Here’s another contribution from my friend Michele.
Eight or ten years ago I started buying these absolutely delicious medjool dates from Israel. They are fat, tender, and outrageously sweet. Can’t eat too many at a time. We mash these dates with crushed nuts to fill hamantaschen and thin mashed dates for dipping apple slices and hallah at Rosh Hashana. In November, while reading Jerusalem, A Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (Ten Speed Press, 2012), I came across a recipe for “Baby spinach salad with dates & almonds.” The photo shows red onion, bits of nuts, pita, and dates sprinkled over baby spinach. Inspired, I determined to have this salad “pre-plated” in front of each seat at my Thanksgiving table before the guests sat down.
My daughter, who’s not a big salad fan, objected. She’d rather a salad that she likes: how about tomatoes chopped with red onion and avocado? First objection: neither tomatoes nor avocado were in season in November. Ok, so avocados are never in season in NY state. And while we eat bushels of tomatoes when they are in season, I refuse to buy the pale colored crunchy things that pass for tomatoes the rest of the year. Second objection: I wanted to try the date salad. Yes, we could offer both, but then they would need to be in serving bowls and I really wanted the color on top of each dinner plate in advance.
The compromise: mixed greens (mesclun) lightly dressed with lemon juice and olive oil on each plate in advance and two bowls of “salad toppings:” (1) dates and red onion macerated in wine vinegar with toasted pecans and (2) tomatoes chopped with red onion and avocado, drizzled with lemon juice to deter browning.
The surprise: most people took both toppings, on either side of their plate of greens. Including my daughter.
Moral: All in season is better, but sometimes you just have to compromise!
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