Tag Archives: Salad

Elotes and Pineapple Salad , Ensalada de Elotes con Piña

This is our favorite Summer Salad, Elotes Salad or Mexican Street corn Salad with pineapple. It’s basically Mexican Street Corn that you can eat with a spoon rather than digging into a whole corn on the cob covered with Cotija, paprika etc…which can be a challenge, except that I have added some grilled pineapple.
This is a great salad to serve at your next Barbeque, or as we like to do, add it to Tacos and even pile it high on Burgers. So SO good!
It’s very simple, you start by grilling corn and fresh pineapple and once they are cooled you cut off the kernels carefully with a sharp knife, then toss together with the pineapple chunks in a simple dressing.

Prep time : 15 min
Cooking time : 10 min
Serves : 6

INGREDIENTS:

6 ears of Corn
1/3- 1/2 of a fresh pineapple, peeled and sliced thick-ish (see note*)
2 scallions, sliced
1 small red onion, peeled and chopped fine
1 small red chili pepper, deseeded and chopped fine
½ cup crumbled Cotija cheese (see note**)
½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro, more for on top

Dressing:

½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup crème fraiche
Juice of 1 lime, or more according to taste
A few dashes of Tabasco ( or Franks hot sauce)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika, more for on top
Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat (an outdoor) grill or grill pan to medium heat. Clean your corn if necessary and rub all over with a little oil. Place on the grill and cook for about 10 minutes, turning every few minutes. Do the same with the Pineapple slices. Remove them once cooked from the grill and let them cool.
Meanwhile mix mayonnaise, crème fraiche, lime juice, tabasco and paprika together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Cut the kernels off the cob, and cut the pineapple slices into bite-size pieces
Get out a pretty bowl and combine everything… the corn, pineapple, onion, scallions, chili peppers, Cotija cheese, cilantro, and dressing. Reserve some cilantro and Cotija to sprinkle on top.

Enjoy!

* Any left-over Pineapple is great grilled and then served with ice-cream as a dessert.
** If you can’t find Cotija, I think that Feta resembles it most, it has a similar texture and taste.

If you make this Elotes salad, be sure to leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you and if you love it, pin it. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! @thecookingspoonblog or hashtag it #thecookingspoonblog

Greek Salad Bowl with Tempeh

7 Replies

With summer on it’s way and plenty of seasonal veggies available, salads become more than just a green side dish. A complete meal that is nutritious and delicious, a colorful, bountiful platter full of goodness. This Greek salad bowl with Tempeh is a complete meal, with fresh grilled veggies, quinoa, feta, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, tempeh and more. And an amazing Lemony garlic Dressing with lots of fresh herbs to drizzle over the top. Basically a Greek Super Salad.

We eat this Salad for lunch or dinner as a complete meal since It’s really filling and delicious. You can serve this Greek Salad with some grilled Pita bread or even French bread. It also keeps quite well for a few hours, so you can put it in a Tupperware and take it along on a Picknick.
There’s a little prep involved but not more that you would usually have for dinner. This is after all a complete meal. Perfect for Spring and Summer.

Prep time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 30 minutes
Serves : 4

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 eggplant, cut into cubes
• 2 red peppers, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried thyme or a few sprig of fresh thyme
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup cubed cooked (left-over) Tempeh*
• Salad leafs of all kinds and as much as you want
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, yellow and red
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and cubed
• 2 red onions, peeled and sliced*
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata black olives
• 4 ounces Greek Feta cheese torn into pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs like parsley, chives, basil
LEMON FOR SERVING
• Soak the red onions in lemon juice for about 15 minutes so they loose their sharpness if you prefer.

DRESSING:

1 juice of one Lemon
1 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. honey
1/2 cup (Greek) extra virgin Olive oil,
1 small Garlic clove minced or grated
1 tbsp. fresh Basil, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh Dill, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh Parsley
1/2 tsp. Onion powder
1 tsp. Oregano, dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*If you don’t like tempeh sub for canned tuna or cooked chicken or even hard boiled eggs.

DIRECTIONS:
To make the Dressing, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, honey and mustard. Whisk in the olive oil. Add the remaining seasoning and garlic. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary, set aside.
Preheat oven to 220° C/425° F.
Cook Quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.
Place eggplant and pepper in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil and thyme, season with salt and pepper. Gently toss to combine.
Place into oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until tender. Give it a stir around once during cooking.
Place a bed of lettuce leafs in each bowl.
Divide the quinoa over each bowl, Top with eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, olives, your choice of protein (tempeh, tuna, chicken). Place the Feta in the middle of the salad and top with some more red onion.
Sprinkle with fresh herbs and lemon wedges. Pour over the dressing and serve immediately. If you want to take the salad with you, put the dressing in a jar and pour over just before serving.
ENJOY!

Broccoli Salad

3 Replies

With Summer on its way, it’s great to have lots of salad recipes on hand. This Broccoli salad is so colorful and fun to make, and obviously fantastic to eat. The great thing about this particular salad is that you can even make it a day in advance, it holds up really well, making it perfect for Bbq’s and Picnics.

It’s very simple to make, start by soaking the cranberries in warm water.
Then you caramelize the pecan nuts with the butter and sugar.
As these cool, you steam the broccoli florets for just 3 minutes in the microwave. You rinse them under cold water and drain.
The rest of the ingredients are then added and tossed with the delicious simple dressing.

⏰ Prep time : 15 minutes
🍝 Cooking time : 15 minutes
🍴 Serves : 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main course

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large head of Broccoli, cut into florets
• 1/2 cup of pecans
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup pomegranate arils, reserve some to scatter on top before serving
• 4 oz. chopped cooked ham
• 4 oz. grated aged cheddar, coarsely grated or finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. chopped chives
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley, (1 tbsp. goes in and the other on top)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• a good squeeze of lime juice
• 2-3 tbsp. milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Start by soaking the cranberries in warm water.
2. Then heat a small pan on medium heat and melt the butter. Add the Pecans, salt and the tablespoon of sugar.
3. Keep stirring until sugar is caramelizing and the nuts are golden.
4. Transfer to a plate lined with a piece of parchment paper and make sure to separate the nuts or they will form clusters.
5. Steam the broccoli florets for three minutes, rinse under cold water and drain very well.
6. For the dressing mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, lime juice, sugar and season with salt and pepper.
7. Drain the cranberries and pat dry with kitchen paper.
8. Toss all the remaining ingredients over the broccoli and mix carefully.
9. Add the dressing and toss again.
10. Place all on top of some salad leafs on a big platter to serve.
11. Sprinkle with the pomegranate arils and some parsley.

ENJOY!
MYRA

Peach Basil Shrimp Salad with Sweet Chili Vinaigrette

9 Replies

When the temperature rises, easy meal prep and (semi) cold dishes are my kind of meal! This Peach Basil Shrimp Salad tastes light and fresh! Tender crisp succulent grilled shrimp served on a bed of crispy greens with juicy Peaches and lots of Basil for a complete meal ready in minutes (with almost no clean up); this is truly the perfect summer meal!
And for that matter, our favourite Salad.
The dressing is made with ready sweet chili sauce and an ingredient that I really love, Ume Su. Maybe you have heard of it? I discovered it a couple of years ago and love it.

Ume Su is the red juice of umeboshi apricots that are put in brine with shiso leaves. Its also very salty, and most times it’s not necessary to add more salt to your recipe. Ume Su is less acidic than ordinary vinegar though, because it’s technically not a vinegar but the sour brine juice from the lactic acid fermentation.
The best way to describe the flavor is fruity, slightly acidic and salty all at the same time, that’s why I love adding it to sauces and vinaigrettes because it adds a lot of flavor and a little goes a long way.
If you can’t find it, buy it online, but if you don’t feel like buying it at all, which I totally understand (but you’re missing out on something great), sub with more vinegar and salt.

Prep Time : 15 mins
Cook Time : 5 mins
Total Time : 20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

INGREDIENTS Sweet chilli vinaigrette
• 6 tbsp. sweet chilli sauce
• ½ cup natural oil or very light olive oil
• 1 tbsp. sesame seed oil
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce nam pla
• 2 tsp Ume Su
• 1 tbsp. honey
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt if necessary
INGREDIENTS Peach Basil Shrimp Salad:
• 1 cup loosely packed basil leafs only
• 16 oz. / 450 gr. mixed salad greens various colors if possible
• 1 cup radishes
• 2 peaches
• 2 avocados
• 5 spring onions
• 16 oz. / 450 gr. peeled big fresh shrimp
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large buffalo Mozzarella or 2 medium
• Handful fresh cilantro

Instructions:

1. For the Sweet Chilli Vinaigrette, mix all the ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined.
2. Reserve until ready to use. Leftovers are best stored in the fridge.
3. Place all the greens in a large serving dish. Sprinkle the Basil leafs on top of the greens.
4. Cut the radishes in very thin slices and fan them out, place them on the salad. Leave some of the smaller radishes whole.
5. Peel the peaches, cut in half, twist and separate the halves. Remove the stone and also cut into thinner wedges and place on the salad fanned out.
6. The same goes for the avocados, peel, cut in half, remove the stone and slice and place on salad.
7. Put a frying pan on medium high heat, when hot add the oil. Season the shrimp and cook for about two to three minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the shrimp.
8. Cook until no longer pink and remove straight away from the heat. Arrange on the salad.
9. In the middle of the salad, place the buffalo mozzarella, slightly torn open to reveal it’s soft inside.
10. Sprinkle with the fresh cilantro and serve drizzled with the sweet chilli vinaigrette.

Enjoy!
Myra XO