Semolina | Go Meat Yourself

All posts tagged semolina

By Jessica | May 6, 2009 | Snackin, Salads and Apps | 4 Comments

I decided that until I get my dehydrator and become an expert at making jerky (yes, I’m predicting jerky to be the next hot thing – don’t tell), I’ll challenge myself at making salad. Think about it: a salad is so easy to make delicious cause god is natures original chef, so what can you do to challenge god? You can do it by flipping the script and creating some explosive flavor combos yo mama never thought of. Make yo grandmama blush. Why not, right?

Here is something NOT crazy, but too delicious not to rub on my face: a traditional panza-wannaeatyoualldaylong-nella salad. Hot damn. Get in my mouth. Here’s how to do it: Grab some semolina bread and cube, toast in a pan with a bit of olive oil (keep your eye on it cause it will try to burn behind your back (bitch)) and then dump a load of fresh mozz on the bread in the pan and cover until melty. Put the bread on top a pile of mesclun, torn fresh basil, tomatoes, and sliced red onions. Dump a nice load of red vinegar on top so the bread gets soaky and soft. Add a bit more olive oil and then salt and pepper. Dream about me when you put it in your mouth.

Panzanella Salad

The Panzanella salad is a typical piece of gold. Here is my science experiment. Salad Challenge #1: Spiced Cinnamon Apple Salad. Ew-ish, right?

Spiced Apple and Arugula Salad

Slice some apples and sprinkle with cinnamon and cayenne. Add the apples to a bowl of arugula. Drizzle with some honey and red vinegar and a bit of olive oil. Mix well. Eat. Gimme feedback. Tell me it sucks. Tell me I suck. I dare you.

By Jessica | October 28, 2008 | Recipes, Restaurants, Snackin, Salads and Apps | No comments

B and I went to one of our favorite restaurants on Smith the other night, La Lunetta, and enjoyed a delish meal, served at the kitchen counter, perfect for spying on our cooks. Our guy’s the chef over there so he treated us lovely. Aside from homemade sausages for wolfing and pork ragu for rib-sticking, there was a panzanella for recipe-stealing. This was my first foray into the world of panzanella and I can’t believe I have never been before. After having multiple dreams of the salad during the night, and waking up with a salivation for more, we decided to recreate the deliciousness to our best. And now, you can too. Booyah!

Panzanella Salad with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil

half a ball of fresh mozzarella
1 very small red onion, cut in small strips
2 tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped (either vine or plum)
2 semolina rolls with sesame
lots o’ olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
10 small fresh basil leaves
Serves 4 as an app.

Let’s talk about peeling tomatoes. Now. I don’t want you to be intimidated. This is very easy and extremely gratifying. Do it once and swear you’ll wanna do this for everything. Make 2 slits in the shape of an “X” on the top and the bottom of each tomato. Boil a pot of water. When it comes to a boil, turn off the flame and drop the tomatoes in the pot for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop into a bowl of ice water. After 30 seconds, you can easily pull the skin off the tomatoes, starting with the corners at the slit you made. Walla. Chop your tomatoes, toss the seeds, set aside.

Pull apart your cheese into large forkful chunks and scatter on your serving platter. Try not to eat too much before serving.

Heat a skillet with a good amount of olive oil. When the oil is hot, toss in the onion and tomatoes. As soon as the onion is slightly soft remove along with the tomatoes and place on top of the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add more oil to the skillet. Tear apart your bread in big forkful chunks and throw in the oil. Keep a high heat so that it doesn’t really cook on the inside and yet browns on the outside. Once achieved, add the bread and the oil from the pan to the platter. Add the red wine vinegar and basil leaves. Toss and serve immediately.