This is a blind stab at recreating the show-stopping salad served at Heenat Salma Farm last month during the yoga/Pilates day retreat I went to.
It’s not perfect – by far – and I meant to “fix” the issues the original had (too sweet dressing – needed acid and/or heat), but I’m not sure this hit the mark. It’s been like a month since I’ve tasted the original, and all those ingredients were organic farm fresh – so I did what I could.
This rendition is fantastic. Not the same as the other, but definitely craveable.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Heenat Salad
2 nectarines, chopped
8 dates, seeded and chopped
200g feta (I used vegan feta from Sheese), cubed
~2c kale, chopped
~4c red lettuce, chopped
~1/4c red onion, sliced into wafer thin moons
~1/2c walnuts, chopped
~1/2c (roughly 20) black olives, chopped
~1/4c cilantro, chopped
Dressing:
3Tbsp date syrup
2tsp cardamom (ground)
3Tbsp lime juice
6Tbsp olive oil
1tsp smoked paprika
Salt & pepper
Whisk dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add all the salad ingredients (minus the feta) and massage in. Add the feta, generous salt & pepper and toss to combine.
Miso. Butter. Is. Amazing. I don’t know why the combo never occurred to me, but when I scrolled past the mere mention somewhere out there on the Internets, I was intrigued.
I’m glad I followed that particular tangent, because I would happily slather this stuff on pretty much anything (including toast).
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan if you swap for vegan butter
Pictured here with sweet potato fries, which is also a good call
Miso Butter Bowl
miso butter:
3 Tbsp. your favorite butter, softened
2 Tbsp. white miso
A big hand full of minced scallion whites
Mush the above into a compound butter.
bowl:
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Your favorite seasoning (I used Tony’s Cajun)
toppers:
Roast chickpeas (to make: drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, spread out in a single layer on a prepared sheet and bake at 400F for 20-30 mins or until your desired level of crisp and brownness has been reached. Toss with a Tablespoon of oil and a liberal amount of your favorite seasoning – I used more of that Tony’s)
The greens from your scallions
Sesame seeds
This would also be great with a good cashew cheese, but I did not have any on hand
To assemble, sauté the zucchini, corn, onion and garlic in a teaspoon of oil until your desired level of brownness has been reached. Season with salt, pepper and your seasoning. Add the miso butter and let go another minute or two.
Add the veggies into a bowl, and top with your extras.
This green sauce makes a fantastic all-around dressing to keep on hand as a meat seasoning, salad dressing, dip, and little add-in to something like a nice grain bowl for a flavor punch.
A note on spice: I used 1 Tbsp. Fiery Fool hot sauce. This stuff is hot, and it made my sauce nice and spicy. I lean toward spice so I would totally suggest going in that direction. If you do not, a de-seeded jalapeño would be fine.
gluten-free, paleo, pescatarian
Great Green Sauce Salad
Sauce
10 cloves garlic
4 scallions (reserve 2 + 2 of the dark green parts for the salad body)
1/4 c. cilantro
1 Tbsp. your favorite pretty dang hot hot sauce (see head note)
1 Tbsp. vinegar (I used black vinegar)
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. sweetener (I used brown sugar)
1/3 c. olive oil
Salad
10 radishes, sliced into thin moons
3 – 4 small cucumbers, sliced into thin moons
2 scallions (whole), sliced thin + 2 green parts of scallions, also sliced thin
1/2 c. snap peas, sliced thin on the bias
1 jalapeño
5 – 10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Optional: Chicken that’s been marinated and sauteed in some sauce
Topper: Finishing salt & fresh cracked black pepper
To make the dressing, blitz all the sauce ingredients, incorporating the oil in a steady stream to make an emulsification. Set aside.
Assemble the salad by tossing all salad ingredients together. Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of the sauce to dress and top with some finishing salt & freshly cracked black pepper before serving.
Serves 2 for dinner beefed up with a protein (I had mine with leftover chicken, but steak bites, salmon or tofu chunks would also be great)
I don’t know about you, but it’s boiling hot where I live – aaaaand I ate so much on my vacation to the States that pretty much all I want is a crisp, refreshing salad. With no lettuce, because it’s not my favorite way to do salad.
This recipe is a riff on a Vietnamese version I read in a magazine on the plane – if I remember correctly, that version had less in the way of heat and less in the way of vinegar. I had leftovers of this salad for days (yay, a salad that gets even better as it ages) and liked the days I remembered to add a little extra lime juice kick the most.
gluten-free (check your labels), paleo, pescatarian, low carb
Tomato Salad Goes To Asia
1/4 c. sugar (I used brown)
1/4 c. fish sauce
1/4 c. lime juice + more for serving
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
Big pinch red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)
Generous bit freshly cracked pepper
500g cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced into thin moons
3 small or 1 large cucumber, sliced into thin moons
1 long pepper (your fav variety – I used something red akin to a Cubanele)
2 c. mixed herbs (I used cilantro, mint & dill)
Toppers: Roasted, salted peanuts, French fried onions, green onion slices, finishing salt, extra squeeze lime juice, extra cracks black pepper
Combine all ingredients listed before the tomatoes in a jar and shake until we’ll combined and the sugar has dissolved.
Chuck the rest of the non-topper ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing.
Serve with your desired toppers and enjoy for a few meals.
This is a great riff on a classic Middle Eastern sauce (kinda like the ME version of chimichurri) with a nice, light salad.
This sauce can also be used as a meat marinade, as a topper for crispy potatoes, as a sauce in a sandwich, mixed with zucchini, avocado & peas in pasta, and as a mix-in for rice. I’m sure there are 999999 other ways to use it, but I ran out before I could try more. Which I will. I suspect this would be bomb with a Kewpie mayo egg salad sandwich.
I think next time I make this sauce, I’ll use a mortar & pestle instead of a blender – my favorite version from a local restaurant has a thicker mince and even punchier garlic.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo, low-carb
Cucumber Salad with Zhoug Sauce
Zhoug
6 cloves garlic
3 jalapeños (or a mix of jalapeños and other peppers – seed if you need to)
1 cup flat leaf parsley
1 cup cilantro
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
Pinch cayenne
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
Pinch sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 c. olive oil
Blend to combine in your food processor or blender until your desired consistency is reached.
Salad
2-3 small cucumbers or 1 large English cucumber, sliced thinly or diced
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. fresh dill, chopped
1 small red onion, sliced wafer thin
Generous amount flake salt & black pepper
1/2 c. zhoug sauce
Combine and let sit 1/2 an hour or more to let the flavors meld.
Serves a few as a simple side with a protein. Would also make a fantastic bbq side in place of a Southern-style cucumber salad.
This recipe started off as a way to use up some fresh dill that wasn’t my favorite egg salad and somehow ended up morphing into a riff of an old Summer family favorite: seafood salad. Which I can’t believe I haven’t shared a recipe with y’all for yet. I c-r-a-v-e it every tomato season.
The original (to my family at least) salad included Krab, shrimp, hard boiled eggs & lots of mayo. Sometimes, depending upon which Aunt got a wild hair, chopped up bits of lettuce. Which is weird, but good.
Anyways. I gave myself an aversion to fake crab my first Summer out of high school (reminder, kids: check your expiration dates), so that was out. I swapped with flaked salmon but kept the shrimp in this version; I also sadly forgot the egg until I was eating trying to figure out what was missing. I was also wanting a little more mustard punch, so adjust yours as necessary.
And a note on seasoning: I happen to love this salad with way too much pepper and salt, because that’s how my family usually served it. This recipe includes a normal amount of each (depending on how HAM you go with the cracked pepper); I had to go back twice for more after the salad hit the fridge.
gluten-free, pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan with substitutions
Avocado Dill Pasta Salad
Dressing:
1 avocado (mine was small and I could have gone for more)
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. water
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Salad:
4 – 6 cups pasta of choice (I used rice spirals)
15 cherry tomatoes
1 smallish cucumber (about 2/3 cup chopped)
1 smallish bell pepper (about 1 cup chopped)
2 – 4 stalks celery (about 3/4 cup chopped)
1/2 shallot, minced
2 scallions, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. celery seed (if using celery salt instead, you may not need to salt the salad – taste, taste, taste)
Loads of fresh cracked black pepper
Salt
Shrimp (I used 13 medium), peeled, cooked & chopped (optional)
Krab, crab or salmon (also optional)
2 – 3 Tbsp. your favorite mayo (optional)
Start you pasta boiling according to package directions, taking care to salt the water. When almost done, chuck your shrimp in to cook. Drain and set aside.
Pull the shrimp and chop. Add to a large bowl.
Chop the cucumber, bell pepper, celery, scallion and parsley. Add to the big bowl.
Mince the shallot and add. Halve the tomatoes and add those too. Add the celery seed.
In a blender or food processor, blitz all dressing ingredients until smooth. If you want your dressing a little runny, add more water until desired consistency is reached. Mine turned out a bit thick, which I liked, but I ended up adding 2 – 3 Tbsp. Kewpie mayo to the salad to loosen it a bit.
Add the cooled-ish pasta and dressing to the bowl. Mix well to combine. Hit with a bunch of pepper. Taste. Add more salt, lemon juice or some mayo to finish off.
Stash in the fridge for a bit to chill and let the flavors get acquainted.
This is no exception to that rule. This salad is about as light as one would expect, but works well. I worried that the zucchini wouldn’t be great, but it was; even raw. The key here is to peel it into ribbons. I used my regular vegetable peeler. My ribbons weren’t even, but they were delicious.
So much so, I can’t really say this is more than a 1-person meal. I mean, sure, you can feed 2 if you want to throw a main in, but I managed to knock it out in a second helping at lunch.
If you can’t find the Kewpie dressing, a nice sesame would be good. So would my love pomegranate molasses. Balsamic would also work really well. Grapefruit would play nicely.
I had also meant to grab some good vegan Feta for this salad but forgot. It would be nice and would definitely help fill this out to more of a meal, but wasn’t necessary.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo
Shaved Zucchini + Stone Fruit Salad
1 large zucchini, ribboned thinly
1/2 shallot, minced
1 plum, chopped
3Tbsp. Kewpie no-oil Yuzu dressing
1Tbsp. your favorite neutral oil
2Tbsp. smoked almonds, chopped
1.5tsp. fresh thyme
1/4c. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2tsp. red chili flakes
Ribbon the zucchini thinly and add to a large bowl.
I tossed any ribbons that were purely peel to the pups, and stopped when I hit all-seed strips. A bit is wasted here, but can be easily chopped and chucked in a pan for a quick little pop of veggie later in the week. I ended up using mine in a breakfast zucchini & fried egg rice with browned butter and snipped chives.
Mince the shallot, de-stem the thyme, and chop both the parsley and plum. Add to the bowl.
Add the red chili flakes, along with the dressing and oil. I’d start with 2 Tbsp. dressing, toss, and see if it needs more. Hit with a few grinds salt and pepper.
When it’s time to plate, add the chopped almonds and toss quickly so they don’t go soggy.
Serves 1 – 2 for lunch depending upon what all else you have going on
This recipe came out of a craving for veggies and color + yet another scroll through Instagram for inspiration.
Summer rolls can be made a million different ways, but this version incorporates most of my favorite elements – some sort of crunchy brassica, sweetness from carrots, the fresh crispness of cucumber, and a little kick of heat from pretty red chilis.
I also tried to recreate a slightly less suspect in color version of the sweet chili sauce often served with rolled appetizers – and then went a little heavier on the savory components because I really like to doctor my own sauces tableside.
Gluten-free, vegetarian
Summer Roll in a Bowl
The Salad
1 inch fresh ginger, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 medium carrot, shredded or cut into matchsticks
1 cucumber, sliced into half moons
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red chili, sliced into matchsticks
2 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
1.5 cups red cabbage, finely chopped
2 cups rice noodles, soaked in hot water 10 minutes to soften and drained
The Dressing
2 Tbsp. honey
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp. sriracha
3 Tbsp. neutral oil (I used canola)
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Toppers
Big hand full chopped nuts for crunch and fat (I had roasted peanuts)
Big hand full chopped cilantro
Protein of choice (Simple poached chicken or shrimp would be great)
Boil water, add the rice noodles to a big bowl, and pour the boiling water over the noodles, making sure they are fully submerged. Let sit while you prep the rest o fly the salad.
Prep the salad veggies and add to a large bowl.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad.
Drain the noodles and add to the salad + dressing, tossing to combine.
I know, I know – another weird-sounding recipe that turns out surprisingly good despite sounding wrong.
This is a great way to sneak in a liiiiiiiitle extra nutrition (not that this already packed salad needed more greens) on weeks when you feel like you haven’t seen a real vegetable (helloooo, adulting).
This salad also keeps well even dressed and, if you’re like me and enjoy confusing your friends, is easy enough to bulk up enough to serve a crowd.
1 Tablespoon your favorite grainy mustard (y’all know my affinity for Maille)
1 Tablespoon Apple cider vinegar (I accidentally added 1.5 and it would have been too pungent on day 1 – I didn’t get around to eating a big bowl of this until day 2, so the flavor had mellowed)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
10 grinds salt
Generous sprinkle black pepper
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
50 pumps sprayable oil (or a few glugs)
A little water if needed to get things moving in the blender
Combine the dressing with the salad and either toss well or massage in.
Another potluck, another veg (pescatarian)-friendly salad. The tastes are great here, but I would caution to know your audience – I saw a couple plates of beetroot floating around after all was said and done. I loved it, though, and so did my veggie-heavy friends!
If you can find them, add toasted unsweetened coconut shavings – I think they’d add a nice subtly sweet crunch here, but couldn’t find them anywhere. If you’re in the States, Trader Joes & Whole Foods usually carry them.
gluten-free, pescatarian, paleo
Summer Sunshine Salad
2 grapefruits, cut into supremes – reserve 2 Tbsp. of the juice for the dressing
1 kohlrabi, shredded (I ribboned, but this would have been better julienned like the beets)
400g prawns, sauteed and chopped in half
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
2 scallions, sliced
1 c. beetroot, julienned
2 c. red cabbage, ribboned
Hand full of mint, chopped
1 Tbsp. tamarind paste
1 Tbsp. lime juice
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper
Chuck all the non-wet ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk all the wet ingredients and pour over top. Toss again. Taste, hit with salt + pepper if needed.
If you have toasted coconut, top with that – pepitas would also be nice.
Gastography 