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salad

Winter Salad with Baked Apple

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Crunchy kale tossed in a creamy Honey Mustard dressing, with juicy, sweet baked apple, rich chestnuts, and fresh Feta cheese… this is like the BEST salad to make up for all of those Christmas cookies, and the 1 or 2 too many we’ve been eating all month long. 

Main or Side dish?

This recipe also makes an awesome side for your Christmas dinner. It is not too difficult, and it will impress your guests! Even the name itself will “Winter Salad with Baked Apple”, already sounds pretty fancy.. no? Although it sounds pretty fancy, and tastes delicious, it is not too hard to make. I love eating a larger serving of this as a light lunch or serve it along with some meat or fish as a side dish. 

Why is it special?

This salad recipe is not as refreshing as other ones are, but it is winter, so I think something more comforting and cozy is just right. These are also all seasonal foods, which I love. The ones I used for the salad, which basically is kale, apple, chestnuts, and sheep’s cheese, are all from Austria. This means that the transportation did not produce a lot of CO2, which is better for the climate. If you wish to make this recipe vegan, you can simply leave out the cheese, and there you are. 

What is in it?

The Apple adds a sweetness to the earthy kale, which, I believe, balances the entire salad out a lot. It also adds a kick and makes the salad not taste boring! The chestnuts add a winter feeling, because they are a very typical food at this time of the year (at least in Austria you can find them at every corner in December). The ingredients just work in great harmony.

Also the honey mustard dressing goes along perfectly with the apples and the kale. If you have fresh figs on hand, go ahead and throw them in because this combination is bomb too! Or if you don’t like the raw kale, you can steam it for a few minutes to make it softer, or use lambs lettuce instead! But, we are going to massage the dressing into the kale anyway, which is going to make it taste better and easier to digest. 

When to serve?

Because we don’t add the dressing at the very end, as you would do with a regular salad, this is a great make-ahead dish. You can prepare the salad before the guest are coming, then simply bake the apples, cut them up, and you are ready to go! It also works as a leftover the next day. 

Along with my green beans with almond bread crumbs, my caramelized pecan and fog salad or my vegan fall harvest salad this dish is a super delicious side dish for your Christmas dinner. Delicious and nutritious, plus it will impress your guests! 

Enjoy

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Winter Salad with Baked Apple

A delicious winter salad that includes all the delicious and warming ingredients of the season. Sweet and soft apples pair perfectly with rich chestnuts and earthy kale. All tossed in a honey mustard dressing!

Course Appetizer, lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 276 kcal

What you will need

That is what you will need:

  • 6 handful kale stems removed
  • 2 apples core removed
  • 150 g chestnuts
  • 100 g Feta Cheese
  • some nuts (optional)

For the Dressing:

  • 2 tbsp Mustard
  • 1.5 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp orange juice fresh preferably
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • salt & pepper

How to

That’s how it works:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Cut the apples in half. Take the chestnuts and cut a thin slice on one side (this is a necessary step, because otherwise they will explode, and your kitchen will look like a mess, talking from experience :)). 

    Once the oven is preheated, add the apples and chestnuts onto a baking rack. This works best if you place the chestnuts in a bowl, and put this on the rack, and take another bowl, and place on the very bottom of the oven, so the juice that will drop from the apples doesn’t stick and burn on the oven bottom. Bake them for 15-18 minutes.

    Meanwhile wash the kale and rip it into small bite-sized pieces. In a separate, smaller bowl add the honey, mustard, orange juice, oil, vinegar, and salt. Stir until well combined. Pour the dressing over the kale and gently massage it into it with your hands. This way the kale is able to absorb the flavor, taste less butter, and is easier to digest. Set it aside for at least 10 minutes. 

    Cut up the feta into about 1cm sized cubes. Once the apples and chestnuts are done baking take them out. Cube the Apple into small bites. Also peel and  roughly mince the chestnuts. Add everything to the kale and give it a gentle mix until it is all evenly distributed. 

    Serve and enjoy! If wished, add some cracked nuts on top, for extra crunch!

Vegan Rice Noodle Salad with Best Crispy Tofu

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I love noodles prepared in any way. No matter if pasta in Italy, Suppennudeln in Austria, Ramen in Japan, or Pad Thai in Thailand. And because I know that we are all starting to get a little sick of the fall vegetables I decided to share a more summery recipe to boost your mood with this weather.

To be honest, I am not a Pasta Salad lover, I definitely prefer warm pasta over cold one, which also is the reason that this is a “warm pasta salad”! Especially with Glass Noodles I find that they often happen to stick together which I am no fan of at all. This super delicious dish is made with whole bunch of different vegetables and a lot of nutrients! 

The pasta dish itself is made out of glass noodles, also called rice noodles, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, and brussel sprouts. This is what I usually have in the fridge on a daily basis and what most people have too. I love using these ingredients because I can just cook this meal from scratch without having to go to the shop, whenever I want. If you happen to have different vegetables in the fridge constantly such as celery or bean sprouts or whatever, you can just use those. This is what I love about this, it is super versatile because it is not a “traditional pad Thai recipe”.

When it comes to the sauce, let me tell you, it is super addicting! I do not only use this for the Pad Thai but also for dips, as bowl or salad dressing, or to coat in stir-fries. It is so good and tangy and just pairs so well with the rice noodles because they soak it all up and take on the flavor. To make it you have to add a few ingredients to the food processor which are peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, (vegan) fish sauce, ginger, scallions, and honey. Simply blend it all up and its done! Pretty simple-what?

This sounds pretty mouthwatering so far, don´t you think? But, I promise, we haven’t reached the best part of the dish so far: the crispy tofu. I know, the non-vegans out there are probably going to think, “oh no, not another one who is trying to convince me that Tofu is good! It is just plain and tastes like nothing!”. Yes, I get what you are saying and I have had that before too, but I tell you, try out this recipe and you will be convinced opposite! This way to prepare tofu is so delicious and super easy and quick too! Literally 10 minutes!

To make this incredibly tasty Tofu you first need to buy firm or extra firm tofu. Once you decide to make it, take it out of the package and take a few pieces of kitchen roll and lay them out on a flat surface. Add the tofu on top and place a few pieces of kitchen above it. Take a heav weight, this can be a book, a cutting board or whatever you have on hand, and put it on top. If you let that stand for about 5 minutes, the water will go out of the tofu and you will be left with some firmer and less moist tofu. If you do have a tofu press at home, you can skip this step and use it!

Next we need to cut it and coat it into small pieces, I like them to be like 1cm cubes but that is totally up to your preference. Coat them in some cornstarch. This will help the Tofu crisping up when in the pan. Now heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Sesame oil works best here because it has a really nice flavor which goes very well with this. Once hot, add in the tofu and you will be able to watch it get crispy on the outside. Stir it around and let it fry for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and really crispy. We are almost done, but now we have to add some flavor. This actually makes the tofu. While it is still in the hot pan, we add some sauce. I love to use a wok sauce but you can also go for soy sauce, stir-fry sauce, hoisin sauce or whatever you love. You can find these pre made sauces at any supermarket. Once added the sauce we let the tofu cook for another 2 minutes.

Now we can assemble the noodles, top with the tofu, some fresh scallions, peanuts and sriracha for that extra kick! I honestly love this dish as a quick lunch or light dinner. It gives me some summer vibes because of all the different colours and is super delicious. I hope that you will like it to and if you decide to recreate it be sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere! Also, it would mean a whole lot to me if you would leave a comment and rating under the blog post! Thank you very much and enjoy!

XX

Katie 

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Rice Noodle Salad with Best Crispy Tofu

A delicious Pad-Thai-ish recipe. Healthy and vegan and really delcious. It is amazing during hot summer days or for all of you who want to get some summer feels druing these days.

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine asian, thai
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 3 servings
Calories 483 kcal

What you will need

For the Base:

  • 150 g Rice Noodles about 0.5cm thick
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 zucchini
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 bell pepper I like to use red one
  • 6 brussel sprouts

For the Sauce:

  • 1 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp fish sauce vegan
  • 2 tsp honey or brown sugar
  • 3 cm ginger
  • 2 scallions
  • 1.5 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp sriracha
  • 1 tbsp Water

For the Tofu:

  • 250 g firm Tofu
  • 2 tbsp corn starch
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce

For the toppings:

  • crushed peanuts
  • fresh scallions
  • some hot sauce

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Bring a pot with water to a boil and cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.

  2. Lay down a piece of kitchen roll down on a flat surface. Add the tofu on top and another piece. Above lay something heavy such as a cutting board or a book and let it press for about 4-5 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile cut the vegetables into thin strips. The thinner the better, because they will be easier to eat with the noodles.

  4. In a small blender add all the ingredients for the sauce and blend until smooth.

  5. Cut up the tofu into 1cm sized chunks. Coat them in the corn starch. Heat up 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a pan. Once hot add teh tofu and let it fry for about 3-4 minutes. Then add the soy or stir-fry sauce and let it cook for another 2 minutes.

  6. Meanwhile heat up 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a pan. Once hot add the vegetables and stir-fry them.

  7. By now the noodles should be done cooking. Reserve a little of the cooking water, and drain the noodles. Add them into the pan with the vegetables and pour over the sauce. Add some of the reserved water, it will help everything to combine very well.

  8. Once mixed together seperate it onto the plates. Top it with the Tofu and some crushed peanuts, thinly sliced scallions and some more hot sauce if you like!

  9. Serve and enjoy!

Caramelized Pecan and Fig Salad

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We’re are in the middle of October which means that we are in the middle of fig season. One of the best seasons ever, I believe. They are juicy, soft, sweet, and they have such a pretty color! Plus they are so versatile I believe! They go well on so many things! Add them to your French toast, on top of a yoghurt bowl, dried in granola, serve them with cheese, add them into salads or Buddha bowls, or even grill them to serve as a side. The options are endless! 

But a fig is not necessarily a fig. There are small ones and there are bigger ones. I really like the small ones on top of yoghurt for example because they are just perfect in size and you can always eat the skin! With the bigger ones, I prefer using them in salads or as a snack. But if you want to consume them with the peel, make sure to buy organic ones. If you don’t then I would not recommend eating the skin! 

Figs have a great nutritional value too! When fresh they are really low in calories, but have a quite high fiber content! They help reducing the blood pressure as they increase the potassium in your body. Also, they are high in calcium, which is an essential Mineral. When dried, they are higher in calories but also in fiber, with incredible 9g per 100g serving. So if you want to add some sweet or chewiness to your next granola, or just snack in something sweet with nut butter than grab some figs next time, either dried or fresh with some nut butter and you have a delicious and filling snack! 

Onto the next highlight of the salad; the caramelized pecans! I am a huge fan of pecans, I lottery eat them on anything! I love the flavor and the crunch! Nuts in general are packed with protein, vitamins and healthy fats! They are a great addition in nutritional value and crunch to almost any dish! Yoghurt, salads, stir fry’s, curries, you name it! Caramelized First nuts is incredibly simple and only requires 3 ingredients! The nuts themselves, some honey or agave, and a pinch of sea salt. I like to prepare them in a non – stick pan as I believe that it is easiest and quickest. 

It is as simple as adding all the ingredients to the pan and heating it up. At first it will seem as there was too little honey as it will only stick on a few nuts, but as soon as it heats up it will get more liquid and it will cover all the nuts. They work great on a salad as they add sweetness but I also think that they go along very well with cheese or yoghurt. I like the pre make them in a batch in the beginning of the week and them add on on several different dishes throughout the week. If you are not a fan of pecans they can be substituted them for any other nut. Walnuts and almonds would work great, hazelnuts do work too but I would not recommend using cashews since they already have a sweet touch and are rather soft so I would not recommend using them. 

The dressing for the salad is really creamy and delicious. It is not loaded with tons of calories like conventional store bought ones. It is made out of Avocado, Greek Yoghurt, Dijon Mustard, honey, Tahin, anchovies Lemon Juice and Vinegar. I know that it sounds like a lot of ingredients but it is totally worth it! It is an oil free dressing. Just blend all of the ingredients up and you will end up with a delicious creamy dressing! 

To add the finishing touches coat the spinach in the dressing, cut up some dogs, crumble feta cheese and add the walnuts on top! It is an amazing side dish in Fall with some roasted meat or to enjoy along a bowl of pasta! It contains a lot of fall ingredients, which I love since it is a great way to enjoy all the seasonal and regional food! 

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Caramelized Pecan and Fig Salad

A delicious side dish to incooperate all of the delicious fall foods!

Course appe, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 3 Minuten
Total Time 18 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 153 kcal

What you will need

For the Salad:

  • 3 handful Baby spinach (baby spinach preferably)
  • 2 Figs
  • 25 g Pecans
  • 2 tsp Honey
  • 40 g Feta Cheese

For the Dressing:

  • 30 g Avocado
  • 2 tbsp Greek Yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp Tahin
  • 2 tsp White Vinegar
  • 1/2 juice Lemon
  • 1 Anchovie
  • 2 tsp Mustard
  • 1 tsp honey

How to

That’s how it works:

  1. Add all of the ingredients for the salad into a small blender. Add maybe about 1,5 tablespoons of water to start out. Blend it up. It should be creamy but runny. If it is too thick, feel free to add a little more Tahin or water in order to thin it out. Add a generous pinch of salt and set aside, best in the fridge.

  2. Add the nuts into a small nonstick pan. If you do not have one it is not a huge problem but if you have the option, use a non-stick one. Add the honey and a pinch of salt into it. Don’t worry if the honey will only stick onto a few nuts. Heat it up on medium high, constantly stirring. As soon as it gets hot the honey will get more liquid and coat all of the nuts. Once that happened, take the bits out of the pan and set aside. 

  3. Toss the spinach with the dressing and separate it onto 4 bowls. Cut up the figs and add them on top. Crumble the feta. Finally, add the caramelized pecans on top and serve! 

    Enjoy! 

Fall Harvest Salad (V, S)

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Fall is officially here and the temperatures are going down. Although the weekends are still super nice and sunny, you know that fall is here as soon as the leaves start to turn red, brown, and yellow and the first chestnuts are lying on the ground. Fall is such a great season, such beautiful colors and beautiful landscapes. So beautiful. Fall also means comfort foods to me and hot soups. But only because the season changes doesn’t mean just eating unhealthy comfort foods. There are so many great seasonal foods you can pack into super delicious salads. 

With this salad I tried to bring all of the beautiful fall colors into one bowl. The orange in the pumpkin, the red in the pomegranate seeds, the yellow in the pear, the brown in the almonds, and the green from the spinach. It is like eating the rainbow. A lot of people see salads as summer-food but I think that they are a great way to switch up things and not only eating soups and heavy dishes. This one is super refreshing because of the dressing but still really hearty because of the war roasted pumpkins, and the nuts. 

I used Delicata Squash because I think it works great in Salads and or roasting. It has a slight sweet taste and is not quite as dense as for example Hokkaido pumpkin. It is super simple to bring out the flavor and it roasts for only 20 minutes which I think is really great. I seasoned it very simply because I think that otherwise it would overpower the flavor of the rest of the salad. You can use any pumpkin you like but the roasting time will vary depending on the type of pumpkin. 

As a base I decided to go for baby spinach because of its mild flavor and it soaks up the flavor of the dressing easily. I simply love the slightly buttery taste and texture. If you do not like spinach you can go for anything else, lambs lettuce would work great too but I would not recommend kale because it needs more heartiness in a dressing to taste really good in a salad. You can also do a mix of different ones, it would work really great too if you decide to make it a little fancier! The pear on top adds some sweetness and soft butter-like texture, which goes really well with the salad base and the crunch of the toppings. 

For a little crunch I added the pomegranate seeds and the almonds. You can buy prepackaged pomegranate seeds but I like to to buy a whole pomegranate and take them out myself. It is a little work, takes maybe like ten minutes but you do not need unnecessary plastic packaging, they are fresher, and they last for longer, which I think is great. The almonds just give the whole salad some richness, healthy fats, and protein. I really like the heartiness and kind of dryness of almonds as I think they pair very well with the soft, juicy roasted Delicata Squash but some walnuts would work really well in szuch a salad too! Walnuts are a great seasonal food in fall and also regional here in Austria but I unfortunately did not have them on hand when I made this salad.  

For the dressing I decided to use Tahini because it is my favorite ingredient when it comes to salad dressings. It makes it so incredibly creamy and tastes so good! Also Tahini is a great healthy fat and contains a lot of vitamins. I mixed it with some Dijon mustard, lemon juice, a little olive oil, some of the pomegranate juice that ran out when I took out the seeds, and a tiny splash of maple syrup. Just mix it all up and voila, so delicious!

I really like this salad to enjoy as a light lunch and making it fresh but it also works great as meal prep if you store the dressing separately. It comes together really quickly and simple and is such a great healthy fall dish! If you decide to recreate it, make sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere! I hope you will enjoy and like it as much as I do.

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Fall Harvest Salad

A healthy and delicious salad to enjoy al of the seasonal foods that fall brings us.

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 20 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 2 people
Calories 379 kcal

What you will need

For the Salad:

  • 200 g Baby spinach
  • 1/2 Pear
  • 1/2 Pomegranate
  • 400-500 g Delicata Squash
  • 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 30 g Almonds

For the Dressing:

  • 1 tbsp Tahini
  • 2 tbsp Pomegranate Juice
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1/2 tbsp White wine vinegar

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Cut the Delicata squash into about 1cm thick slices. Remove the seeds and place them in a bowl. Generously salt and pepper them and mix the with the Olive oil. Place them on the baking tray and make sure that they do not overlap. Bake them in a preheated oven at 180C for about 20 minutes.

  2. While the pumpkin is baking, wash the spinach and the pear. Plcae the salad into a bowl and cut the pear into about 1.5cm large cubes. roughly chop the almonds. Cut the pomgranate in half and take out the seeds. I believe it is easiest to carve them out with a fork into a bowl and then take out the parts from the shell thaat came with it. Add the two fruits to the spinach along with the chopped up nuts.

  3. Add all the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and mix well until combined. By now the pumpkin should be cooked through, so take it out of the oven. Mix the dressing with the salad, divide it onto two plates and top it with the roasted squash. Serve and enjoy!