Tag Archives: bean

Rucola, Spinach, Asparagus Salad

Lunch and Light Meals, , , , , , , , ,

Rucola, spinach, asparagus salad

The focus of our food philosophy is on prioritizing vegetables and fruit over other food groups, and making sure that we are feeding our bodies nutrient rich food. Living in the eternal heat that is Singapore has resulted in us eating a lot of salads, and having a salad for lunch is a great kick starter for the amount of vegetables that we are eating in a day.

This salad has become one of our favourites. Using both rucola and baby spinach leaves adds some interest to the lettuce base, while the beans or asparagus add a little more substance to the meal. The sesame seeds finish it off attractively, while also adding essential nutrients. You could also consider adding pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or pine nuts to the garnish, especially if you remove the parma ham to make it a vegetarian or vegan salad.

Ingredients

  • 150g rucola leaves
  • 150g baby spinach leaves
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • a few slices of parma ham (Prosciutto) (optional)
  • 75g green beans or small asparagus
  • coarse sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp black sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp white sesame seeds

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit)
  2. Lay the parma ham out on a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until crispy
  3. Cook the beans or asparagus in a pot of boiling water that is lightly salted for 2-5 minutes until only just cooked. Remove from the pot and quickly wash under running water to cool them down and prevent further cooking.
  4. Wash the rucola and spinach leaves and place them in a salad bowl
  5. Spread the onion and beans or asparagus over the rucola and spinach
  6. Combine the sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and vinegar in a glass and stir well to combine. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, and toss the leaves to coat them all.
  7. Stir the black and white sesame seeds together in a small glass or bowl to mix them up
  8. Spread the crispy parma ham over the salad, and top with a sprinkling of the sesame seeds to garnish.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Roadkill Ghost Choir – In Tongues

Vanilla

Glossary, , ,

Vanilla bean

Vanilla comes from a variety of orchid that is native to Mexico. Initial attempts to grow it outside Mexico failed and it wasn’t until 1841 that a method of pollination was discovered (by hand) which didn’t rely on the native Mexican bees. This resulted in the spread of vanilla to many other tropical lands – including Indonesia who is now one of the biggest producers.

The labour intensive nature of pollination has ensured that vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron.

There are four main commercial preparations of natural vanilla:

  • whole pod
  • powder (ground pods, kept pure or blended with sugar, starch, or other ingredients)
  • extract (in alcoholic or occasionally glycerol solution; both pure and imitation forms of vanilla contain at least 35% alcohol)
  • vanilla sugar, a pre-packaged mix of sugar and vanilla extract

We only buy the whole pods to avoid the likelihood of sugar and alcohol having been added commercially.

Vanilla can be added to a dish either by adding the whole pod to the liquid  in a dish that is being heated (a stronger flavour will be imparted if you cut open the vanilla bean before adding it), or by cutting open the pod and scraping out the seeds. Adding the seeds is commonly used in baking.