Curried Egg Salad

Recipe 101 Cookbooks

5 good quality eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (your favorite)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 big pinches of salt

1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 medium apple, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1 small bunch of chives, minced

First off, you need to boil the eggs properly (the key to good egg salad!). Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Now turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for exactly seven minutes. Have a big bowl of ice water ready and when the eggs are done cooking and place them in the ice bath for three minutes or so - long enough to stop the cooking.

While the eggs are boiling and cooling, combine the yogurt, curry powder and salt in a tiny bowl. Set aside.

Crack and peel each egg, and place in a medium mixing bowl. Add the curried yogurt, onions, apple, pecans, and chives. Now mash with a fork. Don't overdo it, you want the egg mixture to have some texture. If you need to add a bit more plain yogurt to moisten up the mixture a bit, go for it a bit at a time. taste and add more salt if needed. Enjoy as-is, or served wrapped in lettuce or between two slices of good, toasted bread.

Serves 3-4

Mecca Azteca Salad

Recipe from Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook


Salad:
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup peeled, chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped jicama
1 cup chopped avocado
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 cups mixed salad greens
4 cups cooked quinoa, cooled


Mango Lime dressing:
1 cup chopped fresh of frozen mango
1/2 cup safflower, sunflower, or canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

Garnish:
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds
4 tbsp currants, raisins, or chopped dates
4 slices fresh mango
1 tsp chipotle powder or cayenne pepper

To prepare quinoa, bring 2 cups of water per 1 cup of couscous to boil. Add couscous, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. If there’s any water left in the pot at that point, just let it sit, removed from heat, to absorb remaining liquid.

To prepare salad dressing, place all ingredients in a blender and puree (or use stick blender). If you use frozen mango, you can either defrost first or blend frozen (the blender will defrost it).

In a bowl, combine tomato, cucumber, jicama, avocado, and red onion. Toss with lemon juice and sea salt. Divide salad greens onto 4 plates, top each with about a cup of couscous. On each serving, drizzle quinoa with about 2 tbsp mango lime vinaigrette. On each serving, place 1/4 of the tomato mixture on top of the quinoa. Drizzle a bit more lime vinagrette on top of the tomato mixture on each serving. Garnish with fresh cilantro, pumpkin seeds, currants, fresh mango slices, and chipotle powder.

Yields 4 large servings.

Black Bean Salad

Recipe from Simply Recipes

1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, thoroughly rinsed, and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted (or fresh corn, parboiled, drained and cooled)
1/2 cup chopped green onions or shallots
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
3 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
2 Tbsp lime juice (about the amount of juice from one lime)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar (to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, onions, jalapeno chile peppers, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, basil, lime juice and olive oil. Add sugar and salt and pepper to taste. (The sugar will help balance the acidity from the tomatoes and lime juice.) Chill before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

Grilled Mushroom-and-Asparagus Salad

Recipe from Health Magazine

Balsamic vinegar
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
Fresh lemon juice
Dijon mustard
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
8 baby portobello mushrooms, or 4 large
8 cups mesclun salad greens (or spinach)

Preheat the grill to high. Whisk 1/4 cup vinegar, 3 tablespoons oil, garlic, 2 teaspoons each juice and mustard, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Place asparagus and mushrooms in a zip-top plastic bag with half of dressing; marinate 15 minutes. Grill asparagus 5 minutes. Grill mushrooms, gill sides down, for 4 minutes; turn. Grill 7 more minutes. Slice thickly. Toss greens with vegetables and dressing. Serve warm.