composed asparagus vinaigrette

Salads are divided into three main categories: The tossed garden greens include baby lettuces and spinach salad; many salads feature one type of lettuce, like the Caesar and a wedge of iceberg with thousand island or bleu cheese dressing. Mesclum, a popular bagged salad mix, refers to a mix of seasonal greens including arugula, butter, frisee, limestone, mâche, radicchio, and mizuna; there are various young and baby lettuce mixtures now available from different growers. Marinated salads, often made with one type of vegetable, can be made with a vinaigrette or mayonnaise-based dressing, like celery root remoulade, mushrooms a la grecque, leeks vinaigrette, potato, rice,

mixed beans vinaigrette

bean salads, and pasta salads, coleslaw, and Waldorf. Composed salads are more substantial, containing multiple ingredients. Here is your Salade Nicoise, Cobb, shrimp or crab Louis, Layered Fajita Salad, Chef’s Salad, and Hearts of Palm.

The sauce techniques are all derived from two main mother sauces–the vinaigrette (oil and vinegar) and mayonnaise (an emulsion with eggs or soft tofu). The vinaigrette is the most common dinner salad dressing, which can be mixed up in minutes. The type of oil used depends on the dish and style of cook. Olive oil is the most common for its nutrition and delicious taste, as well as heart-healthy mono-unsaturaed acids. Extra virgin is the strongest in flavor, the first pressing, is always recommended to be used in an uncooked state, especially vinaigrettes or drizzled. Other oils are nut oils (especially walnut or macadamia), avocado oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and organic canola oil.

Here are two famous simple salads I love that will serve you well. One is the basic tossed green salad, poetic in its recitation of technique, and a now classic salad with warm goat cheese rounds served on top, which I served countless times for catering on butter lettuce.

Mixed Green Salad a la Vincent Schiavelli

The late actor and surprisingly adept gourmand Vincent Schiavelli wrote the most wonderful first cookbook, Papa Andrea’s Sicilian Table (Citadel Press, 1993).  In it he records his grandfather’s recipes and, to my delight, he has written down how to make a great simple tossed green salad.  He remarks that “a salad is more art than science, and not difficult to master.” It is a great accompaniment to your braise or stew, or as its own course to serve after.  If you use one of the premixed bitter lettuce combos that have become chic and are available now at many supermarkets and farmer’s markets, use in combination with at least 50 percent regular green leaf lettuce to balance the sweet and bitter to make the salad most enjoyable.  One pound of lettuce will feed 4 people a heaping two-cup serving.  This is an adaptation of Vincent’s insalata mista, the mixed green salad. If you use lemon juice instead of the vinegar, use equal parts of juice and oil.

Ingredients

• Any mixture a la momento of sweet and bitter salad greens, such as butter or romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, Cos lettuce, iceberg, radicchio, watercress, fennel, endive, baby spinach, màche, or arugula, washed and well dried, and torn by hand into pieces (not cut, which will discolor the leaves)

• Thin sliced red onion, grated or sliced beets, parcooked green beans, grated carrot, sliced tomatoes, avocado dipped in lemon juice, edible flower petals like nasturtiums, baby zucchini slices, sliced mushrooms, sprouts, olives, cucumber, etc, as desired (optional)

• Fine sea salt, which will open the lettuce to receive the vinegar

• Red or white wine vinegar, such as Zinfandel or Merlot vinegar, Sherry vinegar, Cabernet vinegar, Champagne vinegar, fig vinegar, rice wine vinegar, or a good apple cider vinegar

• Olive oil, extra-virgin, virgin, or light, as your palate and purse dictate

• A pepper mill with black or white peppercorns

Instructions

Place the lettuces in a large bowl.  Sprinkle lightly with the salt, a few pinches are all that are needed even for a large salad.  Toss with your hands or tongs.  Sprinkle with the vinegar until the aroma rises gently from the bowl.  Toss again.  Drizzle with the olive oil, about three times as much oil as the vinegar.  Toss again.  Keep a light hand; you can always add more.  Toss in any other ingredients, like cucumbers, etc, or arrange on top.  Grind some black pepper over the top and serve.  Never add too much of anything, “you don’t want a vinegary or oiling salad, but ingredients enhanced by the dressing.”

Salad of Greens with Goat Cheese

Once upon a time, an architecture student who was sleeping on the couch at a friend’s apartment ate at a small, local hangout and helped in the kitchen one day when the staff was shorthanded.  He ended up staying and working in the kitchen, helped owner Alice Waters create a legendary food scene, and in the process, became a chef.  The man is Jeremiah Tower, one of the most lauded chefs of the last three decades on the West Coast, and the restaurant was Chez Panisse in Berkeley.  Before he owned his own restaurants, Tower taught cooking classes in San Francisco.  The Salad of Greens with Goat Cheese is one of his most famous creations and the signature plated salad of a new generation of foodies, made with a domestic cheese (little known at the time) called chèvre from Laura Chenel in Marin County.  The recipe I share here was on a piece of faded paper with his letterhead from one of those classes long ago.  This composed salad has had many transmutations through its popular life, but this is the original, and it is as fabulous and fresh as the day it was created.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup olive oil or walnut oil

• 2 tablespoons Champagne wine vinegar

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Croutons

• 4 slices country or French bread, about 1/2 inch thick, cut in fourths on the diagonal

• 2 cloves garlic

Cheese Rounds

• 4 (1 ounce each) firm Crottins, or a log of Montrachet, cut into 8 rounds

• About 1/2 cup olive oil, divided use

• 1/2 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs, made by whirling chunks of fresh bread in a                  food processor

Salad

• 4 heaping cups or handfuls mixed salad greens (bitter greens, endive, chicory, sorrel, baby dandelion, watercress, arugula, celery leaves, baby hearts of romaine), or butter lettuce leaves, washed, dried, and at room temperature

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Set aside.

2. Rub the slices of bread with the whole clove of garlic on both sides; discard the garlic.  Set aside.

3. Pour some of the olive oil in a small, shallow dish.  Dip the rounds of cheese first in the oil, then in the bread crumbs, coating both sides.

4. Place the 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a medium skillet and heat to medium.  Place the coated rounds of cheese, in a single layer, in the skillet and cook until golden on the bottom; carefully turn with a metal spatula to brown the other side, 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Place the greens in a bowl and toss with the dressing.  Divide between 4 salad plates.  Place the warm cheese round in the center of the plate of greens.  Quickly place the bread slices in the remaining hot oil and brown on both sides.  Tuck two croutons onto each plate of salad.  Serve immediately.

Both recipes excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. (c) 2005, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

Recipe: Homemade French Vinaigrette with Dijon and Shallots

photo courtesy of David Lebovitz

Invite anyone from France to dinner and they will be horrified if you take out a bottled dressing for the salad. Ohhh mon dieu! It is part of the dinner preparation ritual to have someone at the counter mixing the vinaigrette. Here is the homemade all-purpose vinaigrette, or oil and vinegar salad dressing with classic ingredient proportions, that should be one of the first things a cook learns to make. It is the alpha and omega of oil and vinegar dressings. It has nice concise proportions, perfect for one salad. It is not refrigerated, which changes the flavors, so you make it a la momento. You can vary the flavors by what vinegar or brand mustard you use, as well as what olive oil you use. A tip about the shallot: Madeleine Kamman, the esteemed French food teacher and writer, teaches the technique to place your shallots in a thin, clean dishtowel and wring it to squeeze out the juice. This mellows the sharp flavor of the shallot. Also play with the different sea salts, each which has a distinct flavor and give more character than plain iodized salt. Freshly ground black or white peppercorns–a must. After a while you wont have to measure anymore; you will toss this together by feel. I used to have a small flexible metal whisk which was perfect just for making the vinaigrette, now I just use a fork. You can mix with an immersion blender and use the narrow plastic beaker that comes with it rather than mix by hand if you wish; the vinaigrette will be more creamy looking. Just pulse a few times.

Makes about 1/4 cup, enough for one large green salad

Ingredients

• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt (a pinch or two)

• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar

• 1/2 small shallot, peeled and minced (about 2 to 3 teaspoons)

• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 3 tablespoons to 4 tablespoons olive oil of choice

• Chopped or minced fresh herbs, if desired (a pinch or two at most basil, tarragon, parsley, or chives are favorites)

Instructions

1. In a small bowl with a wooden spoon, fork, or small whisk, mix together the salt, vinegar, and shallot. Let stand for about ten minutes.

2. Mix in the Dijon mustard, then add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Stir well, then taste. If too sharp, add the additional olive oil and more salt, if necessary. If you wish to add fresh herbs, it’s best to chop and mix them in shortly before serving so they retain their flavor.
Storage: This dressing will keep for about eight hours, covered with plastic wrap or lid, at room temperature. If you want to make it farther in advance, it’s best to add the shallots closer to serving so they don’t lose their verve.

baked focaccia with fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt

Sometimes you want fresh bread, but don’t have time to make it from scratch.  So this the opportunity to use commercially made Ready-Dough packaged by Bridgeford, easily found in the supermarket freezer department.  Using the three 1-pound loaves that come in one package, you can make the best Italian flatbread focaccia.

Defrost the dough on the kitchen counter in the package, about 7  hours (too long and it will over rise), or overnight in the refrigerator.  Be sure to leave it in the bag or else the dough will dry out and develop a thick skin.  If you can’t prepare the flatbreads right away, leave the package of dough in the refrigerator for a few hours until you are ready.

The use a metal or ceramic rectangular baking sheet is 12-x-15-inches with a shallow 1/2-inch sloping edge.  Sprinkle with cornmeal, and then take one section of dough, pressing it into an uneven, flat oval on the pan.  After letting it rest 10 minutes, use your fingers to dimple the slightly puffy dough and sprinkle on the toppings.

You can use any combination of ingredients that you want. First the dough is moistened with some oil.  It is okay that the oil pools into the indentations. Then a bit of vegetables or nuts for flavor and color, then cheese.  It is a balance of layering the ingredients.  It is even good with just oil and sprinkled with some coarse salt.

What emerges from the oven, hot and savory, is a beautiful, rustic flatbread.  It is ready to be served immediately, cut with a serrated knife, for an appetizer or with your minestrone soup or stews.

Makes 1 large flat loaf, serves about 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours or at room temperature 6 to 8 hours

• 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal or farina, for sprinkling

• 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

• Topping of choice (see below)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350º.  Use a baking stone if you have one, but it is not essential. Sprinkle a baking sheet heavily with cornmeal or farina.

Place the soft dough on the pan, and using floured fingers, press and push to make an evenly flat loaf about 10-x-8-inches.  Let rest a few minutes, then press again to stretch the dough a bit further.  Cover dough with a clean dish towel and let rest 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature (double the time if your dough was refrigerated and still cold).  Assemble the topping ingredients.

raw dough pressed into the baking pan

Using your fingertips, press into the dough to make impressions that dimple the puffy dough.   Drizzle with oil, arrange the topping of choice, and sprinkle with cheese, if using.

Immediately place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, until puffed and dark golden brown.  Serve warm or room temperature.

Cheese and Herb Focaccia

Drizzle the dough with olive oil.  Sprinkle the dough with about 3 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes.  Sprinkle lightly with some dried marjoram or basil leaves, and some garlic powder.

Focaccia with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons of soft butter, sprinkle with 1/3 cup of walnut pieces, and dot with 2 ounces of fresh goat cheese.  Drizzle with a tablespoon of walnut oil over the top.

Olive Focaccia

pitted black olive foccacia

Knead 1/3 cup pitted and sliced kalamata black olives and 1/3 cup pitted and sliced green olives into the bread dough.  Let rest 10 minutes.  Press into a flat shape.  Drizzle with olive oil, letting it pool in the indentations. Or just press the whole olives into the dough, as in photo.

Tomato Focaccia

Sprinkle the dough with 3/4 cup salsa fresca, fresh chopped tomatoes, or drained canned chopped tomatoes.  Sprinkle with 2 ounces grated plain or smoked Monterey jack cheese.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Garlic Focaccia

Brush the dough with some olive oil.  Sprinkle with 3 to 4 cloves of chopped garlic or pierce with slivered garlic.  Drizzle liberally with more olive oil.

Herb Focaccia

Drizzle the dough with some walnut, hazelnut, or pecan oil, letting the oil pool in the indentations.  Sprinkle lightly with a tablespoon of a dried or fresh herb, such as rosemary, oregano, basil, or marjoram.  Sprinkle with coarse kosher or sea salt.

Roasted Red Pepper Focaccia

Brush the dough with some olive oil.  Lay four 1/2-inch strips of teleme cheese over the dough and some strips of roasted red peppers crisscrossing over the cheese.  Drizzle with some more olive oil and sprinkle with some garlic powder.

Excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. (c) 2005, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

ceramic baking stone positioned on the lowest oven rack

Cooker:  Medium or large round

Setting and Cook Time: HIGH for 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup light olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup grated raw carrots – packed (I just do an overflowing cup)
• Cream Cheese Whipped Cream (recipe below), for icing or garnish

Instructions

1. Line the bottom of the crock with a round of parchment paper; A 4- to 6- quart round works best. Coat the paper and one third of the way up the side of the crock with butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray.

2. Prepare carrots by peeling and grating. Set the grated carrots aside.

3. In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream the sugar, eggs, water and oil together until creamy, 3 minutes. On low speed, add the flour, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt just to combine. Add the grated carrots and mix until evenly distributed. Spread evenly in the crock.

4. Place four or five paper towels over the top of the crock and cover. Cook on HIGH until puffed and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours. The cake is done when firm in the middle. Check by inserting a toothpick or cake tester into the center at 2 hours. When done, the toothpick should come out clean.

5. Uncover and let stand for 30 minutes to cool before cutting small wedges to serve warm or at room temperature straight out of the crock. To remove, run a knife a round the edge inside the crock and lift out in one piece with a large rubber spatula. Cut into wedges or squares to serve. Top with cream cheese whipped cream in a dollop or spread with a nice thick layer.

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

In a chilled bowl with an electric mixer and whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.  Remove to another bowl and set aside. Without washing the bowl, switch to the paddle attachment and whip the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 mintues.  On low speed, fold in the whipped cream. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. You may have leftovers if you ice the cake instead of serving dollops on top of the pieces.

Grissini is the Italian word for breadsticks.  After making the dough and letting it rise in the bread machine, they are hand shaped by rolling the dough out to a desired length and then baked at a high temperature in an oven.  They look very different than machine extruded breadsticks which all look exactly alike; they are charmingly nobby and irregular.  You want to bake these until they are crisp, otherwise, if they are soft like bread, they will bend and break when you stand them in a crock to serve.  If you are unsure about freeforming, use a bread stick tray, which is a series of very thin cradles.  Eat as an appetizer buffet, eaten either plain with butter, or wrapped with smoked turkey or proscuitto.

Makes 24 grissini

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cups semolina flour

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast

• About 1/2 cup additional olive oil, for dipping

• About 1 1/4 cups semolina flour, for sprinkling and rolling

Instructions

1. Place all the dough ingredients in the pan according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Program for the Dough cycle; press Start.
2. Dust a work surface with semolina flour.  When the cycle ends at the beep, remove the dough from the machine and pat the dough into a thick 12-by-6-inch rectangle without kneading or overworking the dough.  You can leave this to rise on the work surface, especially if it is a marble slab, or transfer it to an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet that is also dusted with semolina flour.  Brush the top with olive oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 425º, lining the center rack with a baking stone.  Brush 2 heavy 11-by-17-inch baking sheets with olive oil.  Place the additional olive oil and semolina flour in two shallow bowls.
4. 

   portioning the dough before shaping the individual grissini by hand

   Press the dough all over to gently deflate and turn out of the pan onto a floured work surface.  Using a pastry or pizza wheel, cut the dough into four equal sections lengthwise; the dough will deflate a bit more.  Cut each section into 6 thick strips lengthwise.  Pick up each end of each strip and stretch to the desired shape or quickly roll out each strip with your palms, stretching from the center out to the ends, to a size that will fit your baking sheet.  Dip each strip in the olive oil and then roll in semolina flour.  Place the strips evenly spaced apart on oiled baking sheets. Each sheet will hold 12 grissini.  Bake each sheet in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp.  Transfer from the pan to cool on racks.

Excerpted from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2000, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

Paella in about 30 minutes? Sure! Paella, a composed dry rice dish very similar to Creole Jambalaya and Mexican Arroz con Pollo, is usually a bit of an extravagance both ingredient and time-wise. Americans have taken the Spanish signature dish and adapted it enthusiastically into a fast, satisfying vegetarian one-dish weeknight meal. Here I use quick-cooking brown rice in place of using the white rice.

Paella can be made as simple or elaborate as you choose.  Usually it is made with chicken, rabbit, ham, chorizo, and a variety of seafood. Here is one of my favorite recipes, using all vegetables, and cooked in about 30 minutes. I first came across a recipe for vegetable paella in a Perla Myers cookbook she did for Burpee seeds. Then I saw one by Nava Atlas, the vegetarian food writer, in Cooking Light a few years ago and got the official okay for using quick-cooking brown rice. You can make up your own vegetable combination each time you make the paella once you become comfortable with the technique, just keep the peppers, artichokes, saffron or tumeric, and olives as the base. If you are a purist, get a bottle of Spanish olive oil, which has a slightly different flavor than Italian or domestic olive oils. For an added classic flavorful touch at serving time, make the easiest-ever aioli garlic sauce and have lots of lemon wedges for squeezing alongside.

There is a special two-handled metal pan made just for paella–wide, shallow with sloping sides that is descended from the same shape iron pan designed for cooking over an open fire used by Romans occupying the Spanish Mediterranean coast thousands of years ago. The pan is also called a paella. Many heavy-duty anodized aluminum (it has the best metal heat distribution qualities) cookware lines carry a 14-inch round paella pan. I opted for one made from Calphalon; it can be used both stovetop and in the oven, and I like to use it every chance I get, yet often make it in a ceramic casserole. Many cooks I know just use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or even a large Dutch oven in a pinch. Spanish paella pans are available in gradated sizes, 13 1/2-inch to serve 4, 15-inch to serve 6, 17-inch to serve 8, and 22-inch to serve 12, from surlatable.com.

Overview

Cooking Method: Stovetop and Oven

Cook Time: About 40 minutes total

Serves 4

Ingredients

Aioli

• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise or soy mayonnaise (such as Veganaise)

Paella

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow or white onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips and halved
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips and halved
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups uncooked quick-cooking brown rice
• 2 cups vegetable broth (such as Swanson’s)
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed, or 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 2 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and diced, or 3 canned plum tomatoes, drained and diced
• 1 12-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen petit peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Few grinds black pepper

• 1 lemon, cut into 8 thick wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil with the mayonnaise; stir until smooth. Refrigerate until serving. Makes 3/4 cup.
2. Preheat the oven to 325º. In a large skillet or paella pan heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onion until slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the pepper strips and zucchini, cooking until they soften, 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the rice and stir until hot. Add the broth, water, parsley, saffron or tumeric; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low to simmer. Cover tightly with foil and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. During the cooking time, move the pan back and forth on the burner for even cooking if necessary. Remove the foil and arrange the tomato, artichoke, peas, olives, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper over the top of the rice; press into the rice.
3. Place the pan on the lower third rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender, having absorbed all the liquid, and vegetables are cooked. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Set the bowls of aioli and lemons on the side, and serve out of the pan.

Excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2008, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

My favorite Italian flavors–lemons, walnuts, anise, and raisins–are the spirited Mediterranean additions to this barely sweet cake, which you will be proud to serve for a festive occasion.  It also toasts nicely after a day or two.

Yield:  One 10-inch tube cake

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs

• 2 cups sugar

• 3/4 cup light olive oil

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons baking powder

• Grated zest of 2 lemons

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup milk

• 2 teaspoons pure anise extract

• 1 cup golden raisins

• 1 cup (4 ounces) walnuts, coarsely chopped

• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º.  Grease and flour a 10-inch plain or fluted tube pan and set aside.  With an electric mixer, blender, or balloon whisk, beat the eggs, sugar, and oil on high speed or briskly by hand until thick and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt.  Combine the milk and anise extract in a measuring cup.  Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients alternately with the milk mixture.  Beat just until moistened but thoroughly blended.  Do not overmix, but there should be no lumps or dry spots.  Fold in the raisins and the walnuts until evenly combined.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan.  Bake in the center of the preheated oven until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let stand in the pan for 15 minutes.  Remove from the pan by inverting the cake onto a rack right side up; cool slightly.  Place the powdered sugar in a small sieve, place the rack over a piece of waxed paper, and dust the sugar over the cake while slightly warm.  Transfer the cake to a serving plate.  Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.  This cake freezes well for up to 2 months, but dust with the powdered sugar pushed through a mesh sieve just before serving.

Excerpted from The Best Quick Breads, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2000, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

freshly made naan flatbrea

When asked about a bread that typifies Muslim Northern India and Afghanistan, naan, which is also the generic word for bread in those areas, is the first one that comes to mind.  It is also trendy; every Pacific Rim restaurant offers it because of it’s buttery flavor and moist texture.  The long oval breads are baked in a tandir oven, which is a deep clay floor oven.  The shaped dough is placed on a gaddi (cushioned pad) and baked by slapping them onto the walls of the oven while one end hangs out over the fire, making a pretty teardrop oval about 20 inches in length.  Homemade naan are easily baked in a conventional oven and made smaller for convenience.  Yogurt is a nice tangy addition, accenting the flour, since many recipes call for a fermented yogurt starter.  In India, the naan is made from white flour, but Afghan bakers use chapati flour, which is a very fine whole wheat; you can find it in an ethnic grocery.  In place of the butter, use ghee, the clarified butter that is the preferred fat in India.  Nigella seeds are sometimes called black sesame seeds or black onion seeds.  Naan are meant to be eaten just out of the oven.  Serve with goat milk yogurt and soft goat cheese, as they are eaten all over Asia everyday, or with roasted meats and stews.

Makes 6 naan

Ingredients

• 1 1/2-and 2-pound loaves
• 2 cups bread flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil or light olive oil
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour, for dusting
• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
• 1 tablespoon nigella seeds or sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Place the flour, salt, baking soda, and yeast in the pan according to manufacturer’s instructions.  In a 2-cup measure, combine the oil, yogurt, and milk; pour in the pan.  Program for the Dough cycle; press Start.
2. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.  After the rising cycle ends, at the beep immediately remove the dough and place on a work surface dusted with whole wheat pastry flour; divide into 2 equal portions.  Divide each portion into 3 equal portions to equal 6 large walnut-sized balls.  Let the balls rest on the side of the work surface while you work.  With a floured rolling pin, roll into a flat uneven round or teardrop shape, about 1/2 inch thick.  As they are shaped, place on the baking sheet.  Cover with a clean tea towel while you are rolling out the rest of the naan, letting them rest about 20 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 450º.
3. Flatten each round with your palm, then stretch on one side to make an 8-x-4-1/2-inch elongated oval teardrop shape.  Brush the tops of each naan with the melted butter and sprinkle lightly with nigella seeds.  Bake in the center of the preheated oven, one pan at a time, without turning, until golden brown and crisp in sections, 5 to 8 minutes.  Serve immediately while warm and fresh, or wrap in a clean tea towel until serving.

Excerpted from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2000, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

Roman Bread sprinkled with herbs

Roman bread is the house bread at the Casa Vieja restaurant near Arizona State University. It is a lovely uneven shape baked on a baking sheet and essentially a foccacia. The onion is added with all the other ingredients, so that it is incorporated right into the flat bread dough.  Sprinkle it with grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese in place of the salt, or another herb like dried basil, before baking.  There is never any leftover, but if so, it is good for stuffings.

Makes 1 flat bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2-and 2-pound loaves
• 1 cup water
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
• Topping
• 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crushed
• Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Place the ingredients, except the topping, in the pan according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Program for the Dough cycle; press Start.  (This recipe is not suitable for the Delay cycle.)
2. Brush a rectangular baking sheet with olive oil.  After the rising cycle ends, at the beep immediately remove the bread pan and turn out the dough onto the baking sheet.  With oiled fingers or a rolling pin, press and flatten the dough into a 1-inch thick oval.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, 40 minutes.
3. Place a baking stone on the lowest rack of a cold oven and preheat it to 425º for 20 minutes; otherwise preheat the oven to 400º.  Using a small, sharp knife, slash the top with a big tic-tack-toe grid, no more than 1/2-inch deep.  Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the rosemary.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until browned.  Sprinkle with the coarse salt right when it comes out of the oven.  Serve cut into squares the day it is made, warm or at room temperature.

Excerpted from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2000, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

The best effect of the vegan revolution is that beans have a new found respect. I adore bean salads and this one is from California Sol Food from the Junior League of San Diego (2004). The mango is sensational with the tomato, beans, celery, and cucumber and it is easy to assemble.

• Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15-ounce) cans white beans (Great Northern or cannelloni), drained and rinsed
• 1 large mango, peeled and chopped
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped

Tomato Cilantro Dressing

• 3 oil-pack sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeds and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup mild olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Combine the beans, mango, cucumber, and celery in a large salad bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, shallot, and vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil with a fork. Season to taste.

Add the dressing to the beans and toss to evenly coat with an over sized spoon. Cover and let stand 30 minutes at room temperature to meld the flavors, or refrigerate up to 6 hours until serving and let stand to come to room temperature. Best eaten the day it is made.

Overview

• Cooker:  Medium or large round or oval
• Setting and Cook Time: HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours
• Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 large red bell peppers, or 1 red and 1 yellow, seeded and cut into strips
• 2 large red onions, cut into 8 wedges each
• 3 medium-size yellow crookneck or pattypan summer squash, ends trimmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 3 medium-size zucchini, ends trimmed, and cut into thick matchsticks; or 1 pound baby zucchini with blossoms attached, left whole
• 5 ounces fresh green beans, stem end snapped off
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or savory
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• About 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 to 4 tablespoons white or dark balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Put all the vegetables in the slow cooker.  Add the oil and basil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat evenly.  Cover and cook on HIGH until the vegetables are just tender and still hold their shape, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
2. Serve sprinkled with the parsley and vinegar.