Pepper Salad

Here's my first dish made in Germany: A salad with curly lettuce, rucola, red and yellow bell peppers and pickled chillies, seasoned with oregano, juice of half a lemon, and olive oil.

To make, combine:

• Half a curly lettuce head
• Handful of rucola
• Large handful each of chopped red and yellow bell peppers
• 4 large pickled chillies
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil 

 

 

 

 

 

Cabbage, Grapes, Olives Salad in a Red Wine & Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

I had a bit of salad left over from yesterday - the lettuce was wilted, but the rest was fresh. So, I reused the kalamata olives, gherkins, and peppers; and added cabbage and black grapes to the mix. The vinaigrette is made of 1 part red wine vinegar, 2 parts extra virgin olive oil, sprigs of oregano, and a heaping of poppy seeds. I'd bought the poppy seeds ages ago and hadn't even opened the pack till today -  Had seen a salad dressing somewhere with poppy seeds added, so why not?!

Kalamata Olives, Lettuce, and Green Pepper Salad

An old flame of mine used to say "If you have't eaten kalamata olives, you've wasted your life." If that is so, then today was the first day of putting my life to good use. Since the salad below has that tang from the olives and the gherkins, I just dressed it with rosemary-infused olive oil.

Apple, Strawberry, Lettuce, and Cashew Salad

Tart apples, sweet strawberries on a bed of lettuce, with cashews for crunch, all dressed in red wine vinegar and olive oil.

5-Minute Veggie Stir Fry

An absolutely yummy and lightning quick stiry fry using hoisin sauce as the base, and an assortment of vegetables. Adding a few slices of pine apple just pushed the dish into one of my all-time favorites I have ever had.

5-Minute Stir Fry with Mushrooms, Peppers, Pineapple, Tomatoes, and Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• Approx 10-12 button mushrooms
• 1 green pepper
• 1/2 tomato
• 1/2 onion
• 1 cup cabbage
• 1/2 cup pineapple
• 1 teaspoon oil

To make:

• Chop your vegetables into fairly even chunks.
• In a pan, heat the oil and saute the onions for a minute.
• Add the hoisin sauce and ginger garlic paste and let it come to a boil (2 minutes).
• Add the remaining ingredients and coat them in the sauce.
• Turn off the gas after a minute and serve immediately.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Mushroom, Potato and Pepper Open Sandwich

I love Scandinavia - I'm currently reading Stieg Larson (the second book); have always had a very soft spot for hunky Scandinavian men - they've got a wicked sense of humor and their blue-eyed/blonde hair look, preferably with a golden tan acquired sunbathing (Cough: naked) in Goa, really does it for me. Indian men are like goats - and not in a good way. And the daily recipe emails from My Danish Kitchen had me yearning for magically being in Sweden or Denmark this morning.

If I can't be magically teleported there, at least I can take my first jab at their cuisine. An open sandwich - what's more Danish than that?! Well, the Danish Pastry is, but I ain't got the time or requisite skill to attempt something so complicated. I had a nice loaf of organic multigrain bread from the farmer's market that was unused. And I had a boiled potato (the advantages of living with your family) and chives (I love chives - they seem so buttery). So, made an open sandwich for breakfast. But Indian that I am, I did make it a bit spicy with some green chutney. Good thing I only made one slice, coz the bread was really hearty and filling.

Mushroom, Potato and Pepper Open Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 slice bread/baguette
• 1/2 boiled potato
• 2-3 white button mushrooms
• 2 teaspoons coconut milk/cream
• Handul of finely chopped green pepper
• 1 tablespoon green chutney
• 1 teaspoon chopped chives
• 5-8 black pepper corns
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

To make:

• Mash your potato along with some coconut milk to make a thick gooey paste. Ideally, do this while the potato is still hot.
• In a pan, heat the olive oil.
• Chop your mushrooms and add to the pan, along with freshly ground black pepper.
• Saute the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes until brown.
• Slice your bread (fairly thick). You may want to toast/grill your bread if its too flimsy.
• Spread the green chutney over the bread.
• Next spread the mashed potato over the bread.
• Layer the sauted mushrooms next.
• Next come some finely chopped green pepper.
• Finish off with a sprinkling of finely chopped chives and a dash of olive oil.

Apple and Cabbage Salad

A delightfully tart apple and cabbage salad dressed with red wine vinegar and chives, and a sprinkling of black grapes with some leftover peppers.

Apple and Cabbage Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 tart apple (I used Granny Smith)
• 2 cups of shredded cabbage
• 1 cup black grapes
• 1/2 red and green peppers
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chives

To make:

• Chop your apple and cabbage. I soaked my apples in lime juice so that it doesn't go brown.
• Dress the cabbage with the red wine vinegar.
• Add to the apple, grapes and peppers.
• Finish off with a dash of finely chopped chives.

Cauliflower, Green Beans, Peppers and Quinoa Salad

I haven't had quinoa in a while and seeing my depleting stock of vegetables, I made a big pot of quinoa with green beans, cauliflower and red and green peppers, flavored with sumac, sage, and black pepper. I did pop the beans and the cauliflower in boiling water for a minute or two. I did taste the beans raw and they tasted awful and the vegetable vendor explicitly said they can't be had raw. 

Cauliflower, Green Beans, Peppers and Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped green beans
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 green pepper/chilli
• 1 red pepper
• 2 leaves of sage
• 12-15 black pepper corns
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sumac powder

To make:

• Chop up your vegetables.
• Cook your quinoa in 2-2.5 cups of water for 15 minutes, along with the sage leaves and sumac powder.
• In a pot of boiling water, cook your beans and cauliflower for 2 minutes. Drain into a pot of ice cold water to stop the cooking.
• Add the vegetables to the qninoa and mix well.
• Season with freshly ground black pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Watermelon, Jalepeno, Mint and Tofu Salad

There are quite a few watermelon-jalepeno or watermelon-feta or watermelon-mint recipes out there. This one combines all of them into one. I used raw tofu seasoned with oregano salt instead of feta. Non-vegans can use feta or any other soft creamy cheese.

Personally, I prefer keeping the watermelon seeds, as well as scraping the watermelon off its green rind and using every last inch of watermelon because closer to the rind and the rind itself is where all the nutrients are!

Watermelon, Jalepeno, Mint and Tofu Salad

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups of watermelon, cubed (and deseeded, if you prefer it that way)
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 inch knob of ginger, finely chopped/grated
• 1-2 jalepeno peppers, chopped
• 3/4 cup of silken tofu, the softer the better
• Teaspoon of oregano flavoured salt
• Dash of balsamic vinegar

To make:

• Break up your tofu into crumbs with your fingers. Season with the oregano salt.
• In another plate, combine the watermelon, jalepenos, ginger and mint. Leave this in the fridge for 3-4 hours to chill and for the flavors to infuse.
• When you want to eat the salad, add the tofu (or cheese of your choice) on top of the watermelon salad, and top off with a dash of balsamic vinegar.
  
  
  

Strawberry, Pea, Pepper, and Lettuce Salad with a Pesto Dressing

Strawberry, pea, green pepper, and lettuce salad dressed with a basil walnut pesto dressing.

Strawberry, Pea, Pepper, and Lettuce Salad

Ingredients:

• 10 large strawberries
• 1 cup green peas
• 2-3 cups lettuce
• 1 green pepper
• 3-4 basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons basil walnut pesto
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Handful of sunflower seeds

To make:

• Chop up the strawberries, peppers, and lettuce.
• Finely chop the basil leaves and combine it with the pesto, olive oil and a couple of teaspoons of water to make a dressing.
• Pour over the remaining ingredients.
• Garnish with sunflower seeds.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Cabbage and Guava Salad

This salad brought me a nice wholesome lunch as well as a renewed belief in mankind. On my way to work, I hauled a rickshaw, asked if the driver would go to Andheri, after having said yes, I stupidly put my bag in the rickshaw and went off to get a pack of cigarettes. When I got back, the rickshaw was gone. I had my purse and cell with me, but my office ID and my lunch was gone. Great way to start the day when you're already running a bit late. Four hours later, I get a call from home saying my bag has been returned! The rickshaw driver drove on halfway before realizing I'd left some stuff in there, and drove all the way back to hand over my bag to the cigarette shop he saw me going into. Phew! I'm not leaving my bag again, thats for sure! But at least good to know not everyone is a crook...

Cabbage and Guava Salad

Ingredients

• About 2 cups of green cabbage
• 2 guavas
• 1 red pepper
• 2 teaspoons of dry chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Handful of coriander
  
  
  
  

Strawberry, Lettuce, Pak Choi, and Pepper Salad

Continuing with my theme of adding fruits to salads, here's a salad with lettuce, pak choi, peppers, strawberries, and basil.

Strawberry, Lettuce, Pak Choi, and Pepper Salad

Ingredients

• 15 strawberries
• 2 cups of iceberg lettuce
• 1 green pepper
• 1 cup pak choi
• 3-5 leaves of basil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dry chilli flakes

To make:

• Chop the veggies and the strawberries fairly even.
• Combine the veggies and strawberries.
• Tear up the basil leaves and add on top.
• Add the chilli flakes to the olive oil and dress the salad.