Crunchy salad w/ jicama, radish, watercress, fennel, carrots & cukes
What’s for lunch? That’s easy to answer when you’ve recently shopped at one of the best green grocers around, Manhattan Fruit Exchange in Chelsea Market. A little imagination and an assortment of great produce works wonders as inspiration when creating a healthy meal, such as our lunch today. Optional: top the salad off with sliced leftover fish or chicken from the previous night’s dinner. The salad serves two, while the leftover dressing can be refrigerated and used for other recipes (i.e., salad dressing, marinade, grilling rub, wraps sauce, dip, etc.)
Ingredients for the Dressing
1 cup vegetable and/or olive oil
1/2 cup lime juice
1 cup chopped cilantro, packed, hard stems discarded
1/3 cup chopped mint, packed, hard stems discarded
1 Tbsp lime zest (green only)
2 jalapeños, chopped (red and/or green)
1 tomatillo, chopped
1/2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp water
Preparation
Combine all above ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and emulsified, at least 3-5 minutes. Taste for salt and consistency. Add a touch more salt and water, if necessary. Transfer dressing to a jar, seal and chill.
Meanwhile, prepare 2 heaping cups of your favorite crunchy salad ingredients. I used watercress with thinly sliced radishes, fennel, cucumbers, carrots, and jicama cut into short sticks. Toss the salad items in a large bowl with some of the Cilantro-Mint-Lime dressing and serve. I topped our salad with a small piece of sturgeon leftover from last night’s dinner, which I warmed and sliced. Another good option for topping the salad with protein is a handful of shredded or cubed cheese of your choice, such as farmer’s cheese, soft Mexican queso, goat cheese, etc.
To your health!
RSA
