Tuna Salad Nicoise Recipe

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I try my hardest to get my husband on the healthy, veggie eating bandwagon. He’s pretty good about trying things although sometimes strange colors upset him (he thought purple potatoes, for instance, were just “wrong”). However, knowing that he likes tuna salad sandwiches, I decided to try this recipe for dinner one night. Success! Although he didn’t say he’d ask for this dish again, he cleaned his full plate, which is good enough in my book.

For the ultimate in fresh color to tempt your vision as well as you palate, use different varieties of the base ingredients. I’m not adding specific measurements because with this salad, you only need to pile the ingredients on the plate so use whatever you have or whatever ratio is most delicious to you and your family. The recipe below makes one full plate of hearty salad.

This salad is a feast for the senses and sure to tempt even the pickiest veggie eater.

Tuna Salad Nicoise

Mixed baby greens and/or herbs

1 packet of tuna in olive oil (or 1/4 pound freshly grilled tuna steak)

3 baby potatoes, boiled (use purple, red or yellow or a combo)

1 hardboiled egg, peeled and cut into quarters

1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted (use a cherry pitter)

1 green onion, white and green parts sliced on the diagonal

Green beans or asparagus spears, cooked and tossed with Italian dressing

4 Baby heirloom tomatoes, halved and tossed with strips of fresh basil

Your favorite oil and vinegar salad dressing

To assemble salad, place greens in center of plate. Top with tuna. Surround salad with remaining ingredients. Grind a bit of black pepper over the top. Drizzle with salad dressing.

January 31, 2012: Cremini Mushroom Salad Recipe

In trying to find a new, light side dish to serve with baked fish, I turned to The Food Network online. After reviewing several recipes, I put together the best of them and came up with this recipe.

Cremini Mushroom Salad served as a side to coconut milk poached cod on a bed of couscous

Cremini Mushroom Salad

4 ounces cremini (baby Portabella) mushrooms

¼ large red onion

¼ small head cauliflower
8 baby Heirloom tomatoes of various colors, thinly sliced

1 t. dried parsley (or 1 T. fresh parsley)

2 T. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 arugula and 8 frisee leaves

Crispy cheese discs*

Using a mandolin, thinly slice the mushrooms, onion and cauliflower and place in a mixing bowl. Add tomatoes, parsley, oil, vinegar, soy sauce and black pepper; toss together. Allow ingredients to sit at room temperature for at least an hour.

To serve, divide arugula and frisee between four plates. Spoon a quarter of the mushroom salad on top of the arugula; top with cheese disc.

*To make cheese discs, grate about an ounce of Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Heat a nonstick skillet to medium. Scatter the cheese in the pan and cook until crispy on the bottom, flip and cook the other side until golden brown (much like a sausage patty). Carefully remove with a spatula and cool before cutting into four pieces.

July 2, 2011: Pasta Ponza Recipe

Recently I bought a container of beautiful miniature heirloom tomatoes at the grocery store. They just looked so colorful and yummy, I knew I had to come up with a special dish for them. I found this one, which I adapted, online at the Food Network website; it’s one provided by Giada de Laurentis.

Tip: The one thing I would do differently next time is not roast the tomatoes as this process turned them into mush. I think using them raw and adding freshly toasted bread cubes - use my recipe for homemade bread crumbs here - would be better. Tell me what you think.

Pasta Ponza

½ pound penne pasta
2 cups small tomatoes (grape, cherry, baby heirloom, etc.)
1 – 2 T. olive oil
½ t. kosher salt
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 t. dried minced parsley
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions, drain and reserve half cup of cooking water.

Meanwhile, cut tomatoes in half. Toss with olive oil, salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning. Place in an 8 inch square baking pan. Top with bread crumbs and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees for half an hour, until the bread crumbs are golden and crispy.

Toss together the cooked pasta, the baked tomatoes, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Add a bit of the reserved cooking water if it seems too dry.