Freud, America & a green salad

Perhaps it was my recent trip to New York that made me grab Jed Rubenfeld's book The interpretation of murder again. The story is based on real facts and takes place across Manhattan in the beginning of the 20th century during Sigmund Freud’s only visit to America with his protégé Carl Yung. The famous analyst is asked to help with a patient to solve a mysterious crime. The Interpretation of Murder leads readers through New York high society, as well a few dark places and some homey ones. At some point, Rose - Brill's wife (Freud's translator in America) - serves an Waldorf salad to her guests without great success...

This salad first appearance was at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1893 and became an american classic, with more versions than chefs. According to some, this apple celery salad with grapes and nuts was created by the well-known French chef Auguste Escoffier as a gift to Oscar Tschirky, the hotel's chef and his good friend.



Waldorf Salad
Lightly adapted from Jamie's America

Serves 2

75 grams (about 4 cups) mixture green salad - watercress, frisée, rocket
1 cup green grapes, deseeded and halved
2 celery sticks, peeled and chopped diagonally
1 red apple, sliced
75 grams soft goats cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup walnuts, aquecidas na frigideira e grosseiramente partidas

for the dressing:
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
olive oil (about 3 Tbsp)
1/2 - 1 Tbsp yogurt
parsley, finely chopped
'flor de sal' and black pepper

In large bowl, place watercress, frisée, rocket or any greens you're using. Add the grapes and the celery. Use a glass jar with a lid to make the dressing. Place all the ingredients and shake vigorously. Pour over the salad. Add the apple and the cheese and garnish with the nuts. Serve with a drizzle of extra olive oil if desired.

My favourite beer

I'm not much into beer. To be completely honest, I totally fail to understand how some people love beer. If not for the occasional Guinness Stout, I'd live happily without such thing... But I've recently found out that I LOVE barley. Since I tried it for the first time in Slovenia, and after my minestrone, I became quite fond of this grain. This salad is a breeze to make if you already cooked the barley - which can be done in larger amounts, and kept in the fridge - and roasted the pumpkin (with a drizzle of olive oil, and a bay leaf) - again very convenient to bake large quantities.

Spinach Barley Salad with Feta

Serves 2

1 cup barley, cooked
1 cup roasted pumpkin, cut into wedges
2 cups fresh spinach
1 Tbsp olive oil
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 hard boiled egg, quartered

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the spinach. Sautée for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Stir in the freshly ground nutmeg. Season with a pinch of salt.

Dressing

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
ground black pepper, to taste
3 tps extra-virgin olive oil

In a large serving bowl, whisk the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, beating until smooth. Add the barley and the remaining salad ingredients (except the egg), and toss to coat with the dressing. Add the egg, and extra pepper if necessary. Serve.

I cook, therefore I exist.

I think, therefore I exist. French geometrician René Descartes in his famous essay "Discourse on the Method" created one of the most appealing ideas produced thanks to the typical human self-awareness. Thinking cannot be separated from the human mind, meaning that every human being thinks, therefore his/her existence is established beyond doubt. Where am I heading for with this? Give me a minute, and I'll make my point. ;)



More recently, Portuguese neurologist António Damásio came up with the idea that "I feel, therefore I am" in a wonderful book called "The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness". Questions such as Who am I? Where do I come from? And what shall I have for lunch? Tough questions that may never get an answer! António Damásio believes our emotions hold the key to consciousness. Me too. Which proves nothing except my respect and admiration for the man. My point is I need to cook. It's not a mission or a task. It's simply my way of feeling alive. And that's the reason why I cook even when I travel or when I'm on vacations abroad. Easy, light meals such as salads, sandwiches or bruschettas to make me happy. Cooking cannot be separated from me, therefore, I exist!



Tomato and Basil Bruschetta with Prosciutto

Serves 2

2 thick slices of (sourdough) bread, toasted on a griddle pan, both sides
1 garlic glove, peeled
good quality extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
4-6 ripe Cherry tomatoes, halved
4 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 thin large slices of prosciutto
salt and pepper

Place the tomatoes in a bowl. Add the basil, season with salt and pepper, and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar, to taste. Cut the garlic glove and rub on the bread (it should be warm when you do this). Drizzle with olive oil. Place each slice on a plate, and add a spoonful of the basil and tomato mixture pushing gently with your fingers so flavours pass to the bread. Top with the prosciutto. Serve warm.

Fig Mania

It's hot. It's hot, and I have to work. Actually, it's hot, I have to work and my vacations in the beach seem like ages away (when there's just a couple of weeks to go). You probably guessed it by now: I'm grumpy. I'm also tired which helps my bad mood. Time seems to vanish these days! Before I can get to half of my daily things-to-do list, the evening arrives and my body refuses to keep going. My kitchen has been more or less idle with little time and energy after long days at work. Soups, sandwiches, salads, savoury muffins and tons of summer fruits did the trick for us. It is said that human beings could live on figs alone — such is the goodness and nutrition in this fruit. I could definitely corroborate that myself! When my mom-in-law brought me a bunch of figs - first ones of the year - I knew exactly what to do with them: a salad, no more.



Fig and Rocket Salad

Serves 2

2-3 handful rocket
4 ripe figs, halved
3 Tbsp golden raisins
1 cottage cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp honey
salt and black pepper
4 slices brioche (or bread)

Put the rocket in a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the honey. Half the figs, and place them in the bowl. Add golden raisins, and cottage cheese. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Toss together.

Pop the sliced brioche in the toaster, and serve warm with the salad.

Dressing

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Beat olive oil and balsamic vinegar, until thick. Pour over the salad. Serve immediately.

Is it Spring already?

The weather is such an easy subject when talk is needed between strangers. Who hasn't done it before? Every now and then, when I end up talking of how Winter never ends or why Spring seems to avoid my surroundings, I always feel like I'm doing cheap talking... But I do feel affected by it! Even if my kitchen doesn't live on sun or rain, my resolution of buying what's in season leads to "weather connected" food. And lately I've had cravings for fish skewers with a hint of ocean, I'm dying for fresh figs and I would kill for tomato jam. Now you know! But in the meanwhile and whilst August doesn't arrive, an avocado and shrimp salad will have to do, now that Spring seems to have come to my part of the world.



Avocato and Shrimp Salad with Apple and Radicchio

Serves 2

1 medium avocado, riped, halved, stone removed
1/2 apple Granny Smith, chopped
2 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
6 quail eggs, boiled
1/2 cup Radicchio, chopped
Lettuce baby leaves, for two
8 large shrimps, boiled, shells removed (keep stock for further use)

In a bowl, mix together the apple, the radicchio and the onion. Chop 2 of the shrimps and mix in. Add halved eggs to the previous mixture. Mix carefully not to break the eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Assemble the plates: put half an avocado in the middle of lettuce baby leaves. Sprinkle the avocado center with lemon juice. Fill with the apple mixture. Place a spoonful of hollandaise sauce and 3 shrimps on top. Divide the remaining mixtura over the lettuce, around the avocado. Add more sauce, to taste or take separately. Serve straight away.


Hollandaise Sauce

1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
50 grs unsalted butter

In a food processor, beat egg york, lemon juice and salt, until thick. Brown the butter (do not allow to burn). Add the butter to the egg mixture and blend. Keep the dressing in the refrigerator before using it.

All Year Salad

Winter has been kind this year. It's the afternoon sun that I like the most, with its warm light and long shadows. It's my favourite time of the day too. I was craving for a salad - it's my body making ready for spring - but the day I made it, temperatures went down and it was a bit chilly. So I remembered this salad, good for every time of the year, cold or warm and always good with any dressing.

Potato and Spinach Salad with Tuna

Serves 2

2 eggs, boiled (I used 8 quail eggs*)
8 small baby potatoes
100 grs baby spinach leaves
1 tuna steak (about 200 grs) or 2 cans of tuna
1 Tbsp capers, drained
2 Tbsp niçoise olives (I didn't have)
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and ground black pepper

A while before grilling, marinate tuna in oil.
Steam spinach in boiling water with a pinch of salt for a couple of minutes. Drain and set aside. Do not discard the water, use it to cook potatoes (each with a small cut lengthwise) for 8-10 minutes. Boil the eggs. In a small pan, cook the steak 2 to 3 minutes on each side until cooked through. Combine drained potatoes and spinach in a medium bowl. Slice the tuna steak and mix in, together with capers and olives. Toss to combine. Add eggs, halfed or quartered. Season to taste.

* If using quail eggs, boil them separately.

This salad can be served straight away as a warm dish or you can cool it for 45 minutes. I usually serve it with different dressings according to the time of the year.

Winter Dressing

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

Beat olive oil and lemon juice, until thick. Add mustard and thyme and whisk. Pour over the warm salad. Serve immediately.

Summer Dressing

1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
50 grs unsalted butter

In a food processor, beat egg york, lemon juice and salt, until thick. Brown the butter (do not allow to burn). Add the butter to the egg mixture and blend. Serve separately. Keep the dressing in the refrigerator before using it.



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