Quinoa Salad

Talk about healthy food and this is what comes to mind. Quinoa* is considered a complete grain, gives a lot of nutrition in the form of protein, carbs vitamins and a few minerals. I love it due the ease of use and the way it blends with anything makes it very versatile. Make a puliogare by adding it instead of rice or make a salad out of quinoa, it tastes good as anything. I also see a philosophical point here, acceptance makes a human being blend and mix into so many tastes and flavours. Enough of my philosophy here goes a very healthy recipe.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes for quinoa to cook.

servings: 2 for a meal and upto 6 as a starter

Ingredients:

Quinoa 1/2 cup cooked. Cook according to instructions on the bag. From the picture you can see, I have added, Red, yellow and green bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, jalapeno and avocado. I have also added green leaf and romaine lettuce. I have diced them into tiny bits and mixed every thing together. Crushed a few tortilla chips and I topped this incredible salad with Honey mustered dressing, which i give below and put a spoonful of feta cheese just for the heck of it... :D.... As I have been saying, with salads, sky is the limit. Use whatever you think will go together. I have used approx 1/2 cup of each vegetable.

For honey mustard:

1. Mustard paste - 1/4 cup

2.Honey - 1/4 cup, or slightly more (you can use less too)

3. Vinegar - 3 tsp

4. Salt - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp

5. Pepper powder- 1 tsp (more if you want)

6. Chilly flakes - 1/2 tsp (optional)

7. Oregano dry - 1/2 tsp (optional)

8. Oil - 2 tsp (optional)

Method: 

Combine every thing in a bowl by whisking the ingredients with a fork or a whisk, pour on salad, toss lightly and enjoy.

* look in glossary.

Timatim Salata

This is one of the starters in the NYC restaurant I was talking about. I have changed the recipe for the ingredients I had on hand... A very refreshing salad..Served on injera.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1. Plum tomatoes: 2, seeded and finely chopped. Meatier the better.

2. Onion - 1 small or half medium, finely chopped

3. Cucumber - 1/4, peeled and finely chopped

4. Jalapeno - 1 to 2, seeded and finely chopped

5. Avocado - 1, Seeded and finely chopped

6. Salt - to taste

7. Lime juice - 2 tsp

8. Parsley - 2 tsp finely chopped or 1 tsp dry.

Method:

Combine all of these ingredients together and serve on injera.

Lemon Vinaigrette Salad

 

A fat free vinaigrette makes the salad taste good with out worrying about the side effects... you can add some olive oil to the dressing if you wish. This salad dressing is very fresh in taste and fruity tart. So use less first, and add more if you want. 

As you can see in the picture, i have used, red, orange and green bell peppers, cucumber, ice berg lettuce, pickled jalapeno, sliced green olives, julienne beetroot and pickled cucumber. Putting together a salad is totally upto your choice. Use what you have in the fridge and create your own salad.. :D

Prep time: 10 Mins

Cook time: 0

Servings of dressing: upto 3 for small salad bowls.

Ingredients:

1. Lemon zest* - 1 tsp

2. Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp

3. White wine vinegar\red wine vinegar or plain vinegar - 1 to 2 tsp

4. Basil (fresh or dry)- 1/2 tsp

5. Parsley (fresh or dry) - 1/2 tsp

6. salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste

7. Chilli flakes - 1/4 tsp (optional) 

8. Pepper powder - 2 pinches..

9. Garlic - less than 1/4 tsp, grated or minced or powder.

Method:

Just take all these ingredients in a bowl and whisk them well till everything combines or, put it in a tight container, close lid and give very good shake. top the salad with this dressing and chomp away.

Tip:

If you want, add 1 to 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil to the above recipe.

* Please refer glossary.

Garden Salad with sundried tomatoes dressing

Salads are the best way of getting a lot of fiber, vitamins and some minerals into our bodies. The beauty of salad is that, there is no hard and fast rule of ingredients... you can let your imagination lose and try adding many different ingredients of fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, rice, barley, quinoa and any other thing you want mix it and have a feast. Only one thing to mind with salads is the compatibility of ingredients. A few ingredients don't go with some and some go with everything. I open my fridge and put ingredients I find together, top it with a great dressing and devour a whole bowl of salad. I just love them. For people who are used to eating a lot of spicy food as all three meals a day, it may be slightly difficult to appreciate the taste in salads, however, if you try eating it for a week, you will stop eating all the spicy dishes and fetch for some salad. No salad is great unless it is topped with a good dressing. Again a dressing can be high on fat to low fat to zero fat. I generally make low fat or zero fat dressing... this is one of the low fat dressings.

Salad Dressing Ingredients: (makes for more than one use)

1. Sun-dried tomatoes - 7 to 9, if you are using the ones which are not soaked in oil, just soak them in warm water for 30 minutes.

2. Light oil - 1/4 cup (like salad oil, canola, vegetable, corn or you can use light olive oil)

3. Red wine vinegar - 1/4 cup (if not on hand, use regular vinegar)

4. Dry basil - 1 tsp

5. Dry Parsley - 1 tsp

6. Garlic - 2 small pods\ 1 medium or 1/2 big pod

7. Ground Pepper - 1/4 tsp

8. Salt - 1/4 tsp or to taste

Method: 

Run all the ingredients in a food processor till they blend well. If it is thick, use a little more oil and vinegar.

Vegetables: (All of these ingredients make about a medium bowl for one person)

I have used romaine lettuce, julienne beetroot, roughly chopped vine ripe small tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, sliced black olives and grated Parmesan cheese. You can add the veggies of your choice, pour some dressing on top and lightly toss the salad and eat it up.