Crispy Prosciutto, Fig and Pistachio Salad with Simple Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 5 oz  arugula
• 8 oz prosciutto, sliced thinly
• 1 pint figs, quartered (I used Black Mission)
• 1/2 c pistachios
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 2 T mustard, whole grain or Dijon is best
• s&p

Method

Place the prosciutto slices on a baking sheet and bake at 375ºF until the prosciutto has turned dark red and the fat is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Be sure to flip the prosciutto about half way through the cooking time. The prosciutto won’t actually crisp in the oven, you have to take it out and let it cool off and then it’ll crisp right up–just like bacon. Remove the prosciutto and place on a paper towel lined plate. Toss the figs onto the baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes to intensify the flavor.

In a large salad bowl, add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and s&p. Whisk it all together. Add the arugula and the rest of the ingredients. Use some tongs to mix everything together. You can either break the prosciutto crisps into pieces and incorporate them into the salad, or you can place a single chip on the top of the salad (like in the pic) for a “fancy pants” presentation.

African Style Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chicken breasts, sliced in 1/2 width wise and pounded thin with a meat mallet
• about 3 oz. arugula*
• 1/3 c oil cured olives, pitted**
• 3 oranges supremed (keep the zest for the dressing)***

Dressing Ingredients

• 1/3 c avocado or olive oil
• 1/3 c orange juice
• 1/3 c roasted red peppers
• zest of 2 oranges
• 1 t chili garlic sauce
• 1 t each cumin, coriander, paprika
• s&p

Method

Heat some fat in a saute pan on the high side of medium-high. These chicken breasts cook wickedly fast because they’re so thin. To get a good sear, cook the chicken until it’s about 3/4s of the way there on one side. You’ll see the sides of the chicken turn from pink to white. Flip it over and sear for a quick minute–very, very short amount of time here.

For the dressing:

In a food processor or blender, blend all the ingredients until emulsified.

To serve:

In a bowl, mix the dressing with the arugula, olives and orange supremes. Place the chicken on a plate and top with the salad. Why not put the chicken on top of the salad, you ask? Because you have to knife-and-fork this sucker. Why not have the chicken lying on a hard surface, like a plate, instead of on top of a bunch of lettuce? It’s much easier to gobble up this way, I promise.

*If you can’t find/don’t like arugula, ANY lettuce will work. Romaine, Mixed Greens, Spinach….

**Oil cured olives are just cured in oil (duh) as opposed to brined. Same as above–if you can’t find/don’t like oil cured olives, Kalamata (Greek) olives will substitute well

***You do not have to do this, but it sure is purrrrty and it’s a technique that looks really fancy, but is actually quite simple. This is how you supreme an orange:

Please notice the knife in Ming’s hand–it’s ceramic. I’ve heard they’re super sharp but break easily. Anybody got one of these? Also, Ming made a Paleo recipe, so write it down and make it too!

Curried Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 c avocado mayo*

2 t yellow curry powder

1 t garam masala**

1 1/2 c raisins

2 T mango chutney***

1 1/c c slivered almonds, toasted

handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

S&P

Method

Place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 25 minutes on 350ºF.

While the chicken is baking, take out a large bowl and  mix together the rest of the ingredients. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, chop it into bite sized pieces and place into the large bowl. Mix to incorporate.

Serve cold.

*So here it is, drum roll please….

Avocado oil makes the perfect mayonnaise.

With most oils we’ve tried to make mayo with, the flavor is quite bitter or very, “POW! in your mouth.” Bacon mayo, tastes like bacon and coconut oil mayo tastes like coconut. Think about this way, I wouldn’t want coconut oil mayonnaise in my egg salad. The avocado mayo flavor isn’t bitter, but creamy and rich–quite buttery, really. The flavor is ideal to mix with almost anything. For the chicken salad, take this recipe and double it. We sourced the oil on Amazon.com. Please notice, you get 2 large bottles.

**Garam masala is an mixture cinnamon, ginger, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, etc. You can find it at at most grocery stores.

***Mango chutney, also sometimes called Major Grey’s Chutney, is a like a sweet and spicy mango jam. You can find it at most grocery stores, on the ethnic aisle.

Mediterranean Feast

Ingredients

Meat Kabobs

• 1.5 lb. ground meat (we’ve used lamb, beef and buffalo with great success)
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 T ground corriander
• 1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 t garlic powder
• S & P

Tafooleh Salad

We posted this recipe way back in the day…well, it was one of our first posts anyway.

We grow tomatoes and this salad is a great way to use them up, if ya got ‘em.

Roasted Garlic Baba Ganoush Dip

• 2 medium eggplants
• 7 cloves garlic, skin kept on!!
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 2 T sesame oil*
• 1 lemon, juiced
• S &P

Method

For the Kebabs

Turn the grill onto HOT and keep it there! Completely submerge 5-6 wooden skewers (if you have metal skewers, skip this step) in water for about 30 minutes. You’re trying to wet the wood so it doesn’t burn on the grill. In a medium sized bowl, combine all the ingredients for the kebabs and mix together with your God given forks, yo hands!

Form the meat around the water soaked skewer, like you’re be making a lollipop, or perhaps a meat-sicle. Haha! Place the meat-pops on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes, turn and cook another 5 minutes on the other side.

For the Roasted Garlic Baba Ganoush Dip

Get your oven to 350ºF. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Cut the stems off the top the eggplants and split them in 1/2. Place them on the baking sheet and give them a light drizzle of olive oil. Grab a small sheet of foil and place the garlic cloves in the middle (DO NOT remove the skin of the garlic!), drizzle with olive oil and close up tight, like a little bundle of love. You’re making roasted garlic baby–some of the tastiest stuff on Earth! Place in the oven and roast until the eggplant can easily be pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, remove the skins. The garlic should be nicely golden, brown. In a food processor, add all the ingredients and blend until smooth.

*Typical baba ganoush uses Tahini, which is sesame seed paste. It’s expensive and a mono-tasker kind of ingredients–I only really make one recipe with it. It’s just not worth it, so I use sesame oil instead, something I use a lot in Asian recipes.

Sesame Kale Salad

Ingredients

• 2 bunches kale, torn into bite size pieces, no stems (something the kiddies can do)
• a little bit of water
• 1/4 c sesame oil
• 2 T wheat free soy sauce or coconut aminos (my newest acquisition, pretty cool, ya?)
• 2 T sesame seeds

Method

Place about 1/4 c of  of water in a large, microwave safe bowl. Add the torn kale and seal the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the microwave for 1 minute increments, peeking into the bowl during each cycle. What you’re doing is creating steam from the little puddle of water and a light, semi-permeable plastic wrap seal. It’s done when the  kale has steamed and wilted, this should take around 3 minutes.

Unwrap the bowl and be careful not to steam-burn yourself. Once the kale is cool enough to handle, pour out the water and squeeze the kale until most of the water is gone.

Add the rest of ingredients and mix to combine. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Antipasto Salad

Ingredients

Pickled Cauliflower and Carrots

• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped small
• 2 carrots, sliced thinly
• 1/2 c white wine vinegar
• 1/2 c red wine vinegar
• 1/2 c water
• 2 T salt
• 1 T sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

Antipasto

• 6 oz.  salami, pepperoni or other cured meat, chopped
• 1 can quartered artichokes, chopped
• 1/2 c roasted red peppers, chopped
• 1/3 c pistachios, chopped
• handful of basil and oregano, chopped
• 3 T pepperoncini, chopped
• olive oil, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• other ingredients that you may like: red chili flakes, capers, red onions, kalamata olives, feta cheese

Method

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients for the pickles, place in fridge and let marinate for at least 24 hours. Toss the cauliflower/carrot mixture with a spoon a few times when you go in the fridge. Us a slotted spoon to remove the cauliflower and carrots from the brine. Be sure to remove the garlic if you don’t want it, it’s camouflaged really well by the cauliflower. We chopped the garlic up and put it in the salad, but it’s a bit spicy still, even pickled.

Place the cauliflower/carrots in a large bowl along with the rest of the chopped anitpasto ingredients. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge for a week or so.