Monday, May 4, 2009

Warm Vegetable Salad with Sesame-Maple Dressing


I'm often wary of making my own salad dressings because most of the ones I see call for so much oil! I know that oil is a good fat but still, there's so much of it. Anyway, those thoughts didn't stop me from trying this yummy warm vegetable salad. I was attracted by the sesame maple dressing and it didn't disappoint. Very tasty! It was really good tossed with a mix of vegetables. It's supposed to be served warm but I thought it was good cold too. And of course feel free to experiment with your favourite vegetables.


Here's Abby, helping me blog. I was trying to type up a recipe and she came and flopped on me. Made it kind of hard to type but how could I resist her?



If this sounds good, you might also like:
Bulghur Grape Salad
French Barley Salad
Santa Fe Pasta Salad
Caribbean Roasted Vegetables

Warm Vegetable Salad with Sesame-Maple Dressing
Adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook

My modifications were to use pecans instead of cashews and to omit the 1/2 bunch spinach. Instead of spinach you can use whatever salad greens you have on hand. Toss the greens with some of the dressing, then use the rest on the other vegetables and put the vegetables on top of the salad.

Dressing
(yields 1 cup)

2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Salad
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 small zucchini
2 medium carrots
1 small red pepper
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1. Start by making the dressing. Place all of the ingredients, except oil, in a bowl or food processor. Whisk or blend to combine. SLowly drizzle in the oil in a thin, steady stream while whisking or blending. Season to taste and transfer to a small pot. Heat the dressing gently over low heat while you prepare and steam the vegetables. Keep the dressing warm.

2. Slice the zucchini into 1/2" thick half-moon slices. Slice the carrots into diagonal 1/4" coins. Cut the pepper into 1/2" squares.

3. Set a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water. Add the carrots and cauliflower, cover and steam for 3 minutes. Add the broccoli, zucchini and pepper and steam until the vegetables are just tender.

4. To serve, toss the vegetables with enough dressing to liberally coat. (Ashley note: I just used all of it.) Garnish with chopped pecans.

24 comments:

Hannah said...

You must be psychic- This is exactly the sort of thing I've been craving all day! Must go grocery shopping and stock up on veggies, asap.

Dana said...

I have that cookbook! I have got to use it more often. So many yummy sounding things in there, including this recipe! I never use as much oil in dressings as recipes call for. I just can't do it. I typically do 2:1 oil to vinegar instead of the standard 3:1.

Pearl said...

love warm veggies :)

Pam said...

Abby is too cute. Love this salad recipe, the dressing sounds fantastic.

Amy said...

Yum! I love a big bowl of veggies!

And haha, Abby is gorgeous! Toby, my orange fluffy boy, always comes to sit on the bench when I bake. I'm not sure what he's thinking, he just sits there overseeing everything (I should clarify it's a section of bench I don't cook from :P)

Johanna GGG said...

Mmmm sounds good - and I am with you on oil in dressing - I usually reduce it but I think it does make a difference to have it - and this looks like it has abbey's approval

Teanna said...

I just printed out that dressing recipe - it sounds phenomenal!

♥Mimi♥ said...

Thanks so much for your comment about my recipes. For some reason I'm thinking "food" all the time lately. Could it be my diet☺ As with anything good in life...it's better when it's shared and who better to share it with than friends...

I have a blog for my kitties. There is a link on my blog if you'd care to see. My kitties always want to sit on my lap when I'm at the computer. Where else are they going to get a warm place to snuggle and know that you're gonna be there for a little while☺

grace said...

of course you can't resist abby! just like i couldn't resist anything doused in this amazing dressing!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Abby looks like she has just been up to something and has been caught. Very funny :D

Alisa - Frugal Foodie said...

Ah, the recipe behind the photo I was drooling over on flickr!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Great salad dressing. That book is worth every penny I invested.

Anonymous said...

warm salad! i love that!

Bunny said...

I've never had a dressing like this before with warm veggies, this sounds really good!

Maria said...

I would love that for dinner any day of the week!

Maris said...

This sounds right up my alley. Broccoli is my favorite veggie and I love the combination of maple and pecans. I need to get my hands on some sesame oil!

Lisa Turner said...

I always make my own dressings to avoid the preservatives in store bought versions. I love the sound of this. So refreshing!

Juliana said...

Thank you for sharing this recipes...I love the dressing...sounds very yummie. Nice pictures!

Sarah R said...

I love this salad - I made a variation of this one (out of the cookbook too!) using green beans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, onion and carrot coins, without the nuts. The dressing is so good! My mom used leftovers in pasta salad.

Steph said...

I actually can't eat salad dressing when I think about the oil.. it's weird. I like the idea of a warm salad. It looks delicious!

Ricki said...

That looks so bright and healthy. ReBar recipes are always yummy!

Colleen said...

What a great side dish with interesting flavors!

Unknown said...

this was pretty yummy although the dressing got a little watery once i mixed it with the veggies (maybe the heat separated the oil from the rest of the dressing??) delish, though!

eatme_delicious said...

Liz: Glad you liked it! Maybe the vegetables were still holding onto water from being boiled or steamed? Hmm.