Edamame Salad Recipe

Here is another salad for you!  I hope you tried the panzanella salad at one of your latest BBQ’s.  I made it again for our 4^th of July Celebration! It went perfectly alongside our 16 lobsters while we ate alfresco in my parents back patio by the pool. 

On to the feature of today, Edamame Salad!  I am a huge edamame fan! They are one of my favorite snacks to enjoy while in the pods sprinkled with a little salt.  It is just fun food to eat.  My husband and I ate bowls full of salted edamame pods while relaxing at a poolside bar in Maui on our honeymoon. 

Edamame is perfect as a snack, but they also go well as a side dish warm or in a salad.  This salad allows the simplicity of the edamame bean to shine through while accompanied pecorino cheese, cannellini beans and garlic!  The snap of the edamame beans goes perfectly with the soft, smooth cannellini beans.  With only 8 ingredients, this salad is so simple to put together.  My sister and I love this salad, so I always make a little extra for leftovers. 

Edamame Salad Recipe

Adapted by Giada De Laurentiis

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped dried basil

4 cups (18 ounces) shelled edamame beans

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

5 ounces pecorino, cut into 1/4 -inch chunks

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

In a small, nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, but not brown, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil and set aside.

If your edamame beans are frozen, you will need to cook them before assembling the salad.  Boil 4 quarts of water seasoned with 1/4  teaspoon of salt.  Cook for 5 minutes until thawed through.  Pour into a strainer and run cold water over to increase the cooling time. 

Once the edamame beans are cooled, combine them with cannellini beans, cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a serving bowl. Add the garlic mixture and toss well until all the ingredients are coated.

Tips:

1)      There is no exact science to this salad.  If you want to add more pecorino cheese, you are more than welcome too! I am sure I usually use more than 5 ounces.

2)      The original recipe calls for less edamame beans, but I wanted to showcase them in the salad.

3)      Feel free to try different types of herbs.  If you want to try oregano, rosemary, thyme, go for it!

4)      As I mentioned above, this salad is great leftover! So if you have time, make it a day in advance for a party.  The flavors will meld together nicely.

5)      I buy my shelled edamame at Trader Joes in the frozen food aisle.  For this salad I use two bags.

Panko Crusted Haddock with Capers

After a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.  It is very convenient to just call in a take-out order, but if you are on a budget then this approach isn’t very practical every night of the week.  My husband and I came up with this easy way to prepare haddock that has tons of flavor and only calls for a few ingredients.  Because the fish doesn’t take long to cook, we like to create easy and quick side dishes to accompany our haddock.  Last night we served it with garlic sauteed edamame and parmesan couscous, delicious!

Panko Crusted Haddock with Capers

Serves 4
Preheat the oven to 350^o

1 ¾ pounds of haddock filets (skinned and boned)

1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil

1/3 cup panko crumbs

1 ½ tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon capers

Lay fish filets out flat (skin side down) on a glass baking dish.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Drizzle olive oil over the fish covering well so crust will stick to the fish.  Sprinkle panko crumbs and grated parmesan cheese over the haddock filets.  Next spread capers (with juice) over the fish.

Place in the oven for 15-17 minutes or until the fish is white and flaky.

Sauteed Edamame with Garlic

Serves 4

2 cups of frozen shelled edamame
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
salt
pepper

Heat olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.  Once oil is hot add garlic heating until fragrant, no more than 30 seconds.  Do not allow the garlic to turn brown.  Next add the edamame and saute in the garlic oil for about 7-9 minutes until heated through. 

Parmesan Couscous Recipe

Serves 4

1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 cup dry whole wheat couscous

Bring chicken stock, olive oil, minced garlic, salt and parmesan cheese to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan.  Once at a boil add couscous, stir and cover.  Remove the sauce pan from the heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes.  When ready to eat, fluff couscous with a fork and serve. 

Tips:

1)   When making this meal, I will start with preparing the fish and get that in the oven first.  Then I will start on the edamame and get that cooking on medium heat.  Next I add all of the ingredients together for the couscous and get it up to a boiling.  This will help with the flow of the preparation and allow everything to be finished cooking around the same time.   

2)   If your local market does not have haddock, no worries.  This also works great with cod and tilapia.