Vietnamese Chicken-Noodle Salad

Ingredients 

3/4 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges, for serving
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
8 ounces rice vermicelli
cooked chicken, shredded (about 3 cups)
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 carrot, shredded
2 cups mixed herbs, such as cilantro, basil and mint


Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the sesame seeds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 5 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a food processor. Add the oil, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, ginger and 3 tablespoons of water. Puree until smooth and season the sauce with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, soak the rice noodles in boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the noodles under running cold water to cool; drain well.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, carrot, herbs and two-thirds of the sesame sauce. Season with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat. Serve the noodles topped with the chicken salad, along with lime wedges and the remaining sauce on the side.

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Indian Spiced Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp peanut oil (or other high smokepoint oil)
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 cans chickpeas, drained and well-rinsed
3/4 cups plain yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 green onions thinly sliced
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint
salt to taste


Directions

Measure out cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes and combine, crushing slightly with mortar and pestle or heavy meat mallet if desired. 

Heat oil in large heavy frying pan until shimmering. Add mustard seeds, cover pan, and cook until popping stops, about 1 minute. Remove lid and add cumin seed/fennel seed/red pepper mixture and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. (Be careful not to burn these aromatic ingredients. Lower heat and add chickpeas, then cook 3-4 minutes, stirring a few times so the chickpeas are well-coated with oil. Turn off heat and let chickpeas cool about 15 minutes.

While chickpeas cool, slice scallions, and finely chop mint and cilantro. Stir together yogurt and lemon juice in a medium-sized glass (or other non-reactive) mixing bowl. When chickpeas are cooled nearly to room temperature, add them to yogurt mixture and stir to combine. Then gently fold in sliced scallions, chopped mint, and chopped cilantro. Season with salt, then let sit at least 15 minutes for flavors to combine. Serve salad at room temperature.

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Russian Salad

Russian Salad Recipe:

• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 cup of green beans
• 1 cup of carrots
• 1 16 oz can of pineapple tidbits
• 2 cups of grapes
• 1 green apple and 1 red apple
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• a few teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• a few teaspoons of sugar

Cut the carrots and green beans into half inch strips and set aside. Peel and dice the potatoes into bite size pieces as well and set aside. Boil all three of these vegetables (separately since they have different cooking times) until they are cooked but still have a bite to them. You shouldn’t overcook them because they will become too mushy in the salad and that won’t be good!

Next cut the grapes in half, dice the apples into small pieces, and drain the pineapple tidbits and set aside.

Place all the vegetables and fruits into a large bowl. Whisk together the sour cream, mayo, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar until smooth. Then pour over the salad mixture and combine. Refrigerate overnight, it tastes best when it’s very very cold.

[the picture above is garnished on the part of my sister in law :-) with a tomato peel rose and mint leaves]

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