It was late in the afternoon, yet I hadn’t eaten lunch, and dinner seemed far off. A kitchen raid was in order. A quick look earlier had yielded nothing. Yet when the stomach demands, “nothing” can become something. A grapefruit, some store-bought roasted red bell peppers, some leftover blue cheese - it was coming together into a light salad with bright flavors. How about some crunch? Aren’t there pistachios in the freezer?
Altogether it was a surprisingly good stone soup of a salad, definitely worth writing down to repeat. In this case, the citrus and pepper salad is bolstered by a cooked grain - quinoa, because it cooks quickly, but farro would be great if you have more time. Likewise, if you have time to roast fresh bell peppers, the flavor will be deeper.
Grapefruit, Roasted Pepper and Grain Salad
1 cup water
½ teaspoon salt, divided use
½ cup quinoa, well rinsed
2 red grapefruit
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 jarred roasted bell peppers, rinsed, sliced in ½-inch strips
2 ounces gorgonzola
1 ounce pistachios
Honey, optional
2 tablespoons chopped basil or parsley
Heat the water and ¼ teaspoon salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium high heat; stir in the quinoa.
Cover; lower heat to a simmer.
Cook until quinoa is tender, 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and cut the grapefruit into segments, cutting away the membranes, letting the juice and segments fall into a bowl. Squeeze the membranes to extract the juice.
Transfer grapefruit segments to a salad bowl; set aside.
Measure the grapefruit juice in a small bowl to get 3 tablespoons.Whisk in the olive oil, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and garlic.
When quinoa is done, transfer it to a separate bowl; stir in the dressing. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
Add the bell peppers, gorgonzola and pistachios to the bowl with the grapefruit; stir to mix. Stir in the quinoa. Taste for seasoning; if the salad tastes bitter or tart from the grapefruit, drizzle in a little honey to taste.
Garnish with the herbs.
Makes 2 servings.
Food, Pages 34 on 04/16/2014