Saturday, January 16, 2010

My Deli Salads


Yesterday we filmed a TV commercial at the restaurant. Part of the photo shoot was a picture of some of the salads we rotate through. There are at any given time 6 (or more) salads you can choose from to accompany a sandwich. things we rotate through include Cowboy Caviar, (a roasted corn and black bean salad), Russian Potato Salad, Tabuleh Salad, Fall harvest Salad (Roasted acorn squash and wild rice) Frijoles Locos(Pinto bean and roasted poblano salad), Antipasti salad (pasta with lots of other stuff), etc, etc.
The combinations are endless! I am going to include a couple of recipes here. All of these salads are easy to make, low fat, and extremely nutritious. I will publish these recipes on a regular basis for your dining enjoyment.

Fall Harvest Salad

1 cup wild rice
1 acorn squash (peeled, seeded, and diced into 3/4 inch chunks)
1 cup almond (lightly roasted)
1 cup dried cranberries
2 stalk of celery (fine dice)
1/2 red onion (fine dice)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use safflower for this salad)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Technique: Add wild rice to 3 cups of water and boil until rice is soft. At the same time, toss squash in a little oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in 350 degree oven until cooked but still firm.Saute celery and onion briefly to soften. Combine oil, honey, vinegar, sage, and cayenne (if using). Whisk until smooth. Toss all ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste.


Pintos Locos

4 cups cooked pinto beans (cook them fry dry, don't use canned beans!)
3 poblano peppers (roasted, skins removed, and cut into strips)
1 red onion (fine dice)
2 serrano peppers (fine dice)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch cilantro
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
juice of 3 limes
salt and pepper to taste

Technique: Cook beans off until soft yet firm. Roast peppers of open flame or broil in oven. Let the peppers sweat in a closed container for 30 minutes. Peel, remove seeds, and cut into strips. Combine all ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and allow to sit for 30 minutes at room temperature for flavors to blend.

All of my readers should know that I will be posting recipes that I have developed myself. If there is an opportunity to publish someone else's recipe, I will give full credit to the author.

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