Salad Recipes

Salad Recipes Rika Gupta, ISB Parent

Salads for the Soul

I have always had a strange fascination for salad bars. Not your standard fare at hotel buffets or campus cafeterias with their insipid, wilted lettuce or uninspiring toppings straight out of a can from your local 24/7 convenience store. Rather, I am enamored by those niche, just-around-the block healthy salad stops where the brilliant array of veggies, greens and mouth-savoring toppings beckon you to ditch your burrito for a bowl instead! So, in an attempt to knock off those few unfortunate pounds I seem to have packed on during the lockdown and end 2020 on a healthier note, here are two hearty, nutritious salad recipes to satisfy your tastebuds and keep you full!

CRUNCHY ASIAN SLAW

Ingredients

1 cup toasted instant noodles ½ cup toasted sesame seeds 3 cups shredded lettuce 3 cups shredded cabbage (purple or green or both) ¾ cup chopped spring onions 1 cup julienned carrots 1-2 large red chilli ¼ cup roasted peanuts

Dressing

½ cup neutral oil (rice bran, sunflower) ¼ cup vinegar 2 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce

Method

Dry roast in a frying pan or oven roast the instant noodles. Break it up into pieces. Roast the sesame seeds on low flame in a frying pan.

For the dressing, first heat in a saucepan the oil, vinegar and sugar until dissolved. Once its cooled down, add the soy sauce and combine well.

Toss all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and add dressing making sure to coat well. Serve and eat immediately!

HARVEST BOWL

Ingredients

Butternut squash, roasted (substitute: pumpkin or sweet potato) Couscous, cooked Baby Spinach or Baby Kale Snap peas, lightly blanched Cranberries Pumpkin Seeds

Tahini Dressing

¼ cup EVOO ¼ cup tahini 1 clove garlic 3 tbsp lemon juice 2 tsp ACV ¼ tsp salt

Method

Preheat oven to 200C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the butternut squash pieces with some olive oil and spread across the sheet. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Follow the instructions on the box to cook the couscous. Let cool and fluff with a fork.

For the dressing, add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend on high until smooth. Make sure there are no pieces of garlic floating in the dressing.

Add the couscous, roasted butternut squash and rest of the salad ingredients into a bowl.

Toss the salad and dressing together until well coated. Top with pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries. Enjoy!