Rice Cake Toppings

Vanesa Georgieva Cold meals

Rice Cake Toppings

Game-changer: I stumbled on new-to-me THIN rice cakes the other day, and have been using them as the perfect, crunchy snack vehicle in the days since. Pictured are a handful of topping ideas.

rice cake toppings

I buy rice cakes (rice crackers) now and then, but they're not a regular purchase for me. I like to crumble them into certain salads, but beyond that, l generally pass. Until(!) last week when I was traveling, and I stumbled on thin rice cakes. Apologies if I'm exceptionally late to this party, but I had no ideas these existed! You get all the crunch and structure of a classic rice cake, without too much rice cake. They've become a fast favorite afternoon snack vehicle and I kept a list over the past week of favorite toppings. Round one is pictured below, and you can see how they come together in the video as well.

Video: Rice Cake Toppings

 

Also, if you're not a rice cake fan, you can certainly use all of these ideas on grilled bread, tortillas, lettuce wrap, or whatever!

4 Rice Cake Toppings

Topping 1: Smashed cannellini or corona beans, a few spoonfuls of my favorite tomato sauce, some roasted cherry tomatoes, pepitas, and a few rosemary flowers.

Topping 2: Smashed ripe avocado (or good guacamole), crumbled kale chips, micro greens or whatever sprouts you have, a bit of lime zest, nutritional yeast, and a thread of extra virgin olive oil. 

Topping 3: Please try this one, it's so good, and you can use the remaining saffron honey on everything from oatmeal to breakfast yogurt. It's a quick infused saffron honey (recipe below) drizzled over ricotta cheese, and finished with a bit of salt and chopped chives and/or chive blossoms. The sweet/savory is A+.

Topping 4: Turmeric hummus topped with mung beans, scallions, and a sprinkling of hemp seeds. A dab of feisty salsa is great on this one as well.


Apple Salad

Vanesa Georgieva Cold meals

Apple Salad

The sort of hearty apple salad I love. It has heirloom apples, shaved celery, and toasted nuts of your choosing. The dressing is creamy and spiked with rosemary, garlic and champagne vinegar.

apple salad picture

If you're looking for a simple apple salad, you're in the right place. There's a reasonable chance that you have the ingredients needed to make it sprinkled around your kitchen - on counter tops, or in the crisper. And if not, there are lots of ways to make substitutes. It's hearty and substantial, colorful and crunchy - made with heirloom apples, shaved celery, and toasted nuts of your choosing. The dressing is crème fraîche (or sour cream) spiked with rosemary, garlic and champagne vinegar. 

Apple Salad - All About the Crunch

This salad is big on crunch. And that alone is likely the reason it has become a fall favorite. There's crunch from crisp apples, celery, and nuts. Pair that with the creaminess in the dressing? It's a nice contrast. My main tip? Seek out crisp apples with good flavor. And pass on mealy apples.

Substitutions

Think of this recipe as more of a sketch than anything else. I used arugula because it's what I had on hand, but the baby gems at the market looked great and would have been a nice substitute. Same goes for the nuts. Toast whatever you have on hand - pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts. And on the dressing front, crème fraîche brings a beautiful luxe texture into the mix, but  you can certainly use sour cream or even yogurt, and whatever good-tasting white wine vinegar you like.

Slicing the Apples

Another variable you can experiment is the cut of the apple. You can see my preferred slices up above. They thick enough to retain some snap, and bite-sized. I like them sliced this way so you can get a bit of everything on a fork - some arugula, apple, nuts, etc. But if you really love apples, add more and slice them thicker. I also have it in my notes to do an apple salsa of sorts - with everything chopped smaller & a few serrano chiles chopped and added to the mix. For use on winter panini, and the like.

Apple Salad: The Dressing

The dressing is great on all sorts of things. Not just apple salad. It's decadent drizzled over roasted potatoes (or sweet potatoes!), as a finishing kiss for mushrooms, or as a slather on panini. I also love it drizzled over oven-roasted broccoli, or a medley of sheet-pan baked vegetables.

Your Apple Salad Ideas

Over the years you've left some great suggestions and variations in the comments. I'm going to highlight a few and also encourage you to let us know of any riffs on the recipe you enjoy in the future!

  • Amanda says, " I grated a half a celery root into the salad as well, which boosted the yummy celery flavor and added another texture. So good!"
  • Chase brilliantly swapped in pears, "I have made this salad 8 times in the last 10 days!!!! An instant favorite! Hazelnuts were the nut of choice and a pear/apple mix with some added Rosemary crostini crumbled in gives it a great crunch!!!"
  • Dana turned it into more of a main dish, "I added some cooked and cooled wheat berries to this salad and it was divine! Nutty crunch and great nutrition to bulk it up for a main course dinner."
  • Kara introduced a few ingredients, "“Hallelujah!” is what I thought when I bit into this salad today for lunch! I substituted baby broccoli for the celery, used walnuts, and some sliced Parmesan."