Niçoise, of sorts

I love a Niçoise salad when the weather agrees. I had some fresh yellow tail that I used for this salad. I think tuna on the grill is the best to get a little of that charred flavor but still keep it rare in the middle.

Also, for this particular salad I did not have fresh haricots verts but I did have a perfectly ripe avacado and some thin asparagus so the substitution was made. 

I think trusting yourself to use recipes as suggestions and not an absolute is what transforms one into a cook. 

So here is a suggestion from which you can do your thing:

4-5 oz. of yellowtail or ahi per person

Baby bib lettuce or Boston lettuce or any soft lettuce

3-4 small baby new potatoes or fingerlings per person

1 perfectly ripe avacado

1 egg per person

3-4 radishes sliced thin

4-6 spears of asparagus per person

1 lemon cut into small wedges

Dressing:

1/2 c. Extra virgin olive oil

1 shallot minced

1 T. Whole grain mustard

2T. Capers

1/4c. White wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste 

Place eggs in a saucepan of cold water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil , turn off the heat and place a lid on the saucepan. Let set for 5-6 mins. Then remove the eggs to a bowl of cold water and set aside to cool.

Put all dressing ingredients in a lidded  jar and shake to mix. 

Boil new potatoes until they are soft enough to prick through with a fork. When done, cut the potatoes in half and toss with a couple Tablespoons of the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool a bit. 

Toss the asparagus in a bowl with a couple dashes of olive oil and salt and pepper..

Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter.  

Peel the eggs and cut into quarters.

Slice the avacado.

Grill the asparagus until soft but still slightly crisp and grill the tuna so it is seated on the outside but still pink in the center.

Slice the tuna

Assemble the salad on the platter layering all of the components. Including the sliced radish and lemon wedges. Season with salt and pepper and pour the dressing over the top.

Serve with a crusty bread.

Persimmon and Pomegranate salad

Those of us who are lucky enough to live in California where fruit grows year round on neighbors' trees, are often gifted with bags and persimmons this time of year.

A bowl full of home grown bounty.Persimmons and pineapple guava from my dear friend Audrey. Lemons and limes from my trees in L.A.

To tackle the joyous glut of pomegranates, I purchased a hand press juicer.  I learned to love a daily glass of pomegranate juice while in Israel a couple years back.  I think now I will live to be a healthy hundred year old lady because of my regular intake of fresh, anti-oxidant laden, pomegranate juice. The persimmons, however, do not juice well but are delicious used as an apple, including a great addition to a brown bag lunch. When packing them, there is no need to slice them, they travel well and can be bitten into just like and apple. Of course it is important to note that I am referring to the non-astringent variety of persimmon such a Fuyu or Jiro.  These are the squatty variety.  The more tear dropped varieties are astringent and need to be fully soft before using and are better in baked goods and desserts.
Anywhooo... I had a bag of persimmons from my dear friend Audrey and some avocados (always a staple in my kitchen!) and some arugula and a pomegranate so I decided to whip up a salad to take along on our oyster expedition the other day.

Pomegranate and persimmon salad:
serves 6
2 Fuyu persimmons
1/4 pomegranate
1 avocado
1 handful of washed greens per person (I used arugula)
toasted or candied pecans (I love these sweet and spicy ones from Trader Joe's)

Lemon vinaigrette:
In a lidded jar add all ingredients and shake well until emulsified
juice and zest from 1 Meyer lemon (if using a more sour variety add 1/2 tsp. more honey)
1 tsp. honey or syrup
1/4 good olive oil

Layer the washed greens on a platter. Make sure your greens are dry. Either put them in a salad spinner or gather them in a clean dry towel and go outside. Holding all corners of the towel firmly, swing it around and around and around so all of the water is spun from the lettuce. hooray for centrifugal force! Layer on to p of the greens the persimmons sliced into 1/2 slices, the avocado cut into chunks, and the seeds from the pomegranate. (see below for pomegranate instructions) Salt and pepper the over the layered salad and top with the pecans. Drizzle the lemon vinaigrette all over the top of the layered salad and serve.

There are many ways to get the seeds from a pomegranate.Here is my current favorite... with a very sharp knife, slice just the skin from the top and bottom of the pomegranate. this will allow you to see the sections segregated by a white membrane. following carefully along the membrane, slice the segment out. Using your fingers, gently release the seeds keeping back any membrane that breaks away. Be careful of the juice...it STAINS!!!!

Enjoy!
XO MamaP