Warm and tender mushroom “scallops,” sharp and tangy grapefruit, earthy sumac, and sweet basil all play together harmoniously in this first-course salad.
Revive any wilted salad greens by dunking them in a bowl of ice water for about 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and either spin dry in a salad spinner or pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.
Per serving:
Trim tops and woody bottoms of mushrooms leaving the solid part of stems. Save tops for Vegetable Bourguignon recipe or another use. Cut mushroom stems into medallions about 1 in (2.5 cm) thick and set aside. You should have about 12 u201cscallops.u201d
In large bowl, stir together hot water and vinegars. Add mushroom u201cscallopsu201d to vinegar mixture and place small bowl or plate over mushrooms to ensure they stay submerged. Set aside for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Meanwhile, using a paring knife, peel 2 grapefruits, removing skin and white pith. Place fine-mesh sieve over bowl. Cut between membranes of grapefruit flesh to make individual segments and let them fall into sieve, allowing bowl to catch any excess juice. Squeeze any remaining juices through sieve. Juice remaining grapefruit through sieve as well. Remove and discard any pits, transfer grapefruit segments to large bowl, and pour grapefruit juice into small saucepan.
Place saucepan containing grapefruit juice over medium heat. Add maple syrup and chili and bring mixture to a simmer, stirring often. Allow sauce to simmer and reduce until it has thickened and there is about 1/3 cup (80 mL) left. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Whisk in oil, lemon juice, sumac, and salt.
Heat grapeseed oil and thyme in large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Pat mushrooms dry with paper towel before adding to skillet. Cook until browned, about 4 to 6 minutes. Just before turning over, season with fresh ground pepper. Continue cooking until second side is golden brown, about another 4 to 6 minutes. Season again with pepper and remove to plate and keep warm while preparing the salad.
To bowl with grapefruit segments, add onion, radicchio, watercress or arugula, spinach, and basil. Pour half of the dressing overtop and toss very gently. Save remaining dressing for another use. Divide salad among serving plates. Top with warm mushroom u201cscallopsu201d and garnish with pistachios. Serve immediately.
Lime juice and ginger add a tropical whiff to this French-Japanese mashup, where seaweed tendrils and Dijon mustard bring out the umami flavours in mushrooms and eggplant. The ingredients might seem to be strange bedfellows, but they work. The result is somewhere between a quiche and a soufflé, with a gluten-free eggplant crust featuring punchy mustard and citrus. This makes for a hearty vegetarian main for brunch, lunch, or dinner with a side salad, or a filling side dish. Fresh or dried If you don’t have fresh thyme and parsley, use 1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme (divided) and 1 Tbsp (15 mL) dried parsley. The flavours won’t be as pungent, but a little flavour is better than none.
These are the perfect two-bite appetizers. Though the first bite likely won’t “wow” you, the more you chew, the more the salt from the dulse soaks into the avocado and tomato. Wait for it. You can also turn these into breakfast à la avocado toast by substituting a piece of your favourite bread for a slice of baguette. What’s in a name? Theoretically, this should be called a “DLTA” because of the avocado (dulse, lettuce, tomato, and avocado). And if you left out the lettuce, you’d have a “DTA.” A DTA would arguably be a better overall eating experience, since lettuce slightly waters down the rich and creamy result and makes it harder to keep the tomatoes from sliding off the top of the crostini. But the juicy lettuce is actually helpful, since it spreads the salt from the dulse throughout the entire bite, making the “wow” moment come sooner. Besides, neither DLTA nor DTA is as fun an acronym as DLT.
This triple-threat recipe is made with (up to) three types of seaweed. Wakame is essential for the pesto, but kombu boosts the umami punch of sautéed garlic and cherry tomatoes, while kelp noodles are a low-carb substitute for flour-based noodles. Because kelp noodles can be hard to find (you’ll likely need to order them online), feel free to use your favourite boxed linguine, zucchini noodles, shirataki konjac, tofu, or yam noodles instead. You can also leave out the vongole (clams) to keep the recipe plant-based, or use mussels, which are usually more affordable than clams. Both clams and mussels are generally sustainable, as, like seaweed, they’re farmed without feed or antibiotics, unlike many farmed fish operations. Double-duty pesto Make a double batch of seaweed pesto, and enjoy it with eggs, scrambled tofu, or toast.
Spicy popcorn? You bet. This Japanese seven-spice blend combines salty and spicy notes for a healthy snack. If you don’t make your own togarashi, check the container before adding it to your popcorn to make sure it doesn’t contain salt. For an even simpler recipe, skip the togarashi and just grind a few pieces of nori and a pinch of salt in a blender or spice grinder to sprinkle on your popcorn instead. If you’re fresh out of nori, you can always grind wakame, arame, or dulse instead, leaving out the pinch of salt for dulse or any seaweed you taste and find already salty. Shichimi togarashi This customizable spice blend generally features sansho pepper, a.k.a. Japanese prickly ash, a green peppercorn with a citrusy taste, along with seaweed flakes, chili pepper, and dried citrus peel—often yuzu or mandarin orange. If you can’t find sansho, look for Sichuan peppercorn, which has a slightly stronger mouth-tingling effect. You can buy dried orange, mandarin, or tangerine peel. Or you can dehydrate your own, in which case you might as well dehydrate a 1/8 in (3 mm) thick piece of fresh ginger along with the peel. If you can’t handle a lot of chili pepper heat, reduce the pepper to your taste.