All hail the salad.
No really. I am a big fan.
I'm even bigger fan of having salads in the privacy of my own home. They are admittedly messy to eat, but also, I am not wild about restaurants' ideas about salad ingredient proportions. Those menu items are big money-makers, right? Especially when the salad is principally leafy greens with some other items scattered on top. There's very little food cost involved.
I was raised to be a big fan of salads. In my family, the salad is a complex thing, with a lot of ingredients, and a better level of proportion among those ingredients.
It is perfectly acceptable to throw in proteins and carbs, but you begin with ingredients from the garden in the back yard.
This is why I am a tomato snob of the first order.
The fresher the better. The colder the better. Variety is key.
So, in hotter weather, I'm like many people in that I don't want to heat up the kitchen if I can help it. I will resort to salads for lots of meals. I don't mind the work of slicing and dicing, so long as I don't have to sweat while I'm doing it.
Another factor involved in salad making is that you're probably going to have to repeat ingredients because you're only feeding one salad lover at a time. I can accept this. I can embrace the repetition.
I've already constructed this salad twice in the last week, and the next avocado I've purchased is calling from the countertop for me to make more iterations.
What's in here? .
Baby spinach, small tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, celery, red onion, avocado, olives and grated parmigiano cheese, and for dressing, I've diluted some refrigerated pesto with more olive oil. A splash of vinegar (too much interferes with my breathing while eating...something about the fumes) only, and yes.
For accompaniment, I have taken to nuking arancini or suppli.
This little sphere of love is a cheesy, pancetta-filled delight.
These are a popular Roman street snack that has been enhanced in variety by a number of Roman providers. Carnaroli rice is partially cooked and rolled into a sausage or ball shape with a number of other ingredients (traditionally just a little mozzarella surprise in the middle, but tomato sauce is often mixed with the rice), then liberally dusted with breadcrumbs and fried. It is perfect street food in that it can be carried in a paper sack, eaten at room temperature or briefly heated in an oven or a microwave.
I am a dedicated maker of humble tuna salads, too.
At home, I would chop red onion and celery to accompany some tuna (packed in extra virgin olive oil - best for flavor), enhanced by mayonnaise, dill relish and a liberal sprinkling of Old Bay.
Currently, I am missing dill relish (it's pretty difficult to find dill anything here, and no, I don't know what the source of the Italian aversion to dill is, exactly, but I'm betting that it's because dill is strong) and Old Bay, a uniquely American spice blend.
But I've found this:
Tuna packed with Calabrian hot pepper flakes? Why yes, thank you.
In place of the pickle relish, I chop up and toss in capers. Some Italian saltine crackers and chopped tomatoes on the side, and LUNCH.
A little sprinkling of white pepper was a good finishing touch.
This next salad became a pandemic lockdown staple, and all I can imagine as an American substitute will include regular tofu and pesto...
But it just won't be the same as this version, born here in Rome.
My Airbnb is directly across the street from a NaturaSi...what we might call a healthfood store, but it's more like a WholeFoods on a small scale. I'll be referencing this place again when we talk further about pasta, but for this entry, let's talk tofu. NaturaSi carries a few flavored (basil, olive, roasted red pepper, and also smoked) firm tofus which are perfect for this recipe...it was adapted from a Moosewood cookbook.
Ultra healthy. Ultra vegetarian. Really tasty.
I need cherry tomatoes, a block of the basil-flavored tofu, a block of feta, toasted almonds, chopped basil (already in the bowl) and extra virgin olive oil.
Ordinarily, I would use a food processor for chopping the almonds first. Then, a secondary mixture would happen with broken-up tofu and feta. Best to chop the tomatoes by hand (tomato skins here are tougher than they are in America, and I want them to have some integrity in this salad instead of being pulverized).
Of course, everything is chopped by hand in this kitchen.
Glad this is just for one person.
Drizzle with olive oil - however much you desire, but this version got about a half cup - and stir. The feta breaks up in the stirring and helps the flavors to comingle.
I don't know if this even looks appetizing to you...the mixture would appear more homogenous if the pieces were better blended together (via short pulses, if you're considering doing this) courtesy of a processor, but the outcome...the flavor...is exactly the same.
I could have this with the Italian saltines, a piade (Italian flat bread), focaccia, on top of leafy greens...all options are possible.
This last salad is one I bought, but still worth highlighting as an option for those who are cooking for one:
a poke bowl
Given that plenty of places are working this angle with a huge variety of ingredients, the poke bowl genre, if you will, seems to involve a carb, a protein, some vegetables, and a condiment or two, usually served cold, but sometimes having a variety of warm and cold things in the same vessel.
An interesting place to get burgers here (stay with me - I'm getting to a related point about poke bowls) is called Fonzees. That business has spawned a spin-off called Oriental Fonzee, with Mediterranean dishes, located in the Roman Jewish Ghetto. They offer a poke bowl that I love, with chicken and couscous, among other things.
So while we all know what a poke bowl is supposed to be, its time in the spotlight has kicked off an array of derivations.
Enter this Italian poke bowl, which actually is more Asian or Hawaiian than Italian, but...whatever.
I got more than a little excited at the prospect of being able to play this assemblage game the same way you might do it at a number of fast food places in America. You pick and choose what you want in your bowl as it is being made in front of you.
What makes this sushi-grade salmon, cucumber, avocado, carrot shavings, sesame seeds, pickled ginger and teriyaki sauce combo Italian, in any way?
The presence of black rice and olives.
Italian black rice is a challenge to cook, in my experience...it takes a very long time to make it tender. I wanted to experience how tender this vendor makes their rice, so I would know if my previous versions were cooked enough.
It's a chewy rice, high in fiber, lower in gluten, and nutty in flavor.
Mixed with some longer grain brown rice as well as all of the other goodies, I could think of nothing healthier in my poke bowl.
Take the time, make the salad, stay cool in these last days of summer temperatures.
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