Crisp Cauliflower, Pear and Radicchio Salad With Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

Well, I didn't hold a hosting party for TEDx Manhattan's live webcast yesterday of "Changing the Way We Eat", but I had a lot of fun playing with my food while watching it.  

The Salad

There was really nothing to making this salad except tearing up a few radicchio leaves, breaking up a few cauliflower florets, slicing an Anjou pear and topping it with delicious Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette.

My palette of gorgeous colors:

Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

1 small shallot

1 tbs grated fresh ginger

2 tbs tahini

1/4 cup toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup organic brown rice vinegar

1/4 cup organic canola oil

1 tbs freshly squeezed orange or lime juice (I used orange)

2 tbs toasted hulled sesame seeds (I omitted for this recipe)

Place all ingredients except sesame seeds in bowl and emulsify with handheld blender (I made it in a small food processor).  Stir in sesame seeds.  Makes about 1 cup.  Recipe from Clean Food cookbook.

The Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette, oh so fresh.

Here's just a picture that looks so fresh and pretty.

Makes a nutritious snack.  Cauliflower is not only an anti-inflammatory food, but is loaded with antioxidants and is a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Squeeze a little lemon over the pears to keep them fresh looking if packaging leftovers for later.

Kale, Roasted Parsnip, And Carrot Soup With Ginger

Brrr, the frigid temperatures in New England right now bring to mind those hearty beefy comfort meals. 

And soup also comes to mind on these frigid days. This soup, I think, is a nice light alternative that's hearty enough, thanks to roasted vegetables, to make you let out sighs of relief and satisfaction and warm you up.

Kale, Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Soup with Ginger

6 cups chicken stock

1 bunch kale

4 - 5 parsnips

3 - 4 carrots

Fresh ginger, about 1/2 to 1 inch long piece (depending on how much you like, thickness of piece, etc.) finely minced or grated  

1/2 ts turmeric

1/2 ts thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Do not peel but trim, scrub, and rinse parsnips and carrots.  Cut lengthwise into similar size slices.  Sprinkle with olive oil, spread out on baking sheet in single layer, and roast in preheated 400 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes for a crisp-tender finish, not mushy (depends on your stove and thickness of vegetables, check for tenderness and burning).  Meanwhile, heat chicken stock. Rinse kale, remove their stems, roughly chop, and add to stock with ginger, turmeric, thyme, salt and pepper to taste.  After parsnips and carrots are roasted, chop into chunky bite size pieces and add to the stock.  Simmer for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender to your liking. 

* * *

For this soup, I started with beautiful organic fresh vegetables. As usual, I had an after thought, and added carrots after taking this picture and chopping. 

Here they are all roasted and tender.

Chop vegetables and add to the soup.

Beautiful turmeric and savory thyme! Or fresh thyme would be lovely.

With mittens off, a hot bowl of soup warmed hands (and bellies).

To read whether to peel carrots and parsnips that are not organic, see:  http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/to-peel-or-not-to-peel/