Tag Archives: salad

Russian beetroot salad

This simple salad is well-known in Russia. It brings back memories about my childhood, parents’ home and cold evenings, when we made the salad and then ate it. Beets, walnuts and garlic is a very good source of vitamins and oils, which is important during winter days. Prunes is another wonderful ingredient here, it adds sweetness to the salad (especially if the beets aren’t sugary); moreover, prunes have health benefits – they have a high anti-oxidant content and contain dietary fiber*.

 I still love and make this salad. For me it’s certainly a good and comforting recipe. You can serve it also as a side dish to grilled meat, burgers or chicken. I hope you do give it a try! So easy and so tasty! 🙂
Russian beetroot salad

Russian beetroot salad

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print
Russian beet saladIngredients
2 medium beets
6-8 prunes (dried plums), pitted
2 cloves of garlic, minced
a handful of walnuts
2-3 Tbsp sour cream
salt, black pepper to taste
fresh dill, optional, for garnish
rye bread, for serving
Preparation
  • Boil or roast beets until they’re tender. Cool, peel and grate beets (using medium-hole grater).
  • If prunes are too dry, soak them in a warm water for 10-15 minutes. Then roughly chop prunes and walnuts.
  • Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Garnish with dill, if desire. Serve with rye bread.
Enjoy!

A touch of summer. Radish salad with goat cheese and black salt.

I know! It’s autumn out there.. and most of you would like to see hearty, meaty dishes with lots of roasted vegetables.. When I think “autumn and hearty” I always imagine stew and potatoes! Or that’s because I love potatoes! 😀 You know, in Russian potato is ‘kartoshka’, and we consume it a lot. But today’s hero is a fresh salad!Radish salad with goat cheese, black salt and sesame seeds

 The temperature in Dubai slowly but steady going down.. I was pretending again that it’s kinda autumn while did my shopping, and was looking for pumpkin and beets, when stumble upon beautiful radishes! They literally told me – buy us, eat us! 😀 Certainly, I had to buy them! Beautiful radishes

I love simple salads, when you can cut cucumbers and radishes, dress it with sour cream or olive oil, season with sea salt, and that’s it! This salad is one of such variations, but with a small twist – pungent goat cheese, fancy black salt and crunchy sesame seeds! Oh, they work super here! The salad looks so bright and cheerful, that I bet you want it right now! 😉 I hope you can get fresh radishes and make it.. Otherwise, welcome to the UAE, the country of eternal sun!

Ingredients for one person
Radishes 5-6, or as many as you like
Cucumber 1
Cherry tomatoes 4-5
Goat cheese 1-2 Tbsp
Coriander or parsley 2-3 Tbsp, chopped
Chives 1 Tbsp, chopped
Sesame seeds 1-2 tsp, roasted
Walnuts 1 Tbsp, roasted and chopped
Black salt and pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp
Balsamic vinegar or cream 1 tsp
Method
Thinly slice radishes and cucumbers. Cut tomatoes into haves. Put all vegetables in a serving bowl, add all remaining ingredients.
Enjoy!
Radish salad

Salad with sauteed vegetables

 I want to thank all for your lovely comments on my previous post!
What’s the weather in your country? What do you do to stay chilled? Hiding at home, eating ice cream all days long or chilling near the swimming pool with a cocktail..;) In Dubai almost everybody is hiding inside houses, malls.. Moreover, it’s Ramadan, to drink or eat in public is prohibited until the sunset.
I’m trying to eat more balanced and healthful meal this month, like the below salad. It’s summery and..just eat the salad, man! 😀

Veg salad-1

Salad with sauteed vegetables

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print
Aromatic herbs make it so good and appetizing! Eat as is or with grilled sausages.
Ingredients:
2 zucchini/6-7 baby/~600g
2 medium apples, juicy and sour
6 cherry-tomatoes or 1 large tomato
1 red onion
1 clove of garlic, smashed
zest and juice of half lemon
1 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 dried
2-3 Tbsp parsley/coriander/mint, finely chopped
salt, white pepper to taste
1-3 Tbsp olive oil
  • Cut the onion and slice into half moons. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onion until tender.
  • Chop the tomato and apples, add to the pan along with garlic and thyme, mix and sauté for 2-3 minutes more. Discard the garlic, put the vegetable mixture in a bowl, set aside and keep in a warm place.
  • Slice zucchini, add it to the frying pan along with lemon zest and sauté on a medium hit until tender. Add more oil if needed.
  • Add the veg mixture into zucchini, mix and heat for 1-2 minutes.
  • Put all the veggies in a big serving bowl, add mint and/or parsley, salt&pepper and squeeze lemon juice. Drizzle some extra olive oil over the salad, if desired.
Enjoy!
milkandbun.com
Veg salad-3

5-star Salad

  I feel very honoured that I took the 1st place in the challenge held by Angie – Thenovicegardener.  This was my first time I won in food-blogging contest and hope not the last. Thank you all who stopped by my post and made comments about kulebyaka. The kulebyaka is so Russian and delicious pie, and I hope one of you will make it one day. 😉 Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about the kulebyaka preparation.
 Is it Friday yet? Oh, yes! That means one more party at Thenovicegardener. Does anybody would like ‘a 5-star salad’? Why 5-star, because it looks posh and the portion is so small like from a high-class restaurant. Moreover, it’s healthy and tasty.
 Actually, I made it from the cauliflower remains, when I cooked this soup. 🙂

5-star Salad

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: very easy
  • Print
Ingredients:
7-9 small cauliflower florets
1 red or yellow capsicum
1 small shallot
1 clove of garlic, smashed
1-2 tsp almonds, sliced and roasted
1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp fresh parsley or basil, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil + 1/3 Tbsp butter
The dressing:
1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp small capers
freshly ground sea salt and white pepper
  1. In a frying pan heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onion and cook until soften but not browned for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add the capsicum, garlic, thyme, and sauté for 5 minutes or until the pepper is soft and browned. You can add the cauliflower along with capsicum and sauté it too, or leave it raw. Pick out and discard the garlic.
  3. In a small bowl or glass, combine all ingredients for the dressing and give it a good stir.
  4. Arrange the vegetables on a serving plate, sprinkle with almonds, parsley or basil; pour over the dressing.
Enjoy!
Salad
You can also check out these recipes, using the capsicums: the salad with chickpeas and Russian stuffed capsicums. 

Purple peppers and chickpeas!

This summer I’ve been making lots of salads.

It’s still extremely hot in Dubai and one more salad has been done:)

black pepper-4

    I found these beautiful capsicums at a store, grown by farmers in the Netherlands. They’re absolutely marvellous, aren’t they?

black pepper-1

Never seen such deep purple, blackish color of bell peppers. 🙂 They are green inside and have got the same taste as green ones.

black pepper-2

So, about the salad. One of the main ingredients are capsicums, as you could guess 😉

I promise, the salad won’t leave you hungry.  Chickpeas in it are high in protein! Usually I make it ahead (before fitness class, for example, after I’m so hungry!) so it has plenty of time to marinate.

We need:

  • 1 can chickpeas (drained)
  • 2 big capsicums
  • 100 g feta cheese
  • juice of  ½ lemon + zest of ¼ lemon
  • extra virgin olive oil (for frying and dressing)
  • 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme (or dried one is good as well)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • fresh mint or/and parsley

black pepper-3

Heat the olive oil with thyme and cumin just for 1 minute, add shredded capsicums, toss and stir-fry until they become soft. My purple peppers turned into greenish color 😀

In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, capsicums, feta cheese and lemon zest. Toss to combine.  Pour 2 tbsp olive olive and lemon juice over the mixture.

Add some fresh mint and parsley; season to taste with grounded black pepper.

You can serve it immediately, but I heartily recommend to leave it  for 30-60 minutes to marinate.

Enjoy!

black pepper-5

 

 

 

 

1 2 3 4 5
Blog at WordPress.com.