Salad Freak: Recipes to Feed a Healthy Obsession

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RF: We’re sharing your Matzo Fattoush recipe, which I'm so excited about. Can you tell me about the inspiration there? stars. My current rating is solely from reading the book - I have not yet made any recipes. I'll update my review (and maybe rating?) as I cook through it. I got this book as part of my Hardcover Cook quarterly cookbook subscription and loved salads so was excited to try the recipes. Got through three recipes - two were meh and one was just vile - that it's a HARD pass from me.

Salad Freak (Hardcover) | ABRAMS Salad Freak (Hardcover) | ABRAMS

I got this from my local library (in Idaho!) and tons of this doesn't apply since the ingredients just aren't available, or are too specialized. I really wish books would push for local foods (local Idaho oils include canola, safflower, mustard, rapeseed, sunflower, and flax), rather than telling everyone to buy the same stuff from a place in Europe or South America. The shaved radish breakfast salad with jammy eggs and dukkah was just really not to my taste, nor something I want for breakfast ever again. Strip the leaves of two bunches of Swiss chard from their stems, and tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. Chop the stems into half-inch pieces.

I was excited to start this book because I was hoping for some exciting takes and ideas about eating salads/vegetables more. However, while there are definitely some interesting and inspiring salads in the book, on the whole it is very un-approachable. Another personal favorite is the mandarins and cream, which also appears on the front cover. This recipe challenges the accepted definition of a salad: Can peeled mandarins covered with burrata, olive oil and salt really be called a salad? Apparently so. While this dish could easily get a meal off to a great start, it can also make for a delightful dessert for the ultra-sweet-averse among us. With salads, it not only has to do with the visual, but it also has a lot to do with texture. In all the citrus salads, sometimes I want them cut as a wheel, but sometimes I like them supremed. And it's not only because it's beautiful, but it's really delicious that way. I think supreming citrus is something that anytime I teach someone how to do that, it truly blows their mind. And once you start doing it at home, I think that it becomes habit.

17 Tools You Need to Make Better Salads, According to a

And I am such a freak myself, I just want everybody else to eat the same way. I have so many friends who are like, ‘Oh, we don't eat fruits and vegetables.’ And I'm like, ‘Well, first of all, I don't understand how you're alive. But second of all, you're really missing out because they're so good.’ And I think one of my biggest accomplishments in the past few years has been convincing my parents that they should make their own salad dressing. It took 10 years for them to be like, ‘You know what? You're right, it's not that hard.’ In a cast-iron skillet, heat one tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add your chard stems. Cook until they begin to get tender, about three minutes. Add the chard leaves, and cook until wilted but not too much, still green but softened, about two minutes. Squeeze the juice from the zested lemon into the pan, stir the greens around a bit, and then remove them with tongs and set aside.RF: I really like the concept of ‘anything can be a salad,’ because it's kind of true. It doesn't have to be lettuce with stuff on top of it.

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In the winter it's definitely chicories and citrus. Especially when I'm in New York in the winter. It's funny because I think that people who are new to cooking seasonally don't realize that citrus is such a winter thing. And it is such a gift. Such a bite of sunshine when we all really, really need it. Let me start by saying this is a spectacularly beautiful cookbook. The photography and design are gorgeous and just invites you to get in the kitchen and start preparing. I'm eager to make a few recipes and I love how it's organized by season -- great for when you're preparing for a trip to the fresh market. I also appreciate the author's approach of food preparation being a ritual, a sort of meditation that reminds you that you're caring for your body because these ingredients taste good, not because they're "good for you." I'm always hesitant with anything salad related to see how fatphobic it is and I was pleased to read how this salad book focuses on the lovely ingredients and flavors, nothing else.I didn't even realize until I read it in a review that the book has six recipes with peas. So I obviously really like peas. They just feel like the most spring ingredient to me. I like experimenting with different kinds: raw English peas, sugar snap peas, whatever. The roasted cauliflower with almonds, anchovies, and herb recipe was what is making me throw this book out, mainly the dressing which I thought I would like (I like anchovies! I like dates! But together I found it to be disgusting!). I'm not even finishing the recipe - typing this while I have the cauliflower roasting in the oven but am 100% going to repurpose it to a completely different meal. A lot of her ingredients are also expensive. She uses the justification that the salads are only a few ingredients so they need to be good since you’ll really taste them. Sure - but 84% butterfat butter for a salad? Further, a lot of these ingredients are only available at more bougie stores or farmers markets. As a side note, I wish cookbooks would state their values & biases up front. For example, do you think saturated fat is healthy or unhealthy? Do you have concerns with GMOs or food miles? Who is the intended audience (both in terms of cost & hunting down unusual ingredients)? If an author says, "Put coconut oil in everything, I only go to farmer's markets & co-ops, and I don't care where food is from" then I'll know to avoid the author.