SOUTHWEST SUMMER SALAD WITH MANGO VINAIGRETTE

I travel a fair bit for work, and when I travel, I try to keep to my usual eating habits. Especially in places that I know will have excellent fresh vegan/vegetarian food. A few months ago I was in a small town in southern CA and I looked around for lunch spots. I found a cafe near my site which served only vegan food - I *had* to go! And I was hooked!! I ate there every single day of my trip, and I ate their version of this salad. It's *that* good! And so filling.

And the mango vinaigrette - let's just say I now have this dressing in the fridge *all* the time in case I suddenly crave it! You can really put any vegetables you wish on this salad... if you don't have jicama, use radishes. Toss on some roasted vegetables: cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, a whole jalapeño, etc. Add a bit of roasted chicken or a filet of salmon to make it heartier.

Garnish with parsley instead of cilantro, or coarsely chopped almonds instead of pumpkin seeds. So many ways to make this your own...

Southwest Summer Salad with Mango Vinaigrette

makes: 2 servings

- 1/2 cup diced tomato

- 1/2 cup diced cucumber

- 1 small jicama, peeled and cut into batons

- 1 avocado, halved

- 1/2 cup sliced red onion

- 2 tbsp. lime or lemon juice

- 2 tsp. sea salt

- 3 cups mixed salad greens

- 2 cups cooked quinoa (or rice, millet, or lentils), cooled

- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

- 2 tbsp. roasted pumpkin seeds

- 2 tbsp. currants or raisins

- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper

- 1 jalapeño, sliced

- 1 cup Mango Vinaigrette (recipe below)

1. In a bowl, combine tomato, cucumber, and red onion. Toss with lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.
2. Divide salad greens into two salad bowls or plates.
3. Top each with 1 cup of cooked quinoa/millet/rice. Arrange the tomato mixture, jicama, and an avocado half on the greens. Drizzle with 2-3 tbsp. of the vinaigrette. Garnish with the sliced jalapeño, cilantro, pumpkin seeds, currants/raisins, and cayenne pepper.
4. Serve additional dressing on the side.

Mango Vinaigrette

makes: approximately 1 cup

- 1 cup chopped fresh (or frozen) mango

- 1/2 cups safflower oil

- 1/8 cup maple syrup

- 1/4 cup lime juice

- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar (use lime juice if you don't have rice vinegar)

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

- 1/2 in. piece of fresh ginger, peeled

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
2. Store leftovers in the fridge.

ROASTED BEET SALAD, GARAM MASALA VINAIGRETTE

This is an easy and fantastic salad that can be a first course, appetizer, or a side for two people, or a main meal for one. I often have this over whatever greens I have at hand. Or sometimes with crostini. Or with more beets! Just joking.

To roast beets: wash the beets and put them in a preheated 400 F oven for 30 - 40 minutes. The beets are done when you can easily slide a knife into them. Allow to cool and slide the skins off. Trim, slice and serve. Or refrigerate whole for up to two days.

Roasted Beet Salad, Garam Masala Vinaigrette

makes: 2 servings

- 6 tbsp. olive oil 

- 1 tsp. garam masala (or any curry powder)

- 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

- 2 tsp. coarse salt 

- 1 tbsp. raisins 

- 3 medium beets, roasted, peeled, and sliced (see above)

- 2-3 tbsp. feta (or any soft goat cheese) (optional)

- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts (or 1 tbsp. toasted pine nuts) (optional)

1. In a small saucepan, heat 3 tbsp. olive oil with garam masala over medium-low heat until just heated through. Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Transfer to a food processor or blender jar along with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, raisins, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Blend till smooth.
3. Arrange beet slices in a plate and drizzle the dressing over them. Top with feta and serve at room temperature.

HERBED HONEY LIME SALAD DRESSING, GRILLED CORN CHOPPED SALAD

This is easily the best salad dressing I have ever made! And I've always made salad dressing myself, I never buy it. This dressing truly dresses up a salad, with clean ingredients and bright flavours! Best of all, it's quite a forgiving recipe so you can vary the quantities of ingredients however you prefer.

Although, I wouldn't do anything insane like adding parsley instead of mint or - heaven forbid - herbs like rosemary, sage, tarragon and all that. That would be nothing short of a travesty of this dressing!

If you're making the salad too: roasted corn is important in the salad. It rounds everything out with its smokiness. In corn season I buy a bunch of corn, roast it on my gas burner stove top, shave off the kernels, and freeze for use later. That is of course better than frozen store-bought roasted corn, but really, Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn is quite up to par. So definitely use that if you want or have to.

Herbed Honey-Lime Salad Dressing

Makes: approximately 12 oz.

- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/8 cup fresh juice from navel, tangerine, or mandarin oranges

- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly torn and including tender stems
- 1 cup fresh mint, roughly torn and including tender stems
- 1/2 jalapeño pepper

- 1 garlic clove, peeled

- 1 tsp good quality salt

- 1/4 cup or more water as needed to blend to a smooth, easily pourable, liquid consistency

1. Put everything in a blender or smoothie mixer and blend to a smooth consistency.

2. While still in the blender, taste the dressing and adjust flavours to your taste. Blend again to make sure it's all smooth.

3. Enjoy over salad leaves, roasted vegetables, raw vegetables, rice and raw vegetable salad, or a mixed chopped salad like below...

Grilled Corn Chopped Salad

Makes: a lot, or approximately 10 cups

1. Mix in a bowl small-medium sized dice of:

- 1 cup yellow or red onion

- 1 cup jicama

- 3 Persian cucumbers

- 1 cup capsicum of any colour

- 1 cup carrots

2. Add

- 1 cup celery, sliced not diced

- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

- 1 cup kernels from grilled corn (or use Trader Joe's frozen grilled corn)

3. Toss with three quarters of the salad dressing, adding more if required.

4. Enjoy on its own or as a salsa with tortilla chips! Or stuffed in a pita, as a soft taco with corn tortillas, with a bit of rice on the side, or filled in endive spears.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER PINE NUT AND POMEGRANATE SALAD

Adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. Without this book, your life has one less simple pleasure! The photos are splendid, the recipes are fantastic, and the book is quite an education on the Jewish and Muslim cuisines of Jerusalem.

Roasted Cauliflower Pine Nut and Pomegranate Salad

makes: 2-3 servings (as a side)

- 1 head cauliflower, broken into medium (2 in.) florets (1 lb or 1/2 kg total)
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large celery stalks, cut on the bias into 1/2 in. slices

- 1 medium white or red onion, cut into 1/4 in. sliced
- 5 tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
- 1/3 cup small flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (from about 1/2 medium pomegranate)
- generous 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- generous 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
- 1-1/2 tbsp. balsamic or sherry vinegar
- 1-1/2 tsp maple syrup or honey
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- a squeeze of lemon at the end

1. Preheat oven to 425 F/215 C.

2. Mix the cauliflower and sliced onions with 3 tbsp. of the olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and some black pepper.

3. Spread out in a roasting pan and roast on the middle oven rack for 20 - 25 minutes, until the cauliflower is semi-crisp and parts of it have turned golden brown.

4. The onions will be done in this time, regardless of how they look. Transfer the cauliflower and onions to a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool.

5. Put the pine nuts in a cast iron or steel pan and toast until they start to turn light brown. Turn off the heat and shake them in the pan - the hot pan will continue to toast them. Remove as soon as they smell fragrant and are a slightly darker brown. The only time pine nuts are evenly brown is when they're burnt... don't wait for this to happen! 

6. After the nuts are cooled a bit, mix with the roasted vegetables and the remaining oil and the rest of the ingredients. Stir and season with salt, pepper, and a bit of lemon juice to taste.

7. Serve at room temperature.

Notes:
1. I had a sprouted white onion and the greens looked beautiful. They are edible, so I cut off the part with the greens before slicing and roasting the rest of the onion.
2. I chopped the greens like chives and added to the salad with the rest of the ingredients.

GRAPEFRUIT AND RAW KALE SALAD WITH PUMPKIN SEEDS

Grapefruit and Raw Kale Salad with Pumpkin Seeds

makes: 2 servings

- 1 head of kale, torn or cut into strips/pieces, thick parts of stems discarded

- 1 large (2 medium) grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

- juice and zest of 1 lemon

- 1 tbsp. honey 

- 1 tbsp. olive oil

- freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- salt, to taste

- 2 tbsp. toasted pumpkin seeds (or sesame/sunflower seeds)

1. In a large bowl make the salad dressing: mix/whisk lemon juice and zest, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

2. Adjust seasonings to taste.

3. Add kale. 

4. Massage/rub the dressing into the kale for 2 minutes or until the kale feels softer. (It will.)

5. Let the massaged kale stand for 10 minutes at room temperature.

6. Add the grapefruit sections and mix in/toss lightly.

7. Top with pumpkin seeds and fresh pepper.

NOTES:

1. I use curly green or red/purple kale, not lacinato/dinosaur kale.

2. I peel and section grapefruit by hand because I really enjoy doing it but you could peel the grapefruit and cut sections out with a knife.

3. Use oranges instead of grapefruit, or a mix of orange and grapefruit sections.

4. I use raw honey for everything, never processed "liquid" honey.

ROSEMARY ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES

Rosemary Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

makes: approx. 2 cups roasted tomatoes

- 2 pints cherry tomatoes

- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 

- 1 tbsp. olive oil

- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1-2 tbsp. dried)

- zest of 1 lemon

- freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- 2 cloves of garlic, minced (optional, I usually don't add garlic)

- salt, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F/205 C.

2. Put the tomatoes in a metal/glass/ceramic baking tray. 

3. Add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, lemon zest, black pepper (and garlic, if using).

4. Toss to mix well.

5. Roast at 400 F/205 C for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are wrinkled and there's tomato juice/liquid in the tray.

6. After the tomatoes have cooled, add salt to taste.

7. Transfer everything including the cooking liquid into a container and refrigerate.

NOTES:

1. Salt the tomatoes after they have cooled. Salt draws out moisture so by adding salt before cooking, you'll have more liquid during roasting and the tomatoes will be exceptionally soggy when they're done.

2. I used rosemary this time but parsley, thyme, lightly crushed fennel (anise) seeds are equally splendid!