I got my first CSA share of the season a week ago, and in addition to the other spring vegetables like snap peas and breakfast radishes, it came with an enormous head of red butter lettuce, an unwieldy bunch of kale, dandelion greens, and bags of spicy arugula and mixed salad greens. You will not be at all surprised to hear that we’ve been eating a lot of salads lately.
Thought I eat salads all year round, I think of this time of year as the true salad season, and as such, I like to outfit my fridge accordingly. I work up a few easy things that can enhance all those greens and make it simple to shake together tasty little batches of vinaigrettes.
This spring, I’m particularly digging these quick pickled apple matchsticks. The are bright, tangy, and crunchy. In combination with a tangle of greens, some soft goat cheese, a few toasted walnuts, and a drizzle of olive oil, they make an incredibly pleasing salad.
The nice folks from OXO recently sent me one of their new Chef’s Mandoline Slicers to try out and it makes slicing apples for this quick pickle such a pleasure. Unlike other mandolines, where you have to manually change out different blades in order to create matchsticks, you simply turn a knob to dial up the julienne blade. What’s more, the guard is designed to wrap around the piece of food that you’re slicing, making the whole slicing act feel safer than any other mandoline I’ve used.
The same knob that allows you to move the julienne tines into place also adjusts the thickness of the cut. This means that you can select thickness settings in 0.5-mm intervals, which is an unusual amount of control for a mandoline that is priced under $100 (this one sells for $79.99). You can also select straight and wavy blades, and a French fry blade. There’s not much in the slicing realm that this mandoline can’t do.
If you’re still making bread and butter pickles with your grandmother’s rusty wavy slicer, consider giving yourself an upgrade this year. Your pickles will be more consistent and will come together in record time!
Quick Pickled Apple Matchsticks
Ingredients
- 1 medium apple
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2-3 turns of a pepper grinder
Instructions
- Slice the apples into matchsticks and toss them with the vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. Use immediately or stash them in a jar and put them in the fridge. They'll keep well for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.
I can’t wait to try the apple slices, even though the heat has put a stop to my endless supply of lettuce and greens. I do have this mandoline, well almost. It is the older version that I got at Bed and Bath several years ago for about half the price. I was wondering why this one cost more and then started comparing the features. I would buy the newer version if I didn’t already have one because of the features. I always get mine out when pickling or making kraut or some other heavy duty job. Otherwise I use my little OXO hand-held version mandoline for small jobs…and I’m not kidding when I say I use it every day. Thanks Marisa for the apple recipe.
I have this mandoline – but I cannot get the handle thingy to hold any food. I use my mesh glove instead. It shreds my cabbage for sauerkraut wonderfully, and made thin, perfect zucchini slices for a mustardy quick pickle that I made ( Zuni Cafe’s Zucchini Pickles).