Tag: salads

Pears and Arugula Salad with Balsamic Dressing

The combination of sweet Pears and slightly bitter Arugula leaves is delightful. It is enhanced by a Balsamic dressing , toasted walnuts, and Parmesan cheese . I usually like to serve this in individual plates and not make a big Salad with these ingredients. Sometimes I add a few pomegranates seeds or dried cranberries, for some colour.

It is easy to make this salad and doesn’t take much time. Give it a try.

Ingredients

  • Arugula leaves. a handful
  • Pear 1
  • Walnuts 1/2 cup or less.
  • Balsamic vinegar. 1 Tablespoon
  • Honey 1 teaspoon
  • Olive oil 1/4 teaspoon
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Salt less than 1/4 teaspoon

Prepping

The Arugula leaves I have used are small and soft as they were grown in the Hydroponic method. If the leaves you are using are big, tear them into smaller pieces. Then, wash and dry the leaves.

Rinse the Pear, then cut into half. Remove the core and slice the halves.

Heat a small pan, put the 1/2 cup Walnuts in it and toast it. Keep the heat low so that they don’t burn. Once the edges a little brownish remove from the heat and keep aside.

dressing

Mix the 1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon of Honey, 1/4 teaspoon of Olive oil, and a pinch of Salt well in a bowl. Then, keep it aside.

to serve

Take 2 quarter plates, arrange the Arugula leaves, then place the pear slices on top of the leaves. You can use all the pear slices.

Mix the dressing well before drizzling it on the leaves and pears.

Add the toasted walnuts.

Then the Parmesan Cheese Shavings. ( I use a potato peeler to shave off slices of the cheese )

You can add Pomegranate seeds OR dried Cranberries if you want. It adds color. I didn’t have either of them.

Note

Instead of Balsamic Dressing you can drizzle Balsamic reduction or store bought bottled Balsamic glaze. They are both rather sweet though.

It is easy to make Balsamic reduction.

Add 1 cup of Balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan. Mix about 1 teaspoon of sugar. Heat on low heat till the vinegar thickens . Keep stirring till you get the desired thickness. It will thicken more once it cools, so keep that in mind .

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Sprouted Moong and Chick peas salad.

In the hot summer months of India this is a very refreshing salad to eat.

Vegetable sellers offer sprouted Moong and the sprouted chick pea (kala chana, not the bigger white ones). However, I like to make the sprouts at home. Chick peas come in many varieties. The big white ones used to make Chole and Hummus are also chick peas. They may be called Garbanzo or Kabuli chana too. Then there are the smaller ones, which can be light brown to green to dark brown. I have used the smaller dark brown chick peas.

HOW TO MAKE SPROUTS AT HOME

It is very easy to make the sprouts at home.(

Take about 1/2 cup of the green moong dal. Take 1/2 cup of the dark brown chick peas (kala chana). After sprouting the quantity usually doubles.

Put them in separate bowls. Wash each one well so that all the dust is removed. Add 1 cup full of water to each bowl. Let the seeds soak for at least 6 to 8 hours. I usually soak in the evening and leave it overnight.

Next day it will be swollen now wash again thoroughly .

Take two pieces of cheese cloth or cotton napkins

Place the Moong in one cloth. Put the Chick peas in the other cloth. Make a loose bundle with each cloth and tie the top of the cloth bundles. You use a rubber band to close it too.

Place the bundles back in their bowls and leave them in a place with less light for another day.

The next day open the bundles. You will find the moong has sprouted well, but the chick pea has very small roots. You can use them at this stage or wait another day to let the roots grow longer. If you are in a hot dry place, sprinkle some water on the bundles. Do this if you keep them for another day.

Before you use the sprouts wash them again well and very gently so that the roots don’t break.

After washing, spread them out on a plate. Remove and discard all the seeds that haven’t sprouted and are hard.

Now we are ready to use the sprouts in the salad.

INGREDIENTS

  • Sprouted Moong – 1/2 cup
  • Sprouted chick peas – 1/4 cup
  • Onions peeled and chopped small -1/4 cups
  • Tomatoes diced small -1/2 cup
  • Cucumber peeled and diced small – 1/2 cup
  • Coriander leaves chopped (dhania) – 2 or 3 tablespoons full
  • Green chilies chopped – 1 or 2
  • Mint leaves a few to garnish

For the dressing

Lemon or Lime juice -2 Tablespoon

Salt – 1/2 teaspoon or according to taste.

Sugar – a pinch

METHOD

  1. Add all the vegetables and sprouts in a glass serving bowl
  2. Mix well
  3. Add the lemon juice, salt and sugar to the salad and mix well.
  4. Cover and store in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving.
  5. Garnish with Mint leaves before serving.
  6. TIP: If you are going to serve the salad after more than an hour, wait before adding the salt. Add it only half an hour before serving. Otherwise, the vegetables will become limp. Taste to adjust seasoning before serving.

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