Thai vegetable salad

Tags

Appetizers, bean sprouts, chinese cabbage, limes, lunch, napa cabbage, peanut butter, salad, starters, Thai, thai dressing, thai salad, vegetables, vegetarian

Crunchy, zingy, tasty and good for you too.  Now, how good is that?  Before lock-down, I had invited six friends over for a Thai style lunch.  I love Asian cooking but it is not something I often do.  A good friend of mine, Sally Sprinkle, had recently returned from a vacation in Thailand and had brought me back some spices and pastes and I was chomping at the bit to start experimenting with some new ideas. The main course was decided – that was the easy part- we would make a classic Shrimp Pad Thai and a Green Thai chicken curry with coconut rice.  But, what to serve as a starter?  I wanted something light and fresh and full of flavour and preferably vegetarian.  I tried out a few ideas and settled on a very simple vegetable salad which I tossed in a Thai dressing.  It hit the spot perfectly and was thoroughly enjoyed by all, so much so that there was not one peanut or bean sprout left on the serving platter.

If you wanted to serve this by itself you could simply add some cooked shrimp or chicken or even some chilled egg noodles.  If you do not want to add peanut butter to the dressing, simply leave it out and the tasty will still be as delicious, more citrusy but just as good.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

For the Salad

• 3 cups finely sliced Chinese or Savoy or Napa cabbage
• 1 cup sprouts
• 1 finely sliced green and/or red pepper
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves or arugula or both
• 1 finely sliced, seeded red chilli
• 1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise, gutted and thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded or finely sliced carrots (optional)
• 1 cup whole sugar snap peas or edamame beans (optional)
• 2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil, mint and cilantro

• For the Thai Peanut Dressing

  • ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (use unsweetened)
    
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
    
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
    
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 1 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely sliced or ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • Handful of fresh cilantro and basil, chopped

Handful of toasted cashew nuts and/or peanuts

Method:

Place all the fresh vegetables and herbs in a large bowl and toss to combine
In a small glass bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients and whisk well, this can be done using a sticker or immersion blender
Dress the salad with the dressing just before serving
Sprinkle on some toasted cashew nuts and/or peanuts
Bon Appetit!

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Butternut Soup

Tags

butternut, chestnuts, entree, potimarron, Soup, starters

I love this recipe. It is easy, delicious and can both be a soup for lunch or a fancy dinner party starter. I made it for my Thanksgiving meal and have done variations of it for the last few years. I served it to my neighbors a few weeks ago with a bit extra curry and cream, I added about 2 cups of cream to the pot before pureeing it. It was unctuous and creamy and almost a meal in itself. You might want to serve small portions if you add the large quantity of cream or risk your guests not eating much else for dinner. If you do not have potimarron or kuri squash, then use just butternut. I would then use 1 large or two smaller ones. Potimarron or kuri squash, as it is sometimes called, is a delicious squash that tastes like a mix of butternut and chestnuts. I serve this soup in a shallow soup plate with a circle of cream in the center and a small spoonful of chopped chestnuts on top on the cream. To make it even more special, sauté some cooked chestnuts in a little butter, season with salt and pepper and chopped fresh thyme or sage, and spoon a little over the crème fraîche. This soup can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days or frozen for about 2 months. Reheat gently before serving.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 butternut, peeled and cut into cubes
1 potimarron, peeled and cut into cubes
2 leeks, white parts only, sliced thinly
About 20 chestnuts (optional), cooked
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups chicken bouillon, preferably homemade
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of curry (optional)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Heavy cream

Preparation:

In a large dutch oven, melt the butter
Add the leeks and sauté for  4 minutes, until softened but not colored
Add the butternut, potimarron and 15 chestnuts
Stir and sauté for about one minute
Add the ginger, nutmeg, cumin and curry (if using)
Pour in the bouillon and bring to the boil
Cover and simmer until all the veggies are soft, 20 minutes
Season to taste
With an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the soup until smooth
Warm the cream slightly, in the microwave is fine, for 20 seconds
Ladle the soup into plates or bowls
Pour some cream into each plate as artistically as you wish for decoration
Chop up the remaining chestnuts and sprinkle in the center of each serving
Enjoy!