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This light and flavorful salad n dressing tastes very similar to major Japanese chain restaurants and pairs stupendously with Asian main dishes...

Prep: 15 Mins.
Servings: (6 to 8)

INGREDIENTS:

Dressing (Yields 1-1/2 cups):
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet white onion
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons ground ginger (or 2 tablespoons freshly grated)
2 tablespoons minced celery
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sandras Restaurant-Style Japanese Salad Dressing (Click for recipe)...

Salad:
1 bunch heart of romaine, sliced into 2-1/2" x 1/4" strips
1 carrot, shredded
3 celery ribs, thinly sliced on the diagonal


Garnish:
--Toasted sesame seeds

METHOD:

Add all dressing ingredients in order listed in blender.  Place lid on top, and blend on high speed for a minimum of 30 seconds, until dressing is smooth. Let dressing stand a minimum of 4 hours in refrigerator for flavors to meld before serving.

Add all salad ingredients to a medium glass bowl, and toss to combine. (I like to place the salad in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to ensure it is cold prior to serving.)

When preparing individual servings of salad, top each with a light drizzle of dressing and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. ~ Enjoy!

After using spinach leaves in various dishes (you can find some here) or boreks (and here), saving the stems for other dishes and  salads is very common. There are many ways of cooking with spinach stems and here I will be sharing the most common--and healthy, if you ask me--two ways of making salads. Leaves? I used them in a not-so-healthy way and made spinach mushroom etouffee, inspired by the menu of YATS restaurant in Indy!  


Salad #1 Spinach stem salad with olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic

spinach stems (use as many bunches or pounds as you wish or you have in hand)
olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
lemon juice or vinegar of your choice
salt

-Trim the stems so that they will remain intact.
-Wash the stems really really well.
-Steam stems in a basket over boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes until wilted but not soggy. Blanch in cold water. Rinse.
-Place them on a plate and sprinkle with minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, and salt. Dress to your taste



Salad #2 Spinach stem salad with yogurt

2 bunches of spinach stems (or use as many bunches or pounds as you wish or you have in hand)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1-2 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper

-Trim the stems so that they will remain intact.
-Wash the stems really really well.
-Steam stems in a basket over boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes until wilted but not soggy. Blanch in cold water. Rinse.
-In a broad pan heat olive oil.
-Add onion and garlic and stir until soft for ~5 minutes.
-Add steamed stems and stir until heated for 1-2 minutes.
-Add salt and pepper.
-Serve with a gallop of yogurt, or even better with garlicy yougurt (1 small clove of garlic minced well and mixed with yogurt) and a slice of crusty bread. Perfect lunch!

Update: Continuing from the JFI-Chillies round up, Id received an entry from Elizabeth of Blog from Our Kitchen (Toronto). Since her site was down during the round up I could not access it. She has sent in Ras el Hanout - North African spice mix especially good as a spice rub for grilled meats.

I love the Kesar variety of mangoes. If there was a competition between Kesar and Alphonso, I would actually vote for the Kesar. It is sweetness personified and the fruits are long and graceful (no wonder, it is called the Queen of Mangoes in India) , almost lady like as against the short-stocky Alphonso. I know, I could just be e-murdered for voicing out my opinions like this - but hey, this is my space.... ha ha!

This season, when I ate an exceptionally tasty fruit, the thought of sticking it in the mud and growing my own tree lead me into doing just that. And 3 weeks later, I saw the tiniest bit of green shoots coming out of the opened up seed and it was such joy to watch them grow.

I think the photo shows a mango plant which is about 2-3 months old. And boy, the leaves are just as big as you would find on a big mango tree. When our under-construction house is ready, I plan to take it there and let the tree blossom there. It is to be seen if the Gujarati mango finds itself at home, at some distance down South. Im not giving up hope anyway!

Gobo is a vegan restaurant in NYC, located in both West Village and Upper East Side. It is tough to get a place to sit on most days and once you are in, it is tough to get away from all the delicious, gorgeous food. You will be surprised that a vegan restaurant has such a roaring business, but it does!! I had the good luck to be there in one of our partying weekends from Rochester in upstate New York. NYC was a 5-6 hour drive and we had a good friend living in the heart of Manhattan. It was always fun, trying out new dive bars, new places to eat and just walking about the streets.

When I tried out this salad, it had such simple flavours and ingredients, that I had to re-create it at home. The original salad had loads of baby spinach, mango pieces, crispy onion slices and candied walnuts in a vinaigrette dressing. I replicated the same salad in a couple of weeks after we had visited Gobo, at a house party and the salad was a huge success. Since I dont find baby spinach in Bombay, I do it using just mangoes. With a fruit like that, I dare say, we really dont miss the spinach! In case you were wondering where Im getting mangoes in the midst of monsoons, it is from our tree in the Madras house. My father in law tells me they are a cross between a Banganapalli and some other variety, giving it quite a fibrous, very sweet flesh.

While I consider peeling the whole mango with one stroke (ie. the peel should not break off, giving one long peel in the end) as a fun challenge, that is not everyones idea of fun. Check Elises step-by-step demo on how to cut and peel a mango.

Chilled Mango Salad

Mango Salad
Category: Salad, summer food
Time taken: Under 15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced into bite sized pieces
Scrape the flesh upto the seed and reserve
Handful of almonds, roasted in microwave for 1-2 minutes till crisp

For dressing
1/2 - 1 tsp strong English Mustard (I used Colemans)
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp dried parsely
few turns of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of salt
scraped mango bits
Whisk all the above together with a fork and keep aside

Directions
Place the diced mangoes in a bowl.
Whisk the dressing well. Pour over the mangoes, toss till it evenly coats the mangoes.
Chop the toasted almonds into small pieces, each into 3-4 pieces and scatter over the salad just before serving. Serve chilled.

Notes
1. You can serve this salad on a bed of baby spinach or salad greens, and use candied walnuts / any other nuts instead of almonds.

2. This salad goes well with grilled food such as fish or chicken, cutting through the tastes with its sweet freshness. You can also serve this beside a biryani or if you are like me, you can eat it just like that.

Interesting reads

A Mango Medley - by Gowri Ramnarayan for The Hindu

On Mangoes & the love for Banganapalli

Tags: Indian mangoes, alphonso, kesar mango, mango salad, Gobo restaurant, vegan, Saffron Trail, Recipe, Food, Indian food blog, Healthy eating, Healthy living, Mumbai, India

As usual, a bit late here. I hope you can still find local broccoli. I was lucky enough to find some very big nice bunches at the local grocery last week. This has been an amazingly long fall, although it looks like its over now.

Anyway, this was a nice substantial salad. It should serve 4 to 6 people if it is the main part of the meal, or go quite a bit further as a side dish. It could also be easily cut in half if you prefered. Im calling for a carrot because I really meant to put one in, but somehow it got overlooked. I think it would have done the salad nothing but good.

4 to 12 servings
30 minutes prep time, not including cooking the chick peas


Make the Salad:
4 cups cooked chick peas
1/2 cup dried tomatoes
1/2 cup boiling water
2 large heads broccoli
1 medium carrot
1/4 of a red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
200 grams (1/2 pound) diced feta cheese
OR 200 grams (1/2 pound) bacon, diced and cooked

If you dont cook the chick peas yourself, you will need 2 tins. If you do cook the chick peas yourself, you will need about 1 1/3 cups of dry chickpeas, and to start cooking them the day before.

Put a kettle of water on to boil. Pour about half a cup of boiling water over the dried tomatoes, and put them aside to soak. Cut the broccoli heads from the stems and use the stems for some other purpose. Cut the florets into small pieces. Put them in a strainer, and pour boiling water slowly over them to blanch them. Rinse in cold water and drain well. Put them in a bowl with the drained chick peas.

Peel and grate the carrot, and add it to the bowl. Wash, trim and deseed the pepper, and dice it finely. Add it to the salad. Wash, drain and mince the parsley finely, and add it to the salad.

Finish by adding either the feta cheese, rinsed and diced, or the bacon, chopped and fried until crisp and drained.

Make the Dressing:
1/3 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
1/3 cup buttermilk
the juice of 1/3 lemon
1 teaspoon rubbed basil
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk together the above ingredients and add them to the salad. Toss well.

The amount of salt required will vary considerably, depending on whether you cooked the chick peas yourself or used tinned ones, and how salty the cheese or bacon is.

It just doesnt get better than this - this is a salad that I often crave...

Servings: (6)
Prep Time: 10 min |
Stand Time: 30 min

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

***Salad
· 1 hothouse cucumber, (unpeeled) cut in half, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
· 1 red bell pepper, large-diced
· 1 yellow bell pepper, large-diced
· 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
· 1/2 red onion, sliced in half, and julienned
· 2 TB crumbled feta cheese:
(Sprinkle cheese on top just before serving)
· 1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted and halved

***Vinaigrette
· 2 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 teaspoon dried oregano
· 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
· 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
· 1/2 cup good olive oil
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, olives and red onion in a medium bowl.

For the vinaigrette whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables.

Sprinkling feta on top (do not toss). Set aside for 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld at room temperature, and serve.

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A fine first course salad or accompaniment to any meal thats refreshing and superbly healthy...

Servings: (4)
Prep: 20 Mins.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS:

***Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
2 teaspoons dijon
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


***Salad:
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and stocks shaved, reserving tops
6 cups spring greens
8 slices prosciutto, cut into thin strips
1 box frozen baby peas, thawed
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

METHOD:

Prepare a large bowl of ice water, and set aside.

In a small non-reactive bowl (glass or ceramic), whisk together lemon juice, shallot, and dijon. Slowly drizzle in olive oil and whisk until vinaigrette is emulsified, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place asparagus on cutting board; hold tip and shave lengthwise along each stalk with a wide vegetable peeler. Place shavings and tops in boiling water and blanche for 2 minutes, then quickly remove and place in large bowl of ice water for 10 minutes, and drain. Blot with paper towel to remove excess water.

In a large salad bowl, toss greens, asparagus, baby peas, and mint, and then drizzle with vinaigrette. Place on four salad plates, and equally sprinkle them with prosciutto strips, and shaved Parmesan. – Enjoy!


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To pick a pear recipe for AFAM Pears, I tried food blog search, Epicurious, the USA pears website and finally settled on Food Networks simple salad recipe from Giadas treasure of recipes. As much as I was tempted on making a coffee cake, or muffins or pears poached in wine and served with ice cream, keeping in mind the summer attack in Bombay, an easy salad (easy on the waist) and that tastes good cold, was very much top of mind, which is what made me choose this.

I have written several times about my love for fruits in a salad. The give a sweetness and a change in texture that makes a salad even more satisfying. So heres another vegetable-fruit combo salad with an interesting vinaigrette. Curry powder in a vinaigrette? The French may turn their pretty noses at this one, but the taste is completely new and wonderful. If the world loves our curry, they will surely love this unusual flavour in a dressing!

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Shaved carrot and pear salad in curry vinaigrette
Time taken - Under 10 minutes
Serves 2
Adapted from Giada Laurentiss recipe.

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Ingredients and Directions

1 Red anjou pear, halved and sliced very thin (use any pears you have on hand)
2 large carrots, shaved with a vegetable peeler into ribbons
2 tbsp fresh parsley or 1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp pine nuts or walnuts or sunflower seeds

For dressing - whisk together

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder (sambhar powder in my case)
1 tbsp olive oil

Place the shaved carrots, sliced pears and parsley in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad, add nuts, toss and serve chilled


Other salads from the summer of 2007

Chilled mango salad
Yellow lentil and raw mango salad
Herby tomato salad with pine nuts and cheese
Fattoush
Cucumber sesame salad
Indian carrot peanut salad

And while humming I will survive I am sending this off to my dear friend Raaga who is hosting the event A Fruit a Month, started off by Maheshwari