150 Vegan Favorites (5 page)

Ladle the chili into bowls and serve with warm bread.

A
simple salad can be a wonderful thing. Depending on your mood or appetite, a salad can serve as a stimulating appetizer, a light entree, or a cleanser for a satisfied palate. Perhaps the salad is an unintimidating plate of leafy greens lightly dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, or it’s a bowl of pasta, chick-peas, and asparagus coated with an herbal dressing. It could be a combination of brown rice, black beans, corn, and scallions tossed with a citrus marinade, or it could be roasted beets blended with baby potatoes. A variety of well-made salads plays an important role in the healthful vegan diet.

This chapter offers a plethora of recipes for artful salads, leafy greens, and bean salads, from Tropical Black Bean and Rice Salad, Santa Fe Pasta Salad, and Lemony Whole Grain Salad to Mesclun Salad Bowl and Lemon-Braised Market Greens. This is a compendium of light and healthful salad entrees prepared with a medley of greens, vegetables, grains, beans, and pastas—and all are easy to prepare and a joy to devour.

This chapter also highlights a variety of dark leafy greens that can be quickly cooked and served as a warm salad or side dish. Sturdy greens such as kale, green chard, spinach, and frisée add a touch of panache to the meal and are easy to prepare. Braised leafy greens are also loaded with disease-fighting antioxidants, phytochemicals, and vitamins and are welcome staples in the heart-healthy kitchen. (As a general rule, the darker the leaf, the more vitamins and minerals are present.)

Of course, salads are not limited to leafy green vegetables. Grains, beans, and pastas form the foundation of many salads, while garden vegetables add alluring colors and flavor. Beets, carrots, green beans, summer squash, and other healthy staples are welcome in the new
garde-manger.
Mustard, horseradish, garlic, and chilies provide depth and diversity, while vinegar, citrus juice, and herbs all add a boost of flavor—with few calories or fat.

Black beans and rice, together forever. Long-grain rice or parboiled rice are a good choice for salads because of their “fluffy” texture.

Yield: 6 servings

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beans, rice, scallions, tomatoes, cucumber, chili pepper, oil, lime juice, cilantro, oregano, cumin, pepper, and salt and mix thoroughly. Chill the salad for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld.

If desired, serve over a bed of leafy green lettuce.

Rice vermicelli are thin white noodles with a mild rice flavor. They cook up quickly and are great for salads and cold dishes.

Yield: 4 servings

In a large saucepan, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add the vermicelli and cook over medium heat until it is al dente, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the peanut butter, soy sauce, mirin, 2 tablespoons water, and ginger. Add the cooked noodles, tofu, scallions, roasted peppers, water chestnuts, and cilantro and blend.

Serve the noodles warm or refrigerate for later.

The flavors of the Southwestern kitchen—lime, cilantro, cumin, and jalapeño—infuse this pasta salad with a lighthearted flair.

Yield: 6 servings

In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pasta, stir, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the pasta is al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and cool under cold running water.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oil, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, pepper, and salt. Stir in the pasta, tomatoes, beans, corn, scallions, and bell pepper. Refrigerate the salad for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld. Fluff the salad before serving.

Lightly browned onions have a warm, comforting, almost sweet flavor. In this dish, the cooked onions bring out the mustardlike nuance of mizuna greens, a frilly Japanese leafy vegetable. Serve the greens as a first course or side dish.

Yield: 4 servings

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until the onions are lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the vinegar and sugar. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Arrange the mizuna greens, sprouts, and tomato on salad plates. Using tongs, place the onion mixture over the top of each plate.

Mesclun is the French term for “mixed field greens.” Young, tender leafy greens make the best mesclun salad. Try a variety of leafy greens, such as red leaf lettuce, watercress, arugula, mache, red chard, beet greens, and mizuna.

Yield: 4 servings

Place the greens in the center of a large salad bowl and arrange the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, carrots, and sprouts around the edge. Sprinkle the chick-peas over the center. Drizzle the vinegar over the greens and vegetables.

Serve the salad on small plates with crusty French bread.

Jicama, also called Mexican potato, adds a nice crunchiness to this lightly dressed two-bean and avocado salad.

Yield: 6 servings

In a mixing bowl, combine the two types of beans, avocados, tomatoes, jicama, scallions, bell pepper, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, oregano, cumin, pepper, and salt and toss thoroughly. Chill until ready to serve.

Serve over a bed of leaf lettuce.

If your supper hour is more like rush hour, then you’ll appreciate this easy-to-prepare couscous salad. Serve the salad as a light side dish or filling for a pita sandwich.

Yield: 4 servings

Combine the couscous and boiling water in a bowl or pan, cover, and let stand for about 10 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the couscous with the tomatoes, bell pepper, scallions, beans, corn, cilantro, salt, pepper, and lime juice and toss thoroughly. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

For this nifty salad, thin somen noodles are tossed with a piquant peanut-soy dressing. Somen noodles are a favorite pasta in Japanese cuisine.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the noodles, stir, and cook over medium heat until al dente, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the noodles in a colander and cool under cold running water.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the peanut butter, warm water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oils. Blend in the garlic, chili pepper, and cayenne. Toss the noodles with the peanut dressing and chill for about 30 minutes before serving.

Serve the noodles on a bed of lettuce and sprinkle the scallions over the top.

Roasting is an easy and painless way to cook beets. Simply wrap them in foil and bake them like a potato. Once cooked, the beets are ready to be tossed with a light dressing and served warm or chilled.

Yield: 4 servings

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and place on a baking pan. Roast the beets until they are tender, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the beets from the oven, unwrap, and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, horseradish, mustard, sugar, herb mixture, pepper, and salt. Set aside.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel off the loose skins. Coarsely chop the beets and add to the vinaigrette, coating the beets thoroughly. Let stand for 30 minutes and serve warm or refrigerate for later.