Meatless Monday: Rustic spinach salad with roasted red pepper
There comes a time every year when it just makes sense to start freezing, canning and preserving all the great foods that are available to us. In this particular case, I鈥檝e started by roasting peppers and freezing them. Of course there鈥檚 always a few that make it into a meal instead of the freezer. It鈥檚 such a great way to take advantage of not only the price of produce from your local farmer but also a great way of preserving natural goodness right into the winter.
What concerns me the most, because I鈥檓 lazy and love the taste of great food, is that I can have things like roasted peppers to make homemade romesco sauce with very little effort and time. I love reaching into the pantry or the freezer and throwing together an amazing meal by reaping the rewards of forward thinking.
Notice that I didn鈥檛 say hard work. Thoughtful use of one鈥檚 time today will save you hours tomorrow. Another example of this was that I poured boiling water over half a cup of chickpeas this morning, by late afternoon, the cooking time was reduced to a mere 30 minutes. Now, for those of us without a pressure cooker, that鈥檚 pretty darn fast. The beauty of beans is the longer they soak, the less time they take to cook.
I know I also talk about the balance of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy from time to time, but I think it鈥檚 important for people just starting out in the kitchen to be aware of these flavor combinations. Not only will it help you distinguish a great recipe but also help you create one. Not only will you notice the balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy, but it will help you fix a recipe you鈥檝e already made that is only so-so.
It鈥檚 not always the recipes fault. Maybe Shelley Adams鈥檚 lemons were juicier than mine. Maybe my salt is less salty than Bill鈥檚, Nigella鈥檚 peppers hotter than yours, etc. It depends on so many factors.
So with your acceptance, I鈥檇 like to quickly go over some of the components of this recipe.
Most of my dressings include a little honey to balance out the acidity of the vinegar or lemon/ lime juice. You鈥檒l notice I鈥檝e left it out of this recipe. Roasted red peppers would qualify as sweet, at least in my books. The peppers in this recipe will actually take the place of the honey.
The feta is the salt, which is also missing, the onions and the crushed black pepper take the role of the 鈥渟picy.鈥� The green peppers add a the bitter (at least for my taste buds), the olive oil is the fat that satiates but also gives it a rounded, more balanced feeling on the tongue, the chickpeas add texture and the roasted pumpkin seeds the crunch.
The spinach adds space on the plate so that we don鈥檛 overeat. The basil adds complexity. Simply adjust according to your tastes. Does it need a little more salt? A little more spice? Maybe it鈥檚 too acidic for your liking? After all, no two set of taste buds were created equal. Only you know what tastes good to you.
Rustic Spinach Salad with Roasted Red Pepper, Feta, Chickpeas, and Basil
1/2 cup raw chickpeas or 1 15-ounce can
聽4 roasted red peppers
聽1/2 cup feta
聽1/2 green pepper
聽2 green onions
聽1 large handful of basil
聽6-8 cups of spinach
聽1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
聽2 tablespoon olive oil
聽Juice of 1 lemon
聽Freshly cracked pepper
Cook the chickpeas according to directions.
Broil the peppers on a baking sheet until they are charred all the way around, rotating every 5 minutes or so. Remove the peppers from the oven and cover with a tea towel and allow them to cool for 15 minutes. Remove the peel and the seeds and chop unto 1-inch square pieces.
Clean and chop the green pepper to approximately the same size.聽 Finely slice the green onions and the basil. Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and toss until well combined. Add salt and pepper according to taste. You may decide to adjust the salt using a little more cheese or reducing the salt by substituting goat cheese for feta.
If you plan to eat the salad in one sitting, follow the instructions above. If you鈥檝e got leftovers, then keep the spinach separate until right before serving in individual bowl or plates.
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