Tuesday, October 25, 2011

MOFO Day #25 True Grub: Amy's Awesome Arugula Potato Salad




I really wanted to make something completely red and raw in honor of Lizzy Caplan's character in season one. I tried making a cauliflower couscous, but that didn't seem sexy enough. Amy is a wacko fer sure, but she has a sweet side. Right before she killed Stephen Root, she said something about being a raw vegan. We all know that vampnapping, draining, and killing the undead isn't vegan. Argue this point with me if you wish, but I stand by my belief. The act of draining is a product of the undead suffering. And using V is illegal.



I'm so funny. I make this sound as if all of this is real.

This salad is very, very real. I'm normally pretty hesitant about making posts about salads because lettuce as the center of vegan cuisine is a stereotype. How could I make this different? I took some fresh arugula and some red swiss chard from my garden and piled on roasted sweet potatoes with T. Marzetti's Simply Dressed Strawberry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. So easy, and absolutely delicious. The key is to roast the potatoes in the dressing and add just a little bit extra on the salad. Perfection! People will think you went to culinary school to come up with that, but I won't tell anyone you're no fancy pants chef.

I received some of this dressing from FoodBuzz's Tastemaker Program, and thank both them and T. Marzetti for their support of food bloggers everywhere. I called the company and confirmed this particular flavor is vegan. Yay!

To roast the potatoes, simply peel and cube the sweet potatoes, toss in the dressing and bake in a pan at 350 for about a total of 45 minutes. Make sure you turn them about half way through. Because the dressing is olive oil based, they will be a tad greasy, but you can remedy this by blotting them with a paper towel after they cool.

If you don't have sweet potatoes around, I'm positive that roasted butternut squash or pumpkin would make awesome substitutions. If you use the butternut squash, add some walnuts. If you use the pumpkin, throw some toasted pumpkin seeds in the mix.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my friend you crack me up. Love this. :)

Bianca said...

Her character was one of my faves ever...I was so sad when she died. :-( But you're right. Draining vamps = not vegan. However, if V was real, I'd totally try it ... from a live vampire that I didn't have to kill. Maybe one that I could also have hot vampire sex with.