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som tam – thai green papaya salad

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It was only recently that I tried Som Tam, thai green papaya salad. It was at White Elephant a couple of months ago and both hubby and I were pleasantly surprised at the flavours. I bought a green papaya to use as a tenderizer but then I recalled the fabulous salad so had to try and make it myself.

I used the recipe from Thai Table as a reference but had to make a few changes based on what I had in the house.  Dried shrimp was replaced with shrimp paste and palm sugar was replaced with granulated sugar. To shred the papaya, you make cuts into the peeled papaya and then slice off the shreds. This is what I did the first time I made the salad. Subsequent times, I just grated it using my food processor. So much easier!

I’ve been eating this salad for the past few days.  It’s a great mix of salty from the peanuts, sweet from the sugar, sour from the lime and savoury from the fish sauce and shrimp paste. It’s quite addictive!

Som Tam – Green Papaya Salad
(Adapted from Thai Table)

5 Cherry Tomatoes
2 chili peppers or hot sauce
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
1 1/2 TB fish sauce
1 clove garlic
2 cups shredded green papaya
3/4 lime, juiced
1 1/2 TB sugar
2 TB toasted peanuts

Crush the peanuts using a mortar and pestle and keep aside. In the mortar, smash the clove of garlic.  Add the tomatoes, chili peppers, shrimp paste, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and peanuts and crush.  Add the papaya and mix it well with the rest of the ingredients.

tabouli

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When putting together the menu for hubby’s party, he requested tabouli for the salad course.  Tabouli is a popular salad in the Middle East predominantly made with bulgar wheat and parsley.  When searching for a recipe, there were so many variations!  I finally settled on one from Guy Fieri, from one of the drive-ins he visited for his show, “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives“.

This was a refreshing salad and it provided not only a refreshing side for our arabian feast but also a great leftover lunch.

Tabouli1 cup water
1 cup fine cracked wheat
1 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup minced fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 tomatoes, diced
2 cucumbers, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
1 teaspoons sea salt

In a large mixing bowl, pour the water over the cracked wheat and cover, let stand about 20 minutes until wheat is tender and water is absorbed. Add the chopped herbs and vegetables and toss with the mix. Combine the oil, lemon juice, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to wheat mixture and mix well. Chill. Serve and enjoy.

guest blogger: sweety’s quinoa and veggie salad

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I’m so happy to have a good friend of mine guest blog today.  Sweety Sull Tumber is a wonderful mother to two gorgeous kids, J and S.

It’s a snow day today and I was feeling hungry.  Too lazy to run out in the blistering weather to purchase some groceries, I decided to test my culinary skills and come up with something to eat with existing ingredients in my pantry.  For months now, I had been intentionally ignoring the jar of quinoa that I purchased on one of my ‘today is the day that I will eat healthy and instantly lose a million pounds’ type outings.  So I thought… Maybe I should learn how to prepare this, how bad could it taste? I’ll just jazz it up with some fresh veggies and lemon.  On a side note, up until today I really had no idea what quinoa even was! Well, after some snooping around in my fridge and throwing some simple veggies together,  I enjoyed the most healthiest, tastiest and filling salad ever! Quinoa is an amazing grain full of fiber and all nine amino acids.  It’s also a complete protein making this an excellent choice for those who are trying to lower their weekly meat intake.  It’s also gluten free.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. My 2 year old sure did.

Quinoa and Veggie Salad

1 cup dry quinoa , cooked and drained
1 long english cucumber, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup of diced celery
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
5 green onions, diced
2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
1/4 cup parsley
2 cups of canned cooked chickpeas, rinse well
2-4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
I also added 2 tablespoons of low fat italian dressing that I found in my fridge just for fun

Toss together and enjoy!

celebrating eid – tomato and bocconcini salad

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Today is Eid, a festival which marks the end of Ramadan and a month of fasting.  On this joyful day, people celebrate by going to mosque and sharing a feast with friends and family.  This year’s dinner consisted of a fabulous meal made by my mother-in-law which consisted of biryani (a rice and meat dish), and freshly fried samosa. 

My contribution to the meal was a Tomato and Bocconcini salad made into an appetizer by placing the cherry tomato and cheese on a toothpick.  This is one of my favorite salads – the combination of the lemon, garlic and basil adds so much flavour to the otherwise flat-tasting cheese.

This is a ridiculously easy to make salad and a great way to use up those summer tomatoes.  Its packed with so much flavour, and is a hit everytime it is served.

Tomato and Bocconcini Salad

200 grams mini bocconcini
1 pint cherry tomatoes
zest and juice of one lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
basil bunch, chopped
2 TB parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

Combine lemon, garlic, basil, parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add cheese and tomatoes and toss.

lots of summer flavours in couscous salad

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Yay…summer’s here!  Lets hope that sunshine is here to stay.  Time for patios and barbecues and fresh summer flavours.  We’ve been trying to eat more grains and veggies.  Unlike hubby, I can’t eat a bag of celery and carrot sticks – its just too boring!  This is the perfect salad that incorporates veggies and beans and with the addition of lemon zest, no one can call this boring. 

Couscous Salad
1 cup couscous, cooked
1 cucumber, cubed
1 tomato, diced
1 bell pepper, cubed
2 green onions
1/2 red onion, diced
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
cilantro
2 TB olive oil
salt
pepper
Just toss everything together and enjoy!

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad

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Watermelon, feta, mint….who knew combining sweet watermelon with creamy cheese and mint would taste so good. It’s amazing how well it works together – trust me.

After cold weather and a snow fall this month, it’s nice to finally have lovely May weather.  The weekend was spent outdoors. We enjoyed the plus 20 temperatures that we had eagerly been awaiting.  Sunday afternoon on the boat led to barbecuing indian spiced and korean bbq ribs. 

This watermelon, feta and mint salad was such a refreshing accompaniment to the meal.  This unexpected combination of sweet watermelon, creamy cheese accented with sweet red onions and mint definitely felt like “summer in a bowl”.  Take it to your next potluck – it will be the most talked about dish.

Update – August 2019 – My 5 year old helped me make this salad today. He was so confused about the addition of onions to his beloved watermelon. He would not try the salad but I was not upset about it. It just meant there was more for hubby and I to enjoy!

 

 
 
Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad
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Ingredients

  • 2 cups watermelon, cubed
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 10 mint leaves, sliced thinly
  • 1 TB red wine vinegar
  • Juice of 1/4 lemon
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine the watermelon, feta, onion and mint in a bowl.
  2. Combine the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and shake well.
  3. Pour the dressing over the watermelon. Enjoy!
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https://foodmamma.com/2010/05/summer-in-bowl-watermelon-feta-and-min/

 

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