Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July, 2010

Summer Salad Marathon: Seared Ahi Grapefruit Watercress Salad

Tonight's installment of The Lady of Shallots "Summer Salad Marathon" was inspired by two recipes. The first was this " Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Grapefruit, Avocado, and Watercress Salad " from Real Simple (March 2008). The second was this recipe for Seared Ahi Tuna from SimplyRecipes.com. I made only one minor adjustment to the tuna marinade, and that was that I used powdered ginger out of necessity. I marinated the tuna for two hours and it was terrific. As for the salad, I obviously left out the mahi-mahi (and substituted the seared tuna), left out the avocado*, and added fresh chopped cucumber from my neighbor's garden (a gift, not stolen). I used the dressing as stated in the recipe. This was a terrific and healthy meal for a very hot and humid summer evening. The sweetness of the grapefruit and the honey-lime dressing balances the slight bitterness of the watercress very effectively and is just gentle enough to support the tuna without overshadowing

Summer Salad Marathon: Chicken Pasta Salad

It is very hot here, and that means I like to keep as far away from the stove/oven as possible. So that means we've been eating a lot of salad. I find salad making very tedious and usually delegate that chore to my husband. However, when the main dish is a salad, I find ample opportunities for creativity and experimentation. I started with this recipe from Real Simple (August 2008), Chicken Salad with Potatoes & Arugula , but found that I was without arugula and just simply not in the mood for potatoes, so I lifted the dressing and the rotisserie chicken, substituted dried tarragon for fresh, and turned it into Chicken Pasta Salad with Hearts of Palm INGREDIENTS: 1 package fresh or dried pasta (I like rotini or some other shape that will capture the goodies) 1 rotisserie chicken (or chicken leftovers)--you'll probably only need half a chicken's worth 2-3 large hearts of palm, sliced 1/2 cup walnuts (optional) 1/4 cup EVOO 1-2 tablespoons champagne white wine vinegar