On the Menu
Exotic salads
Salads from around the world and around the corner
One person's exotic salads are another's daily fare. In this section we'll provide great salad recipes from around the globe.
Some of these salads have become staples in our home - for instance, we make a Mediterranean salad with lentils, feta, and grilled sweet peppers at least every other week. Greek salad, meanwhile, is so popular, both at our dinner table and with many of our friends, that we've given it a whole section. It doesn't hurt that we live just a couple of miles from one of the largest Greek communities in the New World! And let's not forget some old standby salads that, to children, at least, seem like exotic salads, such as delicious Waldorf salad.
We'll be builidng up this section over the coming months. For now, we've got a middle eastern carrot salad recipe below, along with additions listed here:
- Chard salad recipe with poached pears, concord grapes, pine nuts and parmesan in a creamy dressing
- Asian chicken cabbage salad, with lots of raw vegetables your kids will actually eat, topped with a grilled or fried chicken thigh
Have fun cooking Thai Recipes and discover the joys of Thai food. Explore the art of Thai cuisine with a renowned Thai chef.
Or try making yourself these easy healthy salad recipes from Easy-Indian-Food-Recipes.com.
Middle Eastern carrot salad recipe
This middle eastern carrot salad recipe uses lemon to 'cook' the carrots ever so slightly, and hot couscous to cook slightly more later on, so it's a little softer than raw carrot. The addition of a cinnamon stick contrasts nicely with the fresh green herbs.
Ingredients
4 medium or 3 large carrots
1 lemon (juice and rind)
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup uncooked couscous
3 tbsp cilantro
4 tbsp parsley
3 tbsp fresh mint or 1 tsp dried
1 small shallot or 1 green onion, white only
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
Directions
1. Wash and peel the carrots. Cut the tips off and slice in half down the middle. Then cut lengthwise into juliennes about 1/8 inch by 1/8 inch cross section. You can also grate carrots for a faster, but less elegant recipe.
2. Cut one section of lemon rind from the lemon and set aside. Squeeze the lemon juice over the carrots. Add the cinnamon stick and toss it all together to coat the carrots. Cover and let sit on the counter while you prepare the remaining ingredients. You can actually let the carrots soak in the lemon for several hours if you like; this will soften them and help draw out the flavor of the cinnamon.
3. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil with the 1 tsp salt. Remove from heat and immediately store in the couscous. Let sit for 3 minutes then stirr to fluff it and separate the pieces of couscous.
4. Chop the cilantro and parsley, and the mint if using fresh. Mince the shallot or the whites of the green onion.
5. Toss the couscous, chopped herbs, and the shallot or green onion over top of the carrots and mix well. When the cinnamon stick surfaces, remove it.
6. Stir in the olive oil and pumpkin seeds, toss again, and let sit for five minutes, so the hot couscous gently cooks the carrots just a little. Serve while still warm.
For plenty of other traditional recipes from around the world, be sure to check out BillAndSheilasCookbook.com.
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