Cooking Method: Tossing

Watermelon Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Watermelon salad is a quintessential summer dish. And our sweet New England summer is flying by. So, make this dish pronto! Maybe it’s a Labor Day BBQ side dish?

This salad is bright, crunchy, sweet & salty - I served it with my once-a -summer-treat: grilled hot dogs! It was a perfect pairing.

One mostly sees watermelon salad recipes with feta cheese, but I used Halloumi cheese. It’s a salty cheese like feta but unlike feta it is a firm cheese and will keep its shape and not ‘bleed’ all over the watermelon. I made lemon vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil, but feel free to use a light prepared dressing of your choice. (I suggest a vinaigrette-style dressing rather than a creamy dressing, so the colors of the salad remain vibrant.)

There are many ways to make this dish simpler to prepare. For example, we sell cut watermelon at Foodie’s in 1.25-1.5-pound containers - perfect amount for this recipe. And I also used Chatham Village brand Home-style Garden Herb croutons. They provide a crunch and are more neutral in flavor than Caesar-flavored croutons. They will add a crunch without adding another cheese flavor. (You could, of course, make your own toasted croutons.)

‘Middle Eastern’ Chicken Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This is a chicken salad made with flavors and ingredients from a Middle Eastern pantry—chickpeas, olives, scallions, yogurt, tahini and za’atar spice mix - don’t forgo the za’atar spice mix! It is used to marinate the chicken breasts. This chicken salad has an herby, savory and exotic flavor and is also a bit crunchy thanks to the sesame seeds. (And za’atar spice is easy to find these days!)

Broccoli Salad by Chef Laura Brennan

This is an easy, delicious and crunchy broccoli salad that does NOT call for cooking the broccoli. All the ingredients are prepped (the ‘mise-en-place’) and tossed together with a seasoned mayonnaise dressing. (I used Hellman’s, my favorite.) And feel free to substitute ingredients; for example: you could omit the bacon or switch out the raisins for dried cranberries or use toasted sunflower seeds instead of almonds.

A Festive Holiday Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This salad ticks all the boxes: it’s colorful, crunchy, seasonal, and a bit exotic!
I made it for our Thanksgiving table and wowed the crowd! Persimmons are available in the market right now and for this salad, I used the squat round variety called Fuyu. It’s like an apple, sliceable and delicious when firm, unlike the ‘pointy’ Hachiya variety which is eaten when super-ripe and soft and has a very custardy texture.

KALE TABBOULEH with ISRAELI PEARL COUSCOUS by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Warning:  Poetic License Invoked!

‘Tabbouleh’ is THE iconic parsley & bulgur wheat salad, of course.  It swept the country in the seventies and is obviously here to stay.

 In this version, I have swapped in kale for most of the parsley and used Israeli/pearl couscous in place of the traditional bulgur wheat.  The Israeli couscous is a chewier grain (also made from wheat/semolina flour) and a better match with the sturdy kale. The rest of the ingredients are common to tabbouleh:  scallion, tomato, cucumber, lemon and olive oil.  I have paired the salad with grilled chicken.  Serve with flatbread or toasted pita chips as well.

Spanish Potato Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

My Irish-German aunts made potato salad without mayonnaise.  As a curious kid, I found it intriguing because it was not what we did at our house.

There was bacon fat and vinegar drizzled over the hot potatoes and crumbled crispy bacon and chopped hard cooked eggs mixed in as well. To be sure, it was delicious and there was nary a drop of olive oil or any other unsaturated fats to be found.

Fast-forward many decades later, a mayonnaise-less potato salad is still not very common.  It makes an early summer appearance in the food magazines, but mostly remains the provenance of restaurants and/or family traditions.

This recipe with olive oil, smoked paprika, green olives and sherry vinegar give this potato salad its Spanish flair and its improved nutrition. The recipe is vegetarian and with a nod to my aunts; the addition of paper-thin slices of smoky ham would not be amiss.

Ode to Rome: Pasta Cacio e Pepe By Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This is a quick and simple and delicious pasta dish from Rome.  Long strands of pasta are coated with a cheese & butter sauce.  Traditionally made with only sheep’s milk pecorino cheese; I have added a bit of Parmigiana to soothe the American palate. It adds a bit of sweetness to temper the tang of the pecorino.  And -  this recipe uses very few ingredients and can be made in one pot!

ANTIPASTO SALAD by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Something crunchy, something colorful and something savory to bring to a last-of-the-season cookout, or a first-of-the-season tailgate party.
There is barely any cooking to do: the cherry tomatoes are slightly roasted, the broccoli crowns are tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and grilled along with some crusty French or Italian bread.
The rest of the work required improves your knife-skills.1

Crunchy Beef & Peanut Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Salad for Dinner.  It heralds summer al fresco dining.

This salad does have a few steps but they are all quick and easy. The two sauces could be made earlier in the day or even the day before, and reheated. 

The individual tastes are crunchy, fragrant, spicy, meaty, sweet, sour and savory.

To quote Aristotle: “The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts”.

Chickpea & Cauliflower Salad with Spiced Tahini Dressing by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Instead of taking last year’s pasta salad to your summer get-togethers …why not show-off with this show-stopper?   It’s very easy to make:  roast some seasoned cauliflower pieces and open a couple of cans of chickpeas!  (Well, OK, plus make a very simple and quick tahini dressing!)

Roasted cauliflower is ‘meaty’ and especially delicious with this tahini dressing.  And the recipe makes extra dressing that would be great with grilled lamb and/or beef in a pita bread and crunchy vegetable sandwich.