pineapple and jicama salad with chile-lime vinaigrette

We’ve been in our house for a little over a year now. I’ve walked the streets of our new neighborhood dozens–maybe even hundreds–of times since we moved in. So I thought I had a pretty decent handle on the highlights of this little corner of Seattle.

Earlier this week, however, I learned that I had been overlooking one of the hidden culinary treasures of the city: the Discoteca los 3 Reyes.

This is not, as the name might suggest, a Latin nightclub, but rather a little grocery store jam-packed with every sort of Mexican ingredient your heart could desire. They stock the more familiar offerings: hot sauce and canned beans and spice packets for taco meat. But also corn husks for tamales, hibiscus flowers, dozens of chiles and fat kernels of Mexican corn ready to be ground into masa harina. They have piloncillo and Mexican cinnamon and dried avocado leaves. In short, they carry everything I need to get my Oaxaca food fix on.

Naturally, I filled my shopping bag with tons of ingredients I don’t entirely know how to use (what do you do with yerba santa anyway?) and over the next couple weeks I’ll be testing recipes for my upcoming Oaxaca-inspired dinner–and just for fun. I’ll be posting my successes here.

Today’s experiment was a Pineapple and Jicama Salad with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette and I’m calling it a success. This dish was inspired by a salad we had as part of our photography workshop in Oaxaca. As well as by all the chile-dusted tropical fruit sold in the streets of the city. It treads a thin line between savory and sweet and has some crunchy toasted peanuts and fresh herbs thrown in to round things out. 

Beau and I devoured a plate of this for lunch alongside some jalapeño eggs. Then we started dreaming up other ways to eat it in the coming weeks: as a salsa on top of a nicely charred steak, as a bed for roasted halibut, with yogurt and toasted coconut. Beau even thinks you could get away with adding a scoop of sorbet or ice cream. (Of course, he thinks you can improve a lot of things with a scoop of ice cream, so I’ll have to let you know about that one.)

However you decide to serve this salad, I hope you enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with more dispatches from the Discoteca los 3 Reyes and more Oaxaca-inspired kitchen experiments.

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Pineapple and Jicama Salad with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette

• 2 oranges, (I used cara caras)
• 1 ripe pineapple, peeled, halved lenghtwise and thinly sliced
• 1 cup peeled and julienned jicama
• 3 dried arbol chiles (or to taste)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 cup neutral-tasting oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• Salt, to taste
• 6 radishes, very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped mint, plus a few leaves for garnish
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped cilantro, plus a few leaves for garnish

*Notes: This salad is fairly spicy. If you don’t like spice, either cut back on the arbol chile or use a milder chile.

– I think this salad would also be delicious topped with crumbled queso fresco.

Using a sharp knife, slice the peel and pith from the oranges. Carefully slice them into 1/4-inch rounds and then cut each round into sixths (you’ll have six little triangles for each slice). Arrange the sliced pineapple, oranges and jicama on a serving platter. 

De-stem the chiles and place them in a spice grinder. Process into fine flakes. Place the chiles in a medium bowl along with the lime juice, honey, oil, peanuts and chopped herbs. Stir to combine then add salt to taste (you want it to be a bit on the salty side). 

Pour the vinaigrette over the pineapple, oranges and jicama. Scatter the radishes and reserved herb leaves over the salad and serve.

Makes 6-8 side dish servings.

roasted cauliflower salad with pomegranate and hazelnuts

For those of you in the US, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! Ours was much better than I expected. As I wrote in my last post, I had been having a hard time getting in the holiday spirit after the election. A few days before Thanksgiving (with no menu whatsoever in place) I happened upon this article, which gave me the idea to draw on Middle Eastern flavors for our holiday meal. The bright flavors of Turkey, Iran, Lebanon and Israel felt like just what I needed to lift me out of my funk.

So I decided to scrap the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce in favor of lemony leek meatballs; a basmati pilaf with chickpeas, currants and dill; homemade flatbread with za’atar; cucumber yogurt and a beautiful pink beet hummus. The star of the dinner, though, was this roasted cauliflower salad with pomegranate and hazelnuts. 

The recipe comes from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi–one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. This salad is earthy, nutty, sweet and tart all at once. The silky texture of the roasted cauliflower is balanced by the crunch of raw celery and toasty hazelnuts. The fact that this salad sits at the unlikely intersection of so many contrasting flavors and textures is a large part of it’s appeal. The fact that it’s beautiful and healthy doesn’t hurt either.

After I made this for Thanksgiving, I realized how festive those jewel-toned colors are–perfect for adding a bright splash to your holiday table. Or a quick weeknight supper. Either way, you can’t go wrong. 

And in case you’re wondering, my post-election blues seem to be fading. I’ve been talking to friends about meaningful ways to take action and stand up for what I believe in. And gathering around the table with loved ones as often as possible. Which, in my opinion, is the best ways to cure any sort of blues.

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Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad

• 5 tablespoons hazelnuts, raw or toasted
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
• ¼ cup olive oil, divided
• Kosher or sea salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
• 2 large stalks celery, cut on the bias into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/4 cup celery leaves
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves

*Note: I recommend toasting your own hazelnuts for this recipe so their dark, nutty flavor really comes through. But pre-roasted nuts will do in a pinch.

If you are using raw hazelnuts: preheat your oven to 325° F. Spread the hazelnuts on a rimmed sheet pan and roast until the skins start to loosen and the nuts turn golden-brown and fragrant, 8-12 minutes  Transfer the hot hazelnuts to a clean tea towel. Gather the four corners of the towel and twist them together to form a parcel around the hazelnuts. Rub vigorously to remove as many skins as possible. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Increase the oven temperature to 475° F. Place the cauliflower on a parchment lined sheet pan, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss with a generous pinch of salt. Roast until browned in spots and tender, 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, sherry vinegar, maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Roughly chop the hazelnuts and place them in a large bowl along with the cauliflower, pomegranate seeds, celery, celery leaves, parsley and the vinaigrette. Stir to coat, taste, and adjust seasonings.

Serve at room temperature.

Makes 3-4 side-dish servings.
Adapted slightly from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

charred brussels sprouts with turmeric vinaigrette and toasted cashews

Hello, friends.

It’s been a rough week, hasn’t it?

Whichever side of the political fence you find yourself on, the events of the past few days (and months, for that matter) have been pretty stressful. Which is why I’m glad Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It gives us a perfect opportunity to put our conflicts aside, gather friends and family around the table, and reflect on all that we have to be grateful for.

To help you make this Thanksgiving as stress-free as possible, I have another easy holiday recipe for you. This one is courtesy of my friend Kyle. To my mind, this is the best sort of Thanksgiving fare: the traditional roasted Brussels sprouts enlivened with a bright turmeric dressing, crunchy cashews and radishes, plus a handful of fresh herbs. It’s a beautiful combination of flavors old and new, ingredients from near and far–like America herself.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I don’t normally get that excited about Thanksgiving. But this year, I’m going all out to make our celebration bright. As we sit down at the table to share and give thanks, I’ll be hoping the holiday encourages us all to extend a little extra warmth and kindness towards those who need it.

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Charred Brussels Sprouts with Turmeric Vinaigrette and Toasted Cashews

• ½ cup cashews
• ½ medium yellow onion, finely diced (about ¾ cup)
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons neutral oil (we used avocado oil), divided
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. brussel sprouts, cleaned, halved and patted dry
• 1 large or 2-3 small radishes, sliced into thin rounds (we used small watermelon radishes)
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, picked or roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon dill fronds, picked or roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 350°F. 

Place the cashews on a sheet pan and toast until they smell fragrant and have a light golden color, 10-12 minutes. Transfer cashews to a plate to cool. Crank your oven to 500°F.

While the oven is heating, make the vinaigrette: place the onion in a small saucepan with the mustard seeds, turmeric and ½ cup of the neutral oil and the olive oil. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place the Brussels sprouts on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons neutral oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Place into oven and roast for 10-12 minutes. Take care not to overcook the sprouts. You want them cooked through and charred in spots but still bright green. Check their doneness with a fork or paring knife; you should be able to poke all the way through but still feel a tiny bit of resistance. Pull the Brussels sprouts and set aside to cool slightly. Place the sprouts in a large bowl. Add the cashews and radishes

When the dressing has cooked for 20 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon salt, the honey and lime juice. Whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

To serve, add ¼ cup of the cumin vinaigrette and most of the herbs to the bowl with the sprouts. Toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing if desired. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the rest of the herbs. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe by Kyle Wisner