salad

A vision for this salad materialized in my head yesterday in the grocery store when I happened to look down and notice I was standing over a stack of Daikon.

Refreshing and extremely tasty.

Ingredients
Salad:
1 large Daikon radish, sliced thin (mandolin helps)
1 large cucumber, diced 3/4 inch
1 medium beet, shaved
1 black plum, julienned
2-3 scallions, sliced thin

Dressing:
3 or 4 Tbsp of one or a combo of white vinegar, rice wine vinegar, apple cider (I use all three. You can also play around with some fresh lime juice.)
1 or 2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp fish sauce if you like
Several leaves coarsely chopped mint
Red pepper flake to taste

Preparation
Add all salad ingredients to bowl. Mix dressing ingredients well and add to salad. Toss well. This is better if you leave in your fridge for a couple of hours to allow the Daikon to really absorb the flavors of the dressing. Can also add a few pinches of salt–if you add early, it will draw water out of vegetables, which I sometimes like. Add salt late for flavor purposes only. Grated carrot also goes nice in this.

I know, I know. That recipe title is a mouthful. And so is this incredibly delicious and unique salad. This is completely my own creation, and it’s my favorite salad ever. Vietnamese and Italian flavors are combined with oranges and sardines to create an incredible flavor profile. Perfect for a first recipe post.

These ingredients combine to create a unique and delicious flavor profile.

Ingredients

For the salad:
- Several handfuls each of organic baby spinach and arugula.
- One quarter of a large navel orange, sliced
- A half cup of roughly torn fresh mint leaves
- One half of a cucumber, sliced, peeled or unpeeled, but peeled if not organic
- 3 Tbsp Grated Locatelli Romano cheese or any other sharp, hard Italian cheese (Romano, parmiggiano regianno, etc.)
For the dressing:
- One can of sardines (I only buy in extra virgin olive oil or water, never soybean or other vegetable oil)
- 1 Tbsp black or white sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan for a few minutes
- 3 Tbsp of one or a combination of apple cider vinegar (preferably raw unfiltered), rice wine vinegar, or white vinegar
- 2 tsp Thai fish sauce (can be found in the international aisle of any decent grocery
- 2 tsp soy sauce (I prefer to use reduced sodium)
- 1 tsp Sriracha
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp red chili flakes (or to taste)
- 2 tsp of one or a combination of dried Thai basil or sweet basil
- 1 tsp brown sugar
Preparation
Add greens, oranges, cucumber and mint to salad bowl.

Begin the dressing by roughly smashing the sardines in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spoon over greens/ oranges/ cucumber/ mint mixture. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Toss well and enjoy.

~280 calories, 20g protein, 15g fat, 5g carbs