Chunky Shrimp Dip and Salad
This chunky shrimp dip doubles as shrimp salad. It’s a breeze to make and fresh dill really makes it pop.
Tag: salad
Bean and Vegetable Salad with Cumin, Lime, and Cilantro Dressing
This bean and veggie salad is packed full of antioxidants, fiber, and deliciousness. It’s easy to make and also easy to customize to suit your tastes. We enjoy this not only as a salad or side dish but also as a bean and veggie salsa …
Purple Mizuna and Potatoes Recipe
Colorful. Delicious. Healthy. Easy. This recipe checks all the boxes for a quick, delicious dish. What’s even better is that this can be enjoyed hot as a side dish or cold as a salad. It’s a genius recipe all the way around.
I grow my own mizuna and it’s an easy green to grow. Not much bothers it and it’s very versatile. I love it in salads, stir-frys, soups, and just sauteed with a little olive oil. There are quite a few varieties of mizuna but purple mizuna is my favorite not only because it’s colorful but because the purple stems are also packed full of anthocyanins, a powerful antioxidant. This particular variety is Mizuna Beni Houshi from Baker’s Creek Heirloom Seeds, one of my favorite seed companies.
Isn’t it gorgeous? Thanks to autumn and therefore frost moving into our area, I just harvested the last of my mizuna for the season and I must say it was quite a hefty harvest. The other beauty of mizuna is it keeps pretty well in the fridge and doesn’t immediately wilt as some greens do.
All this recipe involves is chopped mizuna, boiled potatoes and garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I let the heat from the potatoes wilt the mizuna and then toss it all together. If you don’t have a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid, a pan with a lid or even a makeshift lid of aluminum foil will work just fine. All you need is a few minutes of steam time to bring this all together.
Purple Mizuna and Potatoes Recipe
- 8 small potatoes, preferably red and/or gold, scrubbed and cut in half
- 1-2 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed (optional)
- 2-3 cups chopped purple mizuna
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Place potatoes and garlic in a medium-size saucepan and cover by at least 2 inches with cold water
- Bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, just until the potatoes are fork tender
- While potatoes are cooking, chop the mizuna and place in a dish or pan
- When potatoes are done cooking, use a slotted spoon and pile the hot potatoes and garlic on top of the mizuna
- Add olive oil, salt, and pepper but do not stir
- Cover and let sit for about 10 minutes
- Remove cover and toss well
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few hours to serve as a chilled salad.
Tip: When I make this to serve solely as a chilled salad, I only let the whole dish steam for a few minutes. This leaves a little crunch to the mizuna. Also, a teaspoon or two of freshly-squeezed lemon juice really brightens this up when served as a salad.
Isn’t that crazy easy? We love this both hot and chilled so I usually make a big batch to enjoy both ways.
Wondering what to make with mizuna? Now you know just one of the ways you can use it. Enjoy!
Couscous Salad with Citrus Dressing
Want a colorful, healthy salad that’s fast and easy? This is it. This will be one of your easy potluck recipes, one of your “what to take to a cookout” recipes, one of your “holiday salad recipes”, and definitely one of your overall go-to easy …
Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Roasted Broccolini
If you’ve never had farro before, it’s a nutty, delicious grain that’s packed full of protein. Farro, like quinoa, works well in both hot and cold dishes, making it very versatile. Farro is popular in many Mediterranean dishes and can be a perfect addition to a …
Cucumber Salad Recipe
I’ve been posting some of my classic recipes recently, such as my potato salad with peas and my easy refrigerated pickled beets, so here’s another classic for you. This simple little salad has a number of different names – cucumber salad, refrigerator pickles. pickled cucumbers, and the obvious, cucumbers in vinegar. No matter what you call it, it’s easy to make and a fabulous way to preserve your cucumber bounty, whether it’s from your garden or your over-ambitiousness at the farmer’s market. Because of the vinegar, this dish stores easily in your fridge for weeks and makes a perfect side to grilled ribs and chicken. They’re also great on burgers and hot dogs and nothing can be easier to make.
I prefer to make mine with rice vinegar, as it’s not as sharp as white vinegar, but white will certainly work.
Cold Cucumber Salad (Refrigerator Cucumber Salad) Recipe
- 2 lbs. pickling cucumbers (about 6 medium)
- 1 medium white onion, sliced thin
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup water
Remove the ends from cucumbers and discard. Slice the cucumbers thin – I prefer mine sliced over shaved with a mandolin, but you can try it both ways to see what you like – and place them in a large container with a lid. Thinly slice your onion and add to the cucumbers.
Sprinkle the cucumbers and onions with salt and toss well. Sprinkle with pepper, add vinegar and water and toss well again. Using the back of a large spoon or a potato masher, gently press everything down in the bowl.
Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 days, stirring them up and pressing them back down a few times. The cucumbers and onions will release their moisture and create a brine as they mix with the salt, vinegar, and water.
You now have quick pickles, basically, and they’re oh, so good!
If you have fresh dill on hand, it’s a delicious addition to this. Also, you can toss with fresh tomatoes before serving – just don’t add them ahead of time, as tomatoes will lose their flavor when refrigerated too long.
You can also use red onions here but be warned that they can turn your salad pink, especially the longer it sits.
Did you have this salad (or pickles) growing up? What did you call them? I’d love to hear about it! And now you know an easy way to preserve them when you’re wondering what to do with a lot of cucumbers.
Enjoy!
Fennel, Tomato and Cucumber Salad
If you follow my blog on Facebook, you may have seen me share a photo of this salad recently. This is a salad that celebrates summer veggies. It’s cool, crisp, colorful and, of course, delicious. It seems almost too simple of a recipe to post …