Kosher Food and Drink

With Memorial Day approaching and the temperature rising, cool, crisp, and colorful lunches become more worthy, with the use of fresh, local ingredients both healthy and delicious.

I’ve been eating a diet filled with high fiber, good proteins and healthy fats and this dish I threw together is packed with goodness.

Tinned fish seems off-putting to some, with the small fish jammed into containers seeming to be a relic of the past. You can almost imagine your grandfather eating sardines right out of the can and gag a bit. But a perusal through this section in “fine” food stores and even your local supermarket allows for really great options nowadays, including smoked fish tins. What’s great about these are their ability to last seemingly forever. You can keep them in the pantry ready to go for a healthy lunch such as this one.

Cold water fatty fish like mackerel, herring, and sardines have tremendous health benefits, packed with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, far healthier than canned tuna and, if you’re into this kind of thing, better overall for the environment.

I often choose mackerel as it is milder than sardines, offering all the benefits without the classic “fishy” taste. Have you ever thought about why “fishy” qualifies as offensive for fish? Does anyone turn up their nose at a steak and say it’s too “beefy?” Can an apple be too “fruity?” You get my point. We need another word for that.

For our dish, I used skinless, boneless filets in olive oil from Season. This is one of those places where the heimishe brand is one of the best. Season makes great tinned fish.

As always when I cook, I use things I have on hand. One of the best ways to cook is to see what you have and work off of that.

Ingredients:

• Tin of boneless, skinless Season Mackerel in olive oil
• 2 cups mixed greens
• 1 cup wild baby arugula
• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 apple, sliced thin, e.g. Pink Lady
• Handful of raw almonds
• 1-2 soft-boiled eggs
• Balsamic vinaigrette, recipe below

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional, I don’t use it)

Whisk well until emulsified and serve.

Slice your strawberries, apple, and eggs. Set aside.

Grab a big bowl and begin to layer your greens.

Make your dressing.

There are two ways to do this, you could dress the greens without the add-ins, so that you could make a pretty presentation by placing each of them on the dressed greens, or for more flavor, dress all of the add-ins with the greens. I chose the former.

Dress the salad.

Grab a plate and plate up the greens.

Layer in all of your extras.

You can top with a little leftover dressing.

Stay tuned for our next Summer Season Salads!