This salad combines leftover Thanksgiving turkey with crunchy daikon radishes, tender greens, and a creamy homemade green goddess dressing. I used a food processor to slice the radishes and prepare the dressing, but the task could just as easily be completed by hand with a good knife and a mixing bowl.
Turkey & Radish Salad with Green Goddess Dressing (serves 4)
Salad:
1 bag salad greens, washed and dried
4 inch section of daikon radish, sliced very thinly
1 1/2 cups cold chopped turkey
Green Goddess Dressing:
1/2 cup chopped parsley, thyme, sage, or other fresh herbs on hand
1 tablespoon minced onion (or sub. 1/4 c. chopped shallots)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
juice of 1/2 lime, about a tablespoon
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, plus more for garnish
Chop turkey into uniform pieces, if necessary. Wash and dry the salad greens and set aside. Cut a four-inch section off of the radish and use the disc blade on the food processor to slice the radish very thinly; set aside sliced radishes. Fit the food processor with the chopping blade. Mince onion/shallots in the food processor, then add herbs and pulse until chopped. Add mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, lime juice, milk, salt and pepper and blend until dressing is well combined. Toss dressing, greens, turkey, and sliced radishes. Serve salad immediately.
If, after making this salad, you find yourself with half a daikon radish leftover, use it to make this easy radish dip and sandwich spread. Perfect for zipping up leftover turkey sandwiches!
Persimmons and apples are a natural duet; the spicy sweetness of the persimmon is complemented by the apple’s tart flavor, and the flesh of both fruits are similar enough that they cook at the same speed. I originally conceptualized this apple-persimmon pairing as a filling for mini pies, but it has lots of other delicious uses.
Image by Nathan Russell
Traditionally, compotes are served as a dessert, either chilled or warmed and garnished with whipped cream. However, you’re selling the dish short if you limit it to just desserts! Here’s are some ideas for how to use this recipe in your meal plans:
Breakfast: as a topping for oatmeal or other hot cereal
Breakfast: in a parfait with yogurt and granola
Breakfast: with cottage cheese or Greek yogurt
Breakfast: over pancakes or waffles or in crepes
Snack: instead of applesauce
Snack: as a dip for cinnamon sugar pita chips
Lunch: with cream cheese in a sandwich
Lunch: with roast turkey and Dijon mustard in a sandwich
Lunch: with goat cheese in a quesadilla or Panini
Dinner: as an appetizer, baked in Phylo dough with a round of brie
Dinner: heated over top of baked pork chops, chicken, or turkey
Dinner: over top of a baked sweet potato
Dessert: over ice cream or whipped cream
Dessert: in mini pies (the flavor is too strong for big pies)
Dessert: as filling in a pastry braid or sweet rolls
Dessert: as a filling for a spice cake with cream cheese icing
Preparing this compote is quick and easy. The most difficult part of the process is identifying which kind of persimmon you’re working with, and then peeling and coring fruit. There are two kinds of persimmons: Fuyu and Hachiya. Hachiya persimmons are heart-shaped, with pointy bottoms. Fuyus have flatter bottoms and look more like tomatoes. This recipe calls for the firm-fleshed Fuyus. However, you could substitute the pulp of very ripe Hachiyas if that’s what you have on hand. Here are detailed instructions for ripening and cooking with Hachiya persimmons. Below are instructions for coring and peeling apples and Fuyu persimmons.
Here’s the full recipe. It doubles or triples well if you’re looking to feed a crowd, and the finished compote will last about a week in a tupperware in the fridge.
Apple Persimmon Compote (yields 2 cups)
4 Fuyu persimmons
3 apples
1/4 c. butter or vegan margarine
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (about a 1 inch section)
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice, apple juice, or rum
Peel, core, and dice persimmons and apples. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet and saute fruit for about 5 minutes, until it starts to soften and give off a little liquid. Meanwhile, grate ginger and measure out cinnamon, vanilla, allspice, ground pepper, brown sugar, and rum. Add all ingredients to the skillet, cover and continue to cook over medium heat for about half an hour, until the fruit reaches desired tenderness. Stir occasionally and add a little water if necessary to keep compote from drying out. (Shouldn’t be a problem if your skillet’s covered, but burned brown sugar and fruit is no fun to clean up later!) Serve creatively and enjoy!
This soup is creamy and rich, and pretty easy to prepare on a busy weeknight. The best part is, it uses a lot of zucchini without tasting like zucchini, a real plus if you’re trying to use up a whole lot of squash! I adapted it from Heidi Swanson’s spinach and zucchini soup recipe, published on her wonderful blog, 101Cookbooks. I replaced the spinach in Heidi’s recipe with peppery arugula, which is plentiful in Central Texas this time of year.
The secret to this soup’s creamy texture is the pureed potatoes in the broth. I recently bought an inexpensive immersion blender (under $20!), which pureed the soup right in the pot and made preparation a breeze. I definitely recommend adding this handy gadget to your holiday wish list if you don’t have one already!
Creamy Summer Squash Soup (serves 6)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped 2 cups chopped potatoes (2 medium potatoes)
2 cups chopped zucchini squash (1 giant squash or 2 medium squash)
4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
3 cups chopped arugula (1 big bunch)
1 lime
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
Sour cream, yogurt, or olive oil to garnish
Chop all the vegetables. If you’re using an immersion blender, be sure the vegetable pieces are less than 1/2 inch so they’ll puree easily later. Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. Stir in the potatoes and zucchini, then pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Stir in arugula and turn off heat. Puree with an immersion or conventional blender until soup is smooth. Squeeze juice from half the lime into the soup and stir. Taste and season with salt and pepper. I liked lots of pepper in this soup! Serve soup, garnish with lime wedges, a dollop of sour cream or yogurt or a little olive oil, and additional cracked pepper to taste.
We loved this soup as a side dish, and ate it for dinner tonight with beer braised bratwurst and onions. A big bowl of soup and half a bratwurst made for a hearty, comforting meal for each of us.
So I’m working really hard to perfect my potluck recipe for Greenling’s Best of Austin Bash next Thursday. I’m not ready to share the whole thing, but I do want to tell you about this fabulous rosemary pesto recipe I created en route to the finished product:
Rosemary Pecan Pesto 1/4-1/3 cup fresh rosemary needles
1 cup fresh Italian curly or flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup olive oil
This pesto is very aromatic, and a nice change from the traditional basil/pine nut preparation. Go easy on the rosemary at first so the flavors don’t get too strong. Preparation: Strip needles from rosemary stems and chop parsley. Peel garlic. Combine all dry ingredients in food processor and blend or process until coarsely ground. With processor running, stream in oil until pesto reaches desired consistency. If the rosemary flavor is too intense, you can fix it by adding more cheese and parsley to balance it out.
My potluck recipe for the Bash will use the pesto above, plus some other delicious local ingredients. I hope to see some other local food bloggers & their recipes there! 🙂
The Austin Gastronomist 