Salads

Go Green Salad

(serves 6-8)

½ pound French green beans, blanched

½ pound frozen peas, blanched

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and blanched

Choose asparagus with tight tips!

1 – 14 ounce can of artichoke hearts, quartered

3 celery stalks, sliced thin on the diagonal

½ – 5 ounce container of arugula

Shredded chicken ( I used breast meat from a rotisserie chicken)

1 C basil pesto

Salt

Cracked pepper

1/3 C toasted pine nuts

Parmesan Reggiano shavings

EVOO for drizzling

For blanching: Fill a stock pot half full with water and cover. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add 1 T salt and drop in green beans. When color becomes vibrant and “Spring” green, remove French beans to an ice bath. Repeat the same procedure for the peas and asparagus. The asparagus and green beans will soften a little more after cooling in the ice bath. Please do not overcook the vegetables. A bit of “tooth” is desirable. Drain all vegetables and place on a towel-lined cookie sheet for further drying. Place in the refrigerator. This can be done earlier in the day for night-time service.

To assemble: place green beans, peas, asparagus, artichokes, celery, chicken, arugula and pesto in a mixing bowl. Toss gently (hands work best) making sure to evenly coat all ingredients with the pesto. Season with additional salt and cracked pepper. If mix looks a bit dry, add a spritz of EVOO. Place salad on individual plates and garnish with parm shavings, toasted pine nuts, and a kiss of EVOO.

This with good bread and Dry Creek Fume Blanc or Bending Branch Picpoul Blanc….perfect summer meal. Enjoy!

Panzanella Salad

4-5 slices of stale ciabatta bread, cubed and baked

1 ½ pounds of gourmet cherub tomatoes, halved

1 large shallot, finely diced

4 balls fresh mozzarella, cubed

8-10 leaves fresh basil, torn into larger pieces

12 pitted Kalamata olives, diced small

Simple vinaigrette

For ciabatta bread, slice into ¾ inch thick slices. Stale bread works best. It absorbs the olive oil better. Who doesn’t have some stale bread? Generously brush each side of the sliced ciabatta with EVOO. Cubed the bread into bite-sized pieces. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until golden in color. Remove and cool. The rest is an assembly of ingredients. None of the remaining components are critical measures really. I call them subjective measures. I like lots of basil. Some may like more olives. Your food passion makes the call. There should be some balance of flavor! Combine ingredients and dress with a simple vinaigrette prior to serving. The “croutons” have a nice light crunch. This is a great summer salad. Wonderful tomato choices now too. Heirlooms, homegrowns, cherubs, all good. Mix it up for color and variety. Enjoy this bite of summer goodness.

Wild Chicken Salad!

2 – 6 ounce boxes of Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice, original recipe

1 – 14.65 ounce can of quartered artichokes, rinsed and drained

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

three in picture, only two needed for recipe…Jerry and Maggie got the other one…

1 bunch scallions, chopped

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

2 T plus 2t curry powder

1 ½ C mayonnaise

2 t black pepper

2 t salt

1 gala apple, diced

½ large container of spring greens

½ C dried cranberries

½ C toasted almond slices

Cook rice according to package directions. I used only half of one “flavor packet” for both boxes of rice. Note the cooking instructions under High’s Chicken Salad for cooking the breasts. In a large bowl, combine rice, artichokes, diced chicken, scallions, parsley, mayo, salt, pepper and curry. Mix well and store in the refrigerator for several hours. For serving, lightly dress greens, apples and cranberries with raspberry chipotle vinaigrette. Place on plates and top with wild chicken. Garnish with more chopped parsley and toasted almonds. At High’s, we serve this plate with toasted pita chips. Wild Chicken! holds well overnight. Beyond that, the rice texture can get a little gritty.

The recipe can be cut in half.

Credit to my friend Milan Hughston for this idea. Before he moved to NYC, I had brunch at his house in Fort Worth where he served something like this. I didn’t ask him for the recipe. Just made it up based on what I was tasting. Added the salad greens, almonds, apples and cranberries when it was reinvented for High’s. Hey Milan, is it noon yet? 😉

Farro and Beet Salad

5 medium sized beets, roasted, peeled and diced

1 ½ C farro

1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

½ C golden raisins

1 C walnut pieces, toasted

½ bunch parsley, finely chopped

Zest of 1 orange

1 C goat cheese, crumbled

2 C baby kale

Salt and pepper to taste

For beets: Trim tops and bottoms of beets so they sit in a baking dish without rolling around. Try to use similar-sized beets for even cooking. A mix of gold and red beets looks great. Place trimmed beets into a baking dish prepared with non-stick spray. Cover dish with foil and place into a preheated 375 degree oven. Bake beets for 1 hour or more until a knife inserts easily. Allow beets to cool. Peel and dice.

For farro: In a sauce pan, add 1 ½ C of farro and 2 ¼ C of water. Season with 1 t salt, 4 bay leaves, and 1 t dried thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for an additional 10 or 15 minutes more until grain has a nice bite. Drain off excess water and place cooked farro on a plate for cooling.

Farro is a grain high in protein and fiber. It is a great substitute for pasta or rice. Farro resides in the spelt family.

Combine cooled beets, farro and remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss with orange herb vinaigrette. Great combination. Healthy and Tasty.

High’s House Salad, Spring/Summer

Spring mix

Sliced strawberries

Toasted almonds

Feta cheese

In a bowl, combine spring mix with Raspberry Chipotle Vinaigrette. Be careful not to saturate or weight down the greens with too much dressing. Place dressed greens on a platter. Add sliced strawberries to the bowl and lightly dress. Sprinkle over the greens. Top with toasted almonds and a sprinkle of feta.

This pairs well with our chicken salad. A favorite combo of many.

Super Food, Super Salad

1 pound lentils, cooked and chilled

1 C quinoa, cooked and chilled

4 stalks celery, finely diced

4 carrots, finely diced

3 baby cucumbers, finely diced

1 C cherub tomatoes, halved

1 C toasted walnut pieces

1/3 C chopped parsley

1 C crumbled feta cheese

Combine all ingredients and dress with sherry vinaigrette. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Serve salad over leaf lettuce.

Healthy, crunchy, flavorful.

For the lentils:

Rinse lentils and place in a stock pot and cover with water by an inch. Add 1 T salt, 1 T dried thyme, 8-10 bay leaves, 8 peppercorns. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a slow bubble. Cook just until lentils are tender. It doesn’t take long. You can have mush if you go too long. Drain off liquid and spread cooked lentils out on a cookie sheet. Place in the refrigerator for chilling.

For the quinoa:

Place 2 C of water and 1 C of quinoa in a sauce pan. Add 1 t salt, 3-4 bay leaves, and 1 t dried thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until the grain is translucent and water is mostly absorbed. Drain off any excess water. Spread cooked quinoa onto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator.

For toasted walnuts:

Place walnuts on a cookie sheet and place into a 350 degree preheated oven. Cook for 10 minutes. The fragrant aroma lets you know when it’s time to come out! These can store for several days.

Greek Salad

Hearts of romaine lettuce, torn “no spine” and chilled

Miniature sweet bell peppers, thinly sliced

Cherub tomatoes, halved

Baby cucumbers, sliced-skin on

Red onion, thinly sliced

Pepperoncini slices

Kalamata olives, pitted

Parsley, finely chopped

Feta cheese, crumbled

Dried oregano

Lemon wedges

To present at the table: in a bowl, lightly dress the romaine with lemon oregano vinaigrette. Place on a platter. Add sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, pepperoncini and kalamatas to the bowl and lightly dress with vinaigrette. Place veggies on top of romaine. Sprinkle salad with parsley, dried oregano and feta. Garnish platter with lemon wedges. Delicious with our highmade crab cakes.