All those long-lasting, juicy vegetables in my fridge — the celery, radishes, fennel, turnips, carrots — have come in handy these past weeks (four, but, hey, who’s counting?). They’ve kept me rich in salad when the lettuces run out between market runs.
The trick is to turn these sturdy roots practically into gossamer — or to at least slice them as thinly as you can, either with a knife or mandoline — so they act lettuce-like in the salad bowl. My $30 Benriner has never seen so much action; I’ve been keeping it out on the counter.
I’ve also been adding thinly sliced, marinated vegetables to anything that needs some verve, like a starchy grain salad.
I like to start with freshly cooked grains, which can absorb maximum dressing when they’re still warm. But leftover grains work well, too, especially if you let them come to room temperature if they’ve been in the fridge, or zap them in the microwave for a minute. You want them warm, not hot. For one person, use about a cup of cooked grains, and you can scale up from there.
Put any grain you like (rice, farro, bulgur, millet, quinoa, fonio) into a bowl, and toss it with lemon juice or vinegar, salt and lots of good olive oil. Keep tasting it: It will need more salt and oil than you might think, but exact amounts will depend on how you like it.
Do the same thing in another bowl with your veggies (also about a cup of sliced vegetables per person). Toss them with acid, salt, pepper and oil to taste. If you want to add a grated garlic clove, a pinch of red-pepper flakes or ground spices (coriander would be nice), and a tablespoon or so of chopped herbs, all the better. A tablespoon of sliced onion or scallion would be good to add here, too.
When the vegetables and grains both taste delicious on their own, you can introduce them. I piled mine into a shallow bowl, drizzled more olive oil on top, and ate it with toast and some anchovies on the side. But a jammy egg, or a smear of goat cheese, would also be excellent. Or eat it by itself, because it really doesn’t need embellishment.
This is part of a weekday series in which Melissa Clark teaches you how to cook with pantry staples. (Other recipes in the series: Coconut macaroons. Matzo brei. Green goddess dip. Garlicky braised greens. Pasta carbonara. Cornmeal poundcake. Root vegetables with chickpeas and yogurt. Cheesy shakshuka. Sardine-celery salad. Brothy lentils and rice. Flaky biscuits. Tahini omelet. Cold peanut noodles. Crunchy pantry popcorn. Vegetarian skillet chili. Dried beans. Baked oats. Canned tuna pasta. Any-vegetable soup. Pantry crumb cake.)
