Category: Paleo

Holiday Salad with Apple & Honey Vinaigrette


When I first developed this salad recipe, I did not have Rosh Hashanah in mind. In fact, it was just about getting creative with the ingredients in my refrigerator (which is pretty much how all my salads happen). When all the components came together, it just screamed holiday, and I knew I had to share it for the upcoming Chag.

Although figs are not one of the traditional fruits eaten on Rosh Hashanah (like pomegranates, apples and beets), it’s a good idea to take advantage of the season’s bounty. Fig season is short and sweet, and besides, they are one of the Seven Species of the Land of Israel. The figs add a chewy texture, sweet flavor, and beautiful color to the salad making it the perfect holiday appetizer.

Fresh figs are not the only bright piece to this beautiful salad puzzle. Chioggia beets also add amazing color and design. On the outside, the humble root vegetable is unassuming (ie. ugly). But when you cut into it – you get the most beautiful candy cane spiral that is almost too magical to eat. The thing about chioggia beets is that when you cook them, that beauty all but disappears into a dull pinky beige mass. To appreciate the bright pink spirals, candy cane beets should be eaten raw – shaved thinly on a mandolin.

Holiday Salad:

1 pkg mixed greens
1-2 chioggia (candy cane) beets, thinly sliced on a mandolin
1 green apple, cored and sliced
1 red apple, cored and sliced
1 container fresh figs, quartered
honey roasted nuts such as walnuts, pecans or almonds
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)

Method:

On a serving platter, arrange the beets around the edge and fill the center with mixed greens. Top greens with apples and figs and sprinkle nuts and pomegranate seeds all around.

VARIATION: For a simanim salad (a salad that incorporates many of the symbolic foods traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah), use the following ingredients along with the apple and honey vinaigrette: mixed greens, 1 honeycrisp apple, 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, 1 julienned carrot, 2 chopped medjool dates and shaved chioggia beet. (Watch me make it in the video posted below!)

To further the Holiday theme, I whipped up an “apple and honey” dressing, using apple cider vinegar and sweet honey. If you have a custom not to eat vinegar on Rosh Hashanah (due to it’s sour taste), you may substitute with lemon juice.

Apple & Honey Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 c honey
1/4 c apple cider vinegar (or 3 tbsp lemon juice + 1 tbsp apple juice)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp finely minced shallot
s&p, to taste

Method:

In a bowl, whisk together the dressing until emulsified. Drizzle dressing over salad before serving.

Watch me make a Rosh Hashanah Simanim salad with TorahCafe here:


Watch on TorahCafé.com!

Other Rosh Hashanah Salad Ideas:

rainbow slaw with poppy seed dressing
pomegranate coleslaw
apple celery veggie dip
roasted beet & orange salad
couscous with thyme & honey roasted carrots, parsnips and beets

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Melon Carpaccio

The term carpaccio is usually used to refer to thinly sliced cuts of meat or fish that are served as an appetizer. In recent years, however, chef’s have reinvented the idea of carpaccio, preparing  dishes of thinly sliced veggies or fruit, like zucchini and melon, carpaccio-style. The trick to making a carpaccio is to keep the ingredients thin and uniform by shaving them down with a mandolin or vegetable peeler. Ever since slicing my palm on a mandolin last year, I have a hard time using it without cringing, so peelers are a welcome substitute in this case!

When working with melon, you don’t want your fruit to be too ripe, otherwise the thin shavings won’t hold up after plating. They’ll let out too much juice and turn to mush. Use just-ripened fruit that’s cold (warm melon will be harder to peel) and shave it over a bowl to catch the juices. If using a mandolin or peeler doesn’t work for you, you can also slice it thinly with a knife.

What I love most about this melon appetizer, is the combination of sweet melon with spicy jalapeno and tart lime.  It celebrates the best of summer produce –  melon, tomatoes & basil – at their prime. This unconventional melon salad is not only a party on your palate, it looks beautiful on your plate too.

Melon Carpaccio

1/2 green melon (canary or honeydew)
1/2 orange melon (cantaloupe or orange flesh honeydew)
1 handful yellow grape tomatoes
1 handful red grape tomatoes
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
1/3 cup tomato juice
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp lime zest
5 basil leaves, chiffonade
pinch of salt
additional basil, for garnish

Method:

Over a bowl (to catch the drippings), thinly slice melon using a mandoline, peeler or knife (see above for tips). Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently to combine. Serve in glasses and garnish with fresh basil.

 

1 year ago: cherries in red wine syrup
2 years ago: fried fish sandwich

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Orange Creamsicle Pops

Some of the favorite memories of my youth involve the summers spent in Himmel’s bungalow colony in upstate New York. The caretakers lived directly across the road, in what I remember to be a shack equally as dilapidated as our bungalow. Not that I cared much. When I happened upon their space, I was there for only one thing – the small ice cream freezer in the corner. I had my eye on a particular prize – the orange creamsicles. The creamy ice pops were a summer treat, fresh with the taste of orange and sweet with milky goodness.

I have wanted to replicate those pops in forever, and with my new-found obsession with creamy coconut milk, I was pretty sure I could make a decent nondairy version. Considering how my daughter devoured them, I think I did a good job. They’re a bit icier than the original, but the taste brings back such great memories!

What are some of your favorite summer food memories? Share them with me in the comments below!

Orange Creamsicle Pops

2 cups coconut milk
6 oz. orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Method:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until solid.

1 year ago: strawberry limonana
2 years ago: quick & easy fish

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Grilled Marinated Chicken

With Memorial Day finally here, it’s safe to say that BBQ season has officially started. While BBQ’s are a great way to enjoy the warm weather, they’re also an excuse to serve up a spread of tasty, yet not-so-healthy hot dogs, burgers and fries (and don’t forget the coleslaw and potato salad!). It’s really a shame because grilled chicken is cheaper, healthier, and quicker than all that other BBQ fare. With the right preparation, your chicken can turn out perfectly moist and full of flavor, you won’t even miss the other stuff. Leftover grilled chicken is also great on salads, in tacos, or repurposed in a chicken tortilla soup!

The best way to get your chicken to be moist and flavorful, is to marinate it for several hours. Adding oil and acid to the marinade really helps to tenderize the chicken and keep it moist. I love the bright and fresh flavor that lime juice adds, but feel free to experiment with lemon juice or vinegars of your choice.

Grilled Marinated Chicken

1 pkg chicken breasts, cleaned and trimmed of fat
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
zest of 1 lime

Method:

Add garlic, olive oil, soy sauce, lime juice and zest to a bowl and mix to combine. Add chicken breasts to a ziploc bag and pour over the marinade. Place the bag in the refrigerator for about 6-8 hours (or a few hours at the minimum). Remove chicken from marinade (discard remaining) and place on a hot grill. Grill for about 4-6 minutes per side, depending on size and thickness (the internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 degrees F).

NOTE: If you don’t have an outdoor grill, feel free to make this on a grill pan, or broil in the oven for about 4-5 minutes per side.

TIP: To get nice grill marks on your chicken, pat it dry before placing it on the grill.

1 year ago: salmon pasta salad
2 years ago: black bean & chorizo chocolate chili

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Rainbow Slaw with Poppy-Seed Dressing

I wish I could take credit for this awesome salad combo, but the truth is, I ate a variation of it at Glatt Ala Carte restaurant in Brooklyn last year. The very following Shabbat, I recreated it at home, and I’ve been making it ever since. There’s just something about the colorful julienned vegetables paired with sweet and tart apples, chewy craisins and crunchy honey glazed pecans that just screams spring. It’s light, refreshing, not overly sweet, and incredibly satisfying.


One of the things that I love most about this recipe is the julienned vegetables. There’s just something about the texture that makes it more palatable. And I get to use my favorite tool of all time – the julienne peeler. It makes preparing homemade slaw so quick and easy, you’ll never have to pull out your hand grater again! My favorite julienne peeler is made by OXO. If you don’t have one, you can buy it here.

I used to wonder if my whole julienne obsession was just me, so I did a little experiment. I made my waldorf salad 2 weeks in a row, using the exact same ingredients. One week, I diced the apples into cubes, the way it’s classically done. The next week, I julienned them into thin strips for a more refined presentation. The results were crystal clear. The julienned salad got rave reviews and was finished down to the last drop. The chunkier cubed salad was eaten, but with not much ado, and I had leftovers.


Rounding out the salad is this delicious poppy seed dressing. The honey helps to thicken it so that it emulsifies into a creamy dressing. Make sure to whisk vigorously (or shake in a container) right before serving, to keep the emulsion from breaking.

Sweet & Crunchy Slaw

1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 zucchini, julienned (do not peel)
1 yellow squash, julienned (do not peel)
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly into 1/2 rings
1/2 granny smith apple, cored, quartered and sliced thinly
1/2 fuji or honeycrisp apple, cored, quartered, and sliced thinly
1/4 cup craisins
1/4 cup honey glazed pecans

Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 cup extra light olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp poppy seeds
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

In a bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and whisk vigorously until emulsified. In a separate bowl, combine the carrots, zucchini, squash, and onion. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Gently fold in the apples, and garnish with craisins and pecans.

NOTE: To get an easy and consistent julienne, I prefer to use a julienne peeler, as pictured above. It works just like a standard peeler, except it cuts what you’re peeling into thin strips. To julienne with the peeler, just peel around the vegetable a few times, until you start to reach the center. Discard or save the remainder for vegetable soup. If you do not have a julienne peeler, you may julienne your veggies by hand. Simply cut off the top and bottom of the vegetable. Then, square off the sides so that you have a 4-sided rectangle. Slice thinly into vertical slices. Stack the slices on top of each other and cut into strips.

1 year ago: pineapple chicken & BBQ jalepeno pizza
2 years ago: 1-2-3 decadent molten chocolate chip cakes

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