Spring Salad: Warm Lentil Salad with Baby Spinach Shoots

1.  Forsythia on Hudson River 2.  Warm Lentil Salad with Baby Spinach

In New York City, the Forsythia is in bloom, the trees are sprouting and the first of the greens are available at the farmer's market.  I am craving some lentils with the baby spinach shoots I bought at today's market.  Here is the perfect recipe for a cool, windy spring day.

Warm Lentil Salad on a Bed of Baby Spinach Shoots:

Ingredients:

1 cup dried French green (Le Puy) lentils, washed and picked over

1/2 cup crimini  mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, finely sliced

1/4 cup olives, chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Soak, cook and drain your lentils.  Set aside.

2.  In a skillet, saute your onions, mushrooms, and cumin powder until brown.

3.  Then add your lentils, sun dried tomatoes, lemon zest, parsley, olives, and salt and pepper to the sauteed mixture and toss.

3.  Dress with a little squeezed lemon and olive oil.

4.  Serve on a bed of baby greens.

Couscous Salad

Couscous Salad

This simple-to-make salad combines nutty, salty, and  sweet flavors with crispy and crunchy textures.  The spices in the couscous combined with dried fruits, roasted pine nuts, kalamata olives and greens makes the salad so flavorful that dressing is not needed. Add a little turmeric when preparing the couscous for a more vibrant and colorful presentation.

Ingredients for Couscous:

1 1/2 cup couscous

2 1/2 cups water

1-2 teaspoons turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of red pepper

1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit

A pinch of lemon zest

Ingredients for Salad:

1 bunch watercress

1/2 cup sprouted broccoli shoots
1 small onion, finely diced

1/2 of roasted pine nuts

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, sliced thin

Directions for Couscous:

1.  Boil water, then add the spices, raisins and couscous.  Let simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.

2.  Let couscous mixture sit and cool, then serve on plate.

3.  Top with salad ingredients, the serve.

Sauteed Carrot Salad with Feta and Olives

Carrot Salad

I bought some locally grown purple carrots and a red pepper that I would love to combine with my feta cheese, kalamata olives and pine nuts from Titan Foods.  A sprig of mint from my window garden adds the perfect final touch to my Mediterranean inspired salad. 

Ingredients:
 ·      1 tablespoon of olive oil for sauteing
 ·      2 carrots thinly sliced
 ·      1 chopped red pepper
 ·      4 cloves of diced garlic
 ·      hand full of pine nuts
 ·      feta cheese broken up in small pieces
 ·      small handful of diced kalamata olives
 ·      chopped mint (or basil)·
 .      black pepper and a very small pinch of salt (the olives add a salty flavor)
 ·      squeezed juice from 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

1. Saute the carrots in olive oil for about 3 minutes on medium heat (don’t let them get too soft).  
2. Next, turn down the heat; add diced garlic, chopped red pepper and pine nuts.  Gently stir until pine nuts are browned.
3. In a bowl, toss together the sauteed ingredients with the diced kalamata olives, broken up feta, lemon juice, mint, and pepper.  Add salt to taste and serve.
   
   

Dandelion Greens Flavored with Anchovies

This is one of my favorite salad recipes. The secret flavor ingredients here are anchovies and garlic.

First, in a skillet, brown red potatoes with a couple of anchovies, garlic and a little olive oil. The anchovies will melt and give the potatoes a nice salty flavor. 

After the potatoes have softened, add some raw sunflower seeds and lemon zest, throw in a little sea salt and let the sunflower seeds get crunchy.  Last step is throwing in the dandelion greens.   The greens will wilt and all the flavors will merge together, creating a taste sensation.  For a nice finishing touch, mix in a hard boiled egg or two and squeeze lemon juice over your salad.
 
I can never stop eating this salad.  Something about the mixture of salty, bitter, nutty and sour tastes makes it really special.

Dandelion Greens with Anchovies

Recipe: 

First Step:  Saute these ingredients together until potatoes are brown and soft.
5 small red potatoes,
5 anchovies, 
6 cloves of garlic, and
3 tablespoons of olive oil.
  
Second Step:  Add these ingredients to the potatoes and cook until sunflower seeds brown.
1/4 cup sunflower seeds,
zest from 1 lemon,
1 teaspoon of sea salt.

Third Step:  Throw in dandelion greens and stir.

Final step:  Add these ingredients to the mixture:
2 peeled hard boiled eggs,
juice of 1/2 lemon.