Insalata Primavera – Dandelion Salad

Summer is here and the garden flourishes. I love the summer. It is a time to prepare really fresh dishes, directly from the garden. The flavors of your garden are just so much more intense. Simple ingredients become a culinary festival. I saw a dandelion, Taraxacum Officinale in Latin and in Italian Tarassaco Comune, weed yesterday. I had a love/hate relationship with dandelions. I spent most of my Saturdays as a child removing dandelions from my yard yet when the flower turned into those balls of fluff, I would look forward to blowing them into the wind. I guess this means that I did a poor job removing the weeds in the first place.

Italy brought a new facet to dandelions. I was amazed to find them in my salad bowl. I looked in disbelief and asked if they were edible. I thought my friends were playing a joke, “Let’s see what we can get the dumb American to eat.” When they scarfed down the salad I realized this was no joke.

Tentatively I nibbled some of the leaves. I could not believe that this weed, I worked so hard to eliminate from the yard as a child, was actually good to eat. The taste is a bit bitter, very similar to arugula. This is a great salad. It is refreshing and has just enough energy to help you make it to dinner. It is important that the leaves are picked before the flower blooms. Once the flower blooms, the leaves will become very bitter. There are various versions around but this is mine.

Ingredients for 2 servings

¼ lbs. (100 g.) Dandelion leaves
1/8 lbs. (50 g) Radicchio
2 hardboiled eggs
1 small red onion
12 halves Walnut
Salt
Pepper
4 tbs. Olive Oil
1 tbs. Apple Vinegar

Preparation:

Cut the Eggs in quarters. Wash, dry and break the Dandelion and Radicchio leaves into smaller pieces.

Thinly slice the Onions and chop the walnuts into large pieces.

In a small bowl, add the Olive Oil, salt, pepper and Apple Vinegar. Stir the liquid together.

In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients, except the vinaigrette. Dribble the vinaigrette over the salad and toss the salad a couple of times. Serve with fresh bread.

Tags: Italian Recipes Lombardia Salads Summer Foods Gourmet Foods Travel Italy

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Insalata di Pasta – Tuna Pasta Salad

Whether you find yourself in an air conditioned building or outside in the summer heat, when the sun is high and the temperature and humidity stifling, your appetite falls. It is a natural defense mechanism. Restaurant owners have long known this fact and intentionally keep the temperature in the dining room similar to springtime in Alaska. You eat more when it is cold and less when it is hot. The types of food your body desires also changes. Savory foods with lots of salt become less appealing and fruits and vegetables are a natural choice to replenish the fluids lost during the hot days.

Digestion is also slower in the heat, or at least it seems that way. Just imagine a Thanksgiving’s feast when the temperature is near 100. Italian foods change over the course of the year. Fruits and vegetables become protagonists as the come into season and savory slow cooked meats and stews take over in the winter. Summer dishes are also easier to prepare and require little or no time over the stove. Who wants to spend an hour in the kitchen with the oven and fires going full blast? Cold salads, usually prepared very early in the morning, are one of the solutions. This does not mean just green salads instead it includes salads where the basic ingredients are in season.

One of my favorite salads is Tuna pasta salad. Cool, fresh yet still with consistency, something to grind between your teeth and leave you psychologically as well as nutritionally satisfied. The preparation is quick and can be stored for several days.

Ingredients:

2 lbs (1 kg.) short pasta like Fusili, Penne or Bowties
12 oz. can of good quality tuna in water
2 stalks of celery (do not cook the celery)
4 oz. spring onions under oil or pickled
2 medium carrots
4 oz. fresh peas or frozen peas
4 oz. grilled bell peppers under oil
4 oz. artichoke hearts
1 oz. capers under oil
4 oz. pitted olives
2 tomatoes sliced
Parsley finely chopped (for garnish)
¼ cup Olive Oil

Preparation of fresh carrots and peas:

Dice the vegetables into ¼ inch cubes. When the Water for the pasta boils place the vegetables in a wire basket and dip for 3 minutes in the boiling water. Remove the wire basket and place under running cold water for 30 seconds. Let drain.

Frozen Vegetables, Pickled Vegetables or Vegetables under oil require no preparation.

Preparation:

Place abundant water in a large pot. Add 3 tablespoons of salt. Boil over high heat. If using fresh peas and carrots cook them for 3 minutes as described above.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water as described on the package. For short pasta this will usually be 7-9 minutes. Drain the pasta and cool under running water for 30 seconds.

Place the pasta in a large bowl. Place the remaining ingredients, except the tomatoes, in a separate bowl with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and two turns of freshly ground pepper. Mix the vegetable ingredients to evenly distribute the Olive Oil. Add the remaining ingredients, except the tomatoes, to the pasta. Mix well. Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Finally position the tomatoes around the edge of the bowl and drizzle a little olive oil over the tomatoes. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top of the salad.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. I would prepare this at least 24 hours before serving.

Serving: Always allow the salad to come to room temperature before serving. This will take about 30 minutes.

Tags: Gourmet Foods Salads Antipasti Pasta Italian Recipes Food and Wine Travel Italy

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Insalata di Riso – Rice Salad - Summertime Treat

True Italian food is simplicity exemplified. Fresh ingredients mixed and matched to balance flavor and texture. Seasonality plays an important role in traditional cuisine. When the weather is cold, savory sauces and meats while fish and cold dishes populate the hot summer months. Insalata di Riso is a summertime favorite when the temperature rises and the appetite subsides. Just about any vegetable in season can be a part of this expression of freshness. Quick to prepare, full of vitamins and all the necessary elements of a balanced diet, Rice Salad is the perfect choice for a hot summer evening or a quick lunch.

That queasy, uncomfortable feeling following a heavy meal on a hot day can zap energy and generally ruin the rest of the day. Nutrition is necessary, we have to eat, we love to eat, but then we pay the price. As Raffaella would say, “I need a nap.” Sure fruits are great but they do not really satisfy and I do not consider munching on celery or carrots as a meal. Eating a sandwich more than once a day is not a solution either, it is just not right. Think about cooking on a hot day, do you want to spend your evening over a hot stove when the temperature is 90+ degrees, even with air conditioning you still feel the heat.

Insalata di Riso is a perfect solution. It takes less than 30 minutes to put it together. It can be prepared in the early morning hours or over the weekend and kept in the icebox. A cool, flavorful and healthy solution right for any day, Insalata di Riso can be made with just about anything. Pickled vegetables, Tuna fish, hot dogs, fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables, capers, the trick is in the proportions. Generally the rule is 1 part rice and 1 part everything else with some Olive Oil to hold it all together. This is the recipe my kids loved.

2 lbs (1 kg.) uncooked Arborio rice
8 oz. (220 gr.) hotdogs (diced in ¼ inch cubes)
8 oz. (220 gr.) Olives Pitted
16 oz. (450 gr.) Vegetables, carrots, peas, artichoke hearts, baby celery, baby corn
4 oz. (110 gr.) thinly cut mushrooms – bottled under oil
1 oz. (20 gr.) capers
2 hardboiled (8 minute) eggs
¼ cup Olive Oil

Preparation of fresh vegetables:

Dice the vegetables into ¼ inch cubes. When the Water for the rice boils place the vegetables in a wire basket and dip for 3 minutes in the boiling water. Remove the wire basket and place under running cold water for 30 seconds. Let drain.

Frozen Vegetables, Pickled Vegetables or Vegetables under oil require no preparation.

Fill a medium pot to ¾ full with water. Bring to a fast boil. If using fresh vegetables dip them in the boiling water for 3 minutes and remove.

Pour the rice in the water. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 18 minutes. Strain the rice in a colander and run cold water over the rice for 30 seconds. Place the rice in a large glass bowl.

Add the diced hotdogs, pitted olives, sliced mushrooms, capers and diced vegetables. Pour the olive oil on top. Mix thoroughly with two spoons.

Slice the two hardboiled eggs and place them across the top of the salad. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour.

Serving: Allow the salad to sit outside the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before serving. The salad should be cool but not cold.


Tags: Gourmet Foods Salads Italian Recipes Food and Wine Travel Italy

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