Category: Salads

Barley Tofu Salad

Pasta & Grains, Salads, Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 package of extra firm tofu (12 oz)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • fresh ginger
  • Dark sesame oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup uncooked barley
  • 1 lb. green beans cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1½ lbs. of large shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 bunches of scallions
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of honey

Directions

  1. Drain tofu and place in a dish towel and a heavy skillet or book on it to drain water for about 45 minutes. Then, cut into 1 inch cubes and pour marinade over it and let stand for 25 minutes.
  2. Prepare marinade for tofu with brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of fresh minced ginger, 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil and garlic clove minced.
  3. Preheat oven to 375˚. Once tofu has marinated, bake for about 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes. Cool and set aside.
  4. To prepare barley: heat one teaspoon of sesame oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add barley and toast for about 3 minutes stirring frequently. Add 5 cups of water and ½ teaspoon of salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until barley is tender. Drain, cool and set in a large bowl.
  5. Cook green beans for about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender, drain and run under cold water. Add to bowl with barley.
  6. Slice mushrooms thinly and cook on a pan with sesame oil. Add to bowl with barley. Slice scallions thinly. Add to barley and green beans.
  7. Combine 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, honey, 2 teaspoons of minced ginger, 1 minced garlic in a small bowl stirring with a whisk. Drizzle mixture over barley and other ingredients. Serve warm or chilled.

Lemony Chickpea Salad

Salads

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons pure olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, quartered
  • 2 carrots, halved
  • 1 celery rib, halved crosswise, plus 4 small celery ribs, finely diced
  • 1 pound dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
  • 4 rosemary sprigs and 4 thyme sprigs, tied together with string
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • Finely shredded zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1½ teaspoons finely chopped peperoncini
  • 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¾ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

  1. In a large soup pot, heat the pure olive oil. Add the quartered yellow onion, carrots and halved celery rib and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are golden, about 10 minutes. Add the drained chickpeas, the herb sprig bundle and enough water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over moderately low until the chickpeas are tender, about 1½ hours. Add a large pinch of salt and pepper and cook the chickpeas for 10 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and cool for 15 minutes, then drain the chickpeas. Discard the herb sprigs, onion, carrots and celery.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, soak the red onion in the vinegar for 15 minutes. Drain, discarding the vinegar. Return the onion to the bowl and add the diced celery, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, chopped rosemary, oregano and peperoncini. Add the chickpeas and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Fold in the parsley and serve.

Adapted from Tom Colicchio via Food & Wine

Cold Szechuan Sesame Noodles

Pasta & Grains, Salads, Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 8 oz udon noodles
  • 2 tbs sesame oil
  • 2½ tbs freshly ground peanut butter
  • 1 tbs sesame seed paste
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp hot chili oil
  • 1⅓ cup vegetable stock
  • 2 tbs thinly sliced scallions
  • Chopped drained cucumbers optional

Directions

  1. Cook noodles al dente (about 5 min), drain with cold water
  2. Put noodles in bowl with sesame oil and refrigerate uncovered for 1 hour
  3. Mix everything else together, pour over noodles
  4. Refrigerate

Andrea McFarren’s recipe adapted from Szechuan Noodles at Oasis in Ithaca, NY. Photo by Stacy Spensley via Flickr used with CC Attribution license