"Mixt Salads" - Siam (Salad) - Gulf Shrimp with Mango and Green Papaya (Oh, so good!)

Date I made this recipe:  August 11, 2014

Mixt Salads – A Chef's Bold Creations by Andrew Swallow with Ann Volkwein

Published by: Ten Speed Press

ISBN:  978-1-58008-057-6

Purchased at:  Hennepin  County Used Book Library Sale

Recipe:  Siam – Gulf Shrimp with Mango and Green Papaya – p. 119-120

I don't know why, but it often takes my brain a while to start craving fresh vegetables and green, leafy salads, usually (and regrettably) about the time that the "growing" season ends.

Not so this year.

In the blink of an eye, I got my "I have GOT to have a salad" groove on thus, Mixt Salads.  But wouldn't you know, the salad I chose didn't have a green leaf in sight, instead utilizing fresh mangoes and papaya and herbs. Oh, and shrimp.  (I love shrimp).  And the hilarious and ironic thing is that this salad was included in the book's "Winter" section.  I did not want to wait that long.  But come winter, when I'm cursing Nature for dropping all that white stuff otherwise known as "snow" on us, I may have to bite the bullet and make this salad again as it was just that good.

First, there's the very yummy marinade made with orange juice, jalapenos, garlic, ginger and ground pepper.  Never mind the salad, give me these marinated shrimp any day!  And I must confess that I didn't grill the shrimp as instructed because the shrimp I bought were too small for the grill and I couldn't find the grill pan so I sautéed the shrimp in the marinade for a couple of minutes until the shrimp was cooked and wow – fabulous!  I feel a new party appetizer coming on....  (Please note that you need to marinade for four hours before cooking.)

The shrimp are placed on a salad of daikon radish, mangoes, papaya, red pepper, shallots and herbs and there are instructions for plating the salad so it looks like the beauty shot on page 118.  And the beauty shot is great but let's get real:  put it all in a bowl and toss it.  No fuss, no muss, no bother. 

The instructions also call for julienned slices of mango and papaya and yes, we have a mandolin (not the instrument mandolin, but a kitchen mandolin) but again, I'd have to take time out to find it and assemble it and besides, I manage a pretty decent julienne all by myself, thank you!  Besides, slicing, dicing and chopping are my idea of relaxation and I was in a "relaxing" kind of mood.  (The other reason to avoid a mandolin is that it can cause serious hand-harm if used incorrectly! Let's just say the blade is very sharp.  Very.)

So once you slice and dice and grill and whatnot, you add the dressing and then you can top the thing off with Chipotle Honey.  And don't you know, I had one chipotle chili left in my refrigerator.  Reuse, recycle!

Now I've said before that I am rather a woos when it comes to heat (of the chili pepper kind) and this dish had enough heat without the addition of the chipotle honey as it called for 1 ½ teaspoons of minced Thai bird chili and the marinade contained 2 tablespoons of jalapeno.  So true confession:  I deliberately shopped for the tiniest Thai chili I could find and since I lived to tell about it, I'm thinking that was just the right amount.  Because 1 ½ teaspoons is asking for it and you heard it here first.  But kudos to those whose palate (and stomach) can take the heat!  Yes, I know—"if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen," but I stayed in and braved the chili heat and then cursed myself for not wearing gloves as I felt the sting of the chilies the rest of the night.  Serves me right.

Now, not that this book didn't have a ton of delicious looking and sounding recipes but honestly, now that I made this recipe, all the other ones pale in comparison.  This is not necessarily a bad thing for me, considering I only make one recipe per book featured in this blog but you should go where no other blogger has gone and make something else so that you, too, can get your salad fix on. 

PS—I was also in a noodle kind of mood so I made some (cold) rice noodles to go with this salad.  You might want to follow suit.

PS2—And one more thing:  shout out to Ann Volkwein, who worked on this book with author, Andrew Swallow.  I met Ann several years ago in NYC and almost worked with her on a dining guide for Minneapolis and St. Paul.  Alas, it did not come to pass but I always get excited when I see her name on a cookbook.

Siam (Salad) – Gulf Shrimp with Mango and Green Papaya – serves 4

For the marinade

2 cups fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno pepper

3 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic

3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

Freshly ground black pepper

20 large fresh Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined

For the dressing

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 ½ teaspoons minced Thai bird chile

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon fish sauce

½ teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon minced lemongrass

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup canola oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup unsalted peanuts (optional)

For the chipotle honey

2teaspoons chopped canned chipotle chili

¾ cup honey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

1 daikon radish, diced

2 mangoes, cored, peeled and julienned

1 green papaya, peeled, seeded, and julienned

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

2 shallots, finely diced

Leaves from 1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch basil, chiffonaded

1 bunch mint, chiffonaded

To make the marinade, combine the orange juice, jalapeno, garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a bowl.  Add the shrimp and let marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

To make the dressing, combine the lime juice, chile, vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, lemongrass, and sugar in a blender.  Slowly add the canola oil in a stream, and blend until emulsified.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 300F (for the peanuts) and the grill to high.

Spread the peanuts on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.  Let cool, then chop and set aside.

To make the chipotle honey, add the honey and the chipotle chile to a blender and pulse to combine.  Set aside.

Remove the shrimp from the marinade, season with salt and pepper, and grill for 4 to 5 minutes, or until opaque, flipping once.  (Ann's Note:  I sautéed the shrimp for a couple of minutes in the marinade instead of grilling them.)

Ann's Note: To make the salad you can follow the author's directions below or combined all the ingredients except the chipotle honey in a bowl, toss and then drizzle the honey on top of each plate to taste.  Add peanuts if desired.  It has the same effect as following the directions below but with a lot less fuss.

To plate each serving, combine ¼ daikon, 1 cup mango, 1 cup papaya, 3 tablespoons bell pepper, 1 tablespoon shallot, 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, 2 tablespoon basil and 2 teaspoons mint with 2 ½ tablespoons of the dressing.  Place 5 shrimp on top, garnish with 2 tablespoons of the roasted peanuts, and drizzle with 1 ½ teaspoons of the chipotle honey.

"The Arthur Avenue Cookbook" (Volkwein) & "99 Ways to Cook Pasta" - Bocconcini Salad and Vermicelli alla Santa Lucia

Date I made these recipes: August 11, 2007

The Arthur Avenue Cookbook – Recipes and Memories from the Real Little Italy by Ann Volkwein. Foreword by Mario Batali
Published by ReganBooks
ISBN: 0-06-056715-5
© 2004
Recipe: Bocconcini Salad - p. 27

99 Ways to Cook Pasta by Flora and Robert Alda. Preface by Alan Alda
Published by: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
ISNB: 0-02-500740-8
© 1980
Recipe: Vermicelli alla Santa Lucia – p. 54

As my friend Andrea would say: “Huh.” As in, “Huh, I thought these recipes would turn out better than they did.”

Let's start with tomato salad. After last week's very good but very heavy casserole, I was in the mood for something lighter, something Italian. (Contrary to popular belief, not all Italian food is heavy). So I grabbed The Arthur Avenue Cookbook because, well, it was staring right at me. While flipping through it, I came across the tomato recipe and then remembered my husband brought home some cherry tomatoes a couple of days earlier and so rather than make something a bit more interesting, I decided to make this very simple recipe. While there was nothing inherently wrong with the recipe, it didn't float my boat, either. Maybe it needed to sit a bit longer for the flavor (of fresh basil) to set in. But I also think that working with fresh mozzarella (Bocconcini are small mozzarella balls) is tricky. By itself, mozzarella can be rather bland. Cooked tomato sauce enhances it a great deal but just plain tomatoes? Not so much.

By the way, unless there are several Ann Volkwein’s who used to work for an online company, that, among other things, produced online restaurant review guides, I’ve met the author of this cookbook. Years ago, after I finished working on the Zagat Survey for Minneapolis and St. Paul, Ann contacted me to see if I would be interested in working on a similar project for the company she worked for. I said sure, signed the contract and even happened to be in New York shortly thereafter so I went to meet her and deliver it in person. And then, of course, everything changed and the project was no more. End of story. But Ann was very nice and I was glad to see her name on the cookbook. I’m also glad that a couple of years ago, some friends and I went to the Bronx, where Arthur Avenue is located to go to the Bronx Zoo and to check out the food finds there. We didn’t get to all the places Ann mentioned but it was fun to have a connection to the place.

So on to the next book by Robert and Flora Alda and our next recipe, Vermicelli alla Santa Lucia. Robert Alda was Alan Alda’s father. Alan Alda, as many of you know, was the star of the TV show, MASH as well as a cast member of The West Wing the last couple of seasons. His father, Robert, was a talented actor who starred on Broadway in, among other things, one of my favorite musicals, Guys and Dolls.

But despite this lineup of talent, I hate to report that the recipe just fell flat, as flat as a pancake. I suspect it was the tomatoes.

Unlike the very nice and juicy cherry tomatoes used in the Bocconcini Salad, this recipe called for Roma tomatoes. But people, let me tell you, just because it is now summer does not guarantee a nice, vine-ripened tomato. In fact, once I started slicing and dicing the tomatoes, I found just the opposite and was disappointed that they looked like winter tomatoes instead of ones becoming plump, tender and juicy under the summer sun.

I’m pretty convinced that had the tomatoes been ripe, they would have added considerable flavor to this dish. As it is, they added nothing.

And so it was up to the other main ingredient, the peppers, to take over, and they failed that task miserably. The recipe also called for the peppers to be julienned but cutting them that way made them harder to eat. I would definitely cut all slices in half.

None of the remaining ingredients, the cheese, the wine, the basil or the garlic picked up the slack and so while it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten, it wasn’t something I would make again.

The Alda’s also called for Vermicelli pasta but I think that this recipe might have been better served by using rigatoni or something that could capture the sauce better than the vermicelli. By the way, the Alda’s also noted that in Italian, this recipe means “Little Worms” but I waited until now to tell you--who wants to see that when deciding which recipe to make?! (“Let’s see honey, how do you fee about little worms tonight?”) Ew.

Actually, I have no right to cringe. My last name, Verme, means “worm” in Italian, and Vermicelli means little worm. Now, most people, with the exception of my junior high classmates, do not get that connection and ask if it’s German or French or “What is it exactly?” But bless my classmates’ heart, they heard Verme (and it is pronounced with a silent “e”), turned it to Worm and so my junior high yearbooks are littered with salutations such as “To Worm, you’re a nice girl and you’ll go far” or “Worm, remember all the good times we had at camp.” Awww.

At any rate, little worms or not, if you make this, make sure you get the juiciest tomatoes available, perhaps play around with the seasonings and see if you can’t resurrect this dish from the “wouldn’t make it again” graveyard. Good luck.

Bocconcini Salad – Serves 4
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 pound bocconcini
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice each of the cherry tomatoes in half and toss in a bowl with the Bocconcini, chopped herb, garlic, oil and salt and pepper. Serve on a platter garnished with herb leaves.

Note: you can substitute slices of mozzarella in this recipe if you can’t find Bocconcini.

Vermicelli alla Santa Lucia – serves 6 to 8
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
2 cups plum tomatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (canned varieties are usually peeled)
4 bell peppers (preferably red or yellow or both), cut into julienne strips
1 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino cheese (or Romano cheese)
½ cup dry white win
8 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 ½ lb vermicelli (or spaghettini)
Freshly grated parmigiano cheese to taste (optional)

In a large skillet, heat the oil and sauté the garlic until golden brown, then discard. Allow the oil to cool a moment, then add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, lower the flame, cover and let simmer. Add the peppers and salt to the simmering sauce and continue cooking about 20 minutes. Mix in the cheese, wine and basil, cover and let simmer for three more minutes. Turn off the flame and let stand.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and pour into warmed serving bowl. Cover with the sauce and gently toss. Serve in warmed soup dishes or bowls.