Spinach | from the Bartolini kitchens

Oh, harissa! How do I love thee?

This is another in the series of recipes dedicated to my new love, the ever so delectable harissa. I told you that I was harissa obsessed and today’s recipe is further proof. Prior to this, I’ve shared recipes for goat and for chicken cooked in harissa. Included in the latter post was a recipe for the spicy sauce. For that recipe, I trimmed away the seeds and ribs from all the chiles and said that I wouldn’t do it again the next time I prepared the sauce. And so I did, finding this batch to be more spicy than its predecessor and, this time, the heat didn’t completely dissipate during cooking. Perfect.

So, armed with a fresh batch of harissa, I went searching for a new use. I didn’t have to go far because the internet is jam-packed with recipes using harissa. I eventually chose a salad with roasted vegetables, which should be popular with our friends to the Far South, where colder temps are taking hold. If you’re in the North, though, don’t let that dissuade you from trying this salad. I found it to be a perfect lunch for a chilly Spring day — and we seem to be having more than our fair share of those.

Aside from using my own harissa sauce, I did make a few changes to the original recipe. In the first place, I halved the quantities. It’s a good salad but there’s only so much one person can eat. The cilantro/coriander was the next thing to go and in its place I used the leaves from a bunch of flat-leaf parsley. Once again, since good fresh tomatoes cannot be found, I used grape tomatoes that I sliced in half. I followed the rest of the recipe and was rewarded with a great salad, one that fits nicely into my plans to go meatless one day a week.

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Roast Vegetable Salad with Harissa Recipe

Ingredients

3 tbsp harissa, divided – recipe found HERE
olive oil
1lb (450 g) butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 lb (450 g) carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
5 oz (142 g) green beans, trimmed and halved
5 oz (142 g) fresh baby spinach
1/2 preserved lemon, flesh removed and skin finely chopped
12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
.5 oz (15 g) fresh parsley leaves – cilantro/coriander leaves may be substituted, if you’re one of those

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Directions

Pre-heat oven to 365˚ F (185˚C)
In a small bowl, mix 1 tbsp harissa with 2 tbsp olive oil.
Place squash and carrot chunks in a large bowl and pour harissa-oil mixture over it. Mix to evenly coat the vegetables.
Place on a baking sheet/dish, set on middle rack in oven, and bake until both types of vegetables can be easily pierced — 30 to 45 minutes. Remove and cool.
Meanwhile, blanch green beans in a small pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and place in an ice water bath until needed.
In a large non-reactive pot, add green beans, spinach, preserved lemons, tomatoes, parsley, and the now-cooled roasted vegetables.
Combine remaining 2 tbsp harissa with 1 tbsp olive oil and use to dress the salad. Add more oil, if needed.
May be serve chilled or at room temperature.

From a recipe published in The Australian Women’s Weekly.

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Notes

How much oil you add will depend upon how thick your harissa is. Mine is rather thick, so, I add olive oil to make it easier to coat the vegetables and, later, to dress the salad.

In all, I tried this recipe three ways. One is as you see listed above. In another, I used baby arugula (rocket) in place of the spinach. I found the leaves weren’t strong enough to withstand the harissa dressing and wilted pretty quickly. The 3rd and last time was prepared without spinach and with half the amount of parsley. The result was a dish of roasted vegetables that make a perfect side for a roast. This version is definitely worth making again, perhaps adding additional root vegetables to the mix.

I’ve found that my recipe for harissa yields 2 cups of the sauce, far too much for most recipes. Using an ice cube tray, I freeze the excess, placing the frozen harissa cubes in plastic bags until needed.

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It’s déjà vu all over again …

It was about a year ago when I shared a favorite salad of my Grandpa, one simply made using canned tuna, anchovies, and sliced onion. I included my updated version, which used seared tuna over a bed of salad greens. Both are lighter fare and equally tasty. You can see them both and decide which is best for you by clicking HERE.

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Coming soon to a monitor near you …

Pizza

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I hadn’t intended to share this recipe yet but, over the weekend, my vegetarian friend and fellow Wrigley Field denizen, Cynthia, convinced me to write it up and post it now. So, my dear Cubs Fan, this one’s for you …

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I first saw this salad prepared a few weeks ago, just prior to Christmas, but my mind was too occupied with thoughts of the holiday dinners-to-come to give it any real consideration. I’ve always enjoyed a spinach salad, a trait Mom & I shared, but the thought of having a salad as a meal around the holidays is so not me. And then came the New Year’s Day porchetta (roasted pork).

Now, I thoroughly enjoyed that roast. It was everything I had hoped it would be and certainly lived up to my recollections of the porchette of my childhood. I, also, enjoyed the pork sandwiches and panini that followed but there came a point, much to my surprise, where the idea of another sandwich, porchetta or otherwise, was not the least bit enticing. Worse yet, and most unbelievably, I’d had my fill of pasta, too! One afternoon, I found myself walking around a grocery and nothing was the least bit appealing. You hear about this happening to others but never in a million years do you think it will happen to you.

Dazed and confused, I pushed my cart passed the meat counter, beyond the seafood, through the dairy aisle, and into the produce section. What to do, what to do? That’s where it hit me. Spinach salad! As my anxiety waned, I began to remember the ingredients required. Luckily, I already had everything I needed at home, save the spinach. Moments later, with renewed vigor and a bag of baby spinach, I was out the door and on my way home. That evening, I dined on a spinach salad so good that I’ve prepared it twice again since that first meal. That’s right. Me. Eating salads for dinner! (Just how many Signs of the Apocalypse are there?)

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A Slightly Wilted, Very Tasty, Surprisingly Filling, Spinach Salad Recipe

serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, separated
1/2 lb bacon cut into 1/2 inch strips (lardons)
1 shallot, sliced
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced or quartered
1/2 cup chicken stock (water may be substituted)
4 whole eggs
1 bag (8 oz) pre-washed baby spinach
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar, more or less to taste
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a sauté pan over med-high heat. Add bacon and sauté until cooked and crispy along the edges.
Add the shallots and continue sautéing until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes until soft.
Use the chicken stock to deglaze the pan, then bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
Add all but 1 tbsp of the balsamic vinegar and stir. Taste the dressing and adjust, using more balsamic or olive oil, depending upon your preference. Remove from heat.
In another, non-stick, skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over med-low heat.
Gently add each of the 4 eggs to the pan, being careful to keep the yolks whole. Season with salt & pepper.
Fry the eggs until the whites are thoroughly cooked but the yolks remain soft.
Dress the spinach with the warm dressing in a large bowl. Mix well to allow the spinach to wilt evenly.
Apportion the salad across 4 plates. Place a fried egg atop each salad and serve.

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Notes

The ingredients can be easily adjusted to suit your tastes and/or the number of servings required. If you prefer your salad heavily wilted, dress the spinach with the warm dressing while the eggs are frying. If you prefer your spinach more firm, dress the spinach just prior to placing the eggs on top.

For you, Cynthia, and your fellow vegetarians: just skip the bacon, increase the olive oil to make up for the lack of bacon fat, and use water in place of the chicken stock. And, as always, Go Cubs!

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Inspired by Michael Symon

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