delicious food that’s easy to make

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Salad Sunday

One of my all-time favorite salads is a Greek salad. This is surprising to me considering that I hate tomatoes, and tomatoes are a big part of a Greek salad. But tomatoes are easy enough to avoid, and I love the mix of textures and bright, briny flavors of a good Greek salad. How many times can I say Greek salad in one paragraph?

(Greek salad sidebar: One summer during graduate school, I studied abroad in Prague for a few weeks. Good food was difficult to come by, for a poor grad student. But one of my favorite things to do was go to a little restaurant just outside the old town square and order a Greek salad, bez rajčat. The salads, to my recollection, had no lettuce. They consisted of cubes of cucumber, cubes of feta, kalamata olives, and a beautiful tangy dressing. I am sure the waitstaff thought I was bonkers for rejecting the tomatoes, but they kindly made the salads tomato-free , and they were SO GOOD.) 

My husband and I usally roast a chicken breast to have with our Greek salad. If I am feeling fancy, I will also whip up some hummus and pita. (Or buy one or both of those things pre-made from the grocery store.) The last time I made hummus, I only used half a can of chickpeas, so I roasted the other half-can in the air fryer with a little salt and olive oil until they were crunchy, and added those to the salad too.  

SALAD INGREDIENTS (all to taste):·      

  • Romaine lettuce, chopped
  • Red onion, finely sliced
  • Cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced into thin half-moons
  • Cherry tomatoes (if you like that kind of thing)
  • Kalamata olives
  • Feta (the good kind, in brine), crumbled

CHICKEN MARINADE INGREDIENTS (adapted from Savory Nothings)

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or more to taste
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

  • Combine ingredients. Marinate chicken breast for 30 minutes. 
  • Pre-heat air fryer to 390 degrees for 4 minutes. Then air fry chicken breast for 8-12 minutes at 375 degrees.

VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS (from Love and Lemons)

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

  • Whisk all ingredients together until emulsified.

Combine salad ingredients. Top with chicken (or roasted chickpeas) and vinaigrette. Enjoy! 

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Chicken Paprikas

This is one of my favorite cold-weather recipes. It’s also what I consider to be peak comfort food. (Kari wrote recently about comfort food, and got me thinking about what I turn to when I need to nourish my body and my soul.) Paprikas is right up there. It’s creamy, spicy, hearty, and warming. Plus, it’s very, very easy.

(I recognize that for a lot of people, the instant that you say “dice an onion” a recipe ceases to be “easy.” But if you are not a big onion dicer, you can usually find pre-diced onion at the grocery store in the convenience foods section, so please don’t let the presence of a diced onion deter you from trying this.)

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it is very flexible. Have leftover chicken from dinner last night? Use that. Only have frozen chicken thighs? Use that. Want to see if bell peppers would be good? Toss some in with the onion. Have two pounds of chicken breast instead of one? Great. Have one potato instead of two? Super. Have an extra half-cup of chicken stock lying around? Add it right in. No sour cream, but you have Greek yogurt? Excellent, that works too. Don’t like spice? Don’t use hot paprika. Don’t have a potato but you have some frozen diced hash browns? Those would probably be great. Use less or more sour cream. Use less or more flour. Use a potato or don’t. This recipe is very adjustable and always delicious. It’s also amazing as leftovers, and I am not a person who particularly relishes leftoevers.

It is, however, not particularly photogenic.

Chicken Paprikas (adapted from Joy of Cooking)

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked or not*, diced, shredded, or not

1 Tbsp vegetable oil or butter or a combination of both

1 white onion, diced

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced (optional but highly recommended)

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

2-4 Tbsp paprika (any combination of sweet or hot paprika you like)

1 tsp salt

Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

8-16 oz sour cream, light or full fat

2-4 Tbsp flour**

1 package egg noodles

Instructions

  1. Add oil/butter to the bottom of a large pot. Turn stove to medium and add diced onion once the butter has melted.
  2. Saute the onions gently until they are translucent.
  3. Add paprika and salt to the onions and stir until the onions are well coated.
  4. Add chicken stock and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (You can skip this step if your chicken is already cooked.)
  5. Prepare egg noodles according to package instructions.
  6. If using chicken breasts, remove from broth and shred; return shredded meat to pot.
  7. Peel and dice potatoes, then add to the pot.
  8. Cook for 15 minutes more.
  9. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add flour to sour cream and whisk until completely incorporated.
  10. Ladle 3-5 spoonfuls of broth into the sour cream/flour mixture and whisk to temper. Do this three times, then add sour cream and broth mixture back to pot, stirring to incorporate. Cook for five more minutes.
  11. Add salt and cayenne to taste.
  12. Spoon paprikas over egg noodles (maybe with a dollop of sour cream/Greek yogurt on top?) and enjoy.

* This works great with shredded rotisserie chicken, which you can buy in bulk from Costco.

** The flour is purely for thickening, so you could probably use cornstarch instead or just skip it entirely. This can be quite soupy without the flour, though. Honestly, it can be quite soupy even with the flour; you will probably have to play with your sour cream to flour ratio a bit to get it perfect. If you like a thick sauce, I would err on the side of more flour than less. You can also squish some of the potatoes so that they add to the thickness of the soup.

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Salad Sunday

I made a big fall salad last week and it was SO GOOD. It was a little fussy, because I went All Out by roasting a sweet potato and making a batch of crispy quinoa. But the result was well worth the prep work. And it wasn’t difficult prep work; just a little time consuming. I enjoyed it so much, I made it again yesterday, this time omitting the sweet potato and crunchy quinoa. Still delicious.

I started with the basic premise of my favorite fall salad, this mesclun salad with goat cheese and maple glazed pecans. But then I changed nearly everything about it. Except for the dressing. The dressing is so good.

This salad has responsibility spinach plus spicy, feathery arugula which pairs well with the sweet/tangy dressing and the creamy goat cheese. It has pomegranate seeds for a tart, juicy burst of freshness. It has roasted sweet potato for a little meatiness and that nice crunchy, mealy combo of textures. It has crispy quinoa for additional protein and crunch. It has sliced apples for additional tartness and another texture. Finally, it has nuts or seeds for more protein and fat, sweetness, and crunch. Everything about this salad is SO DELICIOUS and screams “There is so much to enjoy about fall!” 

Spinach and Arugula Fall Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette (inspired by Once Upon a Chef)

Salad Ingredients:

  • Baby spinach (10 oz)
  • Arugula (10 oz)
  • Pomegranate seeds (2.5 oz) (or you can use dried cranberries or dried cherries)
  • Tart apple, sliced thinly (1)
  • Goat cheese, crumbled (4 oz)
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)
  • Pecans (5 oz) (or nuts/seeds of your choice; my favorite are the Sweet & Spicy Pecans from Trader Joe’s)

Optional Extra Salad Ingredients:

  • Sweet potato (1)
  • Cinnamon (to taste)
  • Cayenne (to taste)
  • Extra virgin olive oil (1 Tbsp)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Quinoa (1 cup)
  • Water (2 cups)
  • Extra virgin olive oil (1 Tbsp)
  • Kosher salt (1/2 tsp)

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

  • Minced garlic (1-2 tsp, although you will want to measure with your heart)
  • Minced shallots (2 Tbsp)
  • Salt (1/2 tsp)
  • Freshly ground black pepper (1/2 tsp)
  • Maple syrup (3 Tbsp)
  • Dijon mustard (1 1/2 Tbsp)
  • Red wine vinegar (4 Tbsp)
  • Vegetable oil (10 Tbsp)

Directions:

1a. (Totally optional step if you like fussiness and have time and inclination.) Prepare the crispy quinoa. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse 1 cup of quinoa under cold water for 1 minute. Add rinsed quinoa and two cups water to a small saucepan. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until all the liquid is gone, about 15 minutes. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once quinoa is done cooking, allow to cool slightly. Then pour onto prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil and salt to quinoa and mix through with your hands. Roast for 15 minutes, then stir. Roast for an additional 10 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the quinoa is golden and crisp. 

1b. (Totally optional step if you like fussiness and have time and inclination.) Prepare the roasted sweet potato. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Wash and peel a sweet potato. Cut the sweet potato in half-inch cubes. (This can be very imprecise.) Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the sweet potato cubes with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, and cinnamon and cayenne if using. Spread the cubes on the baking sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, until cubes are brown around the edges.

1c. Prepare the salad. Add a handful of baby spinach and a handful of arugula to a large bowl. Add a sprinkling (a tablespoon or two) of each of your toppings: crumbled goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, crispy quinoa, roasted sweet potato, pecans, etc. Top with another handful of spinach and arugula, then repeat until your bowl is full of yummy fall goodness. Slice the apple right before serving and add it to the bowl.

2. Prepare the dressing. Add all the ingredients to a jar, cover and shake until emulsified. 

3. Dress and eat. Add dressing to your salad, toss, and enjoy. 

Notes: 

  • I store the quinoa and the sweet potato in separate Tupperware containers in the fridge. They keep nicely for several days, or until your husband eats them because they are delicious even by themselves.
  • This recipe makes a large portion of dressing, but I love this vinaigrette so much I like to keep it on hand in the fridge. I use emptied and washed glass salad dressing jars to store my own dressing.
  • This salad is endlessly customizable. When I don’t have pecans, I use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds or pistachio nuts. Sometimes I don’t have an apple, so I don’t include one. If the grocery store doesn’t have pomegranate seeds, I’ll use dried cranberries or dried cherries.

What salad do you get really excited about? Are there salad ingredients you need on every salad… or any you REFUSE to eat? I won’t eat a tomato or a beet — really, I’m quite sure — thank you very much, and I really prefer to avoid blue cheese, although occasionally I will tolerate it on a wedge salad.

I am kinda sorta attempting to complete NaBloPoMo, with the full expectation that life will make it impossible any day now. If you want to follow along, or join the fun, check out San’s blog here.