Her work also has been published in The Boston Globe,, and Travel + Leisure, and she has appeared on “The Martha Stewart Show,” “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” and Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares.” Previously, Traverso was food editor at Boston Magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset Magazine.
Traverso is collaborating with co-host, Emmy Award-winning TV travel host, explorer and author Richard Wiese.
In addition to working as Yankee Magazine’s senior food editor, Traverso is co-hosting a 13-episode public television series called “Weekends with Yankee,” which will launch nationally in the spring. Greens and mint leaves are tossed a citrusy dressing and topped with roasted beets and crisp, panko-crusted goat cheese rounds. Roasted beet salad with crispy goat cheese uses just a small number of ingredients to produce a delicious and filling meal. “You can make a bigger batch and eat it for a couple of days,” she said. Traverso noted that winter salads may take a bit more time and work than a summer salad, but they last longer in the fridge. “It was just delicious and it just feels like it cleans you out.” The salad had dandelion greens, a medium boiled egg that you crumble on top and vinaigrette with red wine vinegar, shallots and mustard. The Brookline, Mass., resident lived in California for a while and worked at Sunset magazine when she was introduced to a dandelion green salad. “I really like dandelion greens,” she added. “For me the perfect salad has something sweet, something tart, some kind of a nut, some kind of a cheese - a little not a lot, a feta or a goat cheese and a nice hearty green.” “I like a salad that has a sweet element,” Traverso said. “It has sort of a tropical flavor.” Once peeled, the pomelo’s membrane separates easily with the fruit. “One ingredient I love putting in salad is pomelo,” said Traverso, who described the fruit as grapefruit’s sweeter cousin. The fruit is layered on a bed of arugula with toasted pistachios for garnish. Traverso created a recipe for Apple, Pistachio, Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad.
If roasting vegetables sounds like too much work, choose fruit. Traverso suggests sautéing at a really high heat with salt, pepper and olive oil until they crisp and caramelize. “Parsnips are a totally underrated vegetable,” she said. Roasted vegetables - squash, carrots, parsnips and cauliflower are all possibilities, as are sauteed mushrooms. Then add another layer of flavor to your salad. Do you always make white quinoa? Try red or black. Quinoa, faro or tabbouleh could be used as the base of a salad. If you’re tired of greens, go with grains. Yankee Magazine staffers are fond of a nearby general store that serves a shaved collard green salad with hard Italian cheese and toasted almonds. Slice the collard greens or kale into thin ribbons or in the case of Brussels sprouts, shave with a mandoline.
Traverso said any greens that are traditionally roasted or cooked can be physically broken down. Or use collard greens or shaved Brussels sprouts. “Escarole is another green I like for salads,” Traverso said. Choose a dark, substantial green such as kale, Swiss chard or spinach. Just before serving, drizzle with lemon-oil dressing.
The chilled plates are sprinkle with pistachios and pomegranate seeds. Baby arugula is topped with equal portions of apples and persimmons.