Salad night


With only a few ingredients left in my fridge and no energy to get groceries, my options for dinner the other night were definitely a little limited. Luckily I was up for a challenge and decided to throw a few things together and make salad!
A salad can seriously be anything you want it to be. You can use raw or cooked ingredients – or a combination. Often I add beans, cheese and/or nuts to add some protein, but I also didn’t have any of those ingredients. Improvisation is the key in moments like these.
So for my fantastically easy salad night I made a sautéed red cabbage salad – garlic, sage and green onions with a splash of balsamic made this perfecto! And I made a second salad using dried ingredients just sitting in my cupboard – wakame (seaweed) and sesame seed salad. I combined soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, chili, toasted sesame seeds and rehydrated wakame. This salad was amazing too! I will definitely be making these two again.

sautéed red cabbage salad
serves 3-4 people

1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 green onions/spring onions – sliced/chopped
2 cloves garlic - chopped
3 fresh sage leaves – torn into small pieces
¼ red cabbage – shredded
1 tbsp/splash balsamic vinegar
sea salt and pepper

Place a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil, chopped onions, garlic and sage. Fry for 2-3 minutes and then add cabbage, pinch of sea salt and some freshly cracked pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until cabbage is slightly wilted.  Add splash of balsamic and taste/adjust seasoning. I serve this dish at room temperature/slightly warm.  Cabbage goes well with lots of different items – I served this with baked eggs. Yum!

wakamé salad
this recipe is from Australian Gourmet Traveller – I omitted the sugar.
serves 4 people

1 cup dried wakame*
2 tbsp sesame seeds toasted
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dried chili
2 tbsp rice vinegar

First soak the wakame to reconstitute – this process takes about 10 minutes.  Drain and keep aside in a bowl.  Toast sesame seeds and let cool. Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili and cooled sesame seeds and pour mixture over wakame.  Stir through and serve.  Another option is to place into fridge for an hour and serve cold.  This dish works with any asian inspired dishes – grilled snapper, dumplings, hot and sour soup….it’s so easy and so good for you!

*wakame – seasweed – can be found at any store which stocks asian imported foods or even at health food stores.






10 comments:

  1. This scenario sounds all-too-familiar for me... I'm always forgetting to top up the grocery supply! I love how simple and easy these recipes are.

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  2. I love wakame - I love all seaweed ! What a great, tasty recipe, thanks !

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  3. i must buy some of those dehydrated wakame too for those too-lazy-to-grocery-shop days...looks easy and super yum!

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  4. yum! Your pictures are fantastic, and the salads look so easy and tasty. Thanks for the foodie friend request on foodbuzz. I'm looking forward to more of your tasty recipes!

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  5. Thanks for the comments everyone! I agree, lazy nights definitely require minimal effort and rehydrating dried seaweed is easy enough!

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  6. Your photos are gorgeous and I adore salads like these, so fresh :)

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  7. What a gorgeous space you have here Bhavini! I'm so glad you found my blog 'cos now I'm introduced to your beautiful looking photos and scrumptious recipes! Looking fwd to seeing around more!

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  8. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. Thanks for the lovely words! Prerna - you also have such a beautiful blog - happy that you like mine!

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  9. Hi Bhavani, the red cabbage is wonderful! Do you also have an idea on cauliflower - some easy recipe perhaps?

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  10. Hey Jantine - try this recipe for cauliflower: http://ameanderingmango.blogspot.com/2010/10/end-of-winter.html
    It's a tandoori style - just use a hot oven and foil to replace a grill. Enjoy!

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