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!

Advertisement

Sweet potato and chickpea salad

Tags

chickpeas, garbanzo beans, salad, sweet potatoes, vegan, vegetarian, walnut oil, yams

One of my all time favourites.  Perfect for a lunch or as a side salad.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 medium sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 cup chickpeas/ garbanzo beans
dressing:
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
4 teaspoons walnut oil
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cilantro, fresh, roughly chopped
4 teaspoons sesame seeds or chopped walnuts

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 225 C / 450 F
Scrub the potato skins with a brush but do not peel
Make a few incisions in the potato
Sprinkle with cumin
Wrap individually in aluminum foil
Place in the oven and bake for 45 – 60 minutes
Remove and set aside to cool
dressing:
Whisk the mustard, walnut oil, olive oil, honey and lemon juice together
Season to taste
Add the chickpeas to the dressing
Crush the sweet potatoes with a fork and top with the chickpeas and dressing
Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds
Bon appetit!

Briam – Greek roasted vegetables

Tags

courgettes, greek, marrows, passata, potatoes, tomatoes, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, zucchini

 

This is a Greek summertime favorite recipe. Crispy and fluffy potatoes, sweet, flavourful aubergines and juicy courgettes garnished with fresh herbs form an amazing vegetarian dish full of Mediterranean flavours.  The vegetables are coated with olive oil, flavoured with sweet onions and garlic and then baked to perfection.  You can even serve it hot or cold.  This popular dish is traditionally eaten with feta, but it’s also delicious with pork or lamb. Simply delicious!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 150 ml / 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large aubergine , halved length-ways, then thickly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 600g / 1.3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm / 1/4″ -thick slices
• 6 medium tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 4 courgettes, sliced
• 300g / 10oz tomato passata (strained tomato sauce)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley , finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200°C /400°
Heat some olive oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened
In a large ovenproof dish spread the potatoes out in a single layer
Season with salt and pepper
Layer on the aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes
Add the onions and garlic
Pour the passata over the top, followed by the olive oil
Sprinkle with oregano and parsley and season generously with sea salt and ground black pepper
Cover the roasting tin tightly with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes
Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes or until the top has browned and vegetables are tender
Allow to cool slightly before serving
Enjoy!
If the vegetables have released a lot of juices, carefully pour them off into a wide pan and boil rapidly until nicely concentrated in flavour.

Pour back over the vegetables and leave to cool slightly before serving.