Yum Mamuang (Green Mango Salad)

This is another recipe from Wandee Young's Simply Thai Cooking, that really makes better use of mangos than the Mango Chicken. Mango Salad is a Thai dish, as much as Pad Thai is. It's simple to make as well, really - some mango cut into strips, a little bit of sugar and fish sauce, some coriander and red pepper. What you get is a delicious salad that goes with everything, and especially with hot Thai dishes. We had occasion to try some Indonesian Mango Salad on the weekend, it was quite similar, mango and herbs and green pepper, but I really prefer this one. We again used the Mexican mango salad, but, if you can find it, it's best with the Thai green mango.

Yum Mamuang
adapted from a recipe from Simply Thai Cooking, 2nd Edition
2 large green mangos
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1-1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp coriander, chopped
2 Tbsp mint, chopped
1/3 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp roasted unsalted cashews

To roast the cashews, place in preheat 350F oven for 10 minutes or until fragrant.

Peel the mangos. Slice the mango into very thin strips. Add fish sauce, sugar and chopped coriander (reserve a little of the coriander) and mint. Mix well. Add red pepper strips and sliced red onions. Mix well.

Garnish with cashews and top with more coriander leaves.

Thai Cucumber Salad

This dish we used as a dressing for the Tod Man Goong (shrimpcakes) we made at the same time, the recipe comes from a lady called Wandee Young, who owns a restaurant in Toronto called Young Thailand

, ostensibly the first Thai restaurant in Canada. We haven't had the pleasure of eating at her restaurant, but we have met her, and she seems a very charming lady (and of course, she invited us to come try her food). And now we have the opportunity to try some of her dishes, albeit they are not cooked by her. This is a fairly tasty dish that worked well with the shrimpcakes. Or, you could add more of the cucumber, and eat it as an accompaniment to other Thai dishes. We used Korean cucumbers, which we got in a Korean supermarket (they are more expensive than English cucumbers, but really tasty).Thai Cucumber Salad
adapted from Simply Thai Cooking, 2nd Ed.
10" cucumber (English or Korean)
1/2 small red onion
1/3 medium red pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
coriander leaves, chopped fine, as garnish

Wash and dry the cucumber. Slice into 1/4" pieces and place in bowl. Julienne red pepper and red onion; place on top of cucumber in bowl.

Whisk together sugar, vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Pour over vegetables

Dandelion and Mandarin Salad

This comes from a recipe book called 100 Top Foods for a Younger You. This is an unusual salad, the greens in it are dandelion rather than lettuce. Dandelion greens are good for your body, or so I've found out. They act as a diuretic and detoxifier, stimulate the gallbladder, improve your digestive system, is good for your liver and blood, could help you lose weight and control acne, is a rich source of beta carotene, and is a high source of Vitamin A. All in all, a good health source that can be found in most supermarkets these days. They don't taste too bitter, and the mandarin in this recipe help to offset that bitterness. Cider vinegar, if you choose that, is also a good choice for your health, an energizer and tonic. This is an interesting, healthful and tasty salad.

Dandelion and Mandarin Salad
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar
3/4 cup sliced scallions
about 2 cups dandelion leaves, cleaned, stems removed and sliced into small pieces
6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1-1/2 cups mandarin segments, canned or fresh (or tangerine or clementine)
dandelion flowers (optional)
sprinkle cayenne pepper or paprika, to taste

Clean, then remove stems of dandelion leaves, and slice thinly. Slice scallions thinly. Slice hard-boiled eggs with slicer or a knife. If using canned mandarin, drain segments of syrup; otherwise, remove peel, pith and seeds from individual segments of mandarin.

Whisk together olive oil and lemon juice or cider vinegar to make a dressing. Add scallions and whisk again.

Arrange dandelion leaves on plate. Drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper or paprika. Arrange egg slices and mandarin segments on top of dandelion leaves.

Japanese Salad Dressing

This is quite easy to make salad dressing with quite an interesting flavour, sharp and sweet and salty (from other sauces, I see that ketchup and sugar and white pepper and mustard powder are used to flavour them). If it seems like a lot of salt (which I did, but it didn't taste salty), and you are concerned about your salt intake, you also have to consider the amount of salt in the ketchup, so adjust accordingly. The garlic and onion are sliced, the carrot is shredded, to help in the processing in the food processor. I thought a picture of a salad would be more interesting, here's one we often make.

Japanese Salad Dressing
250 g carrot, shredded
500 g onion, sliced
50 g garlic (2 whole bulbs), sliced
1-1/4 cups distilled white vinegar
4 cups cane sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup salt
1 Tbsp ground white pepper
1 Tbsp yellow mustard powder
5 cups salad oil

Add all ingredients into food processor; process until smooth.

Couscous with Mint and Tomato

Couscous is popular in Middle-Eastern dishes, it is essentially semolina wheat prepared into granules, and cooks simply by adding it to boiling water and letting sit for 5 minutes. You can then add almost any combination of herbs and vegetables to make a salad. It's great and easy to make, for a picnic or a quick lunch.

Couscous with Mint and Tomato
Adapted from a recipe by Laura Calder
1-1/2 cups couscous
juice of 1 lemon
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 onion, minced
Salt and pepper

Prepare the couscous as per package directions. Fluff the couscous into a large wide dish. Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the fluffed couscous. Stir through the herbs, tomatoes and onion. Season well with salt and pepper.

Dill Potato Salad

This looked quite tasty when we watched this program, another of Tyler Florence's Ultimate recipes. We played around with the recipe, halving the ingredients and dropping the onion it originally called for. The changes didn't affect the taste in any way, the potato salad turned out still quite delicious. The taste of eggs and potatoes together is quite good. You could substitute the green leaves from a fennel bulb, if you wanted. This would be good on a picnic, with burgers or with any grilled foods.

Dill Potato Salad
Adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence
1 pound small to medium Yukon gold potatoes
2 large eggs
1 sliced green onion
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 cups mayonnaise
1/8 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 bunch dill, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil

Put the potatoes into a big saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to a simmer. Cook the potatoes until a paring knife poked into them goes in without resistance, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them cool. Cook the two eggs separately in a pot with water for 12 minutes (or cook with the potatoes, but remove after 12 minutes).

Break up the potatoes by hand into rough chunks and add them to a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, green onion and capers, parsley, and lemon juice to the potatoes. Peel the cooled eggs and grate them into the bowl. Toss the potatoes to coat with the dressing. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.

Fennel Slaw

We saw this on one of Tyler Florence's episodes, the one about the Ultimate Steak Sandwich, which is not something that either of us would ever make, neither of us liking beef much or at all, but, as a side dish accompaniment, he made this enhanced or Ultimate cole slaw dish. Essentially, he jazzed up normal cole slaw with extra flavourful ingredients, fennel, tarragon and parsley, to give it a better taste. We used dried tarragon, if you use fresh, use 2 tablespoons. Too, we used yoghurt where the recipe originally called for sour cream, either works, I think. It tasted pretty great, though we both thought the fennel would taste stronger, have more of the anise flavour. This enhanced cole slaw would go great as a side dish in a picnic, or with burgers or hot dogs, too. It's a very healthy recipe, too.

Fennel Slaw
adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence
1 large fennel bulb
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 heaping Tbsp yoghurt
1 bag coleslaw mix
2 tsp dried tarragon
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the upper stalks of the fennel. Finely slice fennel using a mandoline, or the grater attachment on your food processor. In a small bowl combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise, and yoghurt and stir to combine. Add together the finely sliced fennel and coleslaw mix and herbs. Pour over the yogurt-mayonnaise dressing and the olive oil. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Thai Carrot Salad

My beautiful Thai Bride introduced me to this simple and delicious salad. It is quite easy to make. If you like it hot, add more chili flakes. Too, if you like it sweet, add more sugar.

Thai Carrot Salad
2 medium carrots, shredded
3" length cucumber, shredded
3-4 very small or cherry tomatoes, quartered
1-2 tsp brown sugar, to taste
2-3 Tbsp Thai fish sauce, to taste
1 Tbsp chili flakes, to taste
juice of 1/2 lime

Combine all ingredients and serve.

Insalata Caprese

The other dish I made for the potluck is called Insalata Caprese, or Italian Tomato, Basil and Mozarella salad. The dish looks incredibly visually appetizing, with the deep red of the tomatoes, the bright green of the basil and the white of the mozarella, all on a dark background of oil and vinegar. Apparently, too, the level of antioxidants in each of the elements, is enhanced greatly when they are combined, providing for a nutritious side dish. It is easy to assemble, and is delicious, too. Make sure to use the freshest ingredients you can to maximize the flavour.

Insalata Caprese
450 g cherry tomatoes
250 g fresh mozzarella cheese
10-20 fresh basil leaves
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Cut some cherry tomatoes in half and some in quarters. Chop mozzarella into small pieces. Combine tomatoes and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Strew basil leaves over top of salad. Drizzle olive oil over salad, then balsamic vinegar. Toss a little to intensify flavours. Serve and eat immediately.

Ratatouille Salad

I came across this recipe in this recipe box that my mother kept. In there are various interesting recipes, this is the first of them. I like ratatouille, you can make use of many of the different vegetables that come out during the summer. I’ve had it made with cauliflower, covered in melted cheese, with carrots too. Very versatile recipe, you could make it with anything you have on hand, though the classic recipe involves these basic ingredients.

Ratatouille Salad
1 small eggplant
1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
2 16-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp basil, dried
1/8 tsp thyme, dried

Slice eggplant and place in colander. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp salt; let stand 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and pat dry. Dice eggplant. Heat 3 Tbsp oil in large skillet; sauté onion 2 minutes. Add eggplant, zucchini and green pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Remove to bowl, set aside to cool. Stir in chickpeas.

Combine 1/2 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp oil, water, tomato paste, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, basil and thyme to make a dressing. Pour this dressing over vegetables; mix gently.

Serve warm or chilled.

Simple Carrot Salad

This dish brings me back to my teenage years, when my mother would occasionally specially make this for me. Only 3 ingredients, the hardest part is grating the carrots. We used one of those grinders with the multi-purpose attachments, you can get one for your Kitchen-Aid as well. So simple, the sourness of the lemon and the sweetness of the sugar complement the carrots. Enjoy!

Simple Carrot Salad
4 medium carrots
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

Peel and grate the carrots coarsely. Pour the lemon juice over the grated carrots in a bowl, then sprinkle the sugar all over. Toss until the sugar is dissolved.