Crunchy salad

Crunchy salad

Tonight I made teriyaki salmon with rice and a crunchy salad from the very few fresh vegetables I had lying around in my fridge. I wanted a tangy dressing to go with it, but since I didn't even have a lime I made this dressing out of store cupboard ingredients. While it didn't have the same zinginess that fresh herbs and lime would give, I think it worked really well.

Ginger and sesame salad dressing ingredients

• 1cm piece root ginger, grated to a pulp, which will give you about 1 teaspoon ginger pulp
• 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon hot chilli blend (from a tube)
• 1 teaspoon coriander blend (from a tube)
• 1 tablespoon plum seasoning
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice 
• A few drops light soy sauce

How to make ginger and sesame dressing

• Grate the ginger finely. You wll end up with about 1 teaspoon grated ginger pulp.
• Add all the ingredients to a screw-cap jar and shake vigorously to combine.

I hate chopping chillies so always have one of those tubes of chilli blend and jars of chilli sauce in the fridge. While some recipes really do need fresh chillies, if you just want a little kick of heat, these work surprisingly well. 

Coriander blend in a tube, however, really is a last resort, and nothing like the fresh stuff. But its a handy thing to have in the fridge for coriander-related emergencies. 

I used plum seasoning (not sauce) to give a sharpness to the dressing. If you don't have any (and I suspect you won't, as I'm not entirely sure why I do) then use extra lemon juice, or, even better, lime juice. 

You don't have to use rapeseed oil either, but if you use olive oil use a light one that doesn't have a strong flavour. The sesame oil, however, is essential. 

Ingredients for crunchy salad

• 3 water chestnuts
• 2 spring onions
• a 5cm piece carrot
• a 5cm piece cucumber
• 1/4 iceberg lettuce
• 1/2 teaspoon each of white and black sesame seeds (or just use 1/2 teaspoon 1 type if that's what you have) 

How to make crunchy salad 

1. Slice each water chestnut into about 5 or 6 slices.
2. Slice the spring onions into 5cm lengths. Split each piece horizontally into thin slithers.
3. Slice the cucumber and carrot into thin strips (julienne).
4. Shred the lettuce into thin slices, about the same length as the rest of the vegetables.
5. Mix all the vegetables together in a bowl. 
6. Add a couple of tablespoons of the dressing and toss to coat the vegetables.
7. Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan over a low heat.
   If you are using white sesame seeds, they will turn golden brown so you know when they are done. If you are only using black seeds, just keep moving them around in the pan for about 2 minutes; they will start to smell toasted when they are done. In either case, do not attempt to multitask - you need to watch them all the time or they will burn. 
8. Scatter the seeds over the salad.

 

 

 

 

 

Apple and rocket salad

I'm not a big fan of courgette and so the idea of it raw in a salad has never really appealed. For some reason, however, I decided to give it a try, and was gobsmacked: raw courgette is sweet and creamy, a million miles from the bitter watery cooked version. It makes me wonder why we ever bother to cook it at all. 

Based on this success, I have decided to incorporate it into a variety of salads.Here's one I made today to go with some lasagne and garlic bread.

Enough for 2 as a side salad.

 

Apple and rocket salad ingredients

• 1/2 small bunch rocket
• About 4 leaves little gem lettuce
• I banana shallot, finely chopped
• A 5cm piece cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks
• A 5cm piece courgette, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 small English apple cut into thin matchsticks
• A small amount of blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola)

 

Apple and rocket salad dressing ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon grain mustard

How to make apple and rocket salad

1. Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a small screwtop jar and shake well to combine
2. Rub a cut lemon over the apple as you slice it to prevent it from going brown.
3. Toss the leaves in the dressing.
4. Pile onto a large plate.
5. Sprinkle over the onion, followed by the cucumber, courgette and apple. 
6. Break up the blue cheese into very tiny morsels and scatter these over the salad.

A few toasted walnut pieces would have worked well in this salad too, but I didn't have any.