23 posts tagged “goat cheese”
UPDATE: Vote for this recipe here!
A couple months ago, I received some camembert cheese from Ile de France (and you can see what I did with it here). It was delicious, so when I got asked to try another Ile de France cheese, I was on board. This time I went with goat cheese. I'd put goat cheese as one of my top 2 cheeses (the other being smoked gouda). It has a great taste, a nice tang, and a wonderful texture.
This Ile de France goat cheese is no different. It has a great tang that is not overpowering and it just melts in your mouth. The nice thing about logs of goat cheese is that when you cut pieces off to use in a recipe, you will inevitably have some crumbles that you can snack on as you cook dinner. :)
This cheese is great on its own and it's great in meals. Case in point: these savory crepes. I wanted to make something that had minimal ingredients to really showcase the cheese. I love goat cheese with mushrooms, so I went that route. I thought of making phyllo triangles or a tart but I ultimately ended on crepes because though I love crepes, I've never made them. I admit I was a little worried about tackling crepes. I am really terrible at flipping (anything) and my stove is very unlevel. But, these were so easy to make! I only had one crepe casualty and that's just because I was getting too cocky with how easily they were turning out for me, and decided to multitask.
Since I only used about half the goat cheese in this recipe, I was also able to use it in this farro bake, and one of our staple meals - chicken with goat cheese & sundried tomato sauce. All were delicious. Thanks, Ile de France!
Savory Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crepes with Balsamic Reduction
Makes about 12 filled crepes
Rosemary Crepes
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup AP flour
3 eggs
pinch of salt
a few grinds of pepper
1 cup milk (I used skim)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary
additional oil or butter for greasing the pan (may or may not be necessary)
Put all the crepe ingredients together in a blender and pulse to combine. Pour the mixture into a bowl (this will make it easier to get the batter into the pan later), cover & refrigerate for one hour.
Heat an 8" nonstick pan or crepe pan over medium heat. I just used a little olive oil spray in my pan to make sure the crepes didn't stick but since there is melted butter in the batter you may not even need it.
Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to make your crepes. Fill the measuring cup about 3/4 of the way with batter and then add the batter to the pan. Tilt the pan around so the batter fully covers the bottom in a thin layer. Cook for about a minute and then once set, flip. Cook for another 40 seconds or so.
Mushroom and Goat Cheese Filling
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs. assorted mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake, etc.)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine or sherry
5.5 oz. Isle de France goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the butter and oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, sauteing until translucent. Stir in the mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Reduce heat to low. Cook over low heat until the mushrooms have released their moisture, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Increase the heat to medium/medium high and add the wine. Deglaze the bottom of the pan and let the wine cook off until nearly all is evaporated. Season to taste. Off the heat, stir in the goat cheese. Add the filling to the crepes, roll them up, and place them seam side down (alternatively you could just spoon the mushroom mixture into the crepes and crumble goat cheese on top instead of stirring it in).
Balsamic Reduction
1 cup good quality aged balsamic vinegar
1 sprig rosemary
Bring the balsamic vinegar and rosemary to a slight boil over medium heat. Continue to boil lightly until the mixture has thickened, reduced, and become syrupy. Drizzle over filled crepes.
I've been wanting to try farro for quite a while now but my Whole Foods always seems to be out of it. I finally found some the other day (when I was there for something entirely different of course. It is a fact you cannot leave WF with less than 5 items. I have tried. Many times.), so I picked it up.
I had actually planned on making some sort of chicken/spinach/whole wheat pasta bake last night because I wanted to make something that would yield leftovers for lunches. But, I was not feeling pasta at all and, silly me, I ate a chicken pasta for lunch. D'oh. So for the last half hour of work, my mind kept wandering to what I could make tonight. I still wanted something one-dish that would yield leftovers. And then I remembered the farro. And THEN, I realized that farro ended in an O which meant I could submit this over to Jenn, Sara, and Michelle, who are hosting O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness. Phew. I was racking my brain trying to think of something to make for this over the weekend with what I had on hand and came up with nada. So I was pretty happy to discover something on accident, since I really wanted to participate in this event. More details about Ovarian Cancer Awareness at the end of this post.
Now, I have never cooked with farro before so I'm not sure about the whole soaking thing. Some websites called for soaking the farro in cold water for 8 hours or more before baking. Other recipes just had you jump right into the boiling. I decided to soak the farro for about 45 minutes. Seemed to work just fine.
There is a very small amount of chicken in this recipe which is great for people trying to eat less meat, or simply cut down on costs. Of course, you can always add more chicken if you are not one of those people. Or, take it out entirely and make this a great vegetarian meal. I might add an extra egg or a little more cheese next time for added creaminess, but otherwise this was very tasty and filling. And wait till you see the nutritional information. You definitely won't feel bad adding an extra egg or some cheese if you want. :)
I really liked the farro. I would say it's very similar to barley in both taste and texture, but it's still a nice change of pace. I will probably stick with barley and other grains, though, because, while this is a whole grain, it is lower in fiber and protein than barley.
Farro Bake
Serves 6
1 cup farro (soaked or not. whatev.)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 chicken breast (about 8-10 oz.), cooked and shredded
a couple dashes crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
3 oz. goat cheese, softened
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan or romano cheese
salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the farro. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent, and then add the mushrooms and garlic. Add a little salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms have browned and lost most of their moisture. Stir in the chicken, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste, and Italian seasoning and cook a few extra minutes to marry the flavors. Stir in the sundried tomatoes.
Preheat the oven to 375. Whisk the goat cheese and eggs together in a large bowl. Add a couple grinds of pepper. Allow the farro and chicken mixture to cool slightly before adding them both to the goat cheese mixture. Combine well and then pour into a casserole dish or pie pan that is lightly greased. Sprinkle with the romano cheese. Bake for about 35 minutes.
Nutritional Information Per Serving - Calories: 267 / Fat: 8.8 / Saturated: 3.6 / Carbs: 29g / Protein: 21.2g
O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen and Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are asking you to donate to the:
and then, out of the goodness of your hearts and to be eligible for the OFoods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest, please do the following:
- Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato) and include this entire text box in the post;
OR
- If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word about the event and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
AND
- Then send your post url [along with a photo (100 x 100) if you’ve made a recipe] to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on September 30, 2008.
We will post a roundup and announce prize winners on October 3.
Prizes:
- 1 Recipe Prize for best “O food” concoction: $50 gift certificate to Amazon;
- 1 Awareness Prize for only publicizing event: Copy of Dolce Italiano cookbook.
———
From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:
- Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
- The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease.
- The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose. There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
- In spite of this patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
- When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
Please donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
and help spread the word!
Does making a blog post on a Friday night totally give away the fact that I lead an incredibly lame life? Probably. Is getting really excited about the National Spelling Bee that's currently on ESPN even worse? I don't know, but I don't care. I absolutely love watching it every year. At any rate, here is a quick post from the ol' Macbook as I'm watching the spelling bee and cracking up that one of the spellers thought "numnah" was actually "numbnuts." Hilarity!
First, a quick reminder that the next deadline for Eat to the Beat is a month from today, June 30. This is the event that asks you to pair some type of food or drink with an artist, song, etc. We had some great entries last time, so I am hoping to get some great participation this time around too!
Second, this is the easiest appetizer you will ever make. It uses 4 ingredients and there's a good chance you have them all in your kitchen right now. Okay, I admit I don't usually have premade phyllo cups in the freezer. But, they are a nice staple to have because you never know when you will want to make a last-minute appetizer and not have time to run to the store. These were, in fact, a last minute appetizer for the barbecue we decided to have with a couple friends on Memorial Day.
I was so lazy with these that I didn't even chop the basil prettily and did a quick chiffonade instead. But hey, these tasted great anyway. You can't go wrong with warm cheese, can you?
Goat Cheese & Sundried Tomato Phyllo Cups
Let a log of goat cheese soften to room temperature.
Drain and chop some sundried tomatoes. Mix them in with the softened goat cheese and add a little fresh ground pepper.
Spoon the mixture into the phyllo cups and bake at 350 till the cheese is warm and the phyllo cups are crisp.
Sprinkle over some fresh chopped basil and serve.
As I mentioned, there are so many great blogging events going on right now and sadly, I haven't had the chance to participate in as many as I would like. Thankfully, though, Barbara at Winos and Foodies extended the deadline for this year's Taste of Yellow, so I was able to sneak a submission in tonight before going out of town tomorrow. If you haven't already participated in LiveSTRONG Taste of Yellow 2008, definitely try to!
I picked up some yellow squash the other day, and sort of decided what I was going to do with it about 5 minutes before cooking it. The filling consists of ingredients I always have around, and that I love in combination with one another. Plus, I think it makes for something quite pretty!
Taste of Yellow is to show your support of LiveSTRONG Day 2008, which is May 13. Cancer. It's one of those things that I feel affects nearly everyone in some way, unfortunately. It hit me the hardest as a freshman in high school when my grandfather was diagnosed with colon cancer.
I lived with my grandparents from when I was 3 years old until I was 10 years old. They were obviously like a second set of parents to me. My yiayia (grandma) and pappou (grandpa) took me on their biannual vacations, gave me my first job as a "hostess" at their restaurant, and, well, made me talk to anyone who called because they couldn't speak good English :) Speaking of poor English, one of my earliest memories is of my pappou yelling at my preschool teacher. See, when I started preschool I was armed with a very small set of English words as I spoke Greek to my whole family. I was also armed with quite a temper and stubbornness (some things never change). One day, we were supposed to be napping in cots. I was not used to taking naps in the afternoon and I tried to let my teacher know that. The teacher, increasingly frustrated with me, eventually dragged my cot (and me) out to the hallway and made me sit there for the rest of the afternoon. When my pappou came to pick me up and saw me crying in the hallway, he was absolutely furious. You can imagine the the screaming in incredibly broken English that ensued.
I was alway close with both my grandparents, but my pappou and I shared a special bond. I was the typical spoiled only grandchild, but it was so much more than that. We always had a good time together, and he loved me more than anyone. I'd stay up waiting for him to come home from the restaurant and practically every night, like clockwork, he would eat a steak and drink some ouzo. So now you know where I get my adoration for both steak and ouzo :)
When my pappou was diagnosed with cancer, it was obviously a scary thing for me but more than anything, I assumed he would pull through it. My grandpa was tough. He was a big guy. He came from Greece on a boat and became successful in the States. He raised me in addition to raising three of his own children. Cancer? He could beat cancer! Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Watching someone you love so much get weaker, get thinner and just get sicker as the cancer spread is something I hope I never have to go through again. My pappou lost his battle with cancer in 1995. It was devastating. And, it's still devastating. I still think about him all of the time, and I often wish he were here to share so many things with me. On our wedding day, Tom and I wore the "stefana" (crowns prevalent during an Orthodox ceremony) that my yiayia and pappou wore on their wedding day in 1959. It was a way for him to be there with me on my special day, and I know that he is still "here" for me on other special days. Or maybe on a day that doesn't even seem that special...watching over me, wondering why I am eating chicken and drinking wine when I could be having a piece of steak with a shot of ouzo instead.
Mediterranean Squash Boats
2 yellow squash
a little olive oil
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
1 large clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
fresh parsley or additional basil for topping (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375.
Wash and scrub the squash, and then cut lengthwise. Scoop out the "meat" of the squash, chop it, and put it in a bowl. To the bowl, add the sundried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, garlic and salt and pepper to taste.
Brush the outside of the squash with a little olive oil (or spray with a Misto) and sprinkle the insides lightly with salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini with the mixture from the bowl. Drizzle each piece with a little balsamic vinegar. Top with the crumbled goat cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes or until zucchini is tender and cheese is warm.
I'm fairly certain that beets are the new black. People used to fear the beet, or so it seems. They'd wrinkle their noses when ordering a Greek salad in one of my family's restaurants and proclaim, "Hold the beets." Those who'd never tried a beet wouldn't even consider giving it a shot. And, I'm pretty sure a large percentage of people wouldn't be able to identify a raw beet if they saw one.
But it seems the fear of the beet has lessened significantly, and lately, they've been popping up everywhere--in magazines, food blogs, cooking shows, healthy eating lists. In fact, I'm pretty sure every restaurant I have gone to in the last year has had some sort of roasted beet appetizer on the menu. Roasted beet and goat cheese salads are the new(ish) thing. And you know what? More often than not, I'll order one. I, for one, have always loved the beet. And coupled with goat cheese? I'm on it. Is this salad so popular that it could one day end up on one of Anthony Bourdain's overrated menus?
I don't think so. It's too unfussy, too pure. It's simplicity at its finest, and its tastiest.
So, of course, that's what I decided to do with the beets I bought on sale last week.
Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
3 large red beets
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp. pine nuts
parsley or other fresh herbs, chopped (optional)
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 425. Wrap each beat individually in aluminum foil. Roast the beets on the middle rack until tender, about an hour to an hour and a half. Once cool enough to handle, peel the beet and dice it.
Meanwhile, whisk together the vinegar, oil, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Let it stand for a bit for the flavors to marry. Pluck out the garlic clove and then toss the diced beets with the mixture.
Top with goat cheese, pine nuts, and parsley.
As I was sticking this into the oven, I decided this would be something Giada would make. Doesn't she put sundried tomatoes and basil in pretty much anything? Of course, she would probably use mascarpone instead of the goat cheese. Not that I am knocking her, at all, because these are some fantastic ingredients and usually make things taste pretty darn good. Where Giada stocks her mascarpone, I stock my goat cheese. It's one of my favorite kinds of cheese and I think it goes well with pretty much anything. In fact, just today I had some on a salad for lunch, and then stuffed into a flank steak for dinner. Mmm, tangy, creamy goodness.
I have said it before and I will say it again: stuffed meats = delicious. Even when you are low on groceries you can inevitably find something to stuff into a chicken breast, pork tenderloin, flank steak, etc. that will give it a little extra oomph and some more elegance (although if you are trying to make it look elegant, I suggest slicing it a little prettier than I did today :)
To make sure we don't overeat, I usually package and freeze our meats into 2-person portions (or sometimes 4, making enough for lunch leftovers). I mention this because the piece of steak I used for this was roughly 8-10 oz big so if you are planning on using an entire flank steak, you will have to double or triple the amount of stuffing, as flanks tend to be around 1.5 lbs. each. We both LOVE this. It's one of our favorite stuffings for flank.
Here's a tip: it turns out that, even though the pan is sitting on the stovetop when you make the pan sauce, it's still hot as hell from being in a 400 degree oven. So, try not to grip the handle at this time. Not that I have any experience with that or anything...
My pictures didn't turn out too great, due in part to the not-so-pretty slices of flank steak pinwheels and also because I couldn't keep a steady hand tonight for some reason (I'd imagine it could have something to do with the 2nd degree burn to the left palm, if I were admitting I did in fact have a burned palm).
Flank Steak Stuffed with Sundried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Basil
Serves 2
10 oz. (ish) flank steak
2 oz. goat cheese, brought to room temperature to soften
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Optional pan sauce:
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. white wine
Preheat the oven to 400.
Butterfly the flank steak, and then pound is to flatten it slightly. Sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, combine the softened goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, basil, a few grinds of pepper. Spread the mixture on top of the flank steak, and then roll it up to form a log. Secure the steak with kitchen twine or toothpicks.
Heat a large, ovenproof skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the flank steak and brown it on all sides. Place the flank steak in the oven to finish cooking to your desired level of doneness (about 12 minutes for me). Place the steak under a foil tent to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
If you want to make a pan sauce, put the same pan you cooked the steak in over medium heat on your stovetop. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits (and, whatever you do, don't touch the handle without an oven mitt). Reduce the sauce slightly and then season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary. Strain and serve over the flank steak.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 340 / Fat: 21g / Carbs: 4.2g / Protein: 29.3
-copy%5B1%5D.jpg)
Ruth over at Once Upon a Feast has been hosting Presto Pasta Nights for a whole year now. Thanks, Ruth! I really wanted to participate in this week's roundup--the big PPN birthday--so hopefully I am not too late!
Speaking of events, for those of you who have posted your entry to Eat to the Beat, thanks for participating! I have seen some really delicious and really creative things. If you haven't emailed me your info, please do that. I am using my emails to do the round-up so I don't want to accidentally forget anyone. If you emailed me your info and you didn't hear back from me that either means I didn't get your email or I did, but you didn't get mine. The interwebs is crazy like that! So either way, please email me again. Thanks!
Anywho, like any "presto" kind of dish, this meal came together with ingredients I always manage to have on hand (OK, I did have a minor panic attack on Monday when I made pizzas and realized, to my horror, that I was out of goat cheese but I have since remedied that situation). It's a dish that's easy to prepare but definitely not lacking in flavor. The goat cheese gives this pasta a creamy consistency (and makes it a pretty color!) and is a *little* better for you than heavy cream. Plus, it just gives that little tang of extra flavor. I'm really glad I made enough to take leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Penne with Goat Cheese-Tomato Sauce (and peas, mushrooms, and chicken sausage...)
Serves 4
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 (4-5 oz) hot Italian sausages, casings removed (I use chicken sausage)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. (or to taste) crushed red pepper flakes
a few tbsp of wine or broth (not necessary but it's good for deglazing)
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp. fresh basil (more for garnish if desired)
1 small (4oz) log goat cheese
salt and pepper
10-12 oz. penne, cooked
Heat a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat, and add the olive oil. When shimmering, crumble in the sausage and saute until browned. Add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms and garlic. Once the mushrooms and onions are tender, add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Cook for about a minute before adding a few splashes of broth/wine to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the browned bits.
Add the crushed tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer to combine the flavors, 10 or 15 minutes. Add the peas and heat through for a minute or two. Stir in the basil and the goat cheese. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until the goat cheese has melted into the sauce. Season to taste if necessary and combine with the cooked pasta.
I had every intention of making lasagna rolls yesterday. Aren't these supposed to be the "easier" alternative to lasagna? Me thinks not. I boiled my noodles to al dente (with some oil so that they wouldn't stick together), stirred them around as they cooked. Guess what? Half the noodles stuck together. When I tried to pry them apart from one another, I ended up with some interesting noodle shapes, definitely not suitable for the pretty lasagna rolls I had envisioned.
So, onto Plan B. A regular ol' lasagna (with the torn pieces hidden in the middle layer, of course). I decided to make a healthier-than-usual lasagna, and it turned out really well, even if it wasn't as pretty to photograph as rolls would have been. I wanted to make a vodka sauce with this, but I was out of cream, and after the noodle fiasco, I just decided to use some jarred sauce. I'm just going to say this is pretty healthful and leave it at that (without posting nutritional information), since so many things can vary that based on what you use. I personally used 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, 2% mozzarella (full fat goat & romano cheeses) and about half a jar of jarred pasta sauce. I cut my lasagna into 6 servings, at 370 calories a piece.
Whole Wheat Chicken Lasagna
1/2 box whole wheat lasagna noodles; cooked al dente (this could vary based on size of the noodles; mine were shorter than regular)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded or diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
oregano and basil, to taste
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 cups fresh spinach, coarsley chopped
4 oz. (1 small log) goat cheese
1 egg, beaten
1.5 cups pasta sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded or grated romano cheese
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat a large pan over medium heat and add olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until tender. Stir in the cooked chicken, garlic, oregano, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Add the spinach and saute for a few minutes to develop the flavors and wilt the spinach. Put the mixture into a bowl and cool slightly. Stir in the goat cheese and then the beaten egg.
Spray a baking dish with some cooking oil and then pour about 1/2 cup of pasta sauce over the bottom. Layer 1/3 of the noodles over the sauce, and then pour half the chicken mixture over the noodles. Repeat layering (sauce, noodles, chicken). Add a final layer of noodles, followed by the last 1/2 cup of sauce. Top with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I hate mayo. Loathe it, really. Just looking at the way it jiggles in the cup when someone asks for it on the side of something at a restaurant makes me ill. Ick! So, as you may have gathered, I am not too big on most picnic type foods, like chicken/egg/potato/pasta salads, deviled eggs, etc. When I make potato and pasta salads, I always use a vinaigrette-based dressing. I must admit, though, that I've never made chicken salad. When I saw a recipe for chicken salad with asparagus and sundried tomato dressing from Cook's Illustrated, I knew I had to try it.
I served this over some swiss chard and also with crostini (with goat cheese spread on it). Overall, the flavor on this was good. I think it needs more dressing (at least when it's served over greens) but I admit I did reduce the amount of olive oil slightly to make it a little lighter, so that contributed to it being underdressed, no doubt.
While I liked the asparagus and sundried tomatoes in this chicken salad (and, of course, the goat cheese and pine nuts!), I think I prefer chicken salad I had at a local coffee shop, which has since closed. Their chicken salad had pesto and hearts of palm. So, at some point, I will try to make a copycat version of that. But, overall we did like this recipe.
Chicken Salad with Asparagus and Sundried Tomato Dressing
Cook's Illustrated
Serves 5-6
3.5 lb. whole chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper (I actually just used a roasted chicken I picked up at my grocery store)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus an additional tablespoon
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained, rinsed and chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed (I used 2)
1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 cup chopped fresh basil
3 ounces crumbled goat cheese (optional)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (I probably used closer to 1/4 cup)
If you are roasting your own chicken, season it with salt and pepper and then roast it in the middle of a 375 degree oven until done. When cool, pull the meat from the bones and set aside 5 cups. If you have more, just save it for a different use.
Puree the oil, vinegar, sundried tomatoes, garlic and 1/4 tsp salt and 1/s tsp pepper in a food processor/blender until smooth. Transfer for a bowl.
Heat the remaining oil in a skillet and cook the asparagus (seasoned with salt and pepper) until almost tender, about 3 minutes. Let cool.
Add the cooled asparagus and the basil to the vinaigrette, stirring to combine. Add the chicken to combine and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with goat cheese and pine nuts, if you want.
I think I've mentioned before that I don't like to cook on Fridays. Any other day I have no problem with it and often look forward to it. But on a Friday, the last thing I want to do is make anything that requires anything over incredibly minimal effort. We tend to go out or eat a crockpot meal on Fridays because of this.
Tonight, I decided to make a really simple meal. I grilled up some chicken (marinated in EVOO/balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and Italian seasoning) and placed it on top of Tyler Florence's watercress salad with roasted tomato dressing and goat cheese croutons. By the way, they are not really croutons so much as crostini with goat cheese. But bread + goat cheese under any name = good in my book.
This was a really simple, really good, healthful meal. I really liked the tomato dressing as something different than the ordinary vinaigrette. I wasn't necessarily blown away by it but it was refreshing and flavorful. I'd make it again. The only thing I did differently was double the garlic.
