With the warmer weather and summer months comes our busy season. Sometimes it can be just as busy – or busier – than Christmas! Showers, anniversary parties, weddings, barbecues, and awards banquets. It’s hard to believe that the end of school is also just around the corner!
Celebrations are always a great time for a casual get together with little fuss and lots of fun. We make a lot of salads for just such celebrations and receive many requests for our Asian noodle salad, in particular. We also have many other seasonal salads to add some colour to the table.
With the farmers markets fuller this time of year with fresh, local ingredients, it’s a great time to use some traditional flavours and bring in some more adventurous ingredients. Rhubarb and asparagus are just some of our favourite spring produce to work with and they’re now ready to enjoy.
For the adventurer in you, here is a simple salad with some show-stopping shrimp. The nappa slaw is also fabulous on its own. Enjoy!
Nappa Slaw with Soba Noodles and Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. cooked soba noodles
- 1/3 nappa cabbage, julienned
- 1/2 carrot, julienned
- 1/4 bell pepper, julienned
- 1/6 English cucumber, julienned
- 1/4 golden pineapple, diced
- 6 leaves chopped mint
- 1/2 thumb of ginger, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp. sesame oil
- 5 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine soba noodles, carrot, pepper, cucumber, mint, ginger, diced pineapple, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar in bowl, mix until evenly coated.
Shrimp with Coriander and Lime
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. cilantro root, chopped
- 2 tbsp. ginger, grated
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 lemongrass (white part only), finely chopped
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 20 large shrimp
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 20 bamboo skewers
Instructions
- Place cilantro root, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and ground coriander in a blender until a smooth paste.
- Place the shrimp in a dish and pour the paste over the shrimp. Allow the shrimp to marinate for an hour.
- Blend the cilantro leaves, lime juice, olive oil, sugar and pinch of salt and set aside.
- Place a shrimp on bamboo skewers and grill on a moderately low heat.
- Place the salad on a platter and the shrimp around it.
- Drizzle with the cilantro vinaigrette.
- Garnish with black sesame seeds.
- Enjoy!