One of my biggest complaints about Istanbul restaurants is not only their lack of loyalty to some classic salads, but also their lack of care to creating new ones on their menus. I especially get frustrated when the menu describes what they call "a special dressing" and simply put a bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the table. Wow, very special indeed.
So when I'm home, I'd like to make a big salad for myself. It's filling, it's easy and filled with nutritions. I play around with different ingredients such as a combination of avocado, goat cheese and radishes. Or tuna, fennel and black olives. Ginger is also another ingredient that gives the salad that kick it needs.
So if you are cooking at home and craving a big bowl of salad, I'm going to share the recipe, which gets a big applause every time. Hope you enjoy it.
SHOPPING LIST:
1 cos lettuce, weighing about 1 kg (2 lb)
6 garlic cloves
3 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp (15 ml) Dijon mustard (I use English Coleman's)
pepper
juice of 1 lemon
6 fl oz (175 ml) olive oil
125 g (4 oz) grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 day-old French baguette
4 tbsp (60 ml) olive oil
To make the Garlic Croutons:
1. With the bread knife, cut the bread into 1.25 cm (1/2 inch) slices. Stack a few slices on the chopping board, then cut them into cubes. Repeat with the remaining slices.
2. Chop 3 garlic cloves.
2. Heat 4 tbsp (60 ml) of olive oil in the large frying pan. Add the chopped garlic cloves and bread cubes, and fry, stirring constantly, until the croutons are golden, 2-3 minutes.
3. Tip the croutons out of the frying pan onto paper towels to drain.
To prepare the Salad and Dressing:
1. Twist, pull off, and discard the root end from the lettuce, Wash the leaves in plenty of cold water, then rinse each leaf under cold, running water. Dry the lettuce on the tea towel.
2. Peel and finely chop 3 garlic cloves.
3. Drain the anchovy fillets, put them in a large salad bowl, and crush them with the tines of a table fork.
4. Add the garlic, mustard, and pepper. Pour in the lemon juice and the olive oil.
5. Add the lettuce to the dressing and toss until the leaves are well coated.
6. Add half of the garlic croutons and two-thirds of the Parmesan cheese and toss the salad again.
7. Serve the salad directly from the salad bowl and pass the remaining Parmesan cheese and croutons separately.
İstanbul'da bulunan restoranlardaki en büyük şikayetlerimden biri sadece klasik salata tariflerine olan sadakatsizlikleri değil, ama aynı zamanda menülerine yeni salata yaratırkenki özensizlikleri. Özellikle menülerinde ''özel sos'' yazdıktan sonra masaya sadece zeytinyağı ve balsamik getirmeleri beni çıldırtıyor. Evet, gerçekten çok özelmiş.
O yüzden eve geldiğimde kendime kocaman bir salata yapmayı seviyorum. Doyurucu, basit ve sağlıklı besinlerle dolu. Değişik malzemelerle oynuyorum. Mesela avokado, keçi peyniri ve turp. Veya tuna, rezene ve zeytin. Zencefil de salatanın sıkıcılığını gideren malzemelerden biri.
Yani siz de benim gibi evde salata yapmayı seviyor, veya yemek misafirlerinizi etkilemek istiyorsanız, sizinle bu tarifi paylaşacağım. Her seferinde büyük alkış alır. Umarım sizin de hoşunuza gider. Tarif yukarıda. Eğer Türkçe tercüme isterseniz, bana email atmanız yeterli. :)
* Photo via Martha Stewart
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