The Art of the Side Salad

I love being asked to bring food to a social gathering.  It's super satisfying to watch and listen to everyone devouring something you created with your own hands.  Therefore, when Miriam asked me to bring "something from [my] blog" to her potluck going away BBQ, I happily obliged.  I had collard greens and local corn from Boston Organics in my refrigerator that I wanted to use while they were still fresh, so all I had to do was find a recipe or two that fit.

One of my favorite activities (seriously) is searching Tastespotting for recipes featuring a specific ingredient.  When I do these searches, I copy and paste the name of the recipe, the main ingredients, and the URL into an email which I then send to myself.  I label the email "Food" and archive it so that it's searchable later.  Because I have so many of these emails now, I always search my Gmail account first for a specific ingredient before moving onto Tastespotting.  If I'm at home, I'll sometimes search my OCD-ified recipe clippings, but it's generally quicker and easier to search by keyword on the web.

The recipes I settled on were a Quinoa Taco Salad from the Gluten-Free Goddess and a Collard Greens Slaw from A Chow Life.  I had all of the ingredients on hand, save avocados and cilantro for the quinoa salad (my cilantro unfortunately perished during a week-long vacation earlier this summer - one of only two garden deaths thus far!).  Sounds easy enough, right?  Yah.  I had to go to three stores to find cilantro.  THREE.  Trader Joe's didn't have any and Whole Foods had run out.  I finally found some at Shaw's, by which point I was incredibly frantic as there was no way I was going to get to Miriam's on time.  Then ... wait for it ... when I got home, it turned out what I'd been picturing as quinoa in my cabinet was actually couscous.  Yep - I had to go back to the grocery store.  And finally, when I was already elbow-deep in the collard slaw, I realized I'd run out of golden raisins when making my last kugel.  Already about an hour behind and frustrated to the max, I decided that dried cherries would be a sufficient substitute.

The cilantro quest was worth it, despite the anxiety it produced.  I managed to make the two salads, shower, pack for my trip to Tanglewood to see Matt, and get to Miriam's in time for them to fire up the grill.  Both salads were a hit.

QUINOA TACO SALAD (adapted from Gluten-Free Goddess)

(photo from Gluten-Free Goddess)

1 cup quinoa
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Juice from two limes
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 half small red onion, diced fine
1 bell pepper (any color - I had green on hand), cored, seeded, and diced fine
1 cup roasted corn**
1 large or 2 small avocado(s), cut in half lengthwise, pitted, scooped from skin, and diced
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

**There are three varieties of corn one could use in this recipe: canned, frozen, or fresh.  As I had corn on the cob, I needed to cook it (whereas canned would only need to be rinsed and added cold).  Borrowing from instructions on eHow.com, I peeled back the husks, removed the silk, brushed the cobs with canola oil, reassembled the husks, wrapped each ear in aluminum foil, and placed them in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes.  It did not taste particularly roasted ... the method produced more of a steaming effect.  Therefore, when attempting this recipe again, I will cook the corn directly on a grill pan to produce that delicious, smoky, charred flavor, and then cut the kernels from the cob when cool enough to handle (cut off the bottom of the cob, stand it on its cut end, and run a sharp knife down each side of the cob from top to bottom).  The Gluten-Free Goddess suggested roasting frozen corn kernels on a baking sheet for 6 - 7 minutes, so I'm sure that would work well, too.

Cook 1 cup of quinoa in lightly salted water according to the package directions.  Empty into your serving container to cool.  Fluff with a fork.

Add in the fresh chopped cilantro, diced red onion, diced pepper, avocado, and roasted corn kernels.  Drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil and the juice of two limes (this will keep the avocado from browning).  Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Toss to evenly distribute ingredients. 

Serve cold or at room temperature.  Serves 8 as a side (161 calories per half cup).

COLLARD GREENS SLAW (adapted from A Chow Life)

(photo from A Chow Life)

1 bunch collards
4 tbs mayonnaise
4 tbs golden raisins or dried cherries
2 tbs lemon juice (1 lemon)
1 large or 2 medium carrot(s), julienned
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tbs dijon mustard

Pour the raisins or cherries into a little bowl and cover with boiling water.  Let sit for 15 minutes until the raisins or cherries plump.  Drain and dry.

Cut the stems from the collards, stack a few leaves, roll the leaves into a cigar shape, and then slice into a chiffonade.  Place the chiffonaded collards into a colander and rinse well until the water runs clear (collards tend to be dirty).  Dry well in a salad spinner.

Mix the mayonnaise (reduced fat would probably be fine), lemon juice, vinegar, dijon, and scallions to a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Place the collards, julienned carrots, and plumped raisins or cherries in a separate serving bowl and cover with about a half of the dressing.  Toss to coat, and add more if necessary.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve cold or at room temperature.  Serves 8 as a side (80 calories per 1/4 cup).

This is a great alternative to braised or sauteed collards, which can be quite rich and a bit tired.  I'd suggest giving raw collards a try!

- M