Category Archives: Salad

Mushroom & Tofu Noodle Bowl with a rich miso dressing

I felt like creating a bowl and using up what I had available.  As always, it’s all about the sauce! Feel free to substitute anything; I like a mix of cooked and raw items.  This one uses wholemeal linguine, rocket, shredded red cabbage, quick pickled red onions and then cooked mushrooms and grilled marinated tofu.


Mushroom & Tofu Miso Bowl
 
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Tofu, mushroom, rocket and red cabbage top off noodles with a creamy deeply umami miso dressing.
Author:
Recipe type: Bowl
Serves: -
Ingredients
  • Handful of rocket
  • Handful of finely shredded cabbage
  • Wholemeal linguine
  • Steamed broccoli
  • Marinated tofu, grilled
  • Quick pickled onions (finely shredded, tossed with white wine vinegar for 15 mins)
  • SAUCE: (makes enough for 8-10 servings)
  • ¾ cup soy milk
  • 2 tablespoons miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed / grated
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 tablespoon bottled teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tablespoon caramelised onion relish
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
  1. Prepare the other bowl ingredients (or substitute with your own options).
  2. Sauté the mushrooms whole in a large skillet with a lid until they are tender, using a dash of soy sauce or tamari to flavour.
  3. Marinate the tofu in soy sauce, vegetable stock and a little tomato paste for 30 mins, then cook on both sides in a medium pan, turning twice. I used a grill pan to get the stripes. You can also use a sandwich press.
  4. Whilst the pasta and broccoli are cooking, put all the sauce ingredients into blender and blend until very smooth and creamy.
  5. Arrange items in the bowl, top with the broccoli, tofu and mushrooms.
  6. Serve with the sauce to pour over.

 

Thai Noodle Salad

I can’t believe it has taken a decade to get this recipe up on my page. I first had this type of salad at the Open Air Cinema in Sydney  and loved it so much I actually wrote to the catering company to ask for the recipe!  It has been amended and simplified a lot over the years to make it easier and quicker to make. Use any noodles you like; it works well with brown rice vermicelli, or wholemeal spaghetti.

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Thai Noodle Salad

Thai Noodle Salad
 
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Crunchy salad with noodles; make it as hot or mild as you choose and add any toppings you like. If you're short on time feel free to use a bag of prepared coleslaw instead of individual vegetables
Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Thai / Vietnamese
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 pack noodles – for 4 people
  • 1 red / other capsicum - finely sliced
  • ½ small white cabbage - shredded
  • 2 large carrots - grated
  • 4 spring onions - finely sliced
  • Optional: celery / other capsicums / marinated tofu pieces etc.
  • 1 cucumber finely chopped
  • 1 bunch coriander - well washed & finely chopped
  • 1 bunch mint - well washed & finely chopped
  • Sauce
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1-2 coriander roots, well washed
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup soy milk
  • 2 limes - juiced (2-3 tablespoons), & zested (1-2 tsp)
  • 2 T Sweet chilli sauce
  • 2 T Peanut butter
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves
  • Toppings:
  • Toasted peanuts
  • Toasted coconut flakes
  • Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
  1. Cook the noodles, rinse in cold water and set aside
  2. Meanwhile finely shred, chop or grate the vegetables to desired textures and place in a large bowl
  3. Add the herbs – finely chopped, and mix well
  4. Blend all the ingredients for the sauce except the lime leaves. Snip into them with a sharp knife or scissors and place into the dressing to infuse for at least 30 mins (gets stronger the longer you leave it).
  5. Mix the noodles with the vegetables, top with the sauce and mix thoroughly
  6. Top with toppings as liked

 

Poke Bowls

poke bowl

Poke Bowls
 
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I have used rice and quinoa but you can use any variety and mix of grains you like.
Author:
Recipe type: Bowl
Cuisine: Hawaiian / Japanese
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 2 rice cups brown rice, 1 rice cup quinoa
  • Use any vegetables you like, a variety of cooked and raw. In this example I used
  • purple cauliflower, grilled in a sandwich press
  • broccoli, steamed,
  • 1 large red capsicum, sliced and pan-fried still slightly carameiised
  • Bunch of spring onions
  • 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted,
  • ¼ white cabbage, finely shredded on a mandolin
  • 1 large red onion, sliced and steeped in red wine vinegar for 30 mins
  • ⅓ cup sunflower and pumpkin seed
  • ½ cucumber, sliced
  • 1 large avocado, cubed
  • 1 bag frozen edamame beans, defrosted
  • Slices of marinated tofu, cooked on the grill
  • Pickled sushi ginger
  • Sauce:
  • ½ cup sushi seasoning (we like the Obento brand),
  • ½ cup soy sauce,
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic (or paste from a jar)
  • 1 tsp finely grated ginger (or paste from a jar)
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 tablespoons date paste
  • Couple drops of toasted sesame oil (makes a huge difference)
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons chilli (paste, semi dried or flakes - up to you!)
Instructions
  1. Put the rice and quinoa into your rice cooker and fill level of water to 3.5 cups. If you've no pressure cooker or if you're short on time use precooked bags of rice / quinoa or grab some you've already made from your freezer and defrost (good tip!) Otherwise cook in your favourite way.
  2. Prepare your vegetables:
  3. Pickle the red onion
  4. Steam the broccoli, or microwave
  5. Finely slice the cabbage
  6. Stir fry the sliced capsicum, then dry toast the seeds in same pan
  7. Slice the spring onions
  8. Defrost / microwave edamame / peas
  9. Dice the avocado
  10. Grill the tofu
  11. Mix in a jug all the sauce ingredients, adjust to your liking
  12. When rice is cooked let everyone assemble their own bowls, top with the sauce.

 

White Bean & Olive Spread

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White Bean & Olive Spread
 
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Lebanese inspired spread for toast
Author:
Recipe type: Snack
Cuisine: Lebanese
Serves: 6 slices
Ingredients
  • 1 can butter beans or cannellini beans
  • Juice and zest of 1 juicy lemon - about 4 tablespoons
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 2-4 tablespoons finely chopped red or spring onion (as preferred)
  • 6 black or green olives, chopped
  • 1 tsp capers, chopped (optional)
  • 1 tsp tahini (optional)
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped parsley
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped mint
  • pinch of chilli flakes or semi-dried chopped chililes
  • Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Zest the lemon and tip into a medium bowl
  2. Juice the lemon into a small bowl and tip the crushed / Microplaned garlic into it to steep.
  3. Mash the beans with a fork in a bowl, or pulse in a food processor until broken down but not a smooth paste.
  4. Prepare the herbs, olives, onion & capers and add to the bowl with the lemon zest.
  5. Add the beans and stir thoroughly, add the tahini, chilli and salt and pepper as desired.
  6. Stir in the lemon juice and garlic mixture. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes as flavour will continue to develop. The garlic flavour will be stronger the next day if it lasts that long! 🙂
  7. Serve on hot toast with sliced baby tomatoes.
  8. NB: You can use all or one of the herbs, equally delicious with any combination of fresh herbs.

 

Curried Brown Rice Salad

Indian Brown Rice Salad

Curried Brown Rice Salad
 
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Brown rice with chopped fresh raw veggies and an Indian inspired creamy dressing For a speedy week night dinner, cook the rice the previous day. This can easily be stretched to feel more mouths, depending on how much rice you add to the chopped veggies.
Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 large stick of celery
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 medium capsicum
  • ½ cup baby frozen peas
  • ½ cup frozen corn
  • 12 green beans, steamed and sliced
  • 2 fat spring onions, sliced
  • ½ cup raisins or sultanas (optional)
  • 4-6 cups cooked brown rice, chilled or at room temperature
  • Garnishes: (optional): Fresh chopped coriander, coconut, toasted cashews, chopped chillies
  • Dressing:
  • 2 tsp tahini
  • 2 desert spoons avocado
  • ¾ cup soy milk or other milk of choice
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar, any variety
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
  • 1 tsp curry powder
Instructions
  1. Put the rice on to cook if you're not using precooked rice.
  2. Whisk together, or blend in processor the ingredients for the dressing.
  3. Finely chop all the vegetables and mix together in a large bowl.
  4. Once the rice is cooked, spread it out on a large tray to cool down, or place in fridge for 30-50 mins if you have the time.
  5. Dish up the rice in to individual bowls and top with the vegetables and dressing, and optional garnishes.
  6. Leftovers can be mixed together and put in the fridge for lunches the next day! 🙂

 

 

 

 

Smashed Chickpea Sandwich Spread

Smashed Chickpea Sandwich Spread
 
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Recipe Type: Sandwich
 
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Tasty filling for a sandwich. Keeps for a week in the fridge.
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • ½ cup finely diced celery
  • ½ cup grated or diced carrot
  • ¼ cup finely sliced spring onion
  • ½ red capsicum, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 1 heaped tablespoon creamy style hummus
  • pinch of kala namak or black salt (gives an egg flavour)
  • 1 tablespoon of commercial fat free mayo (there are a few egg-free varieties on market)
  • salt & pepper
  • squeeze of lemon - to taste
  • Optional: finely chopped parsley
Instructions
  1. Rinse and drain chickpeas, put in a shallow bowl and roughly mash with a fork or potato masher
  2. Prepare the vegetables and add to the bowl
  3. Mix the dressing ingredients together and stir into the chickpeas and vegetables. Season well with salt and pepper and add lemon juice to taste. Add parsley if desired. Some people might add a dash of chilli sauce too 🙂
Notes
Quick food processor method:
Pulse the chickpeas in the processor with S blade 2 or 3 times.
Add the capsicum and pulse again until chickpeas are broken and the capsicum is finely chopped.
Remove blade, insert the grating attachment and grate the carrot over the chickpeas.
Replace grating with slicing attachment, and add the celery and spring onions.
Mix the dressing in a large bowl
Tip the contents of the processor into the bowl and mix well.

 

Incan Salad

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South American deliciousness in Incan Salad: Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Rice, Corn and Beans with an avocado, lime and chilli sauce. Sprinkled with some spring onion greens, chopped coriander leaves and hemp seeds. This one will keep you full for hours!

Incan Salad
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: South American
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 cups or 300g cooked quinoa (about ½ cup dry)
  • 2 cups or 360g cooked short grain brown rice (about ¾ cup dried)
  • 2 cups frozen corn, defrosted
  • 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 180g cooked sweet potato cubes (2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, diced, roasted)
  • Garnish (optional):
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • small bunch of coriander, chopped
  • hemp seeds to garnish - optional
  • Dressing:
  • 1 medium avocado (about 220g of flesh)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 75ml lime juice
  • 100 ml water
  • 1 tsp semi dried chopped chillies (Gourmet Garden brand) - or to taste
  • 1 heaping teaspoon rice malt syrup or other liquid sweetener
  • zest of a lime
Instructions
  1. To make this salad really easy to throw together, peel, dice and roast your sweet potato the night before or earlier in the day, then refrigerate.
  2. You could also cook your grains too and refrigerate so you don't need to wait for your grains to chill before assembling the salad. You can also leave out the rice altogether and double the quinoa but as it's quite an expensive ingredient this does help to cut the cost!
  3. You can cook brown rice and quinoa together in a rice cooker, just combine the ½ cup quinoa and ¾ cup dried grains with 2 cups water.
  4. Make the dressing by blitzing all ingredients apart from the lime zest in a blender, or jug and a stick blender, or a fork and some elbow grease will do the same job. Stir in the lime zest, taste and adjust the salt / lime juice etc to your taste. It should be quite tart to contrast with the sweetness from the potato.
  5. In a very large bowl, combine the rice, quinoa, sweet potato, beans, corn and cubes of potato and combine well. Stir through the onions and coriander - or leave in bowls if you have sensitive taste buds around the table so everyone can add their own.
  6. Serve with the sauce and hemp seeds to sprinkle if liked.

 

 

Kale, Quinoa, & Carrot Salad

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Quinoa, Kale & Carrot Salad
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • ½ bunch kale
  • 2 tsp tahini
  • 2 T orange juice
  • 175g dry quinoa
  • 1 large carrot (about 250g, unprepared weight)
  • ½ cucumber (about 200g)
  • 1 small red onion (about 60g unprepared weight)
  • 4 tablespoons sunflower & pumpkin seeds
  • 60g sultanas/ raisins etc
  • DRESSING:
  • 150 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 25 ml tahini
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
  • 3g salt
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
  • 10 ml white wine vinegar
Instructions
  1. Put the quinoa on to cook - rinse well first in a fine sieve, and use double the volume of water (or prepare earlier, and refrigerate). Once cooked, place in a large wide bowl to cool and refrigerate until needed.
  2. Wash, de-stem and finely chop the kale, place in a large bowl
  3. Add the 2 tsp tahini and 2T orange juice and massage really well for 5 minutes until it has reduced in size and is softened.
  4. Coarsely grate the carrot, finely dice the cucumber and onion and add to the bowl with the cooked quinoa.
  5. Toast the seeds in a small pan over a medium heat until crisp and golden.
  6. Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients - whisk in a jug or use a blender.
  7. Pour most of the dressing over the salad and mix well. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving with extra dressing if liked, plus the seeds and dried fruit on top.

 

Mexican Pasta Salad

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Mexican Pasta Salad
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 1 large red capsicum
  • 1 medium green capsicum
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup kidney beans
  • 2 stick celery
  • 3 sliced spring onions
  • 350g wholewheat pasta - penne / conchiglie / fusilli
  • DRESSING:
  • 6 medium tomatoes
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • 70ml white wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons cashew cream (cashews: soaked, drained blended with enough water to cover)
  • 1 heaped tsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp semi dried chillies (or chilli paste / fresh - to taste)
  • TOPPINGS:
  • lime zest
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
  • Diced avocado - optional.
Instructions
  1. Put your pasta on to boil and meanwhile prepare the vegetables:
  2. Dice the capsicum, celery, finely slice the spring onions and place in a very large serving bowl along with the kidney beans and corn.
  3. Place the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and frothy.
  4. Once pasta is cooked, drain well and rinse under cold water, drain well.
  5. Tip into the bowl with the vegetables, pour over as much of the dressing as required, top with the lime zest and coriander and stir again. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Lovely with diced avocado on the top also.

 

Sushi Brown Rice Salad

Sushi Brown RIce Salad

All the taste of a nori roll without the rolling!  Crunchy veg, marinated tofu, edamame beans and avocado, mixed with strips of nori, sesame seeds, dressed with a sushi seasoning and soy sauce.  If you love sushi you’ll love this.

Sushi Brown Rice Salad
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Japanese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 250 grams brown rice
  • 2 sticks celery, finely diced
  • 1 large cucumber, deseeded, finely diced
  • 1 red capsicum, finely diced
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 1 cup blanched, podded edamame beans
  • 200g marinated Japanese flavour tofu, cut into small dice
  • nori seaweed sheets, cut into small squares or strips
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • sushi seasoning - vinegar, sugar, mirin blend (I use Obento brand, from the supermarket, or Asian supermarkets would stock a range)
  • soy sauce or tamari
  • radish - optional, finely diced
  • pickled ginger, wasabi, soy sauce - to serve as required
Instructions
  1. Whilst your rice is cooking, finely dice all the crunchy vegetables (and add whatever others you like) and put set aside. Blanch and pod your edamame beans, and dice the avocado. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry non stick pan, until golden brown.
  2. Once your rice is cooked, tip in to a large bowl and sprinkle generously with the sushi seasoning mix, stirring well to thoroughly incorporate. Taste and add more as required. I used about 8 tablespoons. Add tamari or soy sauce to taste. Once the rice is at room temperature, stir in as much of the vegetable mix as you like, portion out into your serving bowls and decorate the tops with the nori, avocado, edamame beans and sesame. Allow it to cool slightly
  3. Serve alongside pickled ginger, wasabi and extra tamari / soy sauce as desired.