Salad Handrolls

If you haven't yet experimented with making your own sushi rolls, now is the time to do it. Why now you ask? Because spring vegetables are at their peak and admit it, you're probably getting a little tired of salads but want to keep eating those gorgeous spring veggies. Enter a salad handroll.

I've written here and here about how easy it is to make your own sushi rolls, using toasted nori. With this version, similar to a wrap or burrito, you skip the rice and pile in salad items. I used some clover sprouts, which make for a lovely base, added some arugula and pickled ginger, and then drizzled on the Japanese Carrot Ginger dressing I've been making lately. Cut it in half or just start eating from one end, it's a salad in a roll and super delicious!

Spinach Scacciata - A Sicilian Family Heirloom

Most of my youth I lived in Middletown, Connecticut, a small town on the Connecticut river most known as the home of Wesleyan University, a "little" ivy league liberal arts college. We moved there so my mom could get her Masters' degree but what most influenced me about living in Middletown were the abundance of Mom and Pop Italian eateries.

As I've written before, I worked at Mazzatta's Italian Restaurant, making pizza, calzones, and scacciatas (prounced SkaChaTa). Most of the world knows pizza and calzones - pizza everyone knows and calzones are pizza dough pockets stuffed with ricotta cheese and assorted goodies. While calzones are good when you're in the mood for lots of creamy cheese studded with veggies or some pepperoni or sausage, my favorite choice from the restaurant were the scacciatas - pizza dough wrapped around garlicky broccoli, spinach or potato topped with mozzarella and sausage.

I was not alone in my obsession with scaccaitas. Every major holiday customers would order huge sheet pans of scacciatas from Mazzattas (sheet pans are 18"x26" - that's a whole lotta scacciata!) Easter and Christmas scacciatas were particularly popular and I can recall hours of making multiple sheet pans for a single order. Yet, no one I have met, in either the U.S. or throughout my travels in Italy has heard of these delicious scacciatas. Finally, I did talk to someone who thought the word itself sounded like a Sicilian dialect term, which seemed to confirm my theory that scacciatas must have originated with a single family that brought it to Middletown and popularized the dish. This fit with the legend of Middletown as I was told it; the city was founded in 1650 but when four families from Sicily settled in Middletown in the early 1900s, the Italian American population grew to represent more than two thirds of the inhabitants of the town. So I present to you what I consider a Sicilian family heirloom, although of unknown family heritage!

Morel, Bacon Cheese Burger

Normally I wouldn't write about a burger, I think burgers are such a personal construction that it feels odd to write about this as a recipe. Obviously, this is the exception to my general rule of thumb. I also wanted to share it while the morel season is still here since I think the morels really make this burger special.

I do not eat a lot of red meat but when I do, I always go with high quality meat, meaning free range beef, whether it be a steak or a burger. Free range, also known as grass fed, not only tastes better to me but I like to support meat producers who use sustainable methods that are both healthy for the consumer as well as the animals, which in the case of beef means grass fed. Organic doesn't mean much in the beef world, other than the fact that the cows are fed with organic grain; they're still eating grain, which is not their traditional diet but was developed in order to increase production of meat products. If you want more information on why grass fed or free range beef is better all around, visit here.

Fried Squash Blossoms

For weeks I've been hoping to make fried zucchini blossoms and finally, finally! the stars aligned and I found some fresh blossoms, the time, and willing dinner companions ready for an experiment.

As I mentioned in an earlier post it's best to get the masculine blossoms, which are the ones with the stems on, particularly because that makes it easier to both dip them in the batter as well as turn them in the oil and pull them out of the pan.

I decided not to stuff them with cheese, although I have found several recipes for a similar version. Instead, I went with a light batter that I found here, dipped and fried them for a delicious appetizer that disappeared in seconds! Although this batter is lighter than most frying batters, but you might try it without the cheese for a lighter batter. But definitely use the sparkling water, it makes all the difference.

French Lentils with Purslane

Lentils are so versatile, whether you're cooking Indian dal or French lentil soup, these lovely legumes cook up quickly and have tons of flavor not to mention protein, amino acids and vitamin b!

I recently read somewhere (sorry, forget the specific site) of the combination of French lentils, radicchio and balsamic vinegar. I told myself that if I saw radicchio at the farmers' market I was definitely making a similar dish. No radicchio but I did come across some purslane, another "weed" or wild green, which has a tangy flavor.

Purslane has tremendous nutritional benefits, including EPA which is an Omega-3 fatty acid normally found mostly in fish, some algae and flax seeds. It also contains vitamins (mainly vitamin A, vitamin C, and some vitamin B and carotenoids), as well as minerals like magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. What a powerhouse!

While purslane isn't bitter like radicchio it makes a wonderful substitute. Eaten raw, it has a toothy bite to it, similar to mache with a slightly tangy flavor, less lemony than sorrel. It paired wonderfully with some sauteed bacon, shallots and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Stir the cooked lentils into the mixture and Voila, a quick weeknight dinner full of goodness!

French Lentils with Purslane

2 cups French Lentils
3 cups broth (I used broth leftover from a great chicken soup, but any will do)
1 large bunch purslane, washed and destemmed
1 shallot, minced
2 strips bacon, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Place lentils and broth in sauce pan and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cover and cook 20-25 minutes until soft but still holding their shape. Drain off extra liquid and set aside. Meanwhile, saute bacon bits until almost crisp. Add shallots and cook another minute or two until shallot is translucent and bacon is crisp. Add purslane and allow to cook until just brightening green. Add lentils and cook over low heat to combine mixture with lentils. Add balsamic vinegar and cook another minute. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Hugs!

Corn and Jicama Salad

Jicama is a little known root vegetable that is worth discovering. It is crunch and juicy, similar to celery, but with a sweet, citrus flavor and no stringy bits like celery. Native to Central America it is used in Mexican cooking but cooking is really a misnomer since you never cook it but eat it raw.

I wrote about it here. I find that every time I pick it up at the store I remember that I love this crunchy treat and need to eat it more often! If you come across some jicama in your local stores, buy it and make this salad. It's a sure-fire winner and a great treat for the coming summer potluck season! It keeps well in the refrigerator and all the flavors blend together without any one ingredient overpowering another.