Category Archives: Salads

Despite the gloomy and bleak winter weather, salads for me make a way-to-go meal. Raw green salad is crunchy and light perfect with a light zingy dressing. Then on the other end of spectrum, cooked beans or roasted root veggies packed with spices and herbs are great as served warm on chilly days.

This particular salad was born just after I’ve been to the farmer’s markets. I just threw together all the fresh ingredients I got from the markets and here we have a roasted kipfler potato salad. The kipfler potatoes look like big fat fingers. They are originally from Germany and perfect for boiled or roasted potato salad. They are a great source of complex carbs as well as other nutrients including fibre, vitamin C, potassium, thiamin, manganese and copper. Make sure you are leaving the skin on where much of the potatoes nutritional value is. This salad is a combination of oven-roasted potatoes and zucchini, blanched yellow beans and chopped raw silverbeet dressed with light mustard dressing. It is super simple to prepare and I bet it will be perfect for a classic BBQ staple, too.
Ingredients (serves 2-4)

3-4 kipfler potatoes
1 medium size zucchini
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to season
1 cup of yellow beans
2 large silverbeets
30g Parmesan cheese

Mustard dressing
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp raw honey
pepper to taste

Place cleaned potatoes and chopped zucchini in a baking dish. Season and dress with olive oil. Bake in the preheated oven (180) for 15-20 minutes until cooked. In the mean time, blanch the beans and chop the silverbeets. Put all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. To assemble the salad, cooked potatoes, zucchini, beans and silverbeets in a large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. Check seasoning and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with shaved Parmesan on top. It is great as a side dish or as a main either served warm or cold.

Don’t you love the meals that can be thrown together with seasonal bits and pantry stock and also makes you feel healthier and happier. I get stumped on what to cook every single day that is easy to prepare but super nourishing. This salad is exactly like that – easy everyday salad. Good crunchy pear mixed with greens and creamy chickpeas. The dressing I used here is really basic mustard-ey, sweet and sour taste that embraces all the ingredients and lighten up a little bit.

Ingredients

1 cup of chickpeas, soaked overnight
1/2 cup beetroot, grated
1 pear, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup of baby spinach
1 cup of cos lettuce, chopped
30g crumbled feta cheese
handful of walnuts, crushed

Dressing

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

To make a dressing, mix all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning. Place in the fridge until using. Rinse the soaked chickpeas and cover with cold water in a pot. Bring it up to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until cooked. In the mean time, prepare veggies and place in a large mixing bowl. When chickpeas are cooked, drain and transfer into a mixing bowl. Pour about half of the dressing over salad and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving plate, drizzle with more dressing and sprinkle crushed walnuts on top.

How many times do you eat cruciferous vegetables a week? We know vegetables are good for you, but these cruciferous vegetables are super healthy for you. Apparently, you need to eat them 5 days a week to get health benefits. It doesn’t mean you have to chew on cabbage every day. You can choose from broccoli, kale, bok choy, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi and cauliflower. Studies show that glucosinolates in them may reduce the risk of certain cancers and reduce inflammation. Brussels sprouts are shown to have the highest concentration of glucosinolates (104 milligrams per half cup), as well as plenty of anti-inflammatory vitamin K. I like having refreshing raw salads, though feel free to quickly cook in a pan with coconut oil if you prefer that way. Asian-y dressing made of miso, tahini and sesame oil is delish! You want this salad to sit an hour or more before serve so that you get a good harmony of crunchy sweet salad and beautiful dressing.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 cup of brussel sprouts
1 pear
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp tahini paste
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds, unhulled and lightly toasted
salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice brussel sprouts and pear or use a food processor. Simply mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Combine shredded salad and dressing in a large mixing bowl and transfer to a serving plate.

I adore a nourishing bowl that is vegetable centric and also full of flavour. This bowl happens to be one of my favorites and on my menu almost every week. When I build a vegetarian or vegan meal either salads or stews, I always combine grains, legumes and vegetables to make it filling and satisfying because a bowl of veggies is just not enough and nutritionally unbalanced. Herbs and spices are a must to kick up the flavour. My favorites are cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, fennel seeds, za’atar, parsley and coriander. For a texture, you can change your cooking method – raw, grilling, steaming, braising, roasting, stir-frying, etc. Another way is to sprinkle some toasted nuts on top. It makes a meal more appealing and ,of course, adds healthy fat into your diet.

This bowl has nutty chickpeas, salty black olives, colourful vegetables, warm spices and herbs braised in rich tomato sauce. It is an ultimate hearty meal, though it could be nice and refreshing in summer with a slice of toasted bread, too. Enjoy x

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 cup of soaked chickpeas
1 carrot
1/2 white onion
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup cauliflower
8-10 pitted black olives
1 bunch of parsley
1 tomato
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1-2 cups of water or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

Cover soaked chickpeas with water in a pot and boil over medium heat for 20 minutes until cooked. Drain and set aside. Add coconut oil into a skillet over medium heat. When oil is melted, add chopped vegetables except parsley and spices. Stir with a wooden spoon until vegetables are tender and coated with all spices. Season with salt and pepper. Add cooked chickpeas along with water or stock into a skillet. You can add less or more water depending on how thick you want your stew to be. Bring it up to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are cooked for your liking. Stir in chopped parsley before serving. Ladle into a bowl and serve warm as either main or sides.

I’m so emotionally attached to peaches in two different ways. It’s a funny story to share, but Koreans take it pretty seriously when it comes to ‘conception dreams’, which means the dreams that you have while pregnant can be interpreted as the gender or future of the baby. Dreams are commonly about fruits, animals or plants. In my mum’s dream when she was pregnant with me, she was walking over the bridge and lots of peaches were floating along the stream. She was trying to pick one that turned out to be a big, pink and beautifully ripe peach. Then she woke up happy next day. Peach dream normally means a baby girl that is ME 🙂 Another story is that it reminds me our family’s summer holidays. I don’t know if it’s because of that conception dream my mum had, but I absolutely adore peaches in summer. My favorite way of eating it? Wash the fruit and eat as a whole. I know it gets pretty messy especially when you bite into ripe juicy ones.

I’m usually not a fan of adding sweet fruits into the salads. I made an exception though today just because peaches are so good this time of the year and I want to make most out of it. This salad is so refreshing and goes well with chicken, fish or tofu. Ripe sweet peaches, creamy chickpeas, fresh spinach and zucchini, salty feta cheese dressed with a simple dressing. Yum! Try it before peach season finishes x

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 peach, sliced
1/2 cup baby zucchini, thinly sliced
1 cup of cooked chickpeas
1 cup of baby spinach leaves
30g crumbled feta

For dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar with a lid. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour over the salad and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle crumbled feta cheese.