Sunday, September 27, 2009

Composed Salad of Roasted Broccoli, Romaine, Chickpeas, and Walnuts

A composed salad is like a mini, refined salad bar of your own. The refined part is evident in the obvious lack of a sneeze guard. The ingredients are prepped, possibly tossed with dressing, and arranged on a platter for each person to serve him/herself. You can choose how much of each item to include on your own plate, and arrange things as you choose. This particular composed salad was in the July issue of Living magazine. Reading the title alone made me sure this was a salad I wanted to eat, but then when I read the recipe, I found out there’s also a goat cheese puree and sherry vinaigrette that made it sound even better. The walnuts were supposed to have been candied with honey and some savory ingredients too, but I decided to omit the sweetness and keep them firmly in the savory category.

There are several little parts of preparation for this salad, but they’re all very simple and very worth doing. First, the broccoli was roasted with extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. Meanwhile, canned chickpeas were rinsed and drained and then added to a saucepan in which some chopped shallots had been sauteed. At the end of cooking the chickpeas, a teaspoon of sherry vinegar was added. Next, the goat cheese puree was made by pulsing fresh goat cheese, water, olive oil, and sherry vinegar in a food processor. Also, walnuts were roasted with garlic, lemon, olive oil, and salt and pepper. And last on the list was the vinaigrette made with dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, a tiny bit of honey, and olive oil. The only other item was the romaine which I chopped rather than leaving the leaves whole. I made the goat cheese puree, vinaigrette, and roasted walnuts in advance, so the actual dinner-time prep was very quick. The romaine and roasted broccoli were each, separately, tossed with some vinaigrette and placed on the platter. The warm chickpeas and roasted walnuts found places on the platter too. The goat cheese puree was spooned onto an open spot on the platter so items could be dipped through it, and extra puree was served in a small dish.

This salad had no chance of not being a winner. I was already a big fan of roasted broccoli, chickpeas, and goat cheese, and this brought them all together in a particularly enjoyable way. It’s a casual composition that can sit comfortably at room temperature. The leftovers made an excellent lunch as well, but be sure to pull them out of the refrigerator 20 minutes or so in advance so the vinaigrette can loosen up after being chilled. I’m already thinking about using the parts of this salad on their own. The goat cheese puree was a delicious dip with broccoli, and the lemony roasted walnuts with a hint of garlic flavor would make a great snack with cocktails.



25 comments:

  1. What a mouthwatering salad! It looks extremely scrumptious!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Wow! Your salad looks so beautiful and delicious to me! A perfect combination!

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  3. A lovely selection for your composed salad. I like to mix and match mine. Made add a little mushroom for mine. ;-D

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  4. Oops...I meant 'maybe' not 'made' hehe...

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  5. This is a really daring and interesting combination!

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  6. That looks delicious and especially the goatcheese puree! I do have to ask what is a 'sneeze guard'? It sounds to me like someone watching over you so you don't sneeze, but that seems unlikely...lol

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  7. Simone: A sneeze guard is a glass covering that sits above long, self-serve salad bars in restaurants. The glass is situated at a height of about your face and literally blocks sneezes above the food on the bar.

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  8. I love the sound of the goat cheese puree!

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  9. Delicious, this is such a great, healthy salad.

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  10. oh i love a composed salad. makes me feel fancy.

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  11. This is one beautiful salad! I can't wait to make it. I'm bookmarking in Delicious now.

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  12. A delicious combination of ingredients in this composed salad! Just perfect with goat cheese!

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  13. I've never heard of a composed salad...but it sounds really elegant and fancy schmancy! I love how you added those walnuts in there!

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  14. this is my kind of salad...'composing' it is a great idea! and dont you just love roasted broccoli!

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  15. It is a great idea to have a composed salad, I have not thought of making a mini saladbar yourself.

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  16. What a super salad! Roasting veggies gives them so much flavor. And I agree, having the the next day for lunch would be heaven. Love your photos- they made my mouth water.

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  17. OOh interesting! I've never heard of a composed salad but I think it would totally appeal to me. Ad yes you're right, there was no chance that it wouldn't be delicious with a head start like that! :)

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  18. Great combination of ingredients here! Love the roasted broccoli, of course -- and the dressing looks like a perfect match (with the bit of honey).

    I'm thinking that roasting the chickpeas might be a fun way to go with this myself!!

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  19. This sounds fantastic as a healthy option. I love salads with walnuts :)--problem is i pick them out and leave healthy stuff behind.

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  20. "composed." it sounds so formal and sophisticated, but it's a pretty simple concept! i like your combo of ingredients, lisa. sometimes salads just rock.

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  21. This salad would be a huge winner for me as well!!! I would feel so energized after this! Gorgeous job!

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  22. This breathes new life into salad! This looks so delicious!

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  23. What a wonderful way to serve this salad - it looks amazing and it goes without saying, delicious!

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  24. something i would love to have for my lunch, since we are doing only salads. Goat cheese puree is such a beautiful idea.

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