Autumn Salad with Grapes, Celery, Blue Cheese & Candied Pepitas

Several years ago while I was choosing a bag of grapes at my local grocery store, the produce manager saw me and directed my attention to his display of red Scarlatta grapes.  He told me they were just in—first of the new crop California grapes—and were especially good.  

I was surprised—I had always treated grapes as season-less.  Like broccoli, grapes of pretty good quality are almost always available.  But of course they do have a season.  I was aware that the harvest for wine grapes was in the fall (I was even working in Provence one year during the harvest!).   But as much as I think about seasonal eating, I'm embarrassed to admit that I had never really thought about table grapes being a fall item. 

The grapes I took home that day were—just as the produce manager had said—particularly good.  I still eat grapes year round (the miracle of shipping…), but ever since that moment in the produce aisle, I make note of when the California crop begins to hit the stores.  This is usually sometime in September.  (Sadly, they disappear in late December/early January.)  These grapes are always worth seeking out.

Unsurprisingly, grapes are good partners for other foods that share their season:  Figs…and nuts (most of which are harvested in the fall)...  Winter squashes…  Apples and pears...  Brussels sprouts, cabbage and chicories (endive, radicchio).  If you are in the habit of just purchasing grapes for snacking…or adding to your holiday fruit and cheese platters…you might consider branching out a bit by adding them to some of your fall salads.  

This year, right when the new crop first began to appear, I prepared a salad that featured grapes and some of these other autumn foods (celery, pepitas, spinach and radicchio) for one of my pop up dinners.

I loved the salad so much I have made it several times for myself since.  And I took it as my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner this year.  I will probably continue to make it throughout the cold months—even after the California crop has disappeared for the year.  If you are craving something fresh, crunchy, and juicy to counterbalance all the rich fare of the current season, this salad will be just the thing.  

Autumn Salad with Grapes, Celery, Blue Cheese & Candied Pepitas

2 oz. stemmed baby spinach
4 oz. trimmed Little Gem (see notes) lettuce, cut crosswise in 1-inch strips, or torn into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 oz. cored Radicchio, cut crosswise in 1/2-inch strips, or torn into bite-sized pieces
2/3 lb. red grapes, halved (about 2 cups)
4 oz. trimmed celery, sliced thinly (1/8-inch) on a slight diagonal (about 1 cup)
3 1/2 oz. Gorgonzola Piccante, Roquefort, or other crumbly, sharp blue
Salt & freshly ground pepper
1/2 c. Cider-Honey Vinaigrette
1/3 c. Candied Pepitas

Place the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  Add half to three quarters of the blue cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette and toss well.  Mound the salad on a large platter or on individual plates.  Crumble the remaining blue cheese over.  Drizzle with more vinaigrette, if you like.  Scatter the pepitas over all.

Makes 4 large salads or 6 to 8 side salads.

Note:  Little Gem lettuce is a cross between Romaine and Bibb.  It has more crunch than Bibb...and is more tender than Romaine.  If you are not able to find it, you may use Artisan Romaine Hearts, or plain Romaine hearts.

Cider-Honey Vinaigrette

1/4 c. (60 g.) apple cider vinegar
2 T. (42 g.) honey
1 T. (14 g.) Dijon mustard
5/8 t. kosher salt
5 T. olive oil
5 T. canola oil (or use olive oil) 

Place the first four ingredients in a small bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  Drizzle in the oils, whisking constantly to form an emulsion.  Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and more vinegar or oil as necessary.  The vinaigrette should be tangy and sweet.

Makes a generous cup.  This is more than you need for the salad, but the vinaigrette keeps well in a jar in the fridge and is wonderful on salads featuring autumn fruits and/or roasted winter squash.

Candied Pepitas

1 T. sugar
1/4 t. kosher salt
Pinch of cayenne (to taste)
2 t. unsalted butter
1/2 c. raw pumpkin seeds
1 t. honey

Combine the sugar, salt and cayenne in a small ramekin and set aside.  Spray a plate or small sheet pan with pan spray (or brush lightly with oil).  Set aside.

In a small non-stick sauté pan set over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the pumpkin seeds and toss to coat.  Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the pepitas and toss to coat.  Continue to cook, stirring and tossing until the sugar has melted and the pumpkin seeds are popping a bit and are lightly colored.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Wait 30 seconds.  Drizzle in the honey and toss to coat.

Spread the candied pepitas out on the prepared plate/pan and let cool—stirring occasionally as they cool so that they will be separate rather than clumpy.  

Store the candied pepitas in an airtight container at room temperature.

Printable Version

Farro Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash & Grapes

In general, I don't make a habit of watching food TV.  If I see something on Food TV, it is most often because someone else is already watching and something particular catches my attention as I pass through the room.  Such was the case a little over a year ago when I happened to see Martha Stewart doing a show on grains.  Because I am always looking for new ways to work with grains I paused to take a look.  When she began to prepare a farro salad that featured roasted grapes, I was hooked and I stopped to watch.  It looked so good I made a mental note to make the salad...and then, as happens all too often, it slipped my mind. 

I'm not sure what it was that made me think of this salad again, but I finally got around to trying it...or I guess I should say, my adaptation of it...over the holidays.  It really was delicious.  I wanted to share the recipe then...but just ran out of time.  I admit that the best time to make this salad is in the late fall when the big, juicy, California red grapes are at their peak.  But since good quality grapes are available year round, I decided to go ahead and post it now.  If you're lucky, you can still find California grapes in the stores....  Furthermore, if you are trying to get your eating back under control after a holiday season of sugary excess, this salad, with its abundance of grains, greens, fruits and vegetables....and its appealing textures and flavors...would be a great addition to the plan.

I said I adapted the salad, but I really didn't change it too much.  The original recipe called for roasting the grapes for 45 minutes.  Since I wanted them to still have a bit of body and texture, I reduced that by quite a bit.  I also wanted my salad to be substantial enough to serve as a meatless entrée, so I added some roasted butternut squash to the mix.  This turned out to be a particularly nice addition...lending not only more substance, but also complimenting the sweet character of the grapes.  As a final touch, I topped my version with some toasted nuts...pecans on one occasion, and walnuts on another...for added richness and crunch. 

Since this is the beginning of the year, and some may have found themselves here while trying to fulfill a resolution to cook more real food, I want to take a moment to point out where you can learn more about the basic elements in this recipe.  If you have never cooked with farro before, I wrote about my introduction to the delicious world of farro a couple of years ago.  In a later post, I wrote about the most common cooking methods.  For this recipe, you will be cooking the farro just as you would pasta...in boiling salted water.  If you don't think you like whole grains, farro is a perfect place to start...it is every bit as friendly and easy to love as pasta.

If you are new to roasting vegetables...or have struggled to get your roasted vegetables just right...I wrote a detailed post several years ago on how to roast vegetables.  After reading that post, the method used in this recipe—roasting the butternut squash and red onions together first...and then adding the grapes towards the end—will make sense.  Doing it this way insures that the butternut squash and red onions (which take longer to cook than the grapes) will be tender and well-caramelized and that the grapes will still have substance and juice.  Don't worry if the red onions get a little crispy...this will add tender crunch and subtle sweetness.  If some of the onions threaten to burn though, either remove the ones that are getting too dark with a pair of tongs, or tuck them under a grape...or a chunk of squash...where they will be protected from the heat of the oven. 

I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do.  If you like grains...or want to like grains...you will find a lot of recipes to experiment with here on my blog.  You can click on a specific grain that interests you in the sidebar at the right...or go to the recipes page and scroll down to the grains section.  I hope that you will find something that appeals to you...but if not, check back occasionally.  I love grains and towards the end of February will be teaching an all new class devoted entirely to the subject.  One or two of those recipes are certain to wind up here.    

Farro Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash & Grapes

2/3 c. pecans or walnuts

4 c. cubed (1/2-inch) butternut squash, (from a 2 lb. squash, peel and seed before dicing)

3 to 4 T. olive oil

1 T. Brown sugar

1 medium red onion (about 8 to 10 oz.), halved, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick

3 c. large red, seedless grapes, halved (about 14 oz.)

1 c. pearled or semi-pearled farro

2 T. sherry vinegar

2 oz. baby kale, arugula, baby spinach or other young, hearty green

Salt & pepper

4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Spread the nuts on a small baking sheet and toast in a preheated 350° oven until golden and fragrant...about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a plate to cool.  When cool enough to handle, break the nuts into coarse pieces, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Set aside.  Increase the oven temperature to 425°.

In a large bowl, toss the squash and onions with enough olive oil to coat and season with salt, pepper and brown sugar.  Spread in a snug single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast until tender and caramelized, stirring once and being careful not to tear the squash—about 20 to 30 minutes (see note).  Toss the grapes with a tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and scatter over the caramelized squash and onions.  Return the pan to the oven and continue to roast, stirring once, until the grapes are just tender...another 10 to 20 minutes or so.  Set aside. 

While the vegetables and grapes roast, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the farro and simmer until tender (it should still have texture)...about 25 minutes.  Drain well.   Transfer to a large wide bowl.  Add the vegetables and sherry vinegar and toss to combine.  Because the salad is to be served slightly warm, or at room temperature, the farro and vegetables need to cool a bit.  This is best accomplished by spreading it out in the bowl a bit (as opposed to mounding it in the center).  You can also spread the mixture out on the baking sheet the vegetables were roasted on (return everything to the bowl to finish the salad).

When the farro has cooled to the point you want, add the baby kale and toss to combine.  Taste and correct the seasoning with vinegar, salt & pepper.  If the salad seems dry, drizzle with a bit of olive oil.  Transfer to a platter or individual plates and scatter the goat cheese and nuts over all and serve. 

Serves 4 as an entrée....6 to 8 as a side.

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

Note:  The length of time you roast the squash before adding the grapes will depend on the firmness of the grapes.  Softer, riper grapes will only need about 10 minutes in the oven...so they will be added when the squash and onions have been in the oven about 30 minutes (a little more or less, depending on your oven...you want them to be tender and beginning to nicely caramelize).  If your grapes are very firm, they might take as long as 20 minutes.  The squash and onions should be just beginning to caramelize when you add these firmer grapes.  Basically the total roasting time should be about 40 minutes...adding the grapes at the optimal point so they are just tender when the squash and onions are well caramelized.  

Printable Version

Fresh Figs....in a Salad with Escarole, Mint, Grapes and Walnuts

I think that we must be experiencing an especially fine year for fresh figs.  For the past two or three weeks, every time I have entered my local Whole Foods I have been greeted by a large table overflowing with fresh Black Mission Figs.  I buy some almost every time...I can't get enough of them.  Figs that make it all the way to the Midwest haven't always been so great.  But even though these have been shipped in (probably from California) they have been surprisingly good—plump, heavy, relatively unblemished...and if not already perfectly ripe, they are close enough to it that they will be after a day or two on my kitchen counter.  Once ripe (soft...on the verge of squishy), they need to be consumed quickly or they will begin to decay.  But this has not been a problem.  I have been eating them raw for breakfast with yogurt...roasted in a compote...and last night as the centerpiece of a delicious, spur-of-the-moment salad. 

Besides figs my salad included red grapes, walnuts, escarole, arugula, mint and a favorite creamy Dijon vinaigrette.  Like most of the impromptu dishes that end up on our table, the inspiration for this particular combination of ingredients came from a number of different sources...not the least of which was what I happened to have in my pantry.  In any case, trying to untangle all of these sources would probably not be very instructive.  Suffice it to say that I have had fig salads on the brain since I prepared one for a private dinner group this past Saturday night and have been thinking a lot about figs in combination with various greens, styles of vinaigrettes, as well as other fruits and nuts. 

As usual, I have included a recipe at the end of my post, but as with all salads this is a "to taste" affair and you should combine the ingredients in quantities that please you.  To begin, add the escarole to the bowl (torn into bite-sized pieces).  Escarole is a substantial green with a delicate crunch.  It adds a slight bitter flavor that contrasts beautifully with the sweet fruit and its texture gives the salad nice structure.  Next add a few leaves of arugula (torn, if large)...not too much, to me this is a mostly escarole salad—the arugula adds some peppery spice and great color contrast to the pale escarole. 

Next add some mint.  If the leaves are very large, tear them into two or three pieces.  My mint patch has just begun to recover from the summer heat, so the leaves are tender and small.  Add more mint than you think you need.  From references I have found in other cookbooks, it seems it was Richard Olney (in his book Simple French Food) who introduced the combination of figs, mint and cream to the mainstream food world...and it is an inspired combination.  The mint really lights this salad up.

Mint for two salads (half a recipe)

Finally, add fresh figs (halved if small, quartered if large), halved red grapes and toasted walnuts (broken into medium-sized pieces).  Add as much as you think you want to eat...this salad should be a celebration of the wonderful fruits and nuts of early autumn.  

Drizzle some of the dressing over the contents of the bowl and gently and carefully toss (you don't want to squash or tear the soft figs).  Use less than you think you need...you don't want a sodden salad.  If you want more dressing, you can always add more...or drizzle some over the plated salads.

To plate the salad, layer the fruits and greens carefully on a platter or individual plates.  Take the time to tuck the fruits in, under and on top of the greens so that they are shown off to most advantage.  If you are arranging the salads on individual plates, make sure that the figs are divided evenly among the plates.  I freely admit that if I were seated next to someone who got more figs than I did I would resort to polite begging or surreptitious thievery in order to get my fair share of figs. 

The interplay of the sweet (figs, grapes and mint), the bitter (escarole and walnuts) and the spicy (arugula and Dijon)...as well as the contrasts in soft and crunchy textures...made for a particularly delightful salad.  If I hadn't already had the rest of my dinner ready and waiting on the stove, I would have gotten up from the table and made myself a second salad.  It was that good.  So, in the interests of fair warning: although the recipe states that it makes four salads, this should be understood to be four nice, medium-sized, first-course dinner salads.  If you decide that you want to revel in a special meal of fresh figs and greens, then you will find that there will only be enough for two. 

  

Autumn Salad of Fresh Figs with Grapes, 

Walnuts, Escarole & Mint

1/4 c. walnuts, plus more for garnish

7 to 8 oz. ripe, fresh figs (about 10), stemmed and halved

1/4 lb. red grapes (about 18 to 20), halved

2 oz. trimmed escarole (see note), torn into bite-sized pieces

a small handful of arugula (a generous half ounce), torn into bite-sized pieces

a handful of mint leaves (about 1/2 cup—measured by dropping the leaves loosely into the cup)

Salt & Pepper

Creamy Dijon Vinaigrette (below)

Preheat the oven to 350­°.  Spread the walnuts in a small pan and toast until fragrant and light golden—about five minutes.  Drizzle sparingly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Set aside to cool.  When cool, break into medium sized pieces. 

Place the escarole, arugula and mint in a large bowl.  Add the figs, grapes and walnuts.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with a small amount of the vinaigrette and toss carefully.  Everything should be coated in a light film of the dressing. 

Divide the contents of the bowl among four individual plates...tucking the fruits among and around the greens and dividing the figs evenly among the four plates.  (Alternatively, arrange the salad on one large platter.)  If you like, drizzle more of the vinaigrette over the salads.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4.

Note: To prepare the escarole, trim away the bruised outer leaves and the bitter dark green portions.  The prized part of the escarole is the tender, inner, yellow and pale green portion.

Creamy Dijon Vinaigrette:

1 T. champagne (or white wine) vinegar

1 T. Dijon mustard

salt & pepper

1/4 c. olive oil

6 T. whipping cream

Combine the vinegar and mustard in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Continue to whisk while slowly drizzling in the oil to form an emulsion.  Whisk in the cream.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  (The vinaigrette will continue to thicken as it sits.)

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