fat kid potato salad

All of the ingredients from this potato salad are available at Tesco except for the sour cream and herbs de Provence are from the Avocado Lady. Happy Cooking!

4 large light yellow skin potatoes
5 strips bacon
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 leek, thinly sliced
1/3 cup Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
3 tablespoons cream cheese
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoon butter
Herbs de Provence
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Wash the potatoes, pat dry then cut into cubes. Boil the potatoes until soft but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain.

In a medium saute pan, cook the bacon until brown and crispy. Pull the bacon out once they’re done and drain on paper towel. Crumble the bacon into small pieces. Reserve two strips for the onion mixture.

In the same pan, pour out half of the bacon grease, add 1/2 tablespoon canola oil. Saute the garlic, onion, half of the sliced leek (white part) and two strips of crumbled bacon until fragrant and caramelized. Add a pinch of herbs de Provence and salt & pepper to taste.

In a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, fresh green part of the leek, crumbled bacon, onion mixture, melted butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese and sour cream. Incorporate all ingredients together and serve at room temperature.

salad with cilantro & parsley vinaigrette

1 head lettuce
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Jesse’s Cilantro & Parsley Sauce, recipe as follows
1 teaspoon white rice vinegar
Juice of 1/6 lemon
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Clean lettuce and pat dry. Thinly slice the onion. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the olive oil, 1 tablespoon Jesse’s cilantro & parsley sauce, white vinegar and squeeze of lemon wedge. Salt & pepper to taste.

Dress the lettuce and onion slices according to your preference and serve immediately.

Jesse’s Cilantro & Parsley Sauce:

1/2 cup good olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup frech Italian parsley, packed
1 cup fresh cilantro, packed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon white rice vinegar
1 dried or fresh red chili pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pulse all ingredients in a processor, about 20 pulses. Pour into a bottle, it can be refrigerated up to 1 week. We add this delicious sauce on steak, grilled chicken and prawns, and even as a pizza base.

clover leaves with wild strawberries

The mystery Chinese greens we’ve been using are called clover leaves (新草头).  We love the taste and use it often in salads.  Here’s a wonderful recipe for this tasty baby green.

1 bunch clover leaves
20 wild strawberries
1 small red chili, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
Fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper

Wash the clover leaves and strawberries thoroughly then pat dry.

Finely chop 2 strawberries. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, chopped strawberries, whole garlic, pinch of salt and pepper. Microwave the oil mixture for 45 seconds, then cool.

After the oil mixture is cooled, discard the garlic, whisk in the rice wine vinegar and lemon juice, then add the red chili. Dress the greens with the vinaigrette, add shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately.

avocados and arugula

3 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded
7 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 small onion, minced
4 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 juice of a lemon
1 bunch arugula, loosely packed about 2 cups
Coarse grey salt, fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Cut the avocados in large dices. Add the avocados, cherry tomatoes, and minced onion to the vinaigrette in the mixing bowl. With a spoon, mix all ingredients together until well coated and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Spread a bed of fresh arugula on a plate, place the avocado mixture on top. Serve immediately.

mystery green summer salad

We have no idea what these greens are. The Shanghainese use them in soups and stir fry. The texture is delicate and soft. The flavor is slightly lemony and peppery which we thought would work perfectly as a salad, dress in a light lemon based vinaigrette with the sweetness of a ripe mango. We’d like to try this again with a sweet, fleshy, pink, and ripe peach as we’ve seen some great peaches around here. If anyone knows what these greens are, please tell us!

1 bunch great unknown Chinese green
1 ripe mango
1/3 small red onion, diced
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 tablespoons good grassy olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1／2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
Grey salt, preferably coarse
Freshly ground black pepper

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and pepper, emulsify. Add the mango, onion and tomatoes, toss to coat with the vinaigrette.

Dress the greens according to your preference and serve immediately.