Abendtisch am Sonntag (Sunday Paleo Cold Plate)

Paleo living 2 Minutes

Fantasy is key to enjoying food, or any part of “life” in my experience. Fall has quickly descended on Chicago, gossiping its arrival via earlier sunsets, subtle digit-numbing rides, and grayer skies. Today I went for a ride in baselayer, gloves, and VFF socks (toe socks), and I imagined myself at an inn alongside the road. I ordered a side salad and cold plate with house tarragon/aioli mayonnaise, which I paired with a lager and double IPA respectively. As I am also the cook, I designed this to be super-simple, and scalable. Dial into this cooking magic!

meditt-sideMediterranean Salad

  • 1/4 cup cucumber
  • 1/2 cup tomato
  • 1/2 cup celery
  • 1/2 cup thin onion crescents
  • handful black olives
  • Oregano, basil, RWV, sea salt, EVOO

Put the dried herbs in vinegar with salt while you chop the rest of the salad; that enables the herbs to bloom. Add the other ingredients as you chop them, and the EVOO last. Let the salad marinate while you prepare the pièce de résistance.

I had this with a light but piquant lager.

roast-mayoCold Roast Beef Plate

  • Roast beef, medium rare, previously cooked; also substitute roast pork or chicken.
  • “Golden” potato medium-sized, sliced 1/8″, sautéed in EVOO on medium fire with sea salt added until just turning crispy.
  • Halve Brussels sprouts, and sauté in EVOO on medium fire for 5-7 minutes, covered. Then add two TBSP water and steam until dry. Kill the fire and uncover. When the pan cools, add 1 tbsp WWV and 1/2 tsp dill along with one clove roasted garlic. Crush it, and toss all the sprouts in the mixture. Salt to taste.
  • Tarragon-aioli mayonnaise: put 1 tbsp WWV in a heavy bowl along with 1/2 tsp tarragon. Let bloom 5-10 minutes. Add one raw egg yolk to the vinegar, and whisk briskly until it starts to foam. As you whisk, add oil (I use sunflower) in a very slow trickle while you whisk steadily. You will feel the sauce (mayonnaise is a sauce) start to thicken, and you can add the oil faster now. One yolk can make about 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, but you can push it by adding a little more vinegar. Then add two cloves roasted garlic to the side of the bowl, and smash and smear with your finger. Work it into the sauce with the whisk. Allow to infuse at least 30 minutes.
  • I paired this with a double IPA, but a nice ale would work, too.

The Wrap

As we had a beautiful sunset over Lake Michigan, I took a table by the window, but this Abendtisch would be right at home next to a roaring fire as well, although that might demand a brandy afterwards ;^).

This is a very light supper, but also satisfying and nutritious. Having a roast in the fridge is the gift that keeps on giving as you can have it cold or hot. Happy fall!

Published by csrollyson

My work studying and working with people leads me to think about people and life in unusual ways. I do many kinds of work, but all of them serve my mission of helping organizations relate to people better: As a technical writer, I create accurate yet empathic aids for users; as a service designer, I build business processes that empower people; as ethnographic researcher, I help my clients understand people and their groups; as a business consultant, I help clients change their firms for the better. I've learned that organizations that trust people and treat people based on trust are more successful.

Published

4 thoughts on “Abendtisch am Sonntag (Sunday Paleo Cold Plate)”

  1. Every little paring slice and morsel of this salad seems to have fallen in just the right place, even though it must have had a “little” help, no?

    I have a lot of extra olive oil and eggs and could really go for some crunchy fresh vegetables burstingbwith colour like that. Maybe this’ll be the next thing I make. (Haven’t forgotten about trying my arm at fresh mayonnaise when the jar in fridge runs out.)

    Of all the beautiful cooking entries to catch up on, what made me stop and finally comment on this one tonight is THAT BLUE contrasting with and framing the lovely salad. Every time I pass it, it calls to me. I need some of it in my daily life; in my new home.

    Do you happen to know the name of that particular hue?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hmm, well, I think of it as “Greek blue,” but that won’t help you. Here’s an idea for you:

      Screenshot the pic
      Open in Paint (windows) or Keynote (mac), and use the eyedropper to select the colour
      Note its RGB, HSB, or Hex values
      Use a site like RGB to Hex to convert as needed

      This will help you use the colour to get what you want. I bought these plates for a song at a fantastic Chicago retail shop called Lost Eras.

      I hope this helps!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Very nice variety of textures in this salad. They’re amusing my bouche. ;-)
    Very tasty and fresh and simple and pretty.

    Nice to learn about how to “bloom” dried herbs before adding oil to a vinaigrette. Makes so much sense, chemically, but I’d not have arrived at it without being taught. — Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.