Little Chew Salad
This salad keeps everyone happily chewing, which means you get the pleasure of each other’s company around the table for longer than it takes to wolf down a burger and fries. That’s only one thing I like about Little Chew. The colors, textures and yummy taste are other reasons to make this. And of course the health benefits of this salad are enormous (it’s all those cruciferous veggies, edamame and garlic).
Just in case you don’t know (now you will!), edamame are the young, tender, green soybeans. High in protein (a half a cup yields 11 grams of protein), that protein is “complete,” meaning they contain nine essential amino acids the body needs. Edamame are low in fat too.
Note that the cups below are approximate. If you have a little more radicchio and a little less bok choy, well that’s okay. If you want to use up a stalk of bok choy and it puts you over your 2 C, go for it. The 2 C of edamame are approximate too…
Serves 4-6
| 2 C thinly sliced radicchio (or Chinese cabbage) | ½ C extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) |
| 1 C thinly sliced zucchini | ¼ C lemon juice or balsamic vinegar |
| 1 C shredded carrots | 2-4 cloves garlic, pressed |
| 2 C thinly sliced baby bok choy (greens tops too) | 1 tsp good salt |
| ½ C thinly sliced scallions | 1 tsp finely minced ginger, optional |
| 2 C shelled edamame (frozen are fine) | micro greens as garnish, optional |
Combine first six ingredients in a salad mixing bowl. [The interesting thing here is that I found I didn’t need to cook the edamame at all. I let them thaw slightly, sitting on my counter, until I had the rest of the veggies in the mixing bowl. So it was simple, simple. I don’t know why everything needs to be such a fuss when it doesn’t have to be.]
Add dressing ingredients and toss well so everything is well-coated and mixed.
Dish out and make this a meal, or spoon it alongside some steamed brown rice. I like it with lamb burgers and a baked yam too. Alternatively, you can make this completely different by using toasted sesame oil instead of EVOO, rice wine vinegar instead of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, and add a splash of tamari. If you do that, add a pinch of nutmeg.