salad

Red Kuri squash salad bowl

~ Hanta ~ Leave a comment

Since getting a CSA this year, I had the opportunity to try new things I have never had before. In a previous post, I made a pea shoot salad for the first time.
Two weeks ago we got a red Kuri squash in our CSA box from the Angelic Organics farm.  I got inspired by this recipe and modified it based on which ingredients I had on hand and also made it dairy free since it called for goat cheese. But first, here is a red Kuri squashIMG_4268I did not peel the squash. The skin is tender enough to eat when cooked and I am all for maximizing usage. The seeds can also be roasted and enjoyed as a snack much like pumpkin seeds.

I made the salad with the arugula that was in this week’s CSA box and  used a sweet vinaigrette to balance its spiciness. I like how the slightly sweet flavor of the squash marries with the sweet and spicy arugula.

I also added tomatoes since we have a lot of those right now.

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Red Kuri squash salad bowl
– 1 red kuri squash
– olive oil
– salt (optional)

Salad:
– 3 cups of arugula (can substitute with baby arugula or spinach)
– 1 can of cannellini beans
– 1 onion
– 2 garlic cloves or 1 big clove
– 1 big tomato or two medium tomatoes, sliced

Salad dressing
– 3 tablespoon olive oil
– 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
– juice of 1 lime
– 1 teaspoon mustard
– 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
– salt
– pepper

Heat the oven at 385°F. Scrub the skin of the squash clean and pat dry. Cut it in half and scoop the seeds out. Cut each half of the squash in two. Brush the top of the slices with some olive oil. Salt and pepper as needed. Bake for 35-40 minutes until tender.

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Remove the beans from the can and rinse. Slice the onion thinly and chop the garlic. Heat some olive oil in a pan and first add the garlic to flavor the oil then add the onion and saute for a few minutes until tender. Add the beans and saute for another 5-10 minutes. Salt and pepper as needed.  Set aside to cool. img_4323

Mix the ingredients for the salad dressing in a small bowl

Rinse and dry the arugula. I chopped the leaves with scissors since they were quite big but if using baby arugula, just leave as is. Place the arugula in a big salad bowl, add the beans and salad dressing. Toss.

Scoop the salad onto the roasted squash. Enjoy!

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Pea shoots salad

~ Hanta ~ 1 Comment

This year, we signed up for a CSA with a local farm. For those who don’t know, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You pre-pay for the crops before the season starts, and you receive a share of produce every so often, in our case, every week once the harvest begins. This is our first time signing up for a CSA, and we signed up with Angelic Organic farms. It is an excellent way to get fresh organic produce and helps to support the local farmers as well.
We received our first box last week, and it contained something I have never used, pea shoots. I did not even know they were edible. A lot of veggies greens, like radish and beets, are edible, but I had yet to have these.

IMG_3560I was intrigued and tasted a shoot. It was crunchy and tasted, not surprisingly, like snap peas.

From a quick search, it seemed they could be used as salad and married well with soy sauce and ginger. I added radishes, also from the farm share, as well as some store-bought cucumber and carrots.

So, this is my first shot at a pea shoots salad. I purposely did not give accurate quantities here, as you can add in as much of each ingredient as you have or as you like. Simple, yet delicious.

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Pea shoots salad

  • Pea shoots (I removed the big stems and kept the end shoots and all the leaves, enough to fill a large bowl
  • Radishes, finely sliced as needed
  • Cucumber, finely sliced
  • Finely sliced carrots

Salad Dressing:

  • 4 Tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
  • 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce (I use a low sodium one)
  • Salt
  • PepperIMG_3596

Pick the end stems out, including the first leaves after the curly ends as well as all the leaves from the large stems. Wash the shoots and leaves and spin to dry or towel dry. Mix with the radish and the cucumber in a big bowl.

Mix all the ingredients for the salad dressing. Salt and pepper as needed. Add the dressing to the salad and toss. Enjoy!

Variations:

  • Add 1 Garlic clove, finely sliced
  • Sprinkle Toasted sesame seeds

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