For obvious reasons, I’ve been asked a lot of questions about substitutions recently. We will go to the store less often than usual, and availability is limited even while traveling.
Some replacements are hassle-free, while others are more complex. With baking, even the smallest modification can affect the outcome of a cookie, cake, or bread, so I’m always wary of offering alternatives unless I’ve tried them myself.
Luckily, plenty of foods can be adapted to any situation in the house, and I often find that trying different combinations brings me new favorite foods! I especially love the grain/green/bean combo, which is my weekday dinner favorite: my grain, green, and bean skillet is my favorite, but I also love lemon, dill, chickpea, and zucchini rice and a pasta salad for spring.
The salad also offers its beautiful mix, match, add, subtract, and swap.
When I made this edgy pantry salad today, I only considered adaptation. Of course, I want to keep it for myself and the rest of my week, but I also thought I could give you something easy-going, adaptable, and nutritious. Grains, beans, vegetables, and vegetarian umami add to that.
A recipe is a formula. I use any cooked grain; I use my favorite wheat for cereal salads because of its chewy texture. Use any cooked beans; I use chickpeas because I have two pounds of dried chickpeas at home that have just started cooking and freezing. Use the vegetables you have. Frozen produce is harder to find than fresh produce in New York, so I used fresh, blanched green beans and a can of quarter artichoke hearts, which are now popular in my kitchen (I’ll have another recipe featuring them soon).
The salad gets extra character and plenty of flavor from a few vegetarian umami sources (olives, fermented vegetables, dried tomatoes, capers) and any other “vegetarian cuisine” you might enjoy. “Goody” is my silly name for all the delicious vegetarian meats and cheeses you might find and enjoy; I often eat gluten- or soy chicken, Violife vegan feta, and Louisville vegan Jerky Co at home, as well as maple meat and other snacks.
Eating good food has been limited lately, so I used the easiest vegan treat: homemade vegan Parmesan cheese. There’s plenty of extra umami here, plus a cheesy flavor that complements the Mediterranean-style salad toppings. I like it the way it is, but you like yourself.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked whole grains (rice, quinoa, barley, wheat, wheat berries, etc.)
1 1/2 cups cooked beans (lentils, chickpeas, black beans, navy beans, pasta beans, etc.)
Choose 2-3 cups of cooked or raw vegetables: green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, beets, leafy greens, shredded cabbage, chopped carrots, chopped celery, etc.
1/4-1/2 cup vegetarian umami source (chopped, sun-dried tomatoes, pitted olives, capers, fermented vegetables, etc.)
2 tablespoons homemade or store-bought vegan Parmesan cheese *
Any extra, fun vegetarian toppings you like: chopped vegetarian meat, vegan cheese, etc.
Pantry vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, etc.
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/8 TSP freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoons (according to taste) chopped shallot or red onion or 1 minced small garlic clove
Instructions
- Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Stir together the vinaigrette ingredients and pour them over the salad. Mix the salad, adjust the seasonings to your liking, and serve.
When making a salad, I was reminded that “salad” doesn’t necessarily mean a big bowl of leafy greens. Any combination of vegetables, grains, and beans can be made into a salad with the proper dressing, and salads can be cold, cool, or even warm. I love a good green salad, but I also love the various textures and flavors of using different vegetables. Stay tuned because I hope to make and share the same recipe with other main ingredients as the quarantine ends – hopefully long after the quarantine has passed.
