AUTUMN SALAD
This is a salad that sounds pretty fancy, but the reality is that it’s incredibly basic and highlights tons of seasonal, unique, and local veggies. So it’s simple but far from boring. Hey, just because it has the word “salad” in it doesn’t mean it has to be cold rabbit food.
Eating seasonally and locally is cool. It’s trendy. Even “hipster.” But there are a lot of trendy things that are pretty stupid…I mean, top knots? When it comes to seasonal cooking, this isn’t a new idea. Your great-grandmother couldn’t have imagined a tomato salad in February and she probably wouldn’t recognize those pale and flavorless alien spheres as tomatoes today.
A crucial benefit of seasonal eating is flavor. The sexy heirloom fruits you get at the farmers’ market (you know, the ones that glisten when you slice ‘em open and leave a pool of sweet juice on your cutting board) are far different from what you’re going to get at the grocery store in the dead of winter. The earthiness, texture, sugars, and acidity are incomparable. It’s as though you’re consuming an entirely different fruit.
There’s superior taste and then there is also that thing called your health. Food eaten in season has been ripened on the plant, taking in the maximum amount of nutrients available. When it's not picked locally it doesn’t get the same time on the branch, as most things are picked unripe and ripened in route. A gala apple coming from Chile? Well, it was picked green, sat on a truck for a week or so, and by the time it made it to you it lost a good amount of nutrients. And chances are it was sprayed with some weird chemicals, completely defeating the purpose of eating fruits and veggies in the first place. So there’s that.
Eating seasonally, much to popular belief is also quite helpful on your bank account. Delicata squashes are wicked cheap right now (because there is an excess supply) and you can actually find dandelion greens (yes, those things that we’ve deemed weeds) growing in your backyard, as long as they haven’t been treated with chemicals.
Basically, this dish is going to blow your mind and make you rethink your lame definition of salad. It’s full of contrasting flavors, textures, and temperatures. It’s colorful. It’s what I would deem a very sexy salad. Yes, food can indeed be sexy! And hell, you know you’re going to impress someone with all those elegant words like “caramelized” and “delicata.”
Cheers!
R E C I P E
Recipe written by Ruben Valentin of Catering by Alma
Serves: 4
Salad Ingredients:
1 medium delicata squash, cut in half length wise, deseeded, cut into 1/4 inch strips
2 medium tangerines, peeled, cut into rounds
1/2 bunch dandelion, washed and dried
1 fuji apple, thinly sliced (cut when ready to serve)
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Olive oil
salt and pepper
Vinaigrette Ingredients (method below)
1/4 cup hazelnuts
1 tsp mustard (grain, dijon, german)
2 T lemon juice
2 T tangerine juice
1/2 cup oil ( olive, blended, or grapeseed)
Salt and pepper
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet toast hazelnuts for 4-5 minutes or until fragrant. Remove nuts from baking sheet and let cool. Toss delicata squash with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet cut side down. They should look like half moons on the sheet. Bake until tender and slightly caramelized. On another baking sheet, drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil and spread evenly with your fingers. Lay sliced tangerines and drizzle with oil, about 1 tablespoon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once delicata is cooked and out of the oven, set your oven to broil. Place baking sheet with tangerines on the highest shelf and cook until they start to char. This should take about 5 minutes depending on your oven. Once charred remove from oven and let cool.
When ready to serve, slice your apples and add to a medium size bowl. Add remainder of salad ingredients. Drizzle in some of the vinaigrette. Toss and check for seasoning. Add more dressing if preferred.
Vinaigrette Method:
Add Juice and mustard to a small bowl and mix. Season with s+P. Slowly drizzle oil into bowl. This does not need to be emulsified. Roughly chop hazelnuts and add to vinaigrette, check seasoning. Set aside.
Goes well with grilled salmon or grilled steak. A crisp sauvignon blanc or dry riesling would pair well.
Cooking tips:
Removing nuts from the sheet after toasting prevents burning
A dressing that is not emulsified is called a "broken vinaigrette" and is perfectly acceptable for a salad like this. At home, I never fully incorporate my dressings.