SUMMER HURRICANE SALAD
I know that summer has come and gone once again, but, because I’m in New York, where I spent the summer with my little mo, it’s reminding me that I never wrote about this fun experience that I had during the August hurricane. So, better late than never.
I’m the last person to invent recipes, trust me. I actually used to do that all the time with my best bud, Ronnie Hazel, Jr., like our infamous Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cakes, in which we’d throw everything but the kitchen sink. And that’s just about where we mixed the many ingredients! But that’s where my talents ended.
While Ronnie grew up to be a professional chef at just sixteen, I continued to be a restaurant critic so that I’d never have to find my way around a kitchen without him.
So, I really never expected to be giving out a recipe, other than my annual Breakfast at Wimbledon Strawberries and Cream one.
But on what I’ve dubbed “Hurricane Sunday,” my friend, Accord Real Estate Group co-owner Jeff Grandis, invited me to his house for a vegan lunch. Together, we came up with a high-end restaurant-caliber salad that was just too delicious to keep to ourselves, so I must share it.
The combination of ingredients is what makes it share-worthy, but the presentation is what makes it extra-special. We put each ingredient on a special platter or in an attractive vessel so that we could serve them as a salad buffet. We had agreed on what said ingredients should be, but this way, we could each put together our own amounts. It worked out perfectly.
So, however you arrange them, here’s the “recipe:”
Mesclun
Chopped asparagus
Chopped onion
Walnuts
Curried Cashews
Trader Joe’s Thai Peanut Sauce
And the piece de resistance…chopped peaches!
With all the chopping going on, you might think that’s enough already, as Jeff mainly did. But, as my old pal Betsy Sorkin taught me, I still chop it up even more, once it’s all on my plate. That act really marries the flavors.
With the nuts as the earthiness, there’s no need for even extra bread; this whole meal is self-contained. And super-satisfying.
And the best part is…you don’t have to wait for a summer hurricane to enjoy it!
