3 round salads with very original additions

With legumes, cereals, nuts, fruits and rich dressings, salads become unique and complete dishes. A practical and 100% healthy option.

GRILLED CABBAGE AND EGGPLANT SALAD

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 3 long eggplant or 1 large purple eggplant
• 200 g cabbage
• 150 g red cabbage
• Medium fennel
• 1 carrot
• 70 g chopped nuts
• 1 red chili, chopped
• 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• A pinch of salt and another of oregano

For the dressing:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon miso
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds

Preparation:

1. Cut the eggplants into slices diagonally. Let them soak with vinegar and salt, 15 minutes.
2. Wash the cabbages and chop them into thin strips. Place them in a bowl and spread them apart with your hands.
3. Also wash the fennel and peel the carrot. Cut them into thin strips, add them to the bowl and mix.
4. Rinse the eggplant with water and drain it. In a grilled pan with oil, mark it over medium-high heat on both sides seasoning it with salt and oregano.
5. Put it on the salad and, on top, the nuts and chili.
6. Mix the ingredients of the dressing in a glass and pour when serving.
7. This salad can be made with zucchini instead of eggplant. This saves us the time of soaking.

GREEN BEAN SALAD WITH TOFU, APPLE AND LEEK

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 200 g fresh fine green beans
• 200 g tofu with quinoa, wakame and vegetables
• 1 Pink Lady apple
• 1/4 large leek
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white tahini
• a pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Wash the green beans and remove the tips and strands if they are a little hard.
2. Wash the leek and cut it into julienne. Then cut the tofu into medium-sized cubes.
3. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a grill skillet over medium-high heat. Put the green beans, without piling them up, so that they are well marked. Sprinkle with salt. After a few minutes turn them over so that they are marked on both sides.
4. While the beans are being made, put a tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet and heat over medium heat. Sauté the leek until it starts to brown and take it out. Put the tofu and sauté it 3-4 minutes, just enough to brown lightly.
5. Remove the green beans and mix them with the leek and tofu.
6. Cut the apple into cubes or segments and add it to the plate or bowl.
7. Pour over the tahini at the time of serving.
8. If you add quinoa (cooked and drained), brown rice or legumes and sprinkle it with flax seeds you will have a more energetic salad.

TOASTED CHICKPEAS WITH TOMATOES AND NUTS

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 300 g cooked and drained chickpeas
• 2 peeled tomatoes
• A handful of assorted lettuce leaves
• A good handful of arugulas
• Half red onion
• Half a cup of walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• A pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Put the fennel seeds and thyme first, and when they start frying, the chickpeas. Sauté and add salt and oregano. Let it become covered 3-4 minutes, sautéing occasionally, until golden brown the chickpeas.
2. Add the tomatoes and cut them with a spoon or tinsel. Stir well and lower the heat.
3. Let it be done until there is no liquid left, sautéing occasionally.
4. Heat a grill skillet over high heat. Cut the onion into thick slices and brown for a minute on each side.
5. Distribute the lettuce and arugula on plates or in bowls, and on top the chickpeas with the tomato and onion. Sprinkle with walnuts.
6. You can prepare this same salad with other legumes such as lentils, beans, etc.

YOGURT DRESSING WITH TAHINI AND LEMON

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 1 unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons white tahini
• A pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with a small whisk until you get a light and silky cream; If necessary, add a pinch of salt.
2. Store it in the fridge until it’s time to use it.
3. This dressing can replace any other that mixes acid and fat, as in traditional olive oil with vinegar.

LIGHT CAULIFLOWER ‘CROUTONS’

Ingredients for 2 people:

• Medium cauliflower
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• A pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Wash the cauliflower well and cut it into medium-sized cubes (about 3 cm on a side).
2. Then heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Place the cauliflower cubes, sprinkle them with the salt and let them be done, sautéing them occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and a little crispy.
4. Take them out and then place them on a plate with absorbent kitchen paper to remove any excess oil they may have.
5. You can use cauliflower croutons instead of fried bread both to enrich salads and to give a different touch to creams and soups.

SALADS CAN BE COMPLETE SINGLE DISHES

We associate salads with simple diets and preparations, of scarce and repeated ingredients – lettuce, tomato and little else – and we only think of them as a complement to the main dishes to add some vegetables to our diet.

We can change this preconceived idea for a more interesting one – nutritionally and gastronomically – and obtain great benefits.

A good salad can be a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber, and at the same time be a first course or even be the main course and offer an exquisite combination of flavors. What I propose is that we begin to see salads for what they are from the gastronomic point of view: dishes with a great combination of colors, flavors and textures.

Considering salads as a main dish, complete, can revolutionize your diet.

START BY ADDING LEGUMES

Enriching them with legumes is an exquisite way to add proteins, vitamins and minerals to salads. Legumes such as chickpeas, soybeans and some beans contain all the essential amino acids, making salads complete dishes.

Simply cook or germinate the legumes and add them as they are to the salad, well drained, using them as a base, and add fresh vegetables, seeds … Or we can add a handful to any salad as a complement.

If we brown the legumes for a few minutes grilled or grilled, with a pinch of oil and spices (for example, oregano and thyme) before adding them to the salad, we will give them even more flavor.

PUT THEM ALSO CEREALS

Whole grains are great allies when it comes to composing nutritious salads with their own entity. Whole grain rice and pasta, quinoa, millet, amaranth or buckwheat are some examples. They provide complex carbohydrates and proteins, a lot of fiber – which satisfies and helps intestinal function – B vitamins, minerals such as phosphorus and magnesium, and antioxidants.

We can make salads with any of them and sprinkle them with textures and flavors with fresh vegetables, legumes and nuts.

THE BEST ADD-ONS

The salad is rounded off with the resource of complements:

• Nuts: with a handful we will provide proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Walnuts, for example, are a great addition to any salad. Pine nuts pair very well with rice, and pumpkin seeds with legumes.
• Refreshing fruits: they also make room in a good salad, both salty and sweet. A clear example is the number of salads that we can assemble with apples, pears or avocados; The latter are highly recommended for their fatty acids, very beneficial.
• Enhancing dressings: it can be the traditional vinegar and oil, but other more elaborate dressings – vegetable mayonnaise, chutneys, vinaigrettes or vegetable cheese creams – enrich the nutritional capacity of salads and give more variety of flavors.