Category Archives: Vegetables and Salads

Where the greens and the fresh crunch come in.

Vegetables and Salads

White Bean and Ham Salad

White beans are very popular in Mediterranean cuisine. A number of bean varieties are referred to as white beans, and those include cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, navy beans, and baby lima beans. They all cook relatively quickly, have a mild taste, and are creamy and rich.

This recipe definitely gains flavor as it sits and chills. Consider preparing it well ahead of time, even the day before.

White Bean and Ham Salad recipe ingredients

2 cups cooked white beans
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 large red onion, chopped
2 cups cooked ham, julienned
3/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
5 large garlic cloves, crushed
1-1/2 T Dijon mustard

How to prepare White Bean and Ham Salad

Combine beans, tomatoes, onion, ham and basil. Toss gently.

Whisk olive oil, vinegar, garlic and mustard until blended. Season to taste. Pour over bean mixture. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information for Cannellini Beans

Nutritional information is available from the USDA FoodData Central – Cannellini Bean Nutrition Facts

Veganize your White Bean (no Ham) salad

Simply leave out the ham and add a half-teaspoon or more to taste of smoked paprika or liquid smoke.

white beans
Vegetables and Salads

Greek Salad

Crunchy, chunky, savory Greek salad with olives, basil, and oregano can be eaten as a side dish or a meal in itself. Greek salad always reminds me of Anna.

Greek salad ingredients

Ingredients:

Greek salad
That looks like an olive tree in the background… (by Anna)

  • 1 small red onion, sliced
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, in strips
  • 1 red pepper, in strips
  • 1 cucumber, pared and diced
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 T lemon juice or vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1 T fresh basil, minced
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. thyme
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 12 large black olives
  • 1/4 lb. feta cheese, cubed

Toss vegetables together. Mix oil, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and seasonings. Shake. Pour over vegetables and chill. Toss with feta cheese and olives and serve.

Vegan version

Easy: Just omit the feta cheese or substitute cubes or crumbles of well-drained tofu that’s been marinated in a mixture of oil, vinegar or lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic, oregano, and other herbs to your taste.


Vegetables and Salads

Potatoes Gratin

  • 1 cup Swiss cheese, grated
  • 1/2 to 1 cup consomme
  • 1/8 lb. butter
  • 4 large potatoes

Peel and slice potatoes. Add salt. pepper, and a pinch ot nutmeg, Butter a baking dish. Put in 1 layer of potatoes, cover with half the cheese, add another layer of potatoes, and cover with remaining cheese. Pour over this the consomme. and sprinkle with lumps of butter. Place in 375°F oven until done, with the consomme absorbed. Servings: 4

Vegetables and Salads

Papas Chorreadas

  • 6 medium potatoes, boiled and peeled
  • 2 T oil
  • 1 T flour
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 3/4 cup grated fresh manchego or mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup milk plus 1 tbsp cream

Cut potatoes into large cubes. Saute onions in a little oil till soft and add tomatoes. Melt fat and add flour and a bit of salt. Add tomatoes, onion and cilantro. Cook 3 mins. Add milk and cook until thick. Add grated cheese and cream and stir until melted. Pour over the potatoes and combine gently.

Vegetables and Salads

Carol’s Potato Salad

  • 4 white potatoes
  • 2 carrots
  • 3 hard cooked eggs
  • 1 small zucchini
  • 1 small onion or 3 green onions with tops, chopped
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 4 radishes
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 3 tbsp chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp thyme or fines herbes
  • Mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp vinegar

Boil potatoes in their jackets with carrots till tender. Drain and cool. Cut potatoes into large cubes and carrots into small cubes. Steam whole zucchini until barely tender. Cool and cut into small cubes. In a bowl, combine finely chopped green pepper, celery and onions. Add seasonings, herbs and garlic. Toss together carefully with cooked and cooled vegetables, adding enough mayonnaise to moisten well. Sprinkle on vinegar (garlic or cider vinegar is best) and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours to let flavours penetrate. Serve topped with sliced or quartered eggs, parsley and radish slices.

Vegetables and Salads

Salad Dressing a la Danziger

Discovered at El Castillo, Xilitla, Mexico and shared by Gabriela B.

Just outside of Xilitla, at Las Pozas in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, is a singular garden created by Edward James, an English poet and great supporter of the Surrealist movement. The gardens and structures encompass over 80 acres of subtropical coffee-growing rain forest. The structures and winding pathways are magical, sometimes appearing like ghosts swirling out of the humidity-laden air, half-hidden by verdant ferns and dense vegetation. There are crumbling spiral stairways, arched bridges, gigantic painted concrete flower fountains, and sinuous paths overlooking waterfalls and jumbles of moss-covered boulders. 

Las Pozas Xilitla

El Castillo, now a guest house in the town of Xilitla, was Edward James´ home during the construction of his dream. This salad dressing is a creation of the El Castillo kitchen and the Danzigers, who were managing the property at the time that our friend Gabriela visited and discovered the fabulous gardens..

Ingredients for Salad Dressing a la Danziger

  • ½ cup olive oil (extra virgin)
  • ½ cup balsamic or wine vinegar
  • 1 T Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp powdered chicken broth
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • fines herbes

Shake all ingredients together well and drizzle on a bed of mixed lettuce.

Vegetables and Salads

Matchstick Potatoes

Simple matchstick potatoes. The trick is really getting the potatoes to matchstick size, easiest done with a mandoline slicer.

  • 4-5 potatoes
  • 1/4 Ib butter

Peel and cut potatoes into thin matchsticks. In deep frying pan, melt 1/2 of butter. When hot, put potatoes in pan to form a layer about 2″ thick. Add salt and pepper. Cover pan and let simmer until done, forming a crust. Turn over in one piece. Use remaining butter in pan, salt and pepper. Cover and continue on slow fire until other crust is formed. Servings: 4