Page 18 | THE LAKER June 20, 2022
‘Cue The Grill
Salads, Salads, More Salads
By Chef Kelly Ross Hey Lakes Region, hope this finds you all well, fine, and dandy. We had a great Memorial Day Weekend, as well as a great Bike Week and now we have two weeks of relative peace and quiet around here for us locals before the barrage of out-of-town visitors start showing up as the 4th of July is almost in our face. That means the start of a two-month long routine of crazy lines of traffic, big crowds in the stores and restaurants, an extremely busy lake of boaters, water skiers and swimmers, and more importantly, a huge boost to our economy. Those two months, plus Bike Week before, and then another great boost during foliage, all make most of our businesses’ yearly revenue. Granted some may swear a little when trying to get somewhere quickly, or standing in line at some of favorite restaurants, it’s a necessary evil for the overall success of our area. In my humble opinion, although irritating at times, is well worth any aggravation. So, for the locals, enjoy these two weeks while you can. I usually don’t go out to most of favorite restaurants when it’s nuts out there, especially
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since I love to cook at home, but for these two weeks, I will likely go frequent them all and as I pay my tab and leave, I’ll shout out to my favorite waitstaff and bartenders, “I’ll see you all after Labor Day.” So, as I generally focus most of my summer recipe articles toward the grill, today, not so much as today’s focus is on some awesome summer salads. Granted, many salads can become much better when you toss on some grilled chicken, steak tips or shrimp, that’s usually not worthy of a special recipe. We all know well enough how to do that. My focus today is on the unique and eclectic salads, the ones that aren’t quite so “Run of the Mill.” I am by no means saying there won’t be any of these great additions in or on some of today’s salads, but when you do see them, they will be involved in something more fun than a tossed or Caesar salad. The main reason I mention how these aren’t the usual stereotypical salads is because most of these don’t contain any lettuce or leafy greens, however, many, many vegetables are very well represented, as well and the fruit and berry world. I have a sweet and scrumptious pasta salad that
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relies on using a fruit salsa instead of mayo or olive oil, it works so well. I guess we might as well start with that one, I guess. If you want to really “Wow” a bunch of friends and family at a potluck get together, this should do it. I am fully aware that we are now living in a very carb-cutting environment where most everyone is trying to cut their carbs at almost all costs. I am one of them to a point. I have cut way back on three of my favorite things, those being bread, pasta, and beer. I really miss not eating the pasta and bread the most as I crave them daily. However, in my effort, I am guilty of eating too much of another love, fruit and berries, and there are plenty of carbs in those. It’s psychological though right, fruits are good for you, right, there can’t be sugar or carbs in those? Haha, sounds good, but ”Survey Says……. AAAARNK”. All jokes aside, we all need to cheat now and then, so here is a fun option when you do. As I said earlier, this pasta salad has no mayo or oil, but instead uses an outstanding fresh fruit and berry salsa with some onion, fresh mint, queso fresco, among other goodies. For those not familiar, queso fresco is a lite crumble, salty cheese that in English means “fresh cheese”. Like many crumble cheeses, some brands are saltier than others, so always taste the cheese prior to garnishing with the sea salt as you don’t want this to be salt overkill situation. This recipe feeds 4 and doubles and triples up perfectly for bigger events and goes together in about an hour. This salsa can work tremendously all by itself as well, not to mention over grilled chicken, pork, salmon, and swordfish. It’s truly a game changer. Summer Pasta Salad with a Fruit Salsa 8 oz elbow macaroni ¼ cup chopped onion 1 cup pineapple chunks, ideally and much better if fresh 1 cup chopped mango ½ cup chopped yellow peaches, skin on ½ cup chopped strawberries ½ jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, chopped
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1 tbsp lemon zest 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice ¼ cup chopped mint ½ tsp sea salt 3 tbsp pineapple juice ¾ lb. queso fresco, or queso blanco, crumbled, found in most dairy cases. Paneer is a good sub if needed Additional lemon juice and sea salt for garnish if needed/wanted Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente, drain in a colander and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process. Drain again and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, add onion, pineapple, mango, peaches, strawberries, jalapeno, lemon zest, lemon juice, mint, and sea salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 3 times to get a nice, chunky consistency, but don’t pulverize it into a puree. The goal is big chunks that are coarsely chopped. Pour the salsa into a large bowl. Add pineapple juice, 1 tbsp at a time, until desired sweetness is achieved. Add another squirt or two of lemon juice to taste. Fold in cheese and pasta. Taste it and season with more salt or anything else you think it might need. Remember the cheese can be salty, which is why I only add ½ tsp in the mixing process. Serve topped with a sprinkling of more sea salt and/or lemon juice if you think it is warranted. Where the prior salad is much more of a picnic or lunch side salad, this one is meant as the main course, although it can be used as dinner pre-salad or as a lunch side dish. This mad mix of ingredients is highlighted a large amount of shrimp, cherry tomatoes, onion, celery, a whole bunch of herb and spice, and with a great touch of capers, which “makes” this recipe in a big way. This salad has a great Greek flare to it in my taste buds and brain’s opinion. I love capers over Brussels sprouts or most any roasted veggie, big time in any piccata, but most of all I love them when associated with most any seafood, especially shellfish. This will feed 4-5 usually, and the entire cooking/mixing/ cooling process will take 4 hours, but it does get better over a day or so. Just remember depending on the shrimp, • ‘Cue the Grill continued on page 20
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