Potato Salad with Arugula and Snap Peas
April 8, 2012
Spring is officially here. Time for fresh potatoes, crisp peas, and tender greens. This dish celebrates them all. With no resemblance to its more traditional mayo-based cousin, this potato salad is fresh and crisp with a delicate balance between marinated potatoes, plump peas, crunchy toasted walnuts, and peppery arugula. The whole lot is tossed in a simple mustard vinaigrette to make an uncomplicated, appetizing side dish for any spring meal.
Read the rest of this entry »
Roasted Beet and Hazelnut Salad with Feta
March 6, 2011
One winter while living in Eugene, Oregon, my roommates and I joined a local farm’s CSA (community-supported agriculture) for the winter. We wanted to support a family that was growing organic vegetables through the winter in the soggy Northwest. As it turned out, that winter was extremely harsh. Most above ground crops froze. Our weekly box from the farm consisted of only vegetables that could be stored in the cellar or the ground.
There was an abundance of potatoes, parsnips, burdock root, sunchokes, and beets. There really was not much else aside from a scant amount of winter squashes that were harvested in the late fall. Since we had spent the bulk of our food budget for the season on our CSA share, we were fully committed to making our meals from the food on hand. It was an education. We ate the roots boiled, pureed, and roasted with just about any flavor combinations you can imagine. Still as the months wore on, our creativity began to wane. It has taken me years to regain my affection for beets. I am still working on burdock…