Little Gems and Cabbage with Pickled Turnips and Lemony-Tahini Dressing by Alison Roman

What takes a salad from good to excellent? I have the same theory about excellent salads as I do about excellent granola: it’s all about an X-factor. An unexpected element that stops you mid-chew to say, “oo what’s that?” 

This salad has two X-factors: 

1. Pickled Turnips. I admit to making pickled turnips for this salad, twice. The first time was in June. I thought I’d make this salad *at some point* this summer. And every time I thought about making it, I only had half of the veggies needed to complete the recipe on hand. By the time August rolled around, it was time to pack up our apartment to move to Chicago. When I cleaned out the fridge and unearthed my oft forgotten turnips, I realized I’d need to try this one again. (Note to self: don’t buy/prep ingredients for something if you don’t have a date on the calendar to make it.)

   The first time I pickled turnips, I made two mistakes. I pickled three of them, AND I chose to quarter them before pickling. That’s frankly too many turnips in too bulky of shapes. Last week, I bought only one medium-sized turnip and thinly sliced it before pickling. Why not slice it into its final form before pickling to make things easier? 

   Pickled turnips are kinda funky, and I don’t want them on everything I eat. But I do love their earthy, vinegary, pop of unexpected flavor in a salad like this. 

2. Lemony-Tahini Dressing. There’s nothing very new or extraordinarily innovative about this dressing; it’s just reliably good. Lemon juice, salt, tahini, olive oil, garlic and water. Tangy, nutty, and smooth. Everything you need to unify a verifiable mini garden of vegetables (little gems/romaine, cabbage, cucumbers, scallions, parsley, preserved lemon, and turnips).

My in-laws were over for dinner that night, and they finished off the entire plate of salad. I got as many compliments on it as I did Alison’s Low and Slow Rib Roast with Rosemary and Anchovy - which is saying something! 

Here marks another successful All-Out-Alison Meal: 

1. Little Gems and Cabbage with Pickled Turnips and Lemony Tahini Dressing

2. Leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes

3. Low and Slow Rib Roast with Rosemary and Anchovy 

4. Sheet Cake with Mascarpone and Coffee 

One of my favorite combinations to date. 

177 recipes cooked, 48 to go.

All-Out-Alison Meal with Turmeric-Roasted Lamb, Sour Cream Flatbread, & Apple and Endive Salad

Another All-Out-Alison meal is in the books. I love making All-Out-Alison meals - who doesn’t want multiple Alison dishes in one sitting? But on days when I make these meals, I find myself in the kitchen for a stretch of hours, flitting between tasks and ingredient prep, and it’s really quite an ordeal. Today’s post will document my process. I’m guessing at the timestamps, but they’re close to being accurate. 

To indicate which dish each step belongs to, I’ll label them with [lamb - Turmeric-Roasted Lamb Shoulder and Carrots with All the Fixings], [flatbread - Sour Cream Flatbreads], [salad - Apple and Endive Salad with Parsley and Salted Almonds], and [salsa verde - Another Salsa Verde]. 

Oh wait, one note before we begin. Alison’s lamb instructions suggest a 3.5-4 lb. boneless lamb shoulder, but I could only find lamb leg (similar cut) that was much smaller or much bigger. Since we were having company, I went with the larger 5.5 lb. cut, which meant that I used more garlic/turmeric for the marinade, and had to cook the lamb longer than instructed. More on that in a bit… 

Let’s make a meal, shall we? 

8:40am: [lamb] Remove the lamb leg from the fridge to let it finish thawing on the counter

11:43am: [lamb] Peel and dice the fresh turmeric and excessive amount of garlic cloves - I used 13

11:53am: [lamb] Create the marinade by combining the turmeric and garlic with olive oil and cumin

11:57am: [lamb] Salt and pepper the lam, then rub the marinade all over, getting in all the cracks. 

12:03pm: [lamb] Search for butcher’s twine in the craft box hiding in my coat closet. I find only crafting string, but decide that it’ll do the job. 

12:08pm: [lamb] Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the center of the lamb, so the whole thing can fold over like a book, allowing you to tie it like Alison says. 

12:09pm: [lamb] Use the found crafting string to tie the lamb, one inch apart. My hands get very yellow and oily from doing this. 

12:20pm: [lamb] Place the tied lamb on a baking sheet covered with tin foil and, with plastic wrap covering the meat, place it in the fridge to marinate. 

1:01pm: [flatbread] Stir the warm water, sugar, and yeast together until the yeast dissolves. Add four cups of flour and combine until no major dry spots remain. Cover, and let sit for ten minutes to hydrate the flour. 

1:20pm: [flatbread] Add the melted butter, salt, and sour cream to the dough using your hands. The dough feels wet and slimy. The goal is to fully incorporate the sour cream. Once done, cover the dough and let it rest for two hours. 

3:20pm: [flatbread] Uncover the dough bowl and punch down the dough, knocking some of the air out of it. I hear the air escape and it's kind of thrilling. Cover the dough back up and let it sit for another two hours. 

3:22pm: [salsa verde] Slice a shallot in half. Reserve one half in the fridge and dice the other half into the smallest pieces possible. 

3:24pm: [salsa verde] Slice a lemon and squeeze two tablespoons of lemon juice over the shallots. 

3:26pm: [salsa verde] Retrieve my herbs: cilantro, parsley, mint, and chives. Tiny dice two whole cups of herbs (which is a lot of herbs). Use mostly parsley and cilantro, but supplement with mint and chives. 

3:42pm: [salsa verde] Cover the bowl and store in the fridge. Alison’s Another Salsa Verde is complete.

4:00pm: [lamb] Turn on the oven. 

4:15pm: [lamb] Pull out the dutch oven and pour some oil into the base. Turn on the burner to medium heat. Remove the lamb from the fridge and place it in the dutch oven to brown the meat, turning the meat with your tongs every 4-6 minutes. 

4:35pm: [lamb] Place the carrots in the pot with the lamb, and toss the carrots in the excess fat at the bottom. 

4:40pm: [lamb] Lift the pot, with lamb and carrots inside, into the oven. Set a timer for one hour and ten minutes. Alison recommends one hour for a medium-cooked lamb. But given the size of the cut of meat, I know I’ll need more time. I just need to check and see how much extra time at the 1:10 mark. 

4:42pm: [salad] Quarter the endives lengthwise, and toss the leaves in a large bowl. Slice the other half of the shallot into very thin rounds, separating them as I lob them into the bowl. Trim several strands of parsley and mint, also adding them to the bowl. 

4:52pm: [salad] Pour out a pile of almonds on the cutting board and chop them into small bits. Place them into a bowl on the counter. 

4:58pm: CLEAN THE HOUSE - GUESTS ARE COMING OVER 

5:20pm: [flatbread] Pour the dough onto a cutting board, and using a dough cutter, create six equally sized balls of dough. Using just a modicum of flour to dust them so they don’t stick to your hands. Coax the first dough ball into a flat, mini pizza shape, letting the dough stretch over the back of my hands like Alison says. 

5:27pm: [flatbread] Get out the cast iron skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Pour out a bit of olive oil and lay the first dough round in there. I hear it sizzle, and within three to four minutes, just like Alison says, the dough is bubbly and golden. I flip the bread and let it heat for two minutes on the other side. Continue with the rest of the dough, rolling each one out just before the skillet frees up. Keep the flatbreads warm under two plates. One dish done! 

5:50pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb. Insert the meat thermometer. Oh boy, it’s still 95 degrees in the deepest part, and we’re aiming for between 145 and 160. Push it back in and set the time for another 30 minutes from now. 

5:56pm: [salad] Add olive oil to the bowl of almonds, along with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. 

5:59pm: [salad] Thinly slice the Honeycrisp apple into rounds. Then toss the apples with the endive and herb mixture, along with salt and lemon juice. 

6:05pm: [salad] Arrange the salad on a serving platter, then drizzle the almond mixture over the top. Quick! Take several fabulously lit pictures just before the sun goes down. Wrap the plate and place it on the table. Two dishes done! 

6:15pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb, and realize it still has another 15-25 degrees to go in several parts before it’s considered medium-rare. Slide it back in and set a new timer for 20 minutes. 

6:20pm: Get changed, remove your apron and brush your hair. 

6:30pm: Guests arrive! Friends from my hometown in Southern California. Marissa and Drew. Entertain them with a glass of wine (that they brought - it’s so good!). 

6:45pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb, and it’s done! Probably could have taken it out 8-10 minutes earlier… Oh well. It’s still soft and easy to chew. The flavor is incredibly rich but not too overpowering. The turmeric is less harsh and the garlic more potent than you expected. The lamb is delicious. A success! Just next time, try to get one in the right weight range. I think that’ll save lots of guesswork. 

6:50pm: Serve the lamb with garlicky yogurt, Alison’s Another Salsa Verde, and flaky salt. 

7:45pm: Transition from dinner to the gf apple crisp Marissa made, and enjoy every sweet bite. Even better? The company and conversation. 

I hope you enjoyed this play by play. Making meals can be a lot of work, but at least they’re rewarding. 

161 recipes cooked, 64 to go.

Spiced Black Lentil Salad with Oil-Packed Tuna, Radishes, and (Purple) Potatoes

The idea of a nicoise salad has never appealed to me. Primarily because of the oil-packed tuna element. I can tolerate tuna on toasted sourdough, but beyond that, the concept of canned fish makes me squirm. The other parts of a classic nicoise, I like, though I wouldn’t normally pair them together for a casual lunch dish: steamed potatoes, runny eggs, blanced green beans, and some form of grain. Each a lovely idea, but not all together. 

However, since I had made Alison’s Spiced Lentils the day before, and I’d prefer not to make them twice, I chose to save them for this salad. Call it Lentil Maximization. (To learn more about these lentils, and for the final installation of Annie’s Lentil Storytime, click here.

I had lots of green beans, potatoes, and eggs on hand this day, so I made two servings of the salad, one for me and one for Jordan. We were both working from home. It took me approximately 20 minutes to make the meal, which was just enough time between two meetings to whip something up. (If I hadn’t already prepped the lentils, it would have taken much longer.) 

To maximize the pot of boiling water on my stove, I chose to boil the potatoes, blanch the green beans, and cook the eggs all at the same time. I just took them out at different intervals. Any chance I get to do less dishes, I’ll take it. Especially at lunchtime. I’m much more willing to take on dinner dishes than I am lunch dishes. It’s a principle of mine. 

I was most worried about the tuna tasting too fishy, but was pleasantly surprised by the Trader Joe’s brand of oil-packed tuna. Though I still can’t say I enjoyed the tuna (because it’s tuna), I can say that I wasn’t fished out when eating it, which is a win. 

Jordan enjoyed the salad. I’d say I mostly did too -- I’m a sucker for vegetables tossed in lemon juice, salt and pepper. I personally won’t make this particular salad again, but I wholeheartedly recommend making it if you’re a fan of nicoise salads. If nicoise is what you seek, then a fresh, lemony, herbal and light nicoise is what you’ll find here. 

154 recipes cooked, 71 to go.

Iceberg with Pecorino, Crushed Olives and Pickled Chile by Alison Roman

Did you also read this recipe title and think, “what? no, no thanks.” I was chatting with Margaret on the phone tonight and at one point she asked, “any standouts for the blog lately?” “Yeah!” I said, “Actually this iceberg salad with pickled chiles and olives was just incredible.” “Eh, really? Doesn’t sound incredible…” said Margaret. And to a large degree, she’s right. It doesn’t sound incredible to me, either. In fact, when I first read the recipe last January, I marked it down as one that I didn’t look forward to making. 

But if by some odd grace you’ve found yourself reading this blog post, then please, FORGET how this recipe title sounds, and BELIEVE me when I say that it is 100% worth making. So much so, that I even found myself snacking on its leftovers. 

The first step is to thinly slice the jalapeno and white onion and pickle them both in white wine vinegar and honey. Alison asks for five minutes of pickling. I gave them close to thirty, because why not? More pickling is best, in my opinion, and my guess is that Alison agrees. She probably just wanted to make this recipe seem *quick* and *not fancy,* which I get but will ignore. 

I chopped the iceberg lettuce into square sheets and scattered them with crushed olives. When it was almost time to eat, I tossed the lettuce with the pickling mix and served it up in bowls. Now here’s where I choked. I forgot the pecorino and olive oil. I didn’t miss either element because the acid and heat are so strong, but they would have been nice. That’s what I get for preparing the salad elements so far apart. I was distracted by the other parts of our meal (Alison’s Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Garlic, Citrus, and Cilantro and corn tortillas) and understandably let the salad be an afterthought. 

When eating the meal, the salad was anything but an afterthought. I liked it even better than the pork, and found myself picking leaves and olives out of the salad bowl after I’d finished eating what was on my plate. This is not a normal eating habit for me. I might snack off a serving bowl or plate that has chips or something sweet. But salad leaves? This tells you that the flavors - tangy, spicy, a tad sweet - work really well, and frankly work far better than most of Alison’s other salads. As we were cleaning up, Jordan said, “That was hands-down the best Alison Roman salad you’ve made.” I can almost agree. 

151 recipes cooked, 74 to go.

Salted Citrus with Fennel, Radishes, and Olive by Alison Roman

I’ve mentioned before that at the beginning of this project, I hated olives. So when I first perused Alison’s two cookbooks to evaluate all that would lie ahead of me, I made no less than an “ew, gross” face when I flipped the page to this recipe. 

But eight months and one much expanded palette later, I couldn’t wait to make this. And the last summer-weather days of October seemed the perfect opportunity to do so. This recipe is simple: thinly sliced tangerines, covered in salt, honey, and lemon juice. Layered with thinly sliced fennel and radishes, also mixed with lemon juice and salt. Sprinkled with crushed olives of the Frescatrano variety. 

Crunchy, juicy, briny, acidic, salty, and sweet. A salad that encompasses all six of those traits can only be described as excellent. 

144 recipes cooked, 81 to go.