Barley Salad with Parsley and Walnuts

Since we last 'met', you can add two more things to the bad luck I told you about.  Turns out my camera never did make it back from vacation with me.  Johnny and I spent five days in Hilton Head, SC with his family which was the scene of the accident for my computer (bad luck #1).  And also, my ipod went kaput.  The ipod, thankfully only required buying a refurbished one for cheap cheap cheap (whew!) as a replacement, but unfortunately the camera is "lost" as my mom would say.  As in a place something goes with no explanation as to where or why, never to return and with it my vacation photos and photos of a delicious quinoa salad that I had forgotten to download prior to vacation (damn!).  But, thankfully many others had cameras in Hilton Head, and the quinoa salad CAN be made again... I guess... but in the mean time I have another one to share with you.  (Thanks Marcie & Gabe for lending their camera for the photos!)  Besides, the quinoa salad is SO last summer...

I get hooked.  Hooked I say on a salad and then it is a ridiculous repeater for at least a couple of years and then I kind of get over it.  I would say this one is my salad of 2010 although I tore it out of Food & Wine at least a couple of years ago.  Everyone needs a collection of summer salad recipes to pull out for the numerous bbq's or invites for an impromptu get together and this is one of mine.  I always make extra too because it keeps well and is perfect for a light lunch.

This one is especially my go-to because it doesn't even require a trip to the grocery store!  Well for me at least, as most are pantry staples with the exception of the parsley, but I usually have some lying in my produce drawer.  If you aren't a fan of barley or can't find it I could see substituting farro or bulgur wheat.  Quinoa or pasta could work too but wouldn't add the nutty flavor you would get from the barley, farro or bulgur.  This recipe has a few of my favorite ingredients.  I think parsley makes everything seem so fresh, walnuts are my second favorite nuts to almonds, and I love lemon vinaigrette.

This isn't necessarily the *star* of the show at the bbq, but if you are having some rich flavored, heavy meats then it is nice to have a light option with simple flavors that can kind of blend with everything.  I like it as a side to kebabs with a flavorful dipping sauce (I know, big surprise right) and if some runs into my barley salad, it works.  But the lemon dressing is nice and light so it's fine just on it's own too, no 'steal the show' main courses needed.  

It's August... (AUGUST!), but there's still plenty of bbq's left.  And it's been a busy summer, but finally, I'm not going anywhere.  Unless of course you invite me over.  And if so, I know what I'm bringing... 

Trish's Tips:
This will keep just fine fully prepared, but if you want it to be nice and fresh, add the parsley just before serving.  If you can't find ricotta salata you could use feta, it would be a much stronger flavor, but still good.  Goat cheese would also be good and ditto on the flavor as feta.  Ricotta salata is kind of like a less 'wet' feta, but still quite dense but much more mild with a bit of a salty flavor.  Worth seeking out if you ask me.  I found mine at Whole Foods.  I guess you could make sans cheese, but being the cheese-lover that I am I certainly wouldn't recommend it.  Toasting nuts: you've done it, right?  I just put more than I need in a dry skillet, toast over a flame and let cool then store in the freezer, then they are all toasted for whenever you need them!  Don't be scared by the cooking directions on the barley, it doesn't need the ridiculous amount of time it says there, follow the directions here and just keep tasting for doneness.  As always, taste taste taste!  Add a bit more lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper when you are done following the instructions here and go with your instincts!

Barley Salad with Parsley and Walnuts
Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups pearled barley (9 oz)
1 cup walnut halves
grated lemon zest of half a lemon
3 TBL fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup packed flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
4 oz, crumbled ricotta salata (about 1 cup)

Directions:
In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the barley over high heat until tender, about 25-35 minutes.  It should be similar to how you cook pasta and be a bit al dente.  Drain the barley and place in large bowl.

Meanwhile make dressing.  Whisk lemon juice with the olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Pour over warm barley and let cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Roughly chop nuts and add to salad once barley has cooled to room temperature.  Add parsley and ricotta salata and toss to coat.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice or olive oil if needed.

Green Bean and Walnut Salad

I love this salad and I wish I could say that I loved all salads.  I like some salads, mostly those that involve some type of cured meat and cheese.  Or a warm mushroom one with prosciutto that we made for Valentines Day and I have yet to post.  And with my love of carbohydrates any salad that involves some kind of pasta or grain I am usually a fan of, but the regular old pre-dinner salad to me is usually a bore.  Especially those at a restaurant that are labeled as 'side salads' and involve iceberg lettuce, a wedge of tomato and potentially a cucumber slice with a choice of dressing.  Yuck!  No wonder so many people don't like salads.

Although as much as I hate that type of salad I can't say I'm creative enough to come up with much better on my own.  I'm definitely not the type of person who just throws together a salad with what's in my refrigerator.  I know that I could, but it just wouldn't taste good.  Or I should say, doesn't taste as good.  I was inspired to try to be that kind of person like my friend, Marcie, after having dinner at her house one night.  She just grabbed some sunflower seeds, whatever lettuce she had at the time, some peppers and broccoli, and whipped together a dressing that is her husband's absolute favorite dressing and it was delicious!  Inspired I bought a huge bag of sunflower seeds and tried to recreate hers.  And... Let's just say there's still an enormous bag of sunflower seeds in my fridge less the tablespoon or so I used to build the salad.  It just wasn't the same.

I'm even bad at salad bars!  I always end up with all of these random ingredients, which all don't really go together.  I think I get excited by all of the choices and end up with just a hodge podge mess that isn't very good.  I need some direction.

That's where this salad comes in.  It is definitely a 'recipe', but one that after making a few times I can make without the directions and aside from the green beans I almost always have the other ingredients on hand.  It's my version of a thrown together salad.

I'm expanding my horizons and learning that the salad definition is a bit looser than I grew up thinking it was.  It doesn't even have to be lettuce!  Like this one.  I love to make green beans as a side dish and originally thought of this as more of a side dish than a salad, because it can be served hot or cold but as I dissect the recipe here it's pretty obvious that it belongs in the 'salad' category.   Plus I love to use green beans because they are generally readily available.

So to hell with green salads I say!  I'm trying something different.  A green salad with no greens that is.  Definitely not your run of the mill 'side salad'.

Trish's Tips:  The nice thing about this salad is it keeps for a day or so in the refrigerator, even if it's dressed.

Green Bean and Walnut Salad
Adapted from Ellie Krieger
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
1/4 C walnut pieces
3 TBL finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 TBL finely chopped red onion
2 TBL walnut or olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Put the green beans in a steamer basket over several inches of boiling water for 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium serving bowl.

Toast the walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes, then coarsely chop and set aside.

In another small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar and mustard.  Add salt and pepper.

Toss enough dressing with the green beans to coat.  Then top with walnuts, parsley and red onion.  Toss to coat and serve warm or at room temperature.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

I can guess what you are thinking.  "I/my husband/spouse/boyfriend/kids don't like cooked broccoli."  Well, please read on.  I am here to convert you.  I have to admit I am no broccoli lover myself, despite it being a superfood and all.  I think because most of the time when it is served it is often steamed and overcooked.  Yuck.  Broccoli, I think, is like brussels sprouts in the way that when overcooked it lets off some weird smell that will turn you off for a lifetime... until now of course.

I'm a big believer that just about anything roasted with a little olive oil and salt will be good.  This will caramelize it, which adds great flavor.  Think of the difference between pan seared chicken with a beautiful golden crust and some flecks of salt and pepper compared to chicken breast cooked in a pot of boiling water (I actually just typed boring instead of boiling at first, Freudian slip?).  That's basically the difference between roasted broccoli and steamed broccoli.

And many of you may like your broccoli smothered in cheese.  I personally am not going to turn down anything covered in cheese, but this is a bit of a healthier option with just a bit of freshly grated parmesan.  I made this as a side dish for dinner the other night and Johnny and I both found ourselves gravitating to the broccoli.  Of all things!  I know!

And in the spirit of 'resolutions' and all this will hopefully fit right in.  I for one am not only trying to eat more veggies but also do better with waste.  So for lunch today I took a shot at using the stalks of the broccoli for another recipe and not just pitching them as I normally do.  I originally just threw them in a zip loc and put them in the crisper drawer with good intentions.  Usually this results in the item being thrown out several days weeks later when there is a smell from the fridge or the drawer gets too full, but not today.  I researched online and found numerous suggestions but the most appealing to me was to make a soup out of it.  The instructions (not really a recipe) for the soup are at the very bottom.  I digress...

This recipe comes from one of my favorites, as you know, Ina Garten.  She is always roasting veggies.  I love this recipe and think that it's elegant enough for entertaining but you can also just make it on a quick weeknight without all of the additions.  You could just squeeze some lemon juice, salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil and it would be delicious.  Try that with cauliflower, it's also delicious.  I've also roasted broccoli as this recipe does, but then just drizzled balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  The options are endless...

Trish's Tips:  In order for you to get the beautiful and delicious caramelization that I keep yapping about you must do the following.  1. Make sure after you wash your broccoli, it is DRY as in dry as a bone.  If you have too much moisture it will steam.  I just used a kitchen towel to make sure it is good and dry.  2.  Give them room!  I used one very large sheet pan, but make sure each stalk has a good inch around it, otherwise, they will again steam.  Pine nuts.  Love them!  I will buy a whole bag of them and toast them all at once.  Usually just in a skillet over medium low.  Watch them!  They will burn super quickly.  Store in a freezer so you can use whenever needed.  This is much easier then toasting each time you need them.  I store in the freezer because the oil can go rancid unless you go through them pretty quickly.  If you aren't overly crazy about citrus I would leave out the zest.  This is a bit lemony.  Next time I may cook the broccoli, then add the parmesan only and throw back in the oven just to melt, then add the remaining ingredients.  I have a feeling that would be better, but this way is delicious too.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
2 lb broccoli
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
zest of 1/2 a lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 TBL pine nuts, toasted
2 TBL freshly grated parmesan (I used the large side of my box grater)
2 TBL julienned fresh basil leaves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.  Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks into bite-sized pieces, saving the stalks for another use.  Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer with space between each piece.  Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 2-3 TBL of olive oil.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Roast for 20-25 minutes stirring once until crisp-tender and the tips of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with remaining ingredients including an additional tablespoon of olive oil.  Serve hot.

Soup Instructions:
To make a soup of your stalks saute some chopped onion (I used 1 small for 4 short stalks), while that's sauteing, cut the stalks of broccoli into coin size pieces, the smaller they are the quicker they will cook.  Saute until it gets some caramelization.  Again, the brown stuff adds flavor!  Then add a chopped garlic clove and quickly saute so it doesn't burn.  Add some chicken stock, maybe 3 cups or so and cook until the broccoli stalks are tender, just 15 minutes should do.  Check the stalks with a knife to make sure they are tender, then throw it all in the blender.  Another option is to make a broccoli slaw, which I have done before but it was just so so.  And slaw in the winter?  Not appealing to me, I want something hot and comforting.  I will admit due to caramelizing the broccoli and onion the final color result is not terribly appetizing.  However, I pick flavor over presentation and this was just a lunch soup for me anyway.  If you didn't brown the veggies then it would have much more of a vibrant green color, but like I said I think the flavor is better this way.  And I was actually very surprised how good it was.  Let me know what you think.

Edamame Hummus

Based on the fact that I told you I make my other hummus recipe about once a week, you can already tell how much I love hummus.  And I'm always a sucker for dips too.  So I was obviously drawn to this recipe when I found it in one of my cookbooks.  I discovered it a while ago and it is now a staple in our house.

It's an Ellie Krieger recipe so is definitely on the healthy side, and despite the time of year I have been erring on the side of healthy recipes.  It may have something to do with the fact that I ordered the bridesmaid dress for my sisters wedding one size smaller than they recommended.  You know, as motivation.  Well it does fit, but now I'm forced to stay fitting in it.  I particularly like this recipe because it has a lot of protein in it too from both the edamame and the tofu.  I like to have a little snack in the fridge that I don't feel guilty for eating.  Oh and it is really good.

Don't let all this 'healthy' talk turn you off though.  For those of you with a tofu-aversion, this is the perfect way to 'try' tofu.  It really just adds a creaminess factor and no real other flavor, because that's how tofu is; it just picks up the flavor of whatever else is there.  Give it a shot.  The Spiced Pita Chips alone are worth it.

Trish's Tips:
If you haven't made tofu before, you may not know what it means when it says "drained".  It means remove it from the water that it comes in and press it to remove some of the water.  I usually do this by slicing it lengthwise and then place a towel under it and on top of it and place something heavy on top for 15-20 minutes to get the water out.  The spiced pita chips are delicious, but feel free to serve with just plain pita bread or store bought pita chips.

Edamame Hummus 

Ingredients:
2 Cups Frozen Shelled Edamame, cooked according to package directions
8 oz silken tofu, drained and cut into large dice
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/8 tsp white pepper (may omit)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Place the cooked edamame, tofu, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor and process until smooth.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the processor is on.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  When making the pitas I find it's easiest to use a pizza cutter rather than a knife to cut.  You could also cook them without slicing and then just break the rounds into rustic looking large pieces.  I've done this for ease of use alone.

Spiced Pita Chips

Ingredients:
1/4 C olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
4 whole-wheat pita breads torn in half lengthwise to yield 8 rounds.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine the spices in a large bowl.  Brush the pitas with olive oil on the smoother side.  Sprinkle the pitas with spice mixture then slice into wedges.  Bake until the pitas are brown and crisp about 15-17 minutes.  Let cool completely before serving.