Vietnamese Style Steak Salad

This is a very simple, tasty steak salad that can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. It was lovely for Shabbos lunch a few weeks ago.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
4 oz rice noodles (vermicelli)
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound sirloin steak, well trimmed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small head Boston or butter lettuce, shredded
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated, peeled carrot
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

In a small saucepan, cook the noodles in boiling water until soft, about three minutes. Drain and rinse. Transfer the noodles to a medium bowl and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and pepper flakes, whisk until the dressing is well combined.

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Basic Fennel and Sundried Tomato Salad

This is a very simple, healthy salad and a great use for fresh fennel. For a more complete meal, serve with some poached salmon or any other protein that you like, enjoy!

Serves 2

1 bulb of fennel
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (fresh, not packed in oil if possible)
1/3 cup parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp Lemon juice
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste (optional, the cayenne adds some extra heat)

Pour hot water into a small bowl and soak the sundried tomatoes. Chop the stem away from the fennel bulb and discard the stem. Chop the bulb lengthwise into thin slices. Coarsely chop the parsley. Drain and coarsely chop the sundried tomatoes. Toss fennel, sundried tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil together in a bowl. Add salt and cayenne pepper.

Corn Salad with Avocado, Red Onion and Tomatoes

A very simple Summer salad, great for bringing to BBQs.

4 ears of corn
2 avocados
1 red onion
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 tsp Sriracha chili sauce (for a hint of spice, you can leave out if preferred)
2 tbsp parsley or cilantro
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt

Cut the green ends off the ears of corn. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and drop the corn ears into the water. Boil the corn for 5 minutes then remove and let cool on a paper towel. While the corn is cooling, cut the cherry tomatoes in half, finely slice the red onion and then slice in half again, score and chop the avocado and the parsley.

Hold each ear of corn upright and slice the kernels off into a bowl with a sharp knife. Toss the corn with the avocado, tomato, red onion, parsley, lemon juice, and sriracha sauce. Season with salt to taste and enjoy!

Arugula Salad with Tomatoes, Avocado and Pine Nuts

A very simple, savory salad with a dijon vinaigrette that I whipped together a few days ago. I think it might become one of my staples. Maybe yours too?

Serves 2

Salad Ingredients:
3 oz arugula
6 on-the-vine, roma, or plum tomatoes
1 avocado
1/2 cup pine nuts

Heat a small pan over low heat. Add pine nuts and toast for 2-3 minutes, until slightly brown.

While the pine nuts are toasting, halve and score avocado, then cut into thin slices. Slice tomatoes into thick cuts then slice in half again. Prepare the vinaigrette.

Dijon Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (use the lemon in risotto dish if preparing it also)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl then season with salt and pepper.

Add arugula, tomatoes, avocado, and pine nuts to a large bowl and then toss with your homemade dressing.

Bibb Lettuce Salad with Blue Cheese, Avocado and Honey Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves 4
Difficulty Level: Easy
Time to Prepare: Less than an hour

1 head Boston Bibb Lettuce
5 Tomatoes (roma or plum)
2 avocados
1 English hothouse cucumber
1 cup roughly chopped Danish blue cheese

Honey Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp store bought honey mustard (or 1 tsp honey and 2 tbsp mustard)
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
pinch of salt

Wash and chop the lettuce then thickly cut your cucumber and tomato in slices, then in halves. Halve and score the avocados into cubes. Toss cucumber, tomato and avocado in with the lettuce. Whisk salad dressing ingredients together in a small bowl then pour in with salad and toss.

Lemon-Tahini Dressing

Tonight I was bored with my usual olive oil-balsamic vinegar combo so I came up with an impromptu dressing which was really delicious. These measurements are pretty approximate since I basically just poured things together. Use your discretion and taste if you’d like to make it yourself. Here it is…

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tahini paste

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp balsamic vinaigerette

1 tsp crushed garlic

Pinch of salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl and enjoy over any type of salad. That’s it!