bar fausto's farro salad + do something nice!

I’m a relatively upbeat person but recently I’ve been feeling a bit low- external forces are largely to blame for my malaise. The Germans have a single word that captures this sort of emotional experience- weltschmerz - which loosely translates to feelings of melancholy and world-weariness, the result of how the physical world stands in contrast to how you imagine it can or should be.

I work from home and public radio provides a constant and steady voice in the background, which I had found comforting. Now I don’t know where the “Firefighters Rescue Cat Stuck in a Tree” kind-of-segments have gone, but they have been replaced by a constant stream of stories that highlight the very worst elements of human behavior. The line-up a few days ago was predominantly: xenophobic voices from the political sphere (both here and abroad), the Syrian Civil War, the unstoppable refugee crisis, the curtailment of constitutional guarantees in a handful of states… and Miami, being inundated with sea water, is staring to sink. It’s a tough world, but there have to be some narratives that highlight our best selves. So…Today I’d like to share a random act of kindness I witnessed while pulling out of a Trader Joe’s parking lot. It happened a few months ago, but it really touched me and I’d like to tell you what happened, so please indulge me.

Like I said, I was in the parking lot, about to turn onto Colorado Blvd. when I saw a woman (probably in her early 90s) driving a large car. There was a wheelchair icon on her license plate, her reverse lights were on, and she was waiting for an opportunity to pull out of her spot. Naturally I gave her the go-ahead gesture with my hand, because you have to be a real POS to hit the gas pedal in a situation like that…

Several minutes passed, and I was still waiting behind the woman’s car. It became clear to me that she was too scared to make the turn (there are 4 lanes of traffic in each direction at this particular intersection of the boulevard). Drivers behind me started honking their horns, some people started shouting out of their windows, and the whole area was quickly getting backlogged.

I put my car in park, but instead of going up to the elderly woman to see if she was okay (which I now regret), I went to the car behind me. I explained the situation and told that driver we should start making u-turns and back traffic out onto the side street, which she agreed was a good idea.

As I was getting back into my driver’s seat, I saw a burly muscular man (maybe 6’ 3” or 6’ 4” and I’m guessing ex-military from his appearance) walk up to the elderly woman’s car, at which point my heart started racing. I can’t explain my initial reaction, but I started to panic. Was he angry? Was he going to bash her window in? Shoot her? Maybe I’ve watched too many movies - like that Michael Douglas one where he looses it on the highway and goes “postal.”

Anyway, the ex-military guy gently tapped on the old woman’s window. She rolled it down and they spoke for about a minute. Then the man walked across Colorado Boulevard and stopped all four traffic lanes by putting his hands up and waving them above his head (it was really hard to miss him). The traffic came to a halt, a complete stand still. The man then turned in the direction of the elderly woman and gestured for her to start driving forward, and after a few seconds she made the turn and was on her way.

At that point, everyone in the parking lot started clapping and cheering and it wasn’t because we- who had been stuck in the lot for the better part of a ½ hour- were now free to exit. It was because we witnessed something we don’t see enough of: someone helping someone else, in this case a perfect stranger. Everyone in that parking lot witnessed a random act of kindness. And the incredible feeling from that morning’s event stuck with me all day. 

Which brings me to this salad…

A friend of mine had been having a tough time and we thought it would be helpful to provide her and her family with a bit of nourishment. We brought over a main dish, some wine, dessert and this salad. I know this small little act meant the world to her because she thanks me (profusely) every single time she sees me, and it’s been going on for weeks!

It’s not that I think I’m such a wonderful person because I do a few nice things, but I do understand how small acts can have a large impact because I was the recipient of this sort of generosity a few years back. During my father’s last year of life, it was the kindness of others that helped me through the worst parts of his illness and subsequent death. There were calls, letters, play date pick-ups, flowers, texts, emails, airport drives, and home cooked meals- nourishing food- for our family. Each of those small gestures meant something so much bigger to me. And now, helping where I can, is my way of paying it forward.

Where am I going with all this? Do something nice for a friend who needs it, or even a perfect stranger. Call up a new parent who seems overwhelmed and offer to give him or her a break. Share. Care. Volunteer. Be kind. Get out there! Do something! The world will be a better place for your efforts. And maybe, just maybe, your act of kindness will be so great that it will make the evening news and provide a nice contrast to those other stories broadcast on our airwaves.

xx,

B

Bar Fausto’s Amazing Farro Salad (Printed with permission)

Thank you Emily, of Bar Fausto, for generously sharing this recipe with me.

Serves 4 people
For Salad
2 cups cooked Farro
½ Cucumber medium diced
1 cup radishes sliced
1 medium carrot sliced
½ red onion sliced
¼ cup mint chopped
4 cups arugula
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and add ¼ cup (or desired amount) of Sunflower Golden Raisin Vinaigrette.

For Sunflower Golden Raisin Vinaigrette
Yields ½ Gallon Vinaigrette (This will last you a very long time! I halved the recipe below and it was more than enough, with plenty left over.)
2 cups Golden Raisins
2 cups Champagne Vinegar
2 cups Sunflower seeds
¼ cup Sugar
1 cup Lemon Juice
1 cup Shallots Brunoise
1 tablespoon Salt
½ Tablespoon Black Pepper
½ Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
6 cups Blended oil (I found my bottle Costco.)

In a blender, combine the golden raisins and champagne vinegar. Pulse until raisins chopped up into smaller pieces. Combine all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk to incorporate the flavors. (The vinaigrette will look “broken” and will not emulsify.”)

Store in a container and whisk again when ready to use.

The image (above) was generously provided by Lauren DiFillipo (@regretscoyote). You can see some of her work in Life & Thyme or on her website. Thank you, Lauren!

Food for Thought + Links:
George Saunders’ Convocation Speech
Project Angel Heart. Denver, Colorado.
Denver Rescue Mission
Jewish Family Service of Colorado

palm trees in LA + jerusalem's swiss chard with tahini, yogurt & buttered pine nuts

So here’s the thing about being a mother that's taken a bit of time to get used to: I’m very, very rarely alone. I’ve got two awesome boys who depend on me for pretty much everything, and as much as I love them, I was hitting a wall. I needed a break. Not a night off, but a true break—for a few days, at the very least. Thankfully, I had a little cache of frequent flier miles squirreled away, so I booked a round-trip ticket to Los Angeles. I was excited to go back to a city I haven't been to in years, and even more excited to see one of my closest friends who lives in L.A. with her wonderful girlfriend (and gifted cook). But before we get to Los Angeles, here's a little something that happened just before the trip…

* * *

The morning of my departure was anything but smooth. My husband and mother-in-law (visiting from NY) had taken Otis to school, and I was left with Theodore and my father-in-law in the house. My father-in-law, Dave, was quietly reading his book in the living room and Theodore was actively engaged in story telling with his new action figures. I saw this as a good opportunity to wash a load of laundry and tie up some loose ends for a work project. I would be taking the entire weekend off-- there'd be no work emails and I wasn’t bringing my computer, so I thought I should wrap things up before I left for the airport. This vacation was going to be all down-time…completely. 

Everything was going according to plan, well, right up until a pigeon  decided to fly down our chimney (no, they aren’t capped) and fly around the dining room for over 45 minutes- crashing into windows and excreting everywhere. PigeonGate was a total mess. I’ll spare you the rest of the details, but let’s just say I couldn’t wait to get to the airport...

The flight was a breeze and I landed in L.A. a few hours after departing Denver. I was feeling a bit hungry and an incredible meal was waiting for me at Min's house. There was  freshly baked challah, sweet potato gratin, charmoula tempeh, cucumber salad, and Meyer lemon pie. We made one more dish, a Swiss chard and tahini recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook (below), and dinner was on. We drank, we laughed, we ate, and after cleaning up we walked the dogs for well over an hour. Then I slept like a baby…

The rest of the weekend looked like this...

• I read the morning paper (leisurely) and noshed on homemade granola (another Ottolenghi recipe) with yogurt.

• We walked around historic Downtown L.A. and wandered through the Grand Central Market, where I got pupusas for $2.99 and a killer cappucinio from GB. We stocked up on DTLA cheese—and even purchased one with green chiles from Colorado's Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy!

• We stopped by The Last Bookstore (where I picked up a Martha Rose Shulman cookbook for $6.99), walked around the Old Banking District and then inadvertently wound up on the set of Glee. (How Los Angeles is that?!)

• We dined at Elf, an wonderful Echo Park spot that serves vegetarian food with Middle-eastern and North African flare. The dishes were flavorful and spicy-- it was my kind of food.  Then we checked out Mohawk Bend, a former theater-turned-bar with an awesome patio, just for a moment. 

• On Sunday we went to the Getty Museum.

• We made our way to the Pacific Ocean, and then strolled around Venice and Santa Monica. Having worked up an appetite, we stopped by Malo for a delicious Mexican dinner... 

• And we walked around Silver Lake...a lot.

Being back in Los Angeles was awesome, but the best part was spending time with someone I truly love and respect. As the years tick by, I’ve come to understand that not all my friendships will survive distance or time. There has to be effort on both ends of a relationship. There are lots ways to keep touch, but at the end of the day there is simply no substitute for seeing someone face-to-face. And I'm so glad I got a chance to reconnect.
I'm incredibly grateful that my husband is the kind of partner who supports my independence and acknowledges that we are two people who can't be (and shouldn't be) tethered to each other all the time. There is a value in having your own experiences, in addition to, and separate from, those you share with your family. I also think that my absence made my work in the home, and the things I do with our boys on a daily basis, even more valued and appreciated...or at least I'd like to think so!

Palm trees, friends, walks, art, the beach. Yeah, I could’ve stayed on for a few more days, but two little monkeys in Colorado needed me back home... 

* * * 

Thank you Min and Hil. You are gracious and wonderful in all sorts of ways.

Xo,

Bats

Swiss Chard with Tahini, Yogurt & Buttered Pine Nuts Adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Ingredients

2 3/4 pounds Swiss chard (I used two bags of Trader Joe's Kaleidoscope Chard and it was the right amount. I also used 2 large bunches of chard from Whole Foods and that worked too.)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish

5 tbsp pine nuts

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup white wine (I've made it with and without…)

Sweet paprika, to garnish (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tahini & Yogurt Sauce

3 1/2 tbsp tahini paste

4 1/2 tbsp Greek yogurt

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 tbsp water

Prepartaion

Start with the sauce: Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl, add a pinch of salt, and stir well with a small whisk until you get a smooth, semi-stiff paste. 

Separate the white chard stalks from the green leaves (using a sharp knife) and cut both into slices 3/4 inch wide. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add chard stalks. Simmer for 2 minutes, add leaves, and cook for another minute. Drain quickly and rinse well with cold water. Squeeze the excess water from the chard with your hands and allow the chard to dry completely.

Put half the butter and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the pine nuts and toss until golden (about 2 minutes). Remove the pine nuts from the pan (with a slotted spoon) and then throw in the garlic. If you're using wine, carefully pour in the wine. Leave for a minute or less, until it reduces to about one-third. Add the chard and the rest of the butter and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chard is completely warm. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and some black pepper, to taste.

Divide the chard into serving bowls and spoon some tahini sauce on top, and scatter the pine nuts. Finally, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika, if you like. 

ALTERNATIVELY: You can make the buttered pine nuts in a separate pan by gently toasting them in a little bit of butter or oil. Then heat 2 tablespoons of oil or butter on a medium flame and add the Swiss chard. Trader Joe's carries bags of Kaleidoscope Chard that is pre- chopped-- we used 2 bags- and added all of it (stems and leaves) into the pan, omitting boiling step. We sautéed the greens, stirring occasionally, and covered the pan till the leaves and stems were soft. Then we added the minced garlic and stirred for about a minute more. We decided to drink the wine instead of adding it to the dish (the first time I made this recipe). Then we added salt and pepper to taste. We removed the chard and placed it in a large serving bowl. Then we drizzled it with tahini sauce, pine nuts, olive oil and paprika. Enjoy!

cook the mag: bon appetit's beet salad with miso + black sesame

I’ve had a sweet tooth for as long as I can remember. It became more intense with my first pregnancy and by the time my second son came around, well, I couldn’t walk past a bakery without stopping in and buying something. I have self-restraint in some areas, but this is not one of them.

It’s been 2 ½ years since I gave birth to Theodore and I still have a pretty intense desire for a daily sugar hit…evidenced by the fact that almost everyone who works at a bakery, pastry shop, cupcake store, or donut plant near my home knows me by name. Within a minute of walking through the door I’ll hear “Oh hey, Batya. How was your trip?” or “Did that biscotti come out right?” or “Is Otis feeling better? I hope so…” and knowing that I’ve been looking for a good deal on a mid-century modern piece I’ll get asked, “Did you find that credenza for the dining room?” It’s possible that I’m a little bit too regular, a bit too familiar,  at some of the local establishments selling sweets.

That said, I can’t and I won’t give them up. But I am determined to get a bit more balance back into my diet. I cook a lot and there aren't a ton of preservatives in the foods I eat, but I've kind of lost my way a little bit. I feel more lethargic and sluggish than usual. Some of this I attribute to the exhaustion that comes with raising two young boys. Game of Thrones marathons that run well into the night don't help either (I need more sleep!). But I just haven't been eating right and that causes drag too. I know it, I really do. I'm keenly aware that when I eat well I feel better. So I've started picking up juices at a fabulous local place my friend introduced me to (and I joke that I'm "juicing"-- not in the hey-my-neck-is-gonna-disappear-athlete sort of way but in the cold-pressed-raw-vegetable-and-fruit sort of way) and I'm incorporating lots of super foods into my diet.

As I celebrated my 38^th year on this Earth, I made myself a promise that I’d add more salads to my repertoire and treat them as meals (which I rarely do) and if I really crave something sweet then I will walk to get it…but maybe only once a week. Two times, tops! For now, let there be salad...

Beet Salad with Miso + Black Sesame  (Courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine) 


Ingredients

         6 small beets (about 1 lb.), preferably golden, scrubbed, divided

         3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

         Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

         ¼ cup white miso

         2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

         1 bunch watercress, trimmed

         1 teaspoon black sesame seeds or toasted white sesame seeds

        

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place 4 beets on a large piece of foil and rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and close up foil around beets. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until tender. Bon Appetit says 30–40 minutes but mine took about 1 hour and 10 minutes (maybe because I used larger beets) until they were tender.

Unwrap beets and let cool slightly.  Peel and cut into ½” wedges.

Meanwhile, whisk miso, vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Set dressing aside.

Thinly slice remaining 2 raw beets on a mandoline. 

Arrange watercress and roasted and raw beets on a platter and drizzle with reserved dressing; top with sesame seeds.

Do Ahead: Beets can be roasted 2 days ahead. Cover separately and chill.

ottolenghi and tamimi's baby spinach salad with dates + almonds (or, the best salad ever)

I’ve always gravitated toward Middle-Eastern cooking. A lot of the region’s staples happen to be vegetarian and I’m familiar with the food, having lived and travelled throughout the area. Of course what really keeps me coming back to the recipes is the taste. 

When we lived in Brooklyn I was a regular at Tanoreen, perhaps one of the best restaurants in the city and worth the shlep to Bay Ridge on the R train. If you haven't been to Tanoreen, Rawia Bisharah's beloved and ever-popular restaurant, you're missing out on the most delicious Middle-Eastern (in this case Palestinian) food this side of the Atlantic. 

When I want to make Middle-Eastern food at home, since I no longer live within a train ride of Tanoreen, I grab Jerusalem. It has amazing recipes and mouth-watering photos. And on a personal note, I find the connection between Ottolenghi (who's from the Jewish part of Jerusalem) and Tamimi (who's from the Palestinian part of Jerusalem) to be a source of inspiration in a place where it’s sometimes hard to find areas of commonality, let alone a deep friendship.

I wanted to keep things a bit light last week, so when I spotted this recipe for Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds I knew it would be perfect. The ingredients are straightforward and I had everything on hand except sumac, which is a wonderful spice with a kind of tart flavor. So the sumac hunt began…

It was kind of disappointing. I told Otis and Theodore, "We're going on a special treasure hunt. Doesn't that sound like fun?" At first they looked excited, but after making three separate stops and coming up empty-handed they were loosing interest...fast. 

It was after 6 p.m. so the good spice shops in town were already closed. I picked up my phone and called another “specialty market” and was transferred to bulk. I asked, “Hey, do you guys have sumac at your Colfax location?” The lady on the other end said, “Hold on, I’ll check.” I was put on hold for about 10 minutes. Then a voice at the other end of the phone said, “You probably meant Turmeric. Yes we do.” Sigh. (If I wanted Turmeric I would have asked for it…)

As if coming out of a fog, I said to myself, “What on Earth are you doing? You know where to get really great Middle-Eastern food and spices. Get with it girl…” So we drove to Aurora (a suburb of Denver with a large immigrant community and awesome food), made our way to S. Parker road where Arash Market was waiting for us with open doors. And there it was, hanging on a wall surrounded by lots of other spices, a little packet of sumac.

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates + Almonds

(Courtesy of Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi) 

Yields 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

3 1/2 ounces dates (100 grams), preferably Medjool, pitted and quartered lengthwise (add more if you're so inclined)

Salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 grams)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 small pitas (about 3 1/2 ounces, or 100 grams), roughly torn into 1 1/2 -inch pieces

1/2 cup whole unsalted almonds (75 grams), coarsely chopped (I used slivered almonds and added them to the pan with the pita for about 1 minute.)

2 teaspoons sumac

1/2 teaspoon chile flakes

5 to 6 ounces baby spinach leaves (150 grams)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation

• ·      Put vinegar, onion and dates in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and mix well with your hands. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes, then drain any residual vinegar and discard. (It didn't have any residual liquid.)


• ·      Meanwhile, heat butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add pita and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring all the time, until pita is golden. Add almonds and continue cooking until pita is crunchy and browned and almonds are toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and mix in sumac, chile flakes and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside to cool.
• ·      When ready to serve, toss spinach leaves with pita mix in a large mixing bowl. Add dates and red onion, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the lemon juice and another pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

denver's chalk art festival + warm garbanzo bean salad with fennel, red onion & parsley + lettuce salad with with apples, pecans and yogurt dressing

When I was a kid, I used to love making hopscotch boards and checker boards with chalk on our sidewalk or in the backyard on our cement patio. I would play for hours, sometimes making more elaborate designs long after my friends had left and the fireflies had come out. There's something very sweet about seeing my own children making doodles on the sidewalk with chalk as well. And since they're big fans of making a mess (getting chalky) and art, I though they would love going back to the Denver Chalk Art Festival, which takes place annually- the first weekend in June- on Larimer Square in Denver.

We went last year and had a blast, and this year was no different. There were so many talented artists and creative ideas. I got a kick out of the Bob Ross piece in particular, but I think some of the, erm, younger viewers just thought it was just someone's grandpa with a paint brush. There was a really awesome Chuck Close portrait and some odes to Comic-Con, which was also in Denver over the weekend. 


There were lots of people at the festival, so taking "the perfect" shot wasn't always possible, but I think these pictures give you a sense of what it was like...
(And please pardon those line-and-ball shadows on some of the photos- they're from the string lights that hang from one side of Larimer street to the other.) 
Then we walked around the neighborhood. It was really crowded because the Colorado Rockies were also playing the LA Dodgers, and the stadium is only a few blocks away from where the festival was held. Busy, busy streets...(I love it.)

After the festival, we returned home. The boys took longer-than-usual naps, so I started working on a salad and a side dish for City Park Jazz - a free event that runs every Sunday throughout the summer.  Both of the recipes come from Family Table, a truly fantastic cookbook.

Notes on the salad: The original recipe calls for escarole, but I opted for lettuce that I grew in our garden (I know, right?! I still can't believe, we have a garden!). The yogurt dressing- with maple syrup and smoked paprika- was delicious. I didn't use all of it, so you could probably adjust the measurements.

Notes on the side dish: I'm *all* about the Aleppo pepper and this is one of my favorite side dishes to make right now. The recipe elevates the standard garbanzo bean (chick pea) quite a bit and it's spicy - so it compliments garden burgers perfectly. 

Enjoy! 
xo,
Batya

Lettuce & Apple Salad (Adapted ever-so-slightly from Family Table: Favorite Staff Meals from Our Restaurants to Your Home)

1 cup of pecans

For the dressing
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Approximately 1 small-medium head of lettuce (Bibb-Boston-Butter is a nice choice, though the original recipe uses 1 head escarole), coarsely chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2- 3/4 red onion, halved, thinly sliced
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint

Preparation
Spread the pecans in a large dry skillet and toast over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring and watching carefully so they do not burn. Transfer to a plate to cool.

To make the dressing: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Combine lettuce, apple, pecans, and onion in a large serving bowl. Toss with the dressing, sprinkle with mint, and serve.

 * * *

Warm Garbanzo Bean Salad with Fennel, Red Onion & Parsley (Adapted slightly from  Family Table: Staff Meals from Our Restaurants to Your Home)
Ingredients
2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
3 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 fresh sprigs of thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cut in half, cored, and thinly sliced 
1 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Drain and rinse beans and place them in a large saucepan. Cover with 12 cups of water (you could probably use less, but you're going to be adding a lot of salt, so don't use too little water either), add 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes) and the garlic. Bring to a low simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes-- until the beans are tender (not mushy!) and the flavors have been absorbed.
Remove the beans from the heat (don't drain yet!), add the salt and thyme and let stand for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, the remaining 1 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes), the smoked paprika, lemon juice, and vinegar. Whisking constantly, slowly add the oil. Add salt to taste if necessary.
In a large bowl, toss the fennel and the red onion with 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. 
Drain the beans and discard the thyme and garlic. Put the beans back in the pot and add the the fennel and onion mixture. Then, on very low heat, stir the beans, fennel and onion, until it is soft-- about 10 minutes or so, being careful not to burn the ingredients. (The original recipe doesn't call for this step, but I think the softer the onion and fennel the nicer the texture-- but if you like things more crunchy, you can skip this step.) Remove from heat and put in a large serving bowl. Stir in the parsley and toss with the remaining vinaigrette.
The salad can be made up to 1 day ahead, covered and refrigerated.
Serve warm or at room temperature. 
Enjoy!

Roasted Broccoli & Fennel Salad with Pickled Onion Vinaigrette, also from Family Table