Tag Archives: salad

Green Salad with Strawberries and Balsamic Vinaigrette

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Chef and Nutrition Educator Kelly Browning of Growing Great continues to inspire children and adults healthy eating habits with this colorful salad recipe full of strawberries, carrots, radishes and tomatoes.

Ingredients

1 head of lettuce
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons of honey
2 teaspoons of ground mustard (optional)
3 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar (or more to taste)
1/8-1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh herbs (optional)

Cooking Process

Select your favorite lettuce and wash
Wash strawberries and cut tops off, slice into desired size pieces
Chop and add any other favorite salad fixings such as carrots, radishes or tomatoes
Add strawberry slices on top
In a small bowl, whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients
Pour over salad and toss to coat
Top with seeds or nuts
Add a little salt to taste

Lentil Salad

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This dish can be adjusted to whatever is in season or meets your fancy. Many of the measurements are an estimation – play around with it!

Ingredients

1 cup French green or black Beluga lentils
1 lb beets
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
Salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup chopped thicker greens of your choice (mustard greens, kale, Swiss chard all work well)
Crumbled goat or feta cheese for garnish

Cooking Process

Turn the oven to 375. Place the beets in a shallow oven proof bowl. Fill the bowl with just enough water to steam the beets. Cover the bowl with tinfoil and place in the middle of the oven. Cook for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until tender when poked with a fork. In the mean time, put the lentils in a pot, cover with water by 3 inches and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook until tender all the way through (adding more water if necessary), about 30 minutes. When done, drain.

Toss the lentils with the red wine vinegar, salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt and vinegar if needed.

While waiting for the lentils, peel the beets, which you can do under running cold water if they are still too hot. Then quarter them into bite size pieces.

Add the extra-virgin olive oil, beets, and parsley. Stir to combine. Add the greens, let sit shortly to wilt. Lastly, add the crumbled goat cheese as a garnish when serving.

Persimmon Salad with Greek Yogurt

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From Eric Gower’s The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen, this recipe was featured at the Sunday Civic Center market’s Eat Local 101 booth on November 9,2008. People who eat this dish for the first time are often in a state of shock that persimmons can actually taste this good! A great first course to any meal.

Ingredients

generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red onion, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 large Fuyu persimmons, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
a little sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

Cooking Process

Heat some olive oil in a heavy frying pan and add the onion and ginger. Saute for a few minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Place the persimmon slices in a large bowl, and gently mix in the ginger/onion mixture, along with the yogurt, until well combined. Dust with salt and pepper, and top with the mint. Can be served at room temperature, or chilled. Serves two or three.

Recipe provided by Eric Gower.

Niçoise-Style Salad

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Young local fisherman Anna Svedise of Santa Rosa Seafood will be joining forces with Chef Rachelle Boucher of Savor the Moment to create this delicious and hearty seafood treat to be prepared at the MFM “Farm to Fair” Chef Demos during Marin County Fair on July 1st . Check our special events page for demonstration times and location.

Ingredients

Salad
1 lb. spring mix, butter lettuce leaves or a combination of both, washed, dried and picked through
½ lb small green beans, stem ends trimmed
1 lb. small fingerling potatoes or other small new potatoes, washed
8 eggs, warmed in a bowl of hot tap water to cover
7 oz. dry cured black olives, or Niçoise style olives
1 pint round red cherry tomatoes cut in half if needed
1 pound of Santa Rosa Seafood’s “Smoasted” Hot Smoked Salmon, or large flaked white albacore tuna

Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon minced shallot (approximately ½ of a medium shallot)
1 teaspoon Dijon–style mustard
¼ cup good quality champagne or white balsamic vinegar
¾ cup good quality lemon or mild olive oil
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and dried
3 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh lemon thyme
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Chopped chives and/ or basil chiffonade to garnish

Serves 8

Cooking Process

Step 1: One pot cooking method: In a large, deep pot bring 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to a boil. Meanwhile prepare an ice bath: in a large bowl, add about 3 cups of water to about 4 cups of ice. Set aside. Drop green beans into boiling water, stir and cook 3 minutes or until al dente. Quickly scoop beans from water with a small strainer spoon and spread out evenly on clean paper towels to cool. Next in the same boiling water, keeping the smaller potatoes whole, cut only the larger ones so the potatoes are nearly equal in size. Place potatoes into boiling water, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes until they can be pierced with a paring knife. Remove potatoes with a strainer spoon when they are done. Cool and cut into bite sized pieces.

Step 2: Remove eggs from warm tap water and gently lower into the same pot of simmering water. Return to a full boil, then turn off heat and cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. Leave eggs in hot water for 15 minutes. When eggs are done, chill in ice bath for 5 minutes, peel and cut in half lengthwise with a wet pairing knife.

Step 3: In a medium bowl blend shallot, mustard and vinegar. Slowly drizzle oil into mixture and whisk until emulsified. Add capers, parsley, thyme and pepper. Taste and adjust. Set aside.

Step 4: In a very large bowl, toss greens with just enough of the vinaigrette to evenly coat the leaves. Arrange the beans and potatoes in groups on a large platter or on individual chilled plates. Mound greens in the center of plates or platter. Lightly toss the tomatoes with a small amount of vinaigrette. Arrange tomatoes and olives in groups around the greens on the plates. Add 2 egg halves to each plate. Season eggs and potatoes with salt and pepper. Finish the salad with large chunks of smoked salmon. Drizzle a little dressing over the salmon, beans and potatoes. Top with chives and/ or basil chiffonade. Fabulous!

To prepare this salad in advance, cook and chill all components separately through step 3. If potatoes get cold, be sure and re-heat in the microwave for a minute to remove chill and greatly improve texture.

Larry Tristano & Pancho Hernandez from Triple T Ranch have an amazing salad green mixture called “Primavera” filled with a kaleidoscope of colors, textures and flavors. It has a firm texture so you may want to mix it with other greens. The fingerling potatoes I used are from Zuckerman farms, you could also add some of their famous asparagus to this salad. I love Peach Farm cherry tomatoes, or any of their amazing sliced heirlooms. I found a 7 oz. black pitted olive that is perfect for this recipe from Sue Tennier called Olivasecca. Look for a lemon olive oil and light colored vinegar such as a white balsamic from Big Paw or Nash’s . I often buy lemon thyme and herbs from Jim Eldon of Fiddlers Green Farm.

5 Minute Arabic Salad

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This simple and healthy recipe comes to us from the kitchen of Life’s Ingredients a local organization that seeks to provide families and those experiencing cancer access to local and sustainable foods by means of educational tours and classes.

Ingredients

2 diced roma tomatoes
1 zucchini, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion chopped very fine
2 t cumin
Cilantro and cayenne to taste
2 T lemon juice
1 T water
1 T olive oil
1 t flax oil
4 drops sesame oil

Cooking Process

Toss and refrigerate. Serve with parsley sprigs.

Easy to digest version:
Steam chopped onion, zucchini and tomato for 6 minutes. Chill and mix with other ingredients.

Tuscan White Bean and Tuna Salad

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Here is a recipe from one of the market’s loyal customers: Kenny Belov the owner and GM of FISH. in Sausalito, California. On Sunday, April 5th at 10am and 11am, Kenny will be presenting a cooking demonstration of this recipe at the market.

Ingredients

Tuna: 1.5 pounds local rod & reel caught Albacore tuna, trimmed and cut into 5- to 6-ounce blocks
2-lb cooked Iacopi farms butter beans (dry or fresh, remember dry swells 2-3x)
1-qt olive oil
2-cups thinly sliced organic fennel
2-cups thinly sliced organic red onion
2-cups thinly sliced organic celery
1-cup grated organic carrots
6-tbs nicoise olives (pitted and chopped)
12 oz vinaigrette
5-tbs chopped parsley
Pinch of a nice sea salt
Organic watercress for garnishes and crunch

Serves 4 – 6

Cooking Process

If using dried beans, soak in water for 24 hours, or use the “quick soak” method. In a large pot, bring beans and water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add whole garlic cloves, chopped white onion, celery and whole carrots. Cook for one hour. Reserve beans in cooking liquid.

Use only rod and reel caught or pole caught tuna. Long lines are destroying our oceans. Demand sustainable seafood!

Heat oil to 200’ and place tuna in oil and poach for 5min. Let tuna cool at room temp while preparing the other ingredients.

1). Slice fennel, onions and celery.
2). Using a box grater, grate carrot.
3). Pit and chop olives.
4). Chop parsley.

Toss all ingredients, including tuna and beans (not the cooking liquid) together adding enough vinaigrette so your salad is not too dry or too wet.

Divide salad onto plates, sprinkle a bit of sea salt on each and garnish with watercress and lemon.

Recipe provided by Kenny Belov of FISH.

Spring Spinach Salad

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This is a favorite spring salad from MFM Board member Barbara Garfien and her daughter, MFM staff member Nessia Berner. A family affair perfect for when winter’s still looming and summer is just out of reach!

Ingredients

Salad
½ lb baby spinach
1 ½ cup strawberries, sliced
½ cup feta
½ cup almonds, julienned and toasted
1 tbsp chives, chopped

Dressing
8 tbsp grape seed oil
3 tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 tbsp orange juice
Pepper to taste

Cooking Process

Combine spinach, strawberries and feta. Toss with dressing. Garnish with almonds and chives. Serve!