It’s the 2021 Red Carpet Menu for Oscar®!
For Minari, it’s Mintari!
It’s a Spring Garden Party kind of year! Our menu theme this year is perfect for these late April Academy Awards. I’m going for a “set it and forget it” table. This salad couldn’t be better for this.
Minari is so hopeful… and then not… then ends a bit beaten but newly hopeful. It’s a beautiful film.
So many dynamics… the family, the town, the circumstances, the farm. The relationship between the little boy and the grandmother really stands out. Her character is wonderful.
It seemed a natural to make the honorary dish for Minari a salad but what kind… I was at a loss until I learned what Minari is – Japanese Parsley! Groovy!
Fresh flat-leaf parsley is a great lead ingredient. When I looked back at the title, “mint” jumped out at me and I was on my way. Great! Mint and parsley salad… but with that start, I wasn’t really sure of what to add to really make a flavor punch.
That is when I happened to be chatting with my great friend, Linda Cherepow. She’s fabulous! All it took was for me to mention mint and parsley, and she immediately responded, “tabbouleh”. Bingo!!! I love tabbouleh so much. The idea of making my own version and applying it to this menu was pure perfection!
Being a big fan of quinoa, I opted to substitute it for the traditional tabbouleh ingredient, bulgur. Options, people… gotta have the options!
The best part about this salad is that you can make it way ahead of time and just pull it out of the fridge when you’re ready to enjoy it! Oh yeah. Delish, easy to make, and doesn’t require any timing pressure? That’s not only my favorite kind of dish, it’s what I strive for, especially when I am creating my Oscar menus!
It’s another fresh and bright course to this year’s menu. It’s light and has zing. It completes our savory selections… and now it’s on to desserts!
Happy Oscars!
Annette
