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Archive for the ‘Cumin’ Category

Southwestern Avocado Citronette with Pinto Beans, Mandarins, and Yellow Bell Pepper

Posted in Arugula, Avocado, Bell Pepper, Casein Free, Cilantro, Cumin, Garlic, Gluten Free, Lemon Citronette, Mandarin, Meal in Salad Form, Pinto Beans, Scallion, Smoked Paprika, Vegan, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2011| 6 Comments »

Early morning, time to make lunches. We had almost everything I needed for a couple of rocking southwestern salads, so I pulled all my ingredients out and got to work. No radishes in the house, so I used yellow bell pepper for extra crunchiness, and I went for pinto beans instead of black beans because, well, I felt like it.

Ingredients for Recipe for Salad with Southwestern Avocado Citronette, Pinto Beans, Mandarins, and Yellow Bell Pepper

All of the ingredients, ready to go.

Ingredients:
(Serves one as a meal.)
4 cups of arugula.
1/2 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained.
1/2 yellow bell pepper, deseeded and sliced.
2 mandarins, peeled and sectioned.
2 scallions, sliced.
1 fistful of fresh cilantro.
Zest of 1/2 a lemon.

Southwestern Avocado Citronette:
(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a couple of days.)
3 T extra virgin olive oil.
1 T fresh lemon juice.
1/2 avocado, spooned into jar.
1/2 clove of garlic, smashed and minced.
1/4 tsp cumin.
1/4 tsp smoked paprika.
1/2 tsp maple syrup.
Pinch of salt, to taste.

Recipe for Salad with Southwestern Avocado Citronette, Pinto Beans, Mandarins, and Yellow Bell Pepper

The finished salad, ready for the dressing to rain down and the fork to attack like lightning.


Since I was making two salads, one for me to eat at home and one for my husband to eat at work, I doubled all of the ingredients listed above. I started by laying down my lovely beds of arugula — mine in a bowl, his in a stainless steel container with a tight fitting lid. I rinsed and drained the pinto beans, setting them aside in a sieve to drain a little more while I worked. I zested the lemon over the greens, and crafted my salad dressings in twin jars. In this case, that included measuring out the ingredients, and spooning the avocado into the jars as well. I shook them up and tested them by dipping a leaf of arugula into the citronette and tasting for salt and flavor balance. I peeled and sectioned the mandarins. (Yes, they are far more beautiful when they are sliced open and the jeweled fruit is exposed, but those plain little membranes keep the citrus juices from wilting the greens.) I chopped the yellow bell pepper, the scallions, and the cilantro, and added all of my ingredients to my beds of arugula. I nestled my husband’s jar of citronette in with his salad and snapped a picture before popping the lid back on.

Salads just don’t take that long to make — twenty minutes or less of chopping and mixing, and you’ve got a deliciously nutritious meal, for now or later.

Recipe for Salad with Southwestern Avocado CItronette, Pinto Beans, Mandarins, and Yellow Bell Pepper

Here's the same salad, packed to go!


The Verdict:
You know what I thought of this. I loved it. Juicy citrus, creamy beans, crunchy bell pepper, peppery arugula… This is a can’t fail recipe for me, and, once again, it succeeded.

Make it a Meal:
Done.

Pack it to Go:
Done.

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Sweet Southwestern Citronette with Arugula, Avocado, and Navel Orange

Posted in Arugula, Avocado, Bell Pepper, Button Mushrooms, Casein Free, Cilantro, Cucumber, Cumin, Garlic, Gluten Free, Lemon Citronette, Navel Orange, Romaine Lettuce, Scallion, Side Salad, Smoked Paprika, Vegan, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 14, 2011| 4 Comments »

Improvising for dinner again, I needed a kid-friendly salad to accompany the chicken tacos they wanted. I went for a southwestern citronette, happy for a chance to play with the ingredients for one of my favorite salads.

I pulled a heart of romaine and some arugula out of the fridge, and grabbed a yellow bell pepper, mushrooms, a cucumber, cilantro, scallions, and of course some citrus fruits. Impressed by the beautiful colors, I snapped a picture and got to work.

Ingredients and Recipe for Salad with Sweet Southwestern Citronette, Arugula, Avocado, and Navel Orange

Here are the ingredients, ready to chop.

Ingredients:
(Side salad, serves 4-6.)
1 heart of romaine.
2-4 cups of arugula.
1 fistful of cilantro.
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced.
1 avocado, quartered lengthwise and sliced.
5 mushrooms, quartered.
1/4 english cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced.
3 scallions, sliced.
1 navel orange, skin sliced off, quartered and sliced.
Zest of one navel orange.
Zest of one lemon.

Southwestern Citronette:
(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a couple of days.)
3 T extra virgin olive oil.
1 T lemon juice.
1 tsp maple syrup.
1 garlic clove, smashed and minced.
1/4 tsp cumin.
1/4 tsp smoked paprika.
Pinch of salt, to taste.

Recipe for Salad with Sweet Southwestern Citronette, Arugula, Avocado, and Navel Orange

Tossed and ready to serve!


While the chicken for the tacos cooked, and my husband crisped the corn tortillas, I created a gorgeous bed of salad greens and zested the citrus fruit over the top. Then I juiced the lemon and prepared my citronette in a small jar. I doubled the maple syrup this time (from my typical half of a teaspoon for this type of salad to a full teaspoon). I’m not sure why I did that — in part to appeal to the kids, but it also just tasted right to have a sweeter dressing with the spicy arugula.

With the citronette made and mellowing, I started chopping and adding vegetables to my bowl. I saved the avocado and the navel orange for last so that the avocado would be lusciously green and the citrus juice wouldn’t wilt the lettuce.

Recipe for Salad with Sweet Southwestern Citronette with Arugula, Avocado, and Navel Orange: Plated

On the plate and ready to enjoy!

The Verdict:
The salad was delicious. It worked really well with the tacos, and was devoured by everyone at the table. Complete success!

Make it a Meal:
Easy enough — add pinto beans, black beans, leftover chicken, steak, carnitas, or shrimp, and then sprinkle some corn chips over it for extra crouton-style crunch.

Pack it to Go:
Avocado and orange need to be packed in a jar with the salad dressing. The rest of the salad is fine in a nice large glass or stainless steel container with a good rubber lid. Nestle the jar in the salad container and store it in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to eat, simply shake the dressing and pour it over the salad. Use only what you need (use a fork to pull the yummy fruit out of the jar without getting more citronette than you want). Fork toss your salad, or put the lid back on the salad container and give it a few good shakes to combine. Enjoy!

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Cal-Mex with Apple and Pinto Beans

Posted in Apple, Casein Free, Cilantro, Citronettes, Cumin, Frisee, Garlic, Gluten Free, Lime Citronette, Mache, Meal in Salad Form, Mixed Baby Greens, Pinto Beans, Radicchio, Scallion, Smoked Paprika, Vegan, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Early morning, making lunch, I scanned the fridge and the cupboards and decided to make a southwestern salad. I didn’t have the radishes I love in those, or any oranges, or jicama, but I had cilantro and pinto beans. A scallion would help round it out, and the very last of our amazingly crisp apples from my mother-in-law’s tree would make up for the deficit of sweetness and crunch.

Greens for Cal-Mex with Apple and Pinto Beans

A gorgeous bed of mixed greens.

Ingredients:
(Lunch salad, serves one.)
4 cups of mache and mixed greens (including radicchio and frisee).
1/2 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained.
1/3 apple, sliced into bite sized pieces.
1 scallion, chopped.
1 fistful of cilantro, chopped.
Zest of 1/2 lime.
Zest of 1/2 lemon.

Ingredients for Cal-Mex with Apple and Pinto Beans

Beautifully simple ingredients, ready to join the greens.

Citronette:
(Use only what you need, save the rest in the fridge and use within a few days.)
1 T lime juice.
3 T extra virgin olive oil.
1/2 clove of garlic, smashed and minced.
1/2 tsp maple syrup.
1/4 tsp cumin.
1/4 tsp smoked paprika.
Pinch of salt, to taste.

I doubled the ingredients listed above (for the citronette as well as for the salad) and made two lunches, one packed up for my husband to take to work, and one in a bowl for me to enjoy later in the day.

I started by rinsing the pinto beans and leaving them in a strainer to drain. Then I laid down a nice, hearty bed of mixed greens. I zested the citrus fruits over the greens. I mixed up two jars of citronette, tasted them, and set them aside. I chopped the cilantro and the scallions and tossed them in with the greens. After slicing the apple, I added it to the dressing jars so that it wouldn’t brown, screwed on the lids, and shook each jar up so that the citronette coated the apple pieces. Finally, I added the drained beans to the salads, nestled the dressing jar into my husbands large salad container, covered my salad and stuck it in the fridge, and cleaned up.

Cal-Mex with Apple and Pinto Beans

The finished salad, dressed and ready to eat.

The Verdict:
This was a fine, simple, hearty salad. I really enjoyed the apple in lieu of radishes and jicama. Not gourmet, but very tasty.

Make it a meal:
Done. It would also have worked well with black beans or leftover chicken in place of pinto beans.

Cal-Mex with Apple and Pinto Beans, Packed

Packed to go.

Pack it to go:
Done. Remember to put the apple in with the citronette and not directly into the salad!

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Southwestern Salad with Black Beans, Avocado, Mandarin, and More

Posted in Avocado, Black Beans, Button Mushrooms, Casein Free, Cilantro, Citronettes, Cucumber, Cumin, Garlic, Gluten Free, Lemon Citronette, Mandarin, Meal in Salad Form, Romaine Lettuce, Scallion, Smoked Paprika, Vegan, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There is a taqueria I adore that makes this absolutely amazing citrus dressing. It’s simple, fresh, and just plain good. It is the reason I started playing with citronette recipes, though I’ve branched out quite a lot over the years. Still, I love the flavors of Mexican, or Southwestern, or Cal-Mex, or whatever you want to call food with heavy handed cilantro, zesty citrus, pale green avocado and fresh crunchy lettuce.

I really wanted a vegetarian salad for lunch. A can of black beans in our cupboard and a bright yellow lemon decided it for me. I pulled out romaine lettuce, scallions, avocado, mandarins, a cucumber, mushrooms, cilantro, garlic, and spices, and started chopping. I really wished for some radishes — I just love them with these flavors — but my fridge disappointed me.

I added more cucumber than I normally would in order to help make up for the absence of radish crunch, which was necessary to balance out all the creaminess from the beans and avocado. There is no substitute for radish deliciousness. I added smoked paprika to the citronette for the first time, I think just because it was red like a radish and right next to the cumin in our spice cupboard. It also smelled really good.

Southwestern Salad with Black Beans, Avocado, Mandarin, and More - Ingredients

Here are the delicious components for the salad.

Ingredients:
(Serves two as a hearty lunch salad.)
2 hearts of romaine, chopped.
3 scallions, chopped.
1 avocado, quartered and sliced.
3/4 can of black beans, rinsed and drained.
3 mushrooms, sliced.
3 mandarins, peeled then sliced in half and into eighths.
1/2 english cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced.
1 handful of cilantro, chopped.
Zest of 1 lemon.

Southwestern Citronette:
(Use only what you need, refrigerated leftover citronette will be good for several days.)
1 T lemon juice.
3 T extra virgin olive oil.
1/2 tsp maple syrup.
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika.
1 clove of garlic, smashed and minced.
1 pinch of salt, to taste.

I made this for my husband and myself, and since we were actually both home at lunchtime I just tossed it all in one big bowl and we ate it snuggled up on the couch with two forks. Halve the recipe if you’re just feeding one person.

Southwestern Salad with Black Beans, Avocado, Mandarin, and More - Ready to Toss

The salad is ready for dressing and tossing...

I rinsed the black beans first, leaving them in a strainer so they could drain while I put the salad together. After making a mountain of lettuce in the salad bowl, I zested the lemon over the romaine, and then I made the citronette. I let the dressing sit (to give the garlic and spices time to steep) while I chopped veggies. I scooped the vegetables into the bowl, added the drained black beans, drizzled the citronette over the top, tossed it, and, well, YUM.

Southwestern Salad with Black Beans, Avocado, Mandarin, and More - Ready to Eat

And now we raise our forks and dig in!

The Verdict:
Amazing.

Yes, it would’ve been better with radishes. But that’s like saying a gorgeous, crisp, sunny day in Tilden would be better with butterflies. I didn’t notice they were missing, though I would’ve enjoyed them if they’d been there.

I loved the last minute addition of the smoked paprika — it gave the citronette an intense depth of flavor, and it added such pretty color. My husband was equally impressed. He knew there was something different, but he couldn’t quite place it…

Make it a Meal:
Done. Pinto beans would also work, or grilled chicken, steak, pork, or shrimp.

Pack it to Go:
If you’re making this for one, remember to halve the salad ingredients, and dress it to taste — a little at a time until it pleases you. Avocado needs to go in the dressing or stay in its skin when you pack it to go. Mandarins should be peeled and sectioned, instead of cut, so that the juices don’t wilt the lettuce. Everything else is great as described above — just keep the dressing in a jar with the avocado, and the rest of the salad in a container with a little extra space for fork-tossing.

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