Bring on the Salads!

Warm Shrimp & Edamame Bean Salad

Chatelaine was always my mom's magazine. I remember seeing it in the kitchen on many occasions with the pages folded in several directions to bookmark articles and recipes. This year, I received a gift subscription and have been pleasantly surprised with it. Local fashion content means I can get to the clothes on display and the recipes are varied and delicious. I found a month's worth of salad recipes via Chatelaine online and immediately perked up. I love, love, love bringing salads for lunch, so this in essence became a lunch guide for Liv. Only tried two so far, but if you get a chance to sample others, let me know how they turn out!

Warm Shrimp & Edamame Bean Salad

Adapted from: http://food.chatelaine.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g frozen, shelled edamame beans (Superstore and T&T Supermarket had these in stock)
• 340g or 1lb or frozen, peeled, uncooked shrimp
• 2 large lemons
• 2 t honey
• 3 T olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh, chopped dill
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Mix honey, dill, onion, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and several generous pinches of salt and ground pepper in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the edamame beans and a little salt and let boil for 4-5 minutes. The beans should be tender, but not disintegrating when done.

Lightly coat a frying pan with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the shrimp, chopped pepper and garlic and let simmer for approximately 3 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink. Add the shrimp mix and beans to the vinaigrette bowl and toss well. Serve warm.

Super-Fast Antipasto Salad

Super-Fast Antipasto Salad

Serves 4

From: http://food.chatelaine.com

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 t dried oregano
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 8 slices of salami, chopped (about 56 g)
• 1, 540 ml tin of chick peas
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives sliced in halves
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped or two roasted red peppers chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or mint
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

To make the vinaigrette, combine the juice of a lemon with the olive oil and oregano. Add generous pinches of salt and pepper and mix well. Toss chick peas into dressing and mix well. Combine remaining ingredients into bowl and serve. If making ahead, combine all ingredients except the spinach and add spinach when ready to serve.

Tuna Cakes with Fresh Tomato Salsa

Lunch, lunch, lunch, luncheon, lunchy, luncher, luncherson. Sandwiches and frozen entrees just don't do it for me these days, so I'm on the hunt again for fun and portable meal ideas. Enter the tuna cake! Another self-contained, protein-packed centrepiece. I'm thinking that I could break up the cakes and serve them on crackers or melba toast. Stuffing it into a pita is an idea...alternatively, they look like they'd be good on their own. Ideas??

Adapted from: http://www.thenovicechefblog.com

Serves 4-6

Tuna Cakes

• 3, 5oz cans Tuna in water, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1/3 cup crushed Rye crackers (appx 4 crackers)
• 2 T freshly minced parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 T dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 T Tabasco sauce
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 large egg, whisked
• 2 T olive oil

Tomato Salsa

• 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped shallot
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 2 T minced cilantro
• 2 T freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 t olive oil
• 1/4 t garlic salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste

For the Tomato Salsa

Toss together all ingredients and set aside while combining the tuna cakes to allow the flavours time to mingle. 

For the Tuna Cakes

In a large bowl, mix together tuna, onion, crackers, parsley, garlic, lime juice, mustard, and Tabasco. Add a little salt and pepper while stirring to suit your tastes. Once you have reached your desired seasonings, stir in the egg. Pat tuna mixture into patties using 1/2 cup packed tuna for each patty. Set on wax paper. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick sauté pan over medium heat. Add two tuna cakes to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from pan and set on a paper towel-covered plate to drain off any excess oil. Repeat entire process (including adding a second tablespoon of olive oil) to cook the remaining cakes.Top tuna cakes with dollops of the tomato salsa and serve immediately!