Beet Carpaccio with Fennel Puree and Lebanese Pistachio Dressing

saraswati — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:05:37 +0000

Ingredients

2 large roasted or boiled beets, refrigerated overnight
A mandoline slicer

For the Lebanese Pistachio Dressing:
About 1 1/2 oz. salted pistachios, skins removed and chopped
1 large scallion, chopped finely
Lime juice
Sea Salt
EXVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

For the Fennel Puree:
2–3 TBSP. unsalted European butter
about 9 chopped fennel bulbs
EXVOO, enough to cover generously the bottom of a large sautee pan
Sea salt

Preparation

Remove the fronds and tops off of the fennel bulbs and save for the fennel broth. Chop the fennel into chunks and place in water until ready to cook. Cook the fennel in butter and exvoo for about 30 minutes until tender, stirring often for even coloring of the fennel. Puree the fennel in a food processor until the consistency of mashed potatoes is reached. Add more salt if needed. Adjust your mandoline slicer to the thinnest setting and slice the beets paper-thin (as demonstrated in class). Set aside while you make the dressing. For the dressing, place the pistachios, scallion, about 1/2 c. of EXVOO, juice of 1/2 lime, and sea salt in a small mixing bowl. With a fork or whisk, whisk to emulsify the dressing so that it becomes a creamy yellow-green color. Taste for salt and lime, adding more if necessary. To assemble the carpaccio: On a serving plate, smear the bottom of the plate with fennel puree. You will probably use about 1/4 c. of the puree per plate. Next, place each beet slice, one at a time, over the puree, creating an overlapping floral design. Finally, spoon about 1–2 TBSP. of the dressing over the carpaccio and serve.

Arugula & Romaine Salad with Palmito, Pomegranate Seeds, Avocado & Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds) with a Sweet Balsamic Dressing

satananda — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:36:17 +0000

Rules for The Art of the Salad

(we will discuss this more in the next class)

1. Impeccable greens, tossed separately

and at the last minute

2. Beautiful colors

3. Delicious dressing

4. Unique interplay of ingredients

We are taking advantage this month of wonderful pomegranates being sold at Automercado. They are on the expensive side, but worth buying once to try this salad. If you choose not to use pomegranate, you can substitute dried cranberries instead.

For four salads:

2 large handfuls washed and dried beautiful arugula leaves

Leaves from the hearts of two romaine lettuces, washed and dried

Arils (seeds) from 1 large pomegranate

4 stalks of fresh palmito (hearts of palm), cooked to al dente and then cooled and chilled

2 large ripe avocadoes

4 TBSP. raw pumpkin seeds (you can toast the seeds of the ayote squash if you can’t find pumpkin seeds)

Dressing:

½ c. EXVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1 TBSP. Strawberry balsamic dressing

5 drops Stevia or 2 TBSP. honey

1 garlic clove

Juice of ½ lime

1 tsp. Sea Salt

Place all the dressing ingredients in a small jar and close the lid. Shake vigorously to combine all ingredients. Taste, and adjust the dressing if necessary. How it tastes will depend on the quality of EXVOO you use, the quality of the balsamic, the kind of honey or stevia, the kind of salt and how juicy your lime is. So if it doesn’t taste DELICIOUS, try to discern: does it need more acid, or sweetness? If it just tastes flat, it usually needs more salt. Finally, a cheap olive oil will also taste flat and oily, not fruity and aromatic. Refrigerate the dressing until ready to use so that it is nice and cold.

For the palmito: Choose small cylinders of palmito. These will cook rapidly, in 5–10 minutes of boiling salted water. Do not over cook them, as they are most delicious crispy (but tender when pierced with a small knife). Drain them, and let cool. Refrigerate for at least an hour before making the salad. When cool, cut into ¼-inch rounds.

To remove the arils from the pomegranate: Slice the pomegranate around its width to create to halves (meaning, do not cut top to bottom). Get a large mixing bowl and metal spoon ready. Place one half of the pomegranate aril side down, and gently tap or whack the back of the pomegranate with the spoon until all the arils have fallen over your hand into the bowl. Repeat with the second half. You may only need one half of large pomegranate, unless you chose small pomegranates.

Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Cross-section the avocado halves with a knife and scoop out the cubed flesh into a small bowl. Have ready your raw pumpkin seeds.

To assemble the salads:

Have all your prepped ingredients ready: the palmito rounds, pomegranate arils, avocado and pumpkin seeds.

Rip up the arugula into bite-sized pieces (about 1 inch x 1 inch). Cut the romaine leaves also into 1 inch pieces. When you are ready to serve the salads (meaning, when you are ready to eat them), toss the lettuces with the dressing. If your bunches of arugula and romaine are small, you may need less dressing. Add a little, toss, taste, and then decide if you add more. Divide the tossed lettuces onto four plates. Top each salad with equal amounts of (in this order) palmito rounds, avocado, pomegranate arils and pumpkin seeds. If there is a little dressing left you can dribble it over the new ingredients. Serve immediately.

Radha´s Kitchen Blog » Radha´s Recipes

Beet Carpaccio with Fennel Puree and Lebanese Pistachio Dressing

Arugula & Romaine Salad with Palmito, Pomegranate Seeds, Avocado & Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds) with a Sweet Balsamic Dressing