The Mighty Salad Bowl
Masterclass
All you need are well-seasoned vegetables, a bit of imagination, and a gorgeous bowl. R ECIPE + T E X T
Denise Marchessault S T Y L ING + PHO T OGR A PH Y
Deb Garlick
T
his hearty salad bowl started off like many others: peering into the fridge wondering how to manage dinner with few options. In this case, a couple of eggs, a lone zucchini, a handful of parsley and a bunch of kale.
The secret to pulling off a deeply satisfying salad is a flavourful dressing and this recipe includes a tangy ginger-mustard vinaigrette and a nutty lemon herb pesto. It’s hard to a imagine a vegetable that wouldn’t benefit from these piquant flavour boosters. Kale plays a starring role in the dish, with support from sweet roasted zucchini, quinoa, a boiled egg, and edamame (or fava beans, when in season). It’s a hearthealthy, protein-packed bowl bursting with flavour. Delicious needn’t be complicated and with fresh vegetables on hand, the possibilities are endless. If you’ve never experienced thinly sliced roasted zucchini, you’re missing the vegetable’s full potential. When most of the moisture is removed through 24 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
roasting, it takes on a sweet edge that’s so delicious you’ll want to eat it right off the baking pan. (I especially love it in grilled vegetable sandwiches.) Kale can be hard to digest raw, so toss it with dressing ahead of time to allow the vinegar to break down the fibres. Or, if you’re too hungry to wait, massage the kale with a little oil and lemon juice between your thumbs and fingers to achieve the same results. (Tender baby kale needs no special treatment.) Taste your kale to determine if the texture is to your liking. The idea is to soften the tough leaves, but not so much that they lose their distinctive character. I’ve added a nutty parsley pesto to the mix because it pairs beautifully with eggs. Pestos are a cook’s loyal friend—they brighten most foods and can be easily adapted. Sometimes I thin pesto with white wine vinegar for a light dressing or sauce. Or keep it chunky and add freshly ground coriander and cumin seeds or jalapeño peppers to the mix.
There’s a whole spectrum of pestos beyond the traditional basil and pine nut variety. They can be made with most herbs and soft leaf greens, including spinach. The following pesto recipe calls for walnuts, but almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, and roasted peanuts work too. Anchovies lend a layer of savoury complexity (aka umami) to pestos but do not leave a fishy aftertaste. Pesto is my go-to topping for brightening everything from chickpeas to fish and pasta. I make a batch at least once a week. I serve this salad atop black quinoa, but any colour (red, orange, or purple) works. I prefer the darkercoloured quinoas to the lighter, fluffier, tan-coloured varieties because they have a chewier texture and more pronounced flavour. If you don’t have quinoa on hand, brown rice, spelt, and couscous are all good alternatives. Feel free to use whatever your pantry has on offer. The only necessities for a salad bowl are well-seasoned vegetables, a bit of imagination, and a gorgeous bowl.
