Every year Chef Mark Vogel writes an article about various summer salads and looks at them from a different angle. I think you will enjoy this years addition featuring Scallop & Watercress; Garbanzo Bean with Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing and Lobster & Avocado Salad.

Summer Salads

While specific guidelines vary, health pundits generally recommend consuming 7 - 12 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  Seven to twelve servings!  Is that for a man or a swarm of locusts?  Well then, I propose we rethink how we conceptualize fruits and vegetables.

I think wine should count as a fruit.  Hey, it’s made from grapes.  One bottle of wine and I’ve amassed four servings of fruit.  And for that matter, vodka should be a vegetable.  Don’t look at me like I’m nuts.  It’s made from grain.  And ya know, red meat is really kinda sort of a vegetable.

How you ask? Well, what do cows eat?  That’s right…… grass, corn, and grains.  Last time I checked those were all vegetables.

And just to make sure I don’t shirk my daily allowance duties, I assert that cigarettes are a vegetable.  Yes you heard me.  What is tobacco?  That’s right……a plant!  In fact, I think even more of a case can be made for cigarettes being a vegetable than a steak.  Seven to twelve servings?  No problem.

I sense you’re not buying my whimsical arguments.  Oh, alright.  For those of you with more traditional definitions of fruits and vegetables I proudly present to you the 6th edition of Summer Salads; my yearly compilation of plant potpourri.  Of course I had to mix a little protein in with the greens as in the forthcoming scallop and lobster salads.

But all jokes aside, some low fat protein in conjunction with fruits and/or vegetables is the ultimate in a healthy balance. So while you check out the recipes, I’m gonna go throw a steak on the grill and shake up a martini.  But don’t worry; I’m putting pepper on the steak and olives in the martini.  There’s two servings of vegetables right there.

SCALLOP & WATERCRESS SALAD

• 3 tangerines
• Olive oil, as needed for sautéing
• 2 lbs. bay scallops
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Light sprinkle of cayenne pepper
• 2 bunches watercress, thick parts of the stalks removed
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons blue agave syrup*
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Zest two of the three tangerines.  Reserve the zest.  With a sharp paring knife cut away the peel from all three tangerines.  Cut out segments from the tangerines, slicing around the white pith.  Reserve the segments.  After cutting out the segments, part of the center of the tangerines will be leftover.  Squeeze these leftover pieces of the tangerines to obtain four teaspoons of juice.  Reserve the juice.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until it starts to smoke.  Season the scallops with salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Sauté the scallops on very high heat, very quickly.  Remove the scallops to a large bowl.  Add the tangerine segments, watercress, and onion.

In a separate bowl combine the tangerine zest, tangerine juice, agave syrup, Dijon mustard, and some salt and pepper.  Slowly whisk in the 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until incorporated.  Drizzle over the salad and serve.

*Blue agave is the plant from which tequila is made.  Whadda ya know.  Tequila’s a vegetable too!  In addition to being sweet, blue agave syrup is quite tasty.  If you can’t find it in your local supermarket substitute sugar in the dressing or omit the sweetener altogether if you prefer.

GARBANZO BEAN SALAD

• 2 cans garbanzo beans, (chick peas), drained and rinsed.
• Half of a green bell pepper, diced
• Half of a red bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup diced black olives
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 2 plum tomatoes, diced
• Cucumber-Yogurt dressing, as needed (recipe below)

CUCUMBER-YOGURT DRESSING

• 1 pint plain yogurt
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
• Juice of half a lemon, (more or less to taste)
• Small to medium batch of mint leaves, chopped
• (Or try cilantro or a cilantro/mint combination)
• Half teaspoon cumin
• Half teaspoon coriander
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the above ingredients and dress the garbanzo bean salad.  For a thicker sauce, place the yogurt in a colander on top of another pan and allow it to drain in the fridge for an hour or two.  Similarly, after chopping the cucumber, press the excess water out in a fine mesh sieve.  Other optional flavor enhancers include finely chopped onion or garlic.

LOBSTER & AVOCADO SALAD

• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
• 1 lb. cooked lobster meat, coarsely chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Old Bay Seasoning®, to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil or mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons horseradish
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• ½ cup fresh, cooked corn kernels
• One handful chopped cilantro
• 1 jalapeno, minced (optional)

Whisk the melted butter and one tablespoon of the lemon juice.  In a bowl mix the lobster pieces with the butter/lemon mixture and one of the chopped shallots.  Add salt and pepper.  Lightly sprinkle with the Old Bay Seasoning®.  (There’s salt in the Old Bay® so consider this when adding the regular salt).

In another bowl whisk the oil or mayonnaise with the horseradish, remaining one tablespoon of lemon juice, and the lemon zest.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  If it needs more zing, add a little more horseradish or lemon.  If too sharp, add additional oil or mayonnaise.

Spoon into martini glasses and serve.

Chef Mark R. Vogel

Tuscan Bread Salad or Panzanella

Tuscan Tomato, Cucumber & Bread Salad

Right now I am into everything Tuscan, Italy because I just finished reading The Reluctant Tuscan (I will talk much more about this wonderful book in another post) and am now reading Frances Mayes Under The Tuscan Sun, another delightful book about an American buying a home in Tuscany and the effect it has on them.

My wife and I honeymooned in Tuscany years ago and I forgot just how beautiful the hill towns are and how different the life style is compared to the United States. These two books describe in wonderful detail the everyday life of Tuscan families.

After reading The Reluctant Tuscan and halfway through Under The Tuscan Sun I have a new understanding of my childhood experiences with my best friends from Italian decent. I spent a lot of teenage summer weekends at  Pasqual Benvenuto’s home and never understood why they had these huge Sunday meals in the basement set up as a second kitchen with his family and their extended family.

We would spend hours eating and talking and watching his family yell at each other, then hug and kiss. It looked bizarre to me then but now I understand it is just part of their culture. Food and the act of dining together is a huge aspect of the Italian lifestyle and now I want to learn everything I can about Tuscan cooking.

Tuscan Tomato, Cucumber & Bread Salad

Last night I had the opportunity to prepare this simple salad with fresh local ingredients that we always have on hand while vacationing in Avalon at the Jersey shore. I brought down some wonderful extra virgin olive oil given to us by a friend and some six year old Pedroni’s Aceto Balsamico di Modena (Balsamic Vinegar of Modena) but you can use a less expensive balsamic vinegar and have great results.

Let me quote Frances Mayes as she describes how to simply put this salad together,

“Panzanella, little swamp, is another tomato favorite, a salad of oil, vinegar, tomatoes, basil, cucumber, minced onion, and stale bread soaked in water and squeezed dry - a true invention from necessity. Since bread must be bought every day, Tuscan cooking makes good use of leftovers.”

Nothing could be easier. I used 3 small tomatoes cut up in small bites, half a cucumber also cut up into small bites, minced onion, fresh local basil, 8 slices of leftover hard baguette seasoned with salt and pepper. Like many Tuscan cooks, I added the olive oil and vinegar by eye but you should know the typical ratio is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar.

The bread was soaked in water and squeezed as dry as possible. At first I didn’t think it would taste very good but after dressing the salad and letting it sit for a while, the bread gave the salad a wonderful texture and absorbed some of the seasoning with the juices from the vegetables. It was amazing.  And it went great with a chilled bottle of Prosecco!

A Romanatic Valentine’s Day Salad

I am convinced that making a great salad is within everyone’s grasp. The secret is in knowing how to make a great, basic vinaigrette and then in dressing it up in any number of ways so it complements your salad ingredients. A salad should be a refreshing and healthful combination of flavors and textures: a mixture of tender and crisp greens, the interplay of sweet against salty against bitter. Start thinking of salad composition in terms of these contrasts, and you will be able to put together a great version for your Valentine.

A Romantic Valentine’s Day Meal For Her

Be sure to check out my previous post on putting together a romantic home cooked meal for your sweetheart and look for upcoming blog posts for more ideas and recipes. So far I have talked about:

Romantic Valentine’s Day Meal Suggestions

Romantic Cheese Course

Lobster Bisque Recipe

and I put it all together with music and flower suggestions, along with cooking videos and polls on my new Squidoo Lens, A Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner. Please check it out, give it a rating and send me your comments at the end.

How to Make a Vinaigrette

First things first: the vinaigrette. The general rule of thumb for making a vinaigrette is one part vinegar or other acidic ingredient, such as citrus juice to three to four parts of oil. For example, a basic vinaigrette need contain nothing more than ¼ cup vinegar and ¾ to 1 cup of oil.

Generally speaking, the oil and vinegar are forced into an emulsion by vigorous whisking. A spoonful of mustard contains emulsifiers that make that easier. So now, the basic formula for 1 cup of vinaigrette becomes:

¼ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard
¾ - 1 cup oil

The salad I have in mind for our Valentine’s Day dinner includes the now-classic combination of roasted pears, toasted walnuts and creamy goat cheese, so I want to make sure that I make some additions to the vinaigrette that will complement these ingredients.

Vinaigrette for Pear, Walnut and Goat Cheese Salad

Optional ingredients are in italics

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (you may use ¼ cup of either, or a mixture of both vinegars, depending on what you have in your pantry)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (smooth or whole grain—the texture is up to you)
2 tsp honey
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced shallot
¼ teaspoon Herbs de Provence
½ roasted pear, pureed in a food processor or just mashed very well with a fork
3/4 - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil (if you do not like the flavor of olive oil, you can use a more neutral vegetable oil, such as canola)

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