Jasmine Ketabchi’s Carrot Salad

Bunch of carrots, peeled and julienned

Handful of sesame seeds, roasted

A handful of chopped coriander leaves

Dressing

Splash of balsamic vinegar

Teaspoon coarse mustard

¼ cup olive oil

Tablespoon of honey

Juice of a lemon

Teaspoon cumin

Coarse salt

• Put the carrots in a bowl. 
• Add the chopped coriander leaves. 
• Make a dressing of the olive oil, honey, mustard, vinegar, lemon, salt and cumin. 
• Shake well and adjust for taste. 
• Mix with the salad. 
• Sprinkle on the toasted sesame seeds.

Pasta Salad with Pesto and Nuts

A pasta salad with a bit of a difference - very simple and nice for a buffet.

1 pound pasta (bow ties or spirals)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup pesto sauce

¼ cup chopped walnuts soaked in honey

lemon zest from one large lemon

salt and pepper to taste

• To a large pot of boiling water, add 1 teaspoon salt.
• Add noodles and cook just until tender but firm (al dente). Do not overcook the pasta.
• Drain and rinse with cold water.
• Mix the pasta with the pesto sauce, the chopped walnuts and the lemon zest.
• Serve chilled or at room temperature.

German Potato Salad

Not good for the waist line but a great party salad.

6 potatoes (medium sized)

4 strips bacon

¼ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup finely chopped  celery

1 finely chopped dill pickle

¼ cup bullion

½ cup white wine vinegar

½  teaspoon salt

½  teaspoon sugar

⅛  teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon dried mustard

¼ cup chopped parsley or chives

• Without peeling, boil potatoes in a covered saucepan until tender. 
• Drain in a colander. 
• Peel the hot potatoes, cut into small pieces, and put into a large salad bowl. 
• While the potatoes are cooking, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan, and crumble when cool enough to do so. 
• In the bacon fat, sauté the onion and celery. 
• Add the crumbled bacon and the sautéd onion and celery to the potatoes. Add the chopped dill pickle. 
• In a saucepan, combine the bullion, vinegar, salt, sugar, paprika and dried mustard, and bring to a boil. 
• Pour over the potatoes and stir gently. 
• Serve with the chopped parsley or chives.

Sirisome’s Green Papaya Salad (Laotian)

Sirisome (Some), my Laotian housemate, made a green papaya salad with a green papaya she brought all the way back to Kabul from California where she went for her last R&R. Here is her recipe which she serves with sticky rice.

1 large green papaya, peeled and shredded
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1 or 2 tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces (5-6 sweet cherry tomatoes are better, but we couldn’t find them here)
2 large cloves garlic
2 small hot red chili peppers, chopped (Laotians like there food really “hot”. You need to see how much chili you can tolerate. Some says her father would use 5 or 6 chilis; I found the 2 more than hot enough)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon shrimp paste
1 teaspoon fish sauce
Juice of a lemon (or lime)

• In a mortar, pound together the garlic, salt, sugar, chili peppers and shrimp paste.
• Add the shredded green papaya, carrot and tomato and pound to bruise the vegetables so they absorb the sauce. (Depending on the size of the mortar you have, you might need to do this in batches.)
• Add the lime juice and fish sauce and continue to pound till well blended.
• Transfer to a serving dish and serve with sticky rice.

Indonesian Gado Gado Salad

This is an adaption of an Indonesian gado gado salad, in which vegetables are traditionally served with a satay (or peanut) sauce. The vegetables are stir-fried and served on a hot peanut lime sauce. The source is Christine Manfield’s cookbook, Spice (Sydney: Viking 1999). The dish was served at a dinner in Geneva prepared by an Australian visiting his daughter in 2000 who worked for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Serves 6.

200 millitres of Peanut Lime Sauce*

120 millitres Tamarind Dressing (see recipe below)

2 tablespoons chopped dry roasted peanuts

3 cloves garlic sliced

2 teaspoons minced ginger

60 millitres chili oil

Selection of the following vegetables, cut into thin strips (julienne). It is not essential to use all the vegetables. Use those of your choice, or others of a similar type.

2 large red chillies

1 sweet green pepper

1 sweet red pepper

1 small carrot

1 green zucchini

9 snow peas

Also

3 green onions, cut into pieces of 2 centimetres

3 snake beans, cut into 4 centimetre lengths and blanched

12 oyster mushrooms, halved

3 Chinese leaves, coarsely shredded

100 grams bean sprouts

2 cups watercress sprigs

• Make peanut lime sauce and keep warm. 
•  Stir fry the vegetables in a wok. Do not stew them. The vegetables should be crisp. This is best done by stir frying them in small batches, as described below, and keeping servings warm in oven. 
•  Divide ingredients into 6 separate portions. 
• For each serving, fry garlic, chilli and ginger in 2 teaspoons of chilli oil for about one minute. 
•  Add  all vegetables (except the cabbage, bean sprouts and water cress), and stir fry for a minute or two, until the vegetables start to wilt. 
• Add cabbage and bean sprouts with tamarind dressing and toss to combine. 
• Stir water cress through hot vegetables and remove from heat. 
• Spread hot peanut sauce on each plate and pile on stir-friend vegetables. 
• Top with roasted peanuts and serve immediately. 
• Serve extra peanut lime sauce in a separate bowl.

Tamarind Dressing

100 millitres tamarind liquid*

20 grams palm sugar, shaved

75 millitres strained lime juice

1 teaspoon ginger juice or minced ginger

25 millitres fish sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

• Mix all ingredients together.

*  See separate recipe.

** You make tamarind liquid by putting a block of tamarind into hot water and mashing it with your hand to get a thick gooey liquid. 

Green Mango Salad (Thai)

There are many different versions of Green Mango Salad. While it is typically Thai, it is also served in Indonesia and other areas of Southeast Asia. Here are two versions I have tried and like.

Green Mango Salad 1

1 large (or 2 small) green mangos, thinly sliced into julian strips

1 large red bell pepper, in thin julien strips

1 large green bell pepper, in thin julien strips

1 large red onion, thinly sliced (or 4-5 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal)

1 small hot chilli pepper, finely diced

10 medium shrimp, cooked, peeled and de-veined

1 tablespoon chopped coriander (for garnish)

1/4 cup soy sauce

Dressing

5 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon black pepper

3 teaspoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

few drops of sesame oil

• Marinate the shrimp in soy sauce for about half an hour. 
• Combine sugar, pepper, fish sauce and oils in a small bowl and set aside. 
•  Put the mango together with all the sliced vegetables in a salad bowl. 
• Top up with the shrimp. 
• Spoon over the dressing. 
• Sprinkle with coriander.

 

Green Mango Salad 2

1 tablespoon chili paste

1 tablespoon chunky peanut butter

1 tablespoon fish sauce

juice of a lime

1 green mango, peeled and julienned

1 green tomato, in thin wedges

1 cucumber, sliced like match sticks

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 green onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 red bell pepper, seeded, stemed and julienned
1-2 sprigs Thai basil or coriander leaves

• Combine the chili paste, the peanut butter, the lime juice and the fish sauce. 
• Toss the mango, tomato, shallots and cucumber. 
•  Add salt and pepper to taste. 
•  Garnish with green onions, red pepper and basil or coriander.