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Dandelion and Radishes Salad

March 29, 2023 By
Dandelion and Radishes Salad
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini – Pay attention on your next walk. You will spot the yellow flowers and bright green leaves everywhere. It's not a weed it is Tarassico or Dandelion in italian. Pick a generous handful, maybe fill one bag, if you have the patience. Wash it. Wash it. And then wash it again. Toss the leaves with a few slices of radishes, a few teaspoons of good olive oil and sherry vinegar. Scatter wedges of 8 minutes boiled eggs on top. Reward yourself with a bitter, crunchy salad.
Dandelion and Radishes Salad
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini – Pay attention on your next walk. You will spot the yellow flowers and bright green leaves everywhere. It's not a weed it is Tarassico or Dandelion in italian. Pick a generous handful, maybe fill one bag, if you have the patience. Wash it. Wash it. And then wash it again. Toss the leaves with a few slices of radishes, a few teaspoons of good olive oil and sherry vinegar. Scatter wedges of 8 minutes boiled eggs on top. Reward yourself with a bitter, crunchy salad.
Ingredients
  • 4 cups dandelions leaves, washed and trimmed
  • 4 large pink radishes
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • ½ tablespoon minced shallot
  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey, optional
  • 2 large eggs, 8 to 10 minutes boiled
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Triple wash the dandelion leaves, trim the roots and dry. Place in a large bowl. Slice the radishes thin. I use a mandolin or a sharp pairing knife. Scatter the radishes on top of the dandelion.
  2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl or a mason jar. Whisk the sherry vinegar with the shallot and Dijon mustard. In a thin, steady stream, whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Stir in the honey, if using. Season with salt and pepper and stir.
  3. Drizzle a few generous tablespoons of the dressing on the salad and toss gently. You can preserve the remaining vinaigrette covered in the fridge for a few weeks. Add the sliced eggs on top of the dressed dandelion leaves and serve.
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Citrus Salad with a Peach and Lime Dressing

October 12, 2018 By
Citrus Salad with a Peach and Lime Dressing
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini — A gorgeous end of fall and wintery salad, generous in flavor and packed with immune system busting vitamins. The peach and Persian lime dressing ties this simple dish together with an infusion of sweet and sour aromas redolent of the Mediterranean. You can find the ingredients for the dressing at www.thesecretingredientgirls.com
Servings Prep Time
4 people 20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 20 minutes
Citrus Salad with a Peach and Lime Dressing
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini — A gorgeous end of fall and wintery salad, generous in flavor and packed with immune system busting vitamins. The peach and Persian lime dressing ties this simple dish together with an infusion of sweet and sour aromas redolent of the Mediterranean. You can find the ingredients for the dressing at www.thesecretingredientgirls.com
Servings Prep Time
4 people 20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 20 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1 pink grapefruit
  • 2 oranges
  • 1 lime
  • 3 tangerines
  • 1 fennel
  • 1/4 cup Peach Balsamic
  • 1/4 cup Persian Lime Oil
  • sea-salt
  • ground black pepper
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Peel and section all the citrus. Discard seeds and pith. Slice the fennel thin with a sharp knife or a mandolin. Arrange the sliced fennel on a serving dish then add the citrus slices.
  2. In a cup whisk the Peach Balsamic and Persian Lime Oil with the salt and pepper. Drizzle 3 or 4 tablespoons on top of the citrus. Serve immediately. Reserve the remaining dressing for later use.
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Spiced Pumpkin Wedges with Spinach, Apple & Pine Nuts

October 9, 2017 By
Spiced pumpkin wedges with spinach, apple & pine nuts
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Recipe By Silvia Baldini— A lovely sustaining and tasty fall salad. Sweet roasted and spicy pumpkin is topped with layers of crunchy apples, woodsy pine nuts and a load of spinach. I'm in love with this dish.
Servings
4/6 people
Servings
4/6 people
Spiced pumpkin wedges with spinach, apple & pine nuts
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Recipe By Silvia Baldini— A lovely sustaining and tasty fall salad. Sweet roasted and spicy pumpkin is topped with layers of crunchy apples, woodsy pine nuts and a load of spinach. I'm in love with this dish.
Servings
4/6 people
Servings
4/6 people
Ingredients
PUMPKIN
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium pumpkin, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 6-8 wedges
SPINACH
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 red onion, sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
  • 1 tart apple (Granny Smith or similar), peeled, cored and diced
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons runny honey
  • 1 pound washed spinach sliced in ribbons
  • 5 tablespoons double cream
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch fresh ground black pepper
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 400F Put coriander, cumin, fennel, cinnamon and chilli with the salt into a mortar and pestle and crush until finely ground. Add the garlic and olive oil and pound to a paste. Rub this spice mix evenly all over the pumpkin wedges. Arrange in a single layer in a roast until tender, about 40 minutes.
  2. Make the spinach topping when the pumpkin is nearly done. Toast the pine nuts in a dry heavy frying pan over the low heat, shaking the pan once or twice, until nutty and golden, about 5 minutes.
  3. Put the oil in a large pan over medium heat. When it's hot, add the onion and chilli and cook until soft and wilted, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the apple and garlic ad cook until the apple starts to turn gold, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cumin, honey and two tablespoons of the pine nuts. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes, then pour in the cream and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Arrange the roast pumpkin onto a serving platter, pour over the spinach sauce and sprinkle over the chopped cilantro and remaining pine nuts. Serve at once.
Recipe Notes

THINK AHEAD

You can bake the pumpkin a day ahead; reheat gently in a 300F oven, about 20 minutes. The spinach sauce is best made just before serving as it loses its bright green colour if you leave it sitting around but it takes only a few minutes if you have your pine nuts ready and toasted and your spinach chopped.

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Spring Peas, Snow Peas and Prosciutto Salad

May 1, 2017 By

This bright, green and crunchy salad is a take on the classic italian side dish of Peas and Prosciutto.  I like this nutritious salad, it makes a very yummy power lunch or a delicious side dish and since I care about what I eat but I don’t want to lose sleep over –the past 100 days have been enough of a snooze disruptor — I’m happy when a recipe this balanced takes less than 15 minutes to throw together.

Spring Peas, Snow Peas and Prosciutto Salad
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Servings
4 people
Cook Time
15 minutes total
Servings
4 people
Cook Time
15 minutes total
Spring Peas, Snow Peas and Prosciutto Salad
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Servings
4 people
Cook Time
15 minutes total
Servings
4 people
Cook Time
15 minutes total
Ingredients
  • sea salt for boiling water
  • 1 1/2 cups cups shelled fresh green peas (from about 1¼ pounds pods), or frozen peas, thawed
  • 12 ounces snow peas, trimmed and washed
  • 8 slices prosciutto, sliced medium-thick
  • 1/2 cups shaved parmigiano
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Cook green peas and snow peas in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5-7 minutes per batch. Immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water then drain and dry on paper towels.
  2. Whisk lemon juice and mustard in a large bowl. Gradually add oil, whisking constantly until emulsified; season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.
  3. Add green peas, snow peas, and mint to a bowl with vinaigrette and toss until well coated with dressing;
  4. Arrange salad on a platter and top with prosciutto. Add the shaved parmigiano.
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Steamed Salmon And Burnt Orange Glaze

January 6, 2017 By

Steaming salmon, or any kind of flaky fish, keeps it moist, healthy and packed with flavor. Add this simple burnt orange glaze and you not only get your omega-3s and antioxidants but you have a truly tasty dinner ready in less than 20 minutes. You can serve it with sticky rice or brown rice for a little starchy comfort.
salmon-orange-glaze

Roasted Salmon & Burnt Orange Glaze
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini— Salmon is a beautiful fish with moist and tender flesh as long as you don't' over cook it. Wild salmon comes mostly from the North Pacific and is a better choice that farmed. It has so much flavor that all it really needs is a hot skillet and a sprinkle of salt. However farmed salmon is less expensive, and it’s very fatty. That makes not only for pretty good eating but also for extremely forgiving cooking: you can overcook farmed salmon a bit, and it won’t be that dry. I usually oven cook a whole side of salmon with the skin on at 350 degrees in oven for 14 minutes. It always comes out moist and pink inside. A sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon are enough for weeknights dinners or you can dress it up with this simple burnt orange glaze. I use the leftovers for salads, pasta and fish cakes.
Servings Prep Time
4 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Roasted Salmon & Burnt Orange Glaze
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini— Salmon is a beautiful fish with moist and tender flesh as long as you don't' over cook it. Wild salmon comes mostly from the North Pacific and is a better choice that farmed. It has so much flavor that all it really needs is a hot skillet and a sprinkle of salt. However farmed salmon is less expensive, and it’s very fatty. That makes not only for pretty good eating but also for extremely forgiving cooking: you can overcook farmed salmon a bit, and it won’t be that dry. I usually oven cook a whole side of salmon with the skin on at 350 degrees in oven for 14 minutes. It always comes out moist and pink inside. A sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon are enough for weeknights dinners or you can dress it up with this simple burnt orange glaze. I use the leftovers for salads, pasta and fish cakes.
Servings Prep Time
4 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon Honey
  • 1 navel orange
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 whole salmon side skin on
  • salt and pepper
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Stir the sugar, water and honey in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and simmer, without stirring, until the mixture is a light caramel color. Watch it carefully and don't let it burn. The caramel will go from not quite done to burnt very quickly if you’re not paying close attention.
  2. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, let the bubbles subside and carefully stir in 1 teaspoon orange zest and 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice. (You’ll want to stand back a little as the mixture may splatter.) Return the pan to low heat for a minute or so, stirring constantly until any caramel bits that may have formed completely dissolve. Add the oil and vinegar and gently simmer, stirring almost constantly, for 1 minute.
  3. Pre-heat the oven at 350 Fahrenheit. Place the salmon skin down on a lined oven tray. Season with salt and pepper. Liberally spoon the orange glaze on the salmon and bake for 14 minutes. Serve with the leftover glaze on the side.
Recipe Notes

Add some ginger and minced garlic to the glaze for extra flavor. Substitute the orange juice with lemon or grapefruit.

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Black lentils, Feta, Avocado and Pistachio Salad

January 7, 2016 By

lentils-silvia-baldini

Black lentils, Feta, Avocado and Pistachio Salad
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Servings Prep Time
6/8 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6/8 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Black lentils, Feta, Avocado and Pistachio Salad
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Servings Prep Time
6/8 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6/8 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
  • 4 cups puy lentils
  • 1 large avocado
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 3 cups fresh spinach leaves
  • 4 tbsp pomegranate seeds
  • 1/2 cup toasted pistachios nuts
  • 1/2 lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp pistachio oil avocado oil or regular olive oil can be used
  • 2 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Cook the lentils in salted boiling water for 12/15 minutes. Drain and set aside in a large bowl to cool.
  2. Add to the lentils the avocado peeled and chopped, the crumbled feta, the spinach leaves, the pomegranate seeds and gently toss.
  3. Combine the lemon juice, the pistachio oil, the balsamic vinegar with salt and pepper and pour on the salad. Toss again.
  4. Sprinkle the pistachios, parsley and mint on the salad. Taste for seasoning and serve.
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A Very Lazy Dinner

July 1, 2015 By

Yesterday I woke up with no will nor power for fussy cooking.

I have been in the kitchen non-stop for the past 3 weeks testing and tasting for clients and projects, the thought of spending additional time preparing dinner was unquestionably out of the question.  Yet it was a lovely afternoon and I wanted to treat my family to a good meal and spend some precious time with the kids outside. We are very taken by badminton at the moment and my son had an explosive science project he wanted to show me.  The science project was explosive indeed. It required a large amount of my cornstarch and soda water, we survived in one piece and dinner turned out even more explosive and a slam-dunk with the family, something I feel is,
at times, more rewarding than a Michelin star.

What I made was insalata di riso. That’s a very Italian rice salad. It’s a classing dish made on summer days and it mostly appears at large gatherings and picnics.

rice-salad-silvia-baldini

The rice is boiled for 15 minutes with fresh or frozen peas and rinsed in cold water to cool it off and to get rid of most of the starch. Then the fun starts. The classic recipe calls for good canned tuna in olive oil, hard boiled eggs, diced tomatoes, some green olives, pickled vegetables, roasted peppers and yes, don’t run away, wusterls. They are the German or the Italian equivalent to the American hot dogs. Once you taste them sliced , cold and combined with all the other goodies, you’ll be forever hooked, because I strongly, believe, one cannot always feed on balsamic reductions.

In the end the whole thing gets dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper, a sprinkle
of chopped parsley, some basil, parmesan slivers and if you feel frisky also with a couple of spoons of good mayonnaise. It’s best to let it rest it in the fridge for at least an hour to combine all the flavors but a full stop overnight makes it even better.

Of course as you can imagine, the variation are many. You can boil the rice with aromatics or saffron to get a flavor kick, change the rice to a black or a red rice, add all sorts of ingredients like shrimps or swordfish or humble chicken or substitute the wurstel for a cured fancy salame or prosciutto, but who has time or the will to go to Brooklyn and run in one more bearded artisanal butcher.  Besides I love the original recipe too much to change it.

I made the insalata di riso, in less the 25 minutes, if you are smart and organized you can chop all the ingredients while the rice is cooking and cook the eggs in the rice water during the last 10 minutes .

lazy-dinner-silvia-baldini-rice

I also poached some sweet cherries in red wine, then since I cannot help myself, I made a vanilla budino. It was a great meal,  everybody was happy and my kids kicked my derriere at badminton.  I posted the pictures on facebook and instagram and this morning I was inundated with requests for the recipe, so here it is.

I hope you have a great lazy and tasty 4th of July and for once don’t spend too much time in the kitchen.

Insalata Di Riso-Rice Salad
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Servings Prep Time
8 people 25 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
15 minutes 1 hour plus
Servings Prep Time
8 people 25 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
15 minutes 1 hour plus
Insalata Di Riso-Rice Salad
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Servings Prep Time
8 people 25 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
15 minutes 1 hour plus
Servings Prep Time
8 people 25 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
15 minutes 1 hour plus
Ingredients
  • 3 cups rice arborio
  • 1 cup peas frozen work well
  • 1 can tuna olive oli drained, broken in to chunks
  • 4 medium/large eggs
  • 1 medium tomato diced
  • 1/2 cup green olives pitted
  • 2 roasted peppers diced
  • 1/2 cup pickled vegetables
  • 4 hot dogs
  • 1/2 cup parmesan slivers diced fontina or pecorino are good substitute
  • 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
  • 6 leaves basil teared in small pieces
  • 1 medium lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise optional
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Boil the rice in salted water for 15 minutes, add the peas during the last 7 minutes. Drain well and rinse in cold water. Reserve in a large bowl. Meanwhile cook the eggs for 9/10 minutes till hardboiled. Peel and cut in to eights. Cook the hot dogs for a couple of minutes in boiling water, then drain and slice in small rounds. Add the tuna, the tomatoes, the olives, the peppers, the pickled vegetables, the sliced hot dogs, the parmesan to the rice. Dress the salad with the olive oil, lemon salt pepper and mayonnaise if using. Add the chopped herbs mix well, and lastly add the eggs. Cover with film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Overnight is better.
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