Category: salads

Zucchini Linguini and Pesto

zucchini linguini and pesto - trust in kim

This one’s a raw recipe, excellent for using zucchini that will be coming up in your garden soon. It’s fresh and delicious, and really easy to make.  I serve it cold, but you could cook the zucchini in a little olive oil if you prefer.

What you need:

a young zucchini

1/4 cup very lightly toasted pine nuts

3/4 – 1 cup basil

1/2 clove of garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (I use lactose-free l’Ancetre brand)

olive oil

salt

What you do:

1.  Toast your pine nuts very lightly; you still want them to be creamy when you puree them.

2. Place the pine nuts, basil,  and garlic and a bit of salt in the food processor and add as much olive oil  as you need to make it smooth.  Then add the parmesan and give it one last whirl.  Add a bit more olive oil if you think it needs to be a little thinner.  Taste it and see if you need to add a little more salt. (You could also do this with by hand with a mortar and pestle.) This recipe makes enough pesto that you can save it for a pasta recipe, or freeze some for later.

3. Julienne the zucchini.  I don’t use the very inner part of the zucchini because it doesn’t hold together very well, so I just peel the whole thing with my julienne tool (see photo below).

4. Arrange the julienned zucchini on a plate and top it with some pesto, and you’re ready to dig in!

julienne peeler - trust in kim

julienne tool from Kuhn Rikon

 

Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad

Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad - trust in kim

Having a strong affection for roasted cauliflower and Middle Eastern foods, I adore this recipe.  I love a salad that has enough going on that it could be a light lunch.  This one has nuts to give it a bit of protein, and the yummy sweetness of the pomegranate.  Once you’ve got your cauliflower roasted, it is quick to make.  I kept it as leftovers for my lunch, but added the hazelnuts just before I ate it so they would retain their crunch.

The recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook – love this book! I was wary of the cinnamon and allspice, but I put them in anyways and the salad was delicious.

What you need:

1 head cauliflower, cut in florets

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 stalk celery, cut on an angle

5 tablespoons hazelnuts with skins on

1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 of a pomegranate

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 & 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Heat the oven to 425F, then mix the cauliflower florets with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and some pepper.  Spread on a roasting pan and roast in the top of the oven for 25-35 minutes. The cauliflower should have crispy edges and some if it should have turned brown. When it’s done, put the cauliflower in a large bowl and let it cool down.

2. Lower the oven temperature to 325F and roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for 17 minutes. Let the nuts cool a little and then chop them coarsely.

3. Add the parsley and pomegranate to the cauliflower.

4. Combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cinnamon, allspice, vinegar, maple syrup, and a little salt and pepper.  Combine, then pour over the salad.

5. I like to add the hazelnuts just before serving so they remain crunchy.  Serve at room temperature.

Portobello-Poached Egg

trust in kim - portobello-poached egg on salad

I had a spare portobello mushroom from a dinner I made last night, and I wanted to find  way to eat it on salad, so I made this up.  It is not a poached egg on top of a mushroom, but instead I cooked the egg right inside the mushroom cap.  I made it soft-cooked so the egg yolk would ooze all over the salad.  And it was good.  Really good.  I was even patting myself on the back as I was eating this one.

I served this one on top of this salad with Glory dressing, and it made my salad into a meal.

What you need:

1 large portobello mushroom

1 small egg

olive oil for the pan

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Remove the stem from the mushroom.

2. Heat a frying pan to medium, then add a little olive oil. Put the mushroom into the pan, hollow side down.

3. Flip the mushroom over after a few minutes, then let the mushroom cook for a few more minutes.  If the pan is getting dry, just splash in a little water and put a lid on it.

4. When the mushroom seems done, crack the egg into the hollow of the mushroom.  Put a little water in the pan, then put a lid on it and let it sit for a minute. Check it to see if the egg looks cooked, making sure the egg yolk stays runny, but the white is cooked.

5. Serve it right away on top of a green salad and grate on a little fresh salt and pepper.

You could serve it with a piece of bread to soak up some of the yolk and dressing.

Green Salad with Beets and Mango

trust in kim - green salad with beets and mango

Here’s a simple salad with some tasty toppings and the amazing Glory dressing.  Easy, light, and scrumptious!

What you need:

mixed salad greens

a beet, finely grated

a mango

Glory dressing

plus anything else you’d like; nuts would be great, maybe some toasted pumpkin seeds

What you do:

1. Make the dressing ahead of time.

2. Put lots of salad greens on each plate, then toss with a little dressing.

3. Grate the beet right onto the salad until it looks like enough

4. Cut some slices of mango and place them on top.  Enjoy!

Whitewater Glory Salad Dressing

trust in kim - glory dressing

Yum! A friend recommended the Whitewater cookbook to me, so while waiting to get it out of the library, I did a search online.  I found this salad dressing recipe and made it up for my salad tonight.  I love the creaminess of it, and recall tasting a dressing like it once before in a restaurant, but couldn’t figure out how to replicate it.  I know that not everyone has nutritional yeast sitting around, but if you buy it you can also put it on popcorn (recipe to come!)

I find making salad dressing to be so easy, even one like this that requires a blender.  I like knowing exactly what is in the dressing, and I can add more or less of some ingredients if I want.  It always tastes better than the store-bought ones, doesn’t have preservatives in it,  and is way cheaper.

What you need (for a half recipe):

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon tahini

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

What you do:

1. Put all the ingredients except the oil into a blender and give it a good mix.  I used an immersion blender, so feel free to do the same.

2. In a steady slow stream, add the oil until it is all blended in.

Ready to go, although it’s great if you can let it sit a bit, or keep it in the fridge overnight.  A jar of it should last a few weeks in the fridge.

 

Another Beautiful Veggie Platter

 

I’ve posted once before about making a veggie platter, but I thought I’d do another, since this one features an idea from my friend I-Wen, her pepper bowls.  You just cut the tops off of some bell peppers and use them for bowls for the dip and other veggies.  This one also has some edible flowers on it; they look pretty, but I tasted them just to see what they were like, and I can’t say I thought they tasted very good.  But they are safe to put on your platter, in case anyone does want to try them.

What you need:

several large bell peppers, in a variety of colours, preferably with flatter bottoms so they can stand)

assorted veggies, such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and more peppers (I never buy the pre-cut mini carrots because I find they don’t taste like much, and I’ve heard that they rinse them in bleach to keep them from turning white)

radishes with greens still on

edible flowers, such as chrysanthemum, violet, snapdragon, or marigold (I found a package at a produce store)

your favourite dip

a large platter

What you do:

1. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds.  If you need to, cut a little off the bottom of the peppers so they are level and can stand up.

2. Cut the other veggies and put some of them into the pepper bowls; I found carrot and pepper sticks work best for this.

3. Fill one of the peppers with your favourite dip, and put a small spoon in it for serving.

4. Arrange the veggies around the platter, and put a few flowers on top.  Keep some veggies on hand to refill the platter as parts of it get eaten up.

So pretty you almost don’t want to eat it!

Vietnamese Salad Rolls with Buckwheat Soba and Peanut Sauce

After a conversation with some Vietnamese friends about food, I suddenly had a craving for salad rolls.  They make a nice light meal, and they’re pretty easy to whip up.  I used buckwheat instead of rice noodles because I like them, and because I think they’re good for you. You can adapt the salad rolls in many ways, adding chicken or shrimp instead of tofu if you like. And if you really want to make it easy, forget about wrapping it, and serve it up in a bowl as a salad, with a little of the peanut sauce drizzled on top.

What you need:

buckwheat soba noodles, cooked and cooled

carrot, julienned

cucumber, julienned

puffed or smoked tofu, sliced

spinach or lettuce

cilantro

spring onion (optional)

rice paper wraps

For the peanut sauce:

1/4 cup unsweetened peanut butter

1 & 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

1 & 1/2 teaspoons grated ginger (I keep it in the freezer so it grates easily)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons honey

a little hot sauce or chili flakes

2-4 tablespoons water to thin it down to the consistency you like

What you do:

1. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, then run them under cold water and let them cool down.

2. To make the sauce, combine the peanut butter with the soy sauce, then add the rest of the ingredients, mixing it up until there are no lumps of peanut butter left.

3. Have all the filling ingredients ready to go before getting the rice wrappers ready.  To prepare the wraps, just put some hot water in a shallow dish, and let the rice paper sit in the water for about 10 seconds.  When it is pliable, remove it carefully from the water and place it on your working surface.  Place some spinach/salad in a strip down the middle, then add the rest of your fillings.  Don’t use too much filling or you won’t have an easy time closing it up.

4. To wrap, fold the bottom edge up a little, then fold one side of the wrap over the filling.  Now roll it up.

5. Serve it up with the peanut sauce, and you’ve got a great meal or appetizer.

Grilled Chicken Salad

Here’s another Mother’s Day recipe – I made this grilled chicken salad with a vinaigrette dressing, mango, and pita and tzatziki on the side.  The salad makes a nice light and tasty meal.

I watched this TED talk by a young girl named Lauren Hodge who speaks about her research on reducing the carcinogenic effects of grilling.  She says that you can reduce the carcinogens by up to 90% in grilled chicken simply by marinating it in lemon juice.  Great information, and inspiring to hear someone so young being so dedicated to research.  A helpful and tasty tip – thanks Lauren!

What you need:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon sumac (available in middle eastern shops)

2 tablespoons olive oil

What you do:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a shallow pan or ziplock bag.  Allow to marinate for 1/2 hour to a few hours.

2.  Grill the chicken for about 4-5 minutes per side, until no longer pink.  Be careful not to cook it too long.  This will not only dry it out, but also increases the carcinogens in the meat.

3.  While the chicken is grilling, prepare the salad with vinaigrette and mango on the side.

4.  Slice the chicken and arrange it on the salad.

Mango Quinoa Salad

Here’s a salad with a taste of summer.  Easy, yummy, and great picnic food!

What you need:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked in 1 cup water

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 mango, cut into chunks

1 jalapeno, deseeded and chopped finely (leave the seeds in if you love spicy food)

1/3 cup raisins

1 tomato, chopped

juice of 1 lime

a little chopped cilantro and/or parsley

What you do:

1.  To cook the quinoa, put it in a pot with 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil, then put a lid on it and lower the heat, cooking for 15 minutes.  Then remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.  Let the quinoa cool to use in the salad.

2.  Toss all the other ingredients together in a large bowl to let the flavours mingle, for at least half an hour.  By this time the quinoa may be cooled, and you can either serve the mango mixture on a bed of quinoa, or you can mix it all together.  Serve with a garnish of something green, like cilantro.

 

Korean Soba Noodle Salad

The public library is one of my favourite places to look for new recipes.  I recently signed out Robin Asbell’s Bio Vegan cookbook, and found this recipe.  It’s easy, healthy, filling and tasty.  I love most fruits, but I’m not a big fan of pears.  Asian pears, however, don’t have the same graininess that regular pears have, and when julienned they almost seem like pieces of apple.

Soba noodles are made from buckwheat, which is gluten-free and high in fibre, among many other health benefits that you can read about here.

The salad is served cold, so it made a great leftovers lunch at work the next day.  The pears can turn brown, so if you think you’re not going to eat it all the day you make it, you might want to leave some of the Asian pears out until serving.

What you need:

1/4 cup agave syrup

1 tablespoon sriracha or other hot sauce (or start with a little less and add more to your taste)

1 tablespoon dark miso paste

1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons toasted and ground sesame seeds

200 grams soba noodles, before cooking

1 medium cucumber, seeded and julienned

1 Asian pear, julienned

170 grams extra-firm silken tofu, cut into small cubes

What you do:

1.  Cook the soba noodles according to the directions on the package, drain and rinse with cold water.

2.  Whisk together the agave syrup, hot sauce, tamari, sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons on the sesame seeds.

3.  Combine the sauce with the cooled, well-drained noodles.

4.  Top it off with the cucumber, pear, tofu, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.