cool and drain. Add the Wheatberries to the same water and cook for 25 minutes or so until chewy and delicious.  Drain in a colander. Wipe out the saucepan and heat a little onion oil in it.  Add the chilli and garlic and cook until the garlic has turned a beautiful golden brown. Immediately add the drained Wheatberries to stop the garlic cooking further.  Add the broccoli and a handful of crispy fried onions.  Stir well, check seasoning and serve either hot or cold. 

Soba Buckwheat Noodle Salad with Roast Squash and Cauliflower, Mixed Seeds
Soba Buckwheat Noodles (Try Clearspring)
1/2 a Squash or a piece of Pumpkin (Sweet Mama, Butternut, Acorn etc)
1 Cauliflower
Sunflower Oil
Other vegetables you might like to use Asparagus, Beans Sprouts or French Beans
Seeds (Pumpkin, Sunflower, Sesame, Black Sesame etc)
Dressing
Sweet White Miso or slightly healthier Barley or Brown Rice Miso (Try Clearspring)
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Large knob of Ginger, grated preferably on a Microplaner
Fresh Red Chilli, Very finely chopped
Fresh Lime Juice or Pon Zu

Peel and cut your Pumpkin or Squash into bite-size chunks. Toss with a little Sunflower oil and a little sea salt and roast in a medium hot oven until soft and beginning to caramelise.  Cut the Cauliflower into bite-size florets and do exactly the same as for the Pumpkin. Roast until nicely cooked and beginning to go golden brown. Cook the noodles according to instructions, in plenty of salted boiling water (about 7 minutes) until they no longer taste floury. Drain and refresh immediately in plenty of cold water. Drain well in a colander. Dress with a little sesame oil.  Cook any other vegetables that may need cooking.

Make a dressing with the grated ginger, the Chilli, some Miso, some Soy and the lime juice.  You will not need much as it is very rich. Get a nice balance of sweet (Miso), salty (Soy), spicy (the Chilli) and sour (lime). Mix the dressing through your noodles and vegetables.  Do not over dress or it can be sickly. Finish with plenty of seeds.

If you want to make soup then just add a little boiling water and check seasoning.

In Praise of Peas

 I am feeling a bit guilty.  I feel I am misrepresenting the title of my Blog.  Urban Ethnic - obviously meant to be very multi-cultural and here I am, droning on about Italian food yet again.  I promise that this is the last time for a while and that I will make more of an effort to embrace some other worlds but the arrival of all the beautiful summer vegetables - Asparagus nearly finished and the markets filling up with Peas and Broad Beans, Runner Beans and Spinach, just makes me think "Italian". 

I say Summer, when traditionally I think we may have called these spring vegetables but I am not sure why. Here we are, the Summer Solstice been and gone and only the peas in my garden are ready to pick, so I shall continue to refer to them as Summer Vegetables.  Maybe they are called Spring Vegetables because we plant them in Spring.

In homage to my garden peas, of which I am so proud this year, I tried some Orzo with Bacon, Peas and Parmesan Cheese.  I don't know how I managed to never hear about Orzo but now that I have, it is like someone who lives in your street that you never new existed for years until suddenly one day you are introduced and after that you bump into them, every half an hour, for the next three weeks.  So it is with Orzo - it seems to be everywhere at the moment. Merchant Gourmet have added it to their impressive range of ingredients along with Giant Cous Cous and Camargue Red Rice and all sorts of things I am constantly on the hunt for.  They really seem to be a company with their finger on the pulse.

Anyway, I was really impressed with Orzo.  It sort of has the texture of something between tiny Gnocchi and perfectly cooked rice - something I am still striving to achieve!  This recipe took me about 10 minutes to make from start to finish and made a fantastic family lunch.  Quicker and less fattening than Risotto, I most certainly will be using a lot more of it.  I can't wait to try it in my Minestrone.

Talking of Minestrone, there is no better homage to new season's vegetables than The River Cafe's Summer Minestrone from their fantastic first book. It is not strictly a Minestrone at all as it contains no dried beans, pasta or bacon and I was full of apprehension when I came to make it again, as I had not tasted since I was working there, about 15 years ago.  I remembered it being the most stunning soup and I was anxious that it was not going to live up to its memory.  I needn't had worried - it was absolutely delicious. I even managed to find it still on The River Cafe's Summer Menu on their website, and at £12.50 a bowl, it damn well should be!

Summer Minestrone (Minestrone Estivo)

The River Cafe Cook Book

This Recipe Serves 10

2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
1 small head celery, chopped
3 small red onions, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
900g thin asparagus trimmed and cut into 1cm pieces using only tips and tender parts
450g young green beans ,trimmed and chopped
450g peas, shelled
900g broad beans, shelled
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1L chicken stock
1/2 bunch basil finely chopped (or marjoram or mint)
300ml double cream
150g Parmesan freshly grated
120ml pesto

In a heavy sauce pan fry the garlic celery and onion gently in the olive oil until soft about 10 minutes.

Divide all other vegetables between two bowls. Add half to the onion mixture and cook stirring to coat with oil for a further 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with chicken stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the remaining vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the herbs, cream, Parmesan and pesto. Stir to cool at room temperature,  then serve.

Pesto

½ a clove of garlic, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 good handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped
A handful of pine nuts, very lightly toasted
A good handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Optional
A small squeeze of lemon juice

Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt and the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar, or pulse in a food processor. Add a bit more garlic if you like, but I usually stick to ½ a clove. Add the pine nuts to the mixture and pound again. Turn out into a bowl and add half the Parmesan. Stir gently and add olive oil – you need just enough to bind the sauce and get it to an good consistency.

Season to taste, then add most of the remaining cheese. Pour in some more oil and taste again. Keep adding a bit more cheese or oil until you are happy with the taste and consistency. You may like to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end but it’s not essential. Try it with and without and see which you prefer. 

Orzo with Bacon, Peas and Parmesan

2 Tablespoons olive oil
200g Streaky Bacon, cut in small lardons
150g orzo pasta
1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Little Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Fry the bacon in a little oil, over a medium heat until really crispy.  Remove from the heat.  Cook the Orzo in plenty of salted, boiling water.  If using fresh peas, add after about 3 minutes, if using frozen peas, add after about 6 minutes.  Bring back to the boil and cook for about 6-7 minutes in total.  Drain when cooked and add to the bacon.  Use the oil from the bacon to coat the pasta and add the Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.  Garnish with young pea shoots.

Finger on the Pulses

Whilst lurking around in an Italian deli last week in Putney, I stumbled upon the whole selection of the Bartolini Range.  Up until that moment I had only known of their Farro Perlato, but it appears that they have a brilliant selection of lovely pulses, pastas and cereals all from Umbria.  I bought some lovely looking Borlotti Beans, Cannellini Beans and Chickpeas as well as Orecchiette and Trofie Pasta.
 

Farro is the Italian word for Emmer wheat. It is a wheat grain, actually a kernel, that resembles barley and is specifically grown in Italy but grows wild in the Middle East.  It is hulled but not "polished" and therefore retains a rustic character both in taste and consistency. Like the other grains in the wheat family, Spelt and Kamut, Farro is botanically closer to ancient varieties of grains and has a high vitamin, mineral and fiber content. 

Anyway, I love the stuff and often put it into all sorts of soups. But the other day my friend Katherine make a lovely Barley Salad for a picnic with Asparagus, Broad Beans, Peas, Feta and Mint and I thought I might see how it turned out with Farro. 


I have to say I am really pleased with the result. I love Barley but Farro has a delicious chewy texture and a stronger, sweet wheat taste which really makes this salad sing and with the addition of some baby spinach leaves tossed through and some crisp Prosciutto on top, I thought it was a winner.



There were also some lentils which caught my eye.  I am just in the process of making Salt Pork for an ambitious blog involving the Sauerkraut that I made a few weeks ago but I have been so busy, what with children on half-term and work, that I am beginning to wonder if it will ever get made. I think my Salt Pork may be heading for a "Petite Sale aux"Lentilles" instead of  "Choucroute Garnie" as I originally intended. 

But in the meantime a made a lovely lentil salad.  This is one of those recipes which really does not sound or look that exciting but always tastes much more than its sum of ingredients.  I think it is the combination of chilli and celery which is such a refreshing mix of hot (spicy) and cold with the nutty lentils which works so well.

Also in the Bartolini range I discovered a ready made soup mix called Zuppa Rapida, clearly as close as Italians in Umbria get to an instant soup, which is a fantastically healthy selection of pearl barley, lentils, green azuki beans, tiny white beans and dried green peas.  On the back is a recipe which translates as "Soup of the Mill" and when I woke up this morning to another wet and cold June day I thought I might give it a try.   However, my soup ended up more of a Bolognese.  I am not saying it wasn't nice, because it was but I can think of better recipes.  Broad Beans and Peas and Asparagus are everywhere now and I think I might make a really fantastic Minestrone with the Borlotti Beans I bought.  When I get some time !



Asparagus, Broad Bean and Pea Salad with Farro, Feta and Baby Spinach, Crisp Prosciutto

1 Bunch of Asparagus, snap off ends and cut the rest into 1 inch pieces
200g podded Broad Beans, (or frozen)
200g shelled peas, (or frozen)
100g Farro
100g Feta
Large handful of Baby Spinach
4 slices of Prosciutto or Parma Ham
Mint
Lemons
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

First cook your Farro in plenty of salted boiling water until cooked and nice and chewy.  Drain and allow to cool.  Whilst still warm dress with a dressing make of some freshly squeezed lemon juice, some extra virgin olive oil and lots of salt and pepper.  Allow to cool completely.

Cook the asparagus in lots of salted boiling water for about 3 minutes, until tender. Remove and refresh in lots of cold water.  Next put the peas in the water.  Bring it back to the boil and cook until tender.  Refresh.  Finally cook the Broad Beans in the water and cook for about 3-5 minutes.  Refresh and shell when cool. Place your slices of Ham on some tin foil and bake for about 10 minutes in a medium hot oven until crisp.  Remove and allow to cool. 

Finally mix the Farro with the asparagus, broad beans, peas and freshly chopped mint.  Check for seasoning.  Just before serving toss through some baby spinach leaves.  Pile onto a large plate.  Crumble the feta on top and finally crumble the crisp ham over.



Lentil Salad with Celery, Carrots, Chilli and Parsley

Make sure you choose Lentils which hold their texture when cooked like Le Puy Lentils or Castelluccio.  There should be much more vegetables in proportion to lentils. You can add other vegetables that you have to hand such as peppers or any colour or fennel. Adjust the amounts of all the ingredients according to your taste.

200g Lentils (see note)
200g carrots, chopped very finely
200g celery, pealed and chopped very finely
200g cucumber, seeds removed and chopped very finely
1 Fresh Red Chilli
Lemons
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Large handful of Flat Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped (or disciplined as Fergus Henderson would say)

Cook the lentils in plenty of salted cold water.  Bring to the boil and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes until just cooked.  Do not over cook as they will not retain their texture which is very important for this salad.  When cooked, drain and allow to cook.  When still warm, mix with the dressing of freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Allow to cool completely before mixing with all the other ingredients.  Adjust seasoning.  Serve scattered with a little more freshly chopped parsley.  Try using some leaves of baby gem lettuce as a "spoon."