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Posted by Heidi Swanson

https://www.101cookbooks.com/nicoise-salad/

https://www.101cookbooks.com/?p=17847

Let’s talk about Niçoise Salad. It’s an arrangement traditionally made with ingredients local to the Provencal city of Nice. Purists often argue that a proper salad Niçoise has a long list of hard nos. No lettuces, no boiled potatoes, green beans are out, avocados (lol), no vinaigrette, and on and on. The list is extensive and if you want a deeper dive into the history, read this. What is allowed? Olive oil-packed anchovies and raw tomatoes, and salt. Many versions have evolved from this including the one I make most.

Nicoise Salad: The Inspiration

In recent years Niçoise salad has become a frequent “go-to” when we have friends or family over. This is because arranged on a platter it is a gorgeous, abundant, queen of a salad. More important, in this modern age, it can accommodate nearly everyone’s dietary preferences. This is no small feat here in Los Angeles and a huge win-win in my book. This version works for vegans and vegetarians, people avoiding dairy, as well as anyone gluten-free. We’re vegetarian, but not every one is. If you want to shift things toward a more traditional Niçoise salad, you can retain the fish component. We all have a friend who is passionate about tinned fish – have them bring a favorite to serve on the side.

Niçoise Salad Ingredients

• Beans or lentils: For a vegetarian version (as pictured) replace the traditional fish component – tuna or anchovies – with beans or lentils. You see freshly shelled cranberry beans in the photos here (boiled until tender), but French lentils are another great option. Chickpeas or cannelloni beans also work well.
• Potatoes: Small, waxy potatoes are ideal here.
• Lettuces: Some camps embrace lettuces as a component here, others, not so much. I love to include pockets of perfect little gem lettuces. They’re great for scooping and wrapping other ingredients and lend a fresh bolt of green to the whole scene.
• Tomatoes: Ripe, seasonal, fresh tomatoes are the goal here. If you include cherry tomatoes, halve them. Larger tomatoes? Slice into quarters.
• Hard boiled eggs: Eggs bring the protein to this salad along with any beans or lentils you might include. I include my favorite way to hard boil eggs, no grey yolks, bright yellow yolks in the recipe below.
• String Beans: Tender, green beans (or yellow beans) are a key component. Getting their texture right is the challenge. Build for a flash, until they relax a shade and brighten a bit. Then shock them in cold water.
• Olives: Niçoise olives are the traditional choice, of course, but if you have other olive varietals on hand, do let that deter you from making Niçoise salad, or Niçoise-ish Salad.
• Artichokes: If I know I’m going to make a Niçoise salad, I’ll cook a bit skillet of artichoke hearts the night prior. Eat some with dinner, and save some in the refrigerator for the Niçoise the next day. Here’s how to cook artichokes along with some tips because I love them so much. 
• Vinaigrette: A strong vinaigrette is my preference here, and I include mine in the recipe below. Be sure to make it with good tasting vinegar.
• Lemons: If you have a grill going, grilled halves of lemon are a nice addition.

Niçoise Salad: How To Make Ahead

One of the things to love about Niçoise salad is that many of the components can be made ahead.

• Vinaigrette: Make the vinaigrette up to 4 days in advance.
• Artichokes can be cooked a day or two ahead.
• Potatoes, green beans, and hard-boiled eggs can be boiled a day ahead.
• Lettuces can be washed and dried a day or two ahead of time.
• Beans can been cooked from dried up to 2-3 days ahead.

More Salad Recipes

• Grilled Wedge Salad
• Roasted Tomato Salad
• Raw Tuscan Kale Salad
• Summer Fruit Salad
• Egg Salad
• Quinoa Salad
• Coconut Corn Salad
• Apple Salad
• All salad recipes

Continue reading Niçoise Salad  on 101 Cookbooks

https://www.101cookbooks.com/nicoise-salad/

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Posted by Heidi Swanson

https://www.101cookbooks.com/how-to-make-a-great-vegetarian-poke-bowl/

https://www.101cookbooks.com/?p=7616

Let’s talk about how to make a great vegetarian poke bowl. Poke is a much-loved, traditional, raw fish preparation, long popular in Hawaii. Fishermen would season bits of their catch, and snack on it while working. Poke (pronounced poh-kay) has exploded in popularity, well beyond Hawaii, in recent years. The version I’m posting today is for any of you who love the idea of poke or poke bowls, but don’t eat fish for whatever reason. Vegetarian poke bowls are particularly fantastic this time of year because they’re light, clean, filling but not heavy, you know?

Vegetarian Poke Bowl: The Components

I typically use a watermelon poke, a version of this sushi rice (but any favorite sushi rice / blend will do), and a host of other vibrant toppings. Here you see firm, organic tofu, sliced avocado, blanched asparagus, shaved watermelon radish, and micro sprouts. If you have guacamole on hand, use a dollop of that! The bowl is drizzled, simply, with good soy sauce. And there’s a sprinkling of sesame seeds and scallions. The other topping I really crave, not pictured here, is a showering of crispy, fried shallots. 

Seasonal Variations

When it comes to toppings, what you see here is just a jumping off point. And I encourage you to play around with all the components. For example, you might trade in roasted squash cubes for the watermelon later in the year. Or, perhaps, a different melon varietal. And you could do roasted onions in place of scallions. Or, play around with the drizzle on top. For a quick poke bowl, I just do a soy sauce drizzle, but you could whip up something more complex. Have fun with it!

Although, it can be argued, a vegetarian poke bowl isn’t a real poke bowl, it’s a great meal just the same. Keep your eyes peeled for other inspiration as well. I love seeing the creative vegetarian versions on menus at poke spots all over. Lots of ideas there that you might replicate in your own kitchens!

More Vegetarian Recipes

• Vegetarian Paella
• Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
• Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
• Vegetable Pot Pie
• Vegetarian Chili
• Sunshine Pad Thai (vegetarian)
• All vegetarian recipes

Continue reading How to Make a Great Vegetarian Poke Bowl on 101 Cookbooks

https://www.101cookbooks.com/how-to-make-a-great-vegetarian-poke-bowl/

https://www.101cookbooks.com/?p=7616

Posted by Heidi Swanson

https://www.101cookbooks.com/zucchini-butter/

https://www.101cookbooks.com/?p=19811

If you grow zucchini (or are a neighbor of someone growing summer squash), chances are good you’re familiar with zucchini butter. It is popular for a reason. You cook a couple pounds of zucchini down, slowly, into a creamy, jammy spread. It freezes nicely, and can be used in endless ways we’ll discuss to make quick meals.

The Origin of Zucchini Butter

I came across the concept of zucchini butter when someone at the community garden pointed me to a version on the Food in Jars site. At first I thought it was going to be a lot of shredded zucchini and herbs worked into actual butter, but no, that wasn’t it. It was cooking zucchini low and slow into a melty fragrant mess of summertime yum. I realized pretty quickly, zucchini butter is not a new thing, but naming it zucchini butter might be. Historically, cooking zucchini in olive oil or butter, making it into various spreads and condiments is a thing, particularly in a number of regional Italian and French cuisines – as well as others, I’m sure. It wasn’t called zucchini butter, it was just how you cook down an abundance of a seasonal ingredient. Julia Child popularized a grated zucchini and shallot recipe, widely cited online as one of the origins of zucchini butter, another version of the technique was highlighted on Food52 as a Genius Recipe. But my sense is that this technique is rooted in grandma and great-grandma cooking, and whatever you end up calling it, it’s a fantastic technique to use up a couple pounds of zucchini. Here’s how I do it.

Favorite Ways to Use Zucchini Butter

I like to cook a pan of zucchini butter and divide it in half. Half goes in the refrigerator, half goes in the freezer.  Here’s how I use the first half:

• Pizza topping: use it on pizzas in place of another sauce.
• Bruschetta: a big smear of zucchini butter a bit of goat cheese and a drizzle of chili crisp is great.
• Work a big scoop into your favorite frittata or omelette.
• A big smear on a toasted English muffin and an egg is the way to start building a breakfast sandwich.
• Add a good amount of grated Parmesan cheese and toss it with pasta for a quick meal.
• Mezze spread: stir some chopped black olives into the zucchini butter and use it in a mezzo situation as a spread for crackers or flatbreads.
• Work half a batch into a pot of risotto.
• As a layer on heirloom tomato sandwiches along with some ripe avocado and fresh basil.

Zucchini Butter: Variations

The zucchini butter you see pictured here is straight-forward with just a little bit of chopped serrano chile pepper added for some kick. But I like to take the concept into a range of directions, and here are a few that have been, arguably, the most successful.

• Herbed Zucchini Butter: Stir fresh herbs in during the last ten minutes of cooking. A couple teaspoons of thyme is one place to start. Or, 1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary. Or, a handful of well-chopped cilantro (wait to stir this in after you’re finished cooking). Same deal with chopped basil, add after cooking, or even after the zucchini has cooled. And lots of chives are rarely a bad call.
• Citrus Zucchini Butter: Add the zest of a lemon or orange during the last ten minutes of cooking. Finish with a generous drizzle of lemon or other citrus olive oil.
• Spicy Zucchini Butter: As mentioned, above. I like to add some minced serrano pepper. If you want to keep it relatively mild, start with 1/4 or 1/2 of a pepper, and dial it up from there, to your liking.
• Sunshine Zucchini Butter: Use yellow summer squash in place of green zucchini. Stir in a scant 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder about half way through the cooking process along with a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. I also like to finish this one with a kiss of lemon olive oil.

Short-cut

There is a shortcut here. You can use grated zucchini to make zucchini butter. And, if you have a grating attachment for your food processor it makes quick work of taking down this much zucchini. It also cooks more quickly into a spreadable texture. I like the more rustic texture you get by cutting the zucchini into tiny cubes, but this a personal preference, and if you want the grated zucchini approach, by all means!

Here’s a look (above and below) of the ingredients that go into zucchini butter. You can see how I chop the zucchini and the onions as well. I do a blend of olive oil and butter for the cooking fat.

Cooking Stages

I thought it might be helpful to share photos of the zucchini butter as it cooks down over the hour or so it takes to get to an ideal consistency. 
After 15 minutes (below): you can see that the zucchini is just starting to soften up a bit here.

After 40 minutes (below): You can see that the change is pretty dramatic at this stage but there is still quite a lot of structure in some of the pieces and related to the skin. Keep going! You’ll probably need to be addling splashes of water at this point to keep things creamy, and to keep the zucchini from browning.

After one hour (below): This is the stage things really start to collapse, you’re getting close to the texture you’re after. I went another 10 minutes beyond this to get to the stage you see in the lead photos.

More Zucchini Recipes

• Zucchini Bread
• Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream
• Simple Sautéed Zucchini
• Grilled Zucchini & Bread Salad
• Zucchini Gratin
• all zucchini recipes

Continue reading Zucchini Butter on 101 Cookbooks

https://www.101cookbooks.com/zucchini-butter/

https://www.101cookbooks.com/?p=19811