Fried Artichoke Salad and Summer Internship Reflection

I just got back from a wonderful summer in St. Louis working with the First Year Center at Washington University in St. Louis.  I loved being at Wash. U. and in St. Louis for the summer and wanted to share this recipe for a great salad I had at Katie's Pizza.

Now it's pretty rare for me to get excited about a salad and I generally don't view salad as the main part of a meal, but this salad is really wonderful and substantial enough to be a complete meal.  Take the time to roast the asparagus ahead of time, preferable to use in another meal during the week.  I always seem to have a few leftover asparagus and this is the perfect place to use them.  Look for thin asparagus for this application and save thicker asparagus for stir fries and purees.

Lightly dredge halved artichoke hearts in the seasoned flour and fry to a golden brown in oil.  I used canned artichoke hearts, but you could also use fresh or frozen.  While the artichokes fry arrange greens (I used a spring mix), asparagus, crumbles of goat cheese, and pistachios.  Top the salad with fried artichokes and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  You could make a real dressing by whisking it all together, but I was feeling artistic/lazy and just drizzled the dressing over the salad and it was just fine.

Fried Artichoke Salad

Ingredients (per salad)

• 2 artichoke hearts, halved
• flour
• 4-5 spears of roasted asparagus
• 2 cups of mixed greens
• 1 oz. goat cheese
• 2 tbsp. pistachios
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

1. Lightly dredge halved artichokes in flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2. Fry artichokes to a golden brown in oil
3. While artichokes fry, add salad greens, asparagus, pistachios and goat cheese to bowl
4. When artichokes are golden brown transfer them to a paper towel lined plate and allow them to drain before transferring to the salad
5. Drizzle salad with oil and vinegar and serve immediately.

Strawberry and Cucumber Salad

My assistantship supervisor, Liz, just left UGA for a fantastic new adventure.  While we're all sad to see her go, we definitely enjoyed benefiting from her cleaning out her apartment kitchen to move!  She gave me this lovely set of black cherry balsamic vinegar and persian lime olive oil from her home state of Maine.  The first thing I thought when I saw the vinegar was that I needed to pair it with strawberries.  This is a refreshing and light spring and summer salad that will be delicious with either black cherry or regular balsamic vinegar.

First I peeled the cucumber, sliced it lengthwise, and used a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Then I sliced the cucumber into little crescents, quartered the strawberries, and julienned the fresh mint.  I combined all of those ingredients in a bowl with balsamic vinegar, honey, and a little bit of salt.  You can serve it immediately, or let it marinade for a little while.  

After I put it together I realized it was a perfect salad to honor Liz since her favorite colors are pink and green!  The red strawberries are close enough, right?  Thanks for the wonderful gift, Liz, and good luck in the future!

Strawberry and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

• 16 oz. strawberries
• 1 small cucumber
• 2 tbsp. fresh mint
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Peel skin off the cucumber, slice it lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds.  Then chop the cucumber into crescents.
2. Quarter or halve the strawberries, depending on how large they are
3. Julienne the mint leaves
4. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix