grilled patty pan salad

I found the most beautiful, alien-looking patty pan squash at the market this week: little knobbly, pale green flying saucers, bright yellow miniature crooknecks, two-toned oblongs. They are such strange, lovely shapes it almost seemed a shame to cut them up and cook them.  I spent a day just looking at them, trying to decide what recipe would do them justice. 

I decided to make them into a warm salad with some feta, olives and lemon. This salad is great on it's own or heaped up on a crispy piece of toasted sourdough. Leftovers are really good tossed with some pasta or cooked wheat berries and arugula and keep really well as a pasts/grain salad. It lasts really well so you won't have to turn on the stove for a couple days if you make a big batch. 

grilled patty pan squash salad: 

• 1-2 pounds patty pan squash, halved

• olive oil

• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled

• 1/4 cup kalamata olives

• chili flakes

• parsley, chopped

• juice from one lemon

Brush patty pan with olive oil and grill on medium high heat on a BBQ or grill pan until dark grill marks appear. Flip and grill until all sides are browned. Toss with feta, olives, chili flakes, parsley and squeeze lemon juice over the top. 

Serve heaped over toasted sourdough, rub the bread with half a clove of garlic after you toast it, or toss it into some pasta, or just eat the salad on it's own. 

watermelon radish and haloumi salad

It got magically hot here in Victoria in the last week. After months about complaining about cold and damp and having to wear all these sweaters, I was immediately complaining about the beautiful, sunny, lovely weather that I have been hoping for for weeks. It's too hot, I don't have the right clothes for this, I can't sleep. It was a sweltering 23° C yesterday and and I was whining.  I did have the perfect meal to go with the wonderful weather though. Light and summery, you only need to turn on the stovetop for a few minutes to grill the cheese, or you can barbecue it if you are careful not to let it drop between the grill bars. 

Haloumi is a strange and delightful cheese. If you haven't tried it before, it may sound a bit odd, but don't let that put you off. It's salty and very firm and mild flavoured. It has the magical property of not melting when heated, so you can grill or roast it and it holds its shape and develops a fantastic crispy-toasty exterior. It also squeaks in your teeth when you eat it, which sounds a little weird and rubbery but in a way that is so satisfying. It's hearty and sort of meaty almost and makes a meal out of a light salad. 

If you can't find haloumi, feta cheese will work too. It can still be grilled or pan fried, but it's a little more melty than haloumi so it might spread a bit. 

watermelon radish and haloumi salad: 

• 2-3 watermelon radishes, scrubbed and sliced paper thin 
• 3 big handfuls arugula
• pea shoots or microgreens
• a few sprigs parsey, chopped
• 1 package haloumi, sliced into thick blocks

In a lightly oiled grill pan fry the haloumi slices over medium heat until dark grill lines appear and flip. You can also use a regular flat pan, but you won't have the delightful grill lines. 

Combine vegetables and lay haloumi slices on top. 

basil dressing:

adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• salt and pepper 
• 1 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Drizzle over salad and serve immediately. 

crispy giant beans

I think that novelly sized things are always compelling. Miniature or giant versions of familiar objects are oddly captivating, as many a roadside tourist attraction can testify. There's nothing quite like a giant shrimp, banana, ball of twine. Australia seems to have particular expertise in creating these large scale models. I also enjoy small things, and I heartily recommend Victoria's wonderful, if slightly odd and not always perfectly to scale, Miniature World. If you have a rainy day in Victoria, there are worse ways to spend it than this sweet and strange little attraction. All these big and small things have new interest once resized, ordinary and strange at the same time. 

These giant beans hold the same appeal for me. They are sometimes called gigantes beans, or corona beans and they are huge, about 1.5 inches long. I have been thinking about making these them for about 7 years, ever since I first saw them on the excellent 101 Cookbooks. I hunted around Victoria for them, either dry or canned, but I couldn't find them anywhere. I looked online, willing to pay a bit extra for shipping for these huge , unusual beans. How much could dried beans cost, right? Apparently a lot. I did find them online, but the shipping cost to Canada was so high I couldn't justify it. 

I finally found some in a Greek deli when I was out of town for a friend's wedding. I wanted to buy up a few cans for various giant bean experiments, but I was travelling extremely light so I only got one. Only one chance to see if the huge beans would be tasty enough to live up to my rather overly built-up expectations. But they totally did, they were great. Super crispy outside and creamy on the inside. If you can't find the giant beans, you can always use cannellini or similar small white beans. It will still be delicious. But if you spot the giant ones, they are worth it. And maybe send some my way, since I have now used my entire stockpile. 

crispy giant beans:

inspired by 101 Cookbooks

• about 2 cups giant white beans, canned or dry, soaked and cooked until tender

• 6 cups arugula & spinach

• 1 tin artichokes, quartered

• 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped

• grapeseed or other neutral oil

In a large frying pan, heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Add the beans in an even layer, making sure all the beans are touching the bottom of the pan. Fry until the beans are crispy on the bottom, 2-3 minutes. Flip all the beans over and continue to fry until all the beans are golden brown on both sides. Canned beans might be a little more crumbly, so flip gently. 

While the beans fry, assemble the salad on a plate. Sprinkle hot, crispy beans on top and drizzle with preserved lemon dressing. 

preserved lemon dressing:

• 2 tbs preserved lemon, chopped finely

• 1 clove garlic

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 3 tbs red wine vinegar

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• black pepper

Combine all ingredients and blend until well combined. 

chimichurri potato salad

Parsley is highly underrated. If you ever though parsley was boring and only for sad garnishes, chimichurri will change your mind. Parsley sings in chimichurri a bright, acidic, spicy and garlicky sort of salsa verde sauce. Chimichurri is Argentinian, traditionally served as steak sauce. But it's also amazing on chicken, fish, vegetables, sandwiches and pretty much everything. I always make a big batch every time because it tends to find its way into all my meals for a few days. 

I had a bit of a childhood potato salad phobia, because typically potato salad was the intersection of two foods that made me highly nervous: gloopy mayonnaise and wobbly boiled eggs. But potato salad doesn't need to have a thick mayonnaise dressing at all. It can have a light, vinegary, herby dressing instead and chimichurri dressing fits the bill very nicely. It's sunny, springy and ideal for picnics and barbecues. 

chimichurri potato salad:

• 2-3 cups parsley (can substitute up to half cilantro if you wish)
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• big pinch chili flakes
• generous black pepper and salt
• 2 pounds small, waxy potatoes 

In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender and drain off water. 

While potatoes cook, blend all other ingredients in a food processor until a loose paste forms. Toss with hot potatoes and set aside to cool. Serve chilled or room temperature. 

big herb salad

Perhaps you are feeling, as I am, just a little overfed after the holiday season. My personal chocolate:vegetable ratio has been way off for a few weeks and I needed a little correction. This salad is an excellent and delicious way to get an entire day's vegetable servings in one meal. So efficient! Any new year's resolutions you may have about eating mountains of vegetables will be so easy to follow now. 

The abundance of bright, sunny herbs in this salad has been helping to combat my feelings of cold weather grumpiness. It's the opposite of standard winter fare, cozy warm, soups and stews and hearty, heavy dishes. Those are good too, but sometimes I want another kind of comforting winter meal, one that feels light and bright and reminds me that winter cannot actually last forever. It feels really luxurious to use herbs this way, as generously as a vegetable rather than as a sparse topping. 

Adding some roasted salmon or falafel makes it into a very filling meal. You can swap or add herbs; cilantro and basil would be great in this too. 

big herb salad: 

serves two as a main meal, more as a side

• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 1 cup pea shoots
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped 
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup fresh mint, chopped
• 1 cup fresh dill, chopped
• a few slices of feta cheese 

Combine all ingredients and dress with yogurt dressing. Salt and pepper to taste. 

spicy yogurt dressing:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• juice from one lemon
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 2 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1  tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp crushed chile flakes 
• 1 tsp salt 

Blend all ingredients together and drizzle over salad. 

Photos: Tyrel Hiebert