Salad with Tahini Dressing

11. July, 2009

I am a big salad fan. I love salads and could eat them every day. Whenever I make one, I try to follow this rule: Mix together green leaves and coloured leaves, add leaves with texture (such as rocket), add something crunchy (such as nuts and seeds), something crisp (such as cucumbers or peppers), something sweet (such as apples, figs, grapes, watermelon, oranges) and something with a distinctive taste (such as olives, parmesan or feta cheese). When I follow this rule I know I will have a fantastic salad. Salads are all about texture, taste and colours although for some it is just about the taste and texture. Just remember the rule: Variety of leaves (colour and texture), crunchy, crisp, sweet, distinctive. Note that you can make the dressing a couple of days ahead and it will keep in the fridge for at least one week.

The absolutely love this salad dressing and I cooked it up not so long ago. It is very simple, yet delicious and goes with salads, nut patties, tortilla wraps, barbecued food and more. It is very healthy as well because the sesame seeds are rich in manganese, copper, and calcium and contain vitamin B1 (thiamine) and vitamin E. They also include antioxidants and are good for those who suffer from arthritis. They can also reduce levels of bad cholesterol. Tahini, although high in fat includes only half the amount you find in butter for example and of course doesn't contain any animal fat.

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A colourful and tasty salad with a healthy dressing

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This recipe is:

Egg free
Gluten free

This recipe is easy to make:

Lactose (dairy) free
Nut free
Vegan

Salad with Tahini Dressing

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

The Salad:

200 grams (7 oz) mixed salad leaves (such as rocket, watercress, cos, spinach)
1 pepper (red), chopped fairly finely
Half an avocado, very ripe
A quarter mango, very ripe, cut into small pieces
A quarter cucumber, sliced fairly thinly
10-15 olives (black)
2 tablespoons feta cheese (in salted water, not oil)
Handful pecan nuts, crushed or chopped fairly coarsely

The Tahini Dressing:

50 millilitres (1¾ fluid oz) orange juice
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
1 tablespoon tamari sauce
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce (or hot pepper sauce). Start with a couple of drops and then add more
1 teaspoon rice vinegar (optional)

Preparation

Start with the dressing: In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons tahini, 50 millilitres orange juice, 1 tablespoon tamari sauce and 1 teaspoon rice vinegar. Stir for a few minutes or until well combined. Add a couple of drops of tabasco sauce and then add more to taste.
Set the dressing aside at room temperature.
Now prepare the salad: Wash the salad leaves and place on a large serving dish or a bowl.
Halve the pepper, discard the stem and scoop out the seeds. Chop fairly finely.
Slice the quarter cucumber fairly thinly and then slice in halves.
Cut the avocado in half lengthwise. Gently twist the two halves in opposite direction if you find the flesh clinging to the pit. Remove the pit, either with a spoon or by spearing with the tip of a knife. Place the halves face down, then peel and chop one half fairly finely.
Turn the mango up on the skinny side. The stone is a flat oval, so you will find your mangoes are narrower one way than the other in alignment with the stone. Cut off the "cheeks" of the mango, each side, as close to the stone as possible. If you hit the stone, just swerve around it a little. Now take a cheek and peel the skin off with a small knife. Repeat with the other cheek. Next peel the skin off the centre piece with the stone. Peel it all the way around and leave no skin on the edge. Carve off any extra fruit off the stone with a small knife. Chop a quarter of the mango into pieces (like sugar cubes).
Scatter the pieces of mango, avocado, pepper and cucumber on top of the salad leaves.
Add the 10-15 olives and the 2 tablespoons feta cheese.
Crush the handful pecan nuts with your hands and sprinkle them on top.
Combine everything carefully and serve with the tahini dressing on the side.

Tips

This salad is fantastic for your lunchbox.
You can use walnuts instead of pecan nuts.
You can toast the pecan nuts if you prefer, it really brings out their flavour.
You can use green olives instead of black.
You can use orange or yellow peppers instead of red.
For variety you can add cherry tomatoes, bean sprouts and shredded carrots to the salad.