Mango & Tomato: salad

5/1/23

Meatless Monday: Israeli Cous Cous Salad

Cous Cous salad with feta, pistachios, arugula

If you are looking for a fun side dish to bring to a potluck, I think you'll like my Israeli Cous Cous Salad. Quick shout out to my friend Lara for suggesting Israeli cous cous: I took it from there.

This salad is great not only for a potluck, but also for a picnic because it doesn't have any mayonnaise (I know... you are shocked that something I make doesn't have mayonnaise).

I brought this salad to my friend Jazmin's party with each ingredient packed into a separate container and mixed them all in a large bowl right before the party.

Israeli Cous Cous Salad

Ingredients (use whichever proportions you like)

Israeli cous cous, cooked

feta, crumbled

arugula

cucumber, diced

pistachios, chopped

dill, chopped

lemony dressing with a bit of wholegrained mustard (fresh lemon juice, olive oil, microplane'd garlic, wholegrained mustard, salt & pepper)

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl (but reserve a bit of feta, pistachios, and dill to sprinkle on top).

10/17/21

What To Do With Roasted Carrots: Hummus and Lentil Bowl with Feta and Pistachios

A few months ago I went to Ann Arbor, Michigan and discovered Lafayette Avenue Ceramics in a cute store. I immediately bought one of their speckled plates and have been using it ever since.

The other color of Lafayette Avenue Ceramics beautiful pieces I loved was dark blue. Today I'd like to share two recipes/ideas I created in collaboration with Lafayette Avenue Ceramics featuring roasted carrots, feta, and pistachios. The colors pop on the two beautiful pieces I received for our collaboration. You'll be seeing these quite a bit on my instagram.

Note: I roasted carrots at 425F with olive oil, salt, pepper and turmeric for about 25 minutes. The carrots for the hummus were diced; the carrots for the bowl were quartered in length.

Roasted Carrot Hummus With Feta & Pistachios

Ingredients

1/2 pound roasted carrots

1 cup chickpeas

3 tablespoons tahini

3-5 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 garlic clove, smashed

salt & pepper to taste

garnishes: crumbled feta, chopped pistachios, togarashi, chili oil

Directions

1. Puree all ingredients but garnishes in a food processor. Put into a shallow bowl. Top with garnishes.

Roasted Carrots & Lentil Bowl With Feta, Pistachios & Cilantro

Ingredients

labneh

cooked French lentils

roasted carrots

crumbled feta

chopped pistachios

cilantro

chili oil

Directions

Make a bowl ;)

Roasted Carrots & Lentil Bowl With Feta, Pistachios & Cilantro

Disclosure: this is not a sponsored post. This is a barter post :)

7/29/21

Mango Tomato Cherry Salsa Recipe

Mango Tomato Cherry Salsa

1 mango, peeled, diced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 cup cherries, pitted, chopped

1 tablespoon minced jalapeno (I used one I grew on my windowsill!)

salt to taste

1-2 tablespoons lime juice

2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

chips to serve

Shout out to my new Felt & Fat bowls I received as a gift from the company after being their super fan!!!

5/5/21

Watermelon, Mozzarella, and Sumac Salad

Watermelon, Mozzarella, and Sumac Salad is refreshing, flavorful, and holds a few surprises.

Normally, you'll see watermelon salad with feta and mint, but why not mix it up? Here, I used cubed fresh mozzarella, but you can go with burrata or halloumi! I'm not a big mint fan and used windowsill grown basil instead. The two other unexpected flavors were chili oil (if you like the heat!) and the lemony flavor from sumac.

Watermelon, Mozzarella, and Sumac Salad

Ingredients

watermelon, cubed

fresh mozzarella, cubed

fresh basil, torn

red onion, thinly sliced

chili olive oil

salt

sumac

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Serve.

4/7/21

Caesar(ish) Salad With Air Fryer Chickpeas

Salad with croutons, cheese, avocado, and crispy chickpeas

In the last few weeks, it seems that everywhere I look, I see Caesar Salad (mainly talking about my twin Anna and my friend Emily). A few days ago I decided to create my own version, but add air fryer chickpeas (because my brother sent me an air fryer lid for my pressure cooker for my birthday) and a few other ingredients. I also used ricotta salata instead of Parmesan.

Caesar(ish) Salad With Air Fryer Chickpeas

Boston lettuce, torn into pieces

croutons

avocado, sliced

ricotta salata thinly sliced using a vegetable peeler

Caesar dressing (from a bottle)

air fryer chickpeas (drain and pat chickpeas with a paper towel to remove any moisture, then spray with olive oil and cook in your air fryer at 400 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes shaking the basket occasionally. season with salt)

This is one of my fat ass salads and was quite satisfying! I'm sure you can figure out how to assemble it yourself ;)

12/20/20

Burrata, Beet & Avocado Salad

salad, meatless monday, avocado, citrus, orange, beets, burrata, cheese, healthy, winter salad, vegetarian

How gorgeous is this Burrata, Beet & Avocado Salad?

Salads aren't only for summer, although when I think of burrata, I immediately think of ripe summer tomatoes. Because we are in the middle of winter, how about switching things up a bit?

Burrata, Beet & Avocado Salad

Roasted beets, peeled and sliced

orange, segmented

avocado, sliced

burrata, torn into big chunks

salt

sumac

salt

olive oil

Arrange on a pretty platter. Eat.

Other things you may want to add: pistachios, herbs, endives.

10/5/20

Delicata Squash, Beets & Feta Salad

salad, squash, delicata squash, feta, beets, oranges, olives, healthy, meatless monday, vegetarian

In a blink of an eye, fall is here! How is the time flying so fast, and at the same time dragging?

Let's talk about Delicata Squash, Beets & Feta Salad instead!

Yesterday I saw Domenica post an insta story of her salad from La Fromagerie that had delicata squash, beets, turnips, and feta. I took that idea and ran with it...to the kitchen using produce I had from my Washington's Green Grocer order.

Delicata Squash, Beets & Feta Salad

Ingredients

olive oil

delicata squash, sliced into 1/4" rounds, seeds removed with a biscuit cutter or a spoon

salt

roasted beets, sliced into wedges

orange, segmented

green olives

feta, sliced into planks

dill

red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté delicata squash slices seasoned with salt until they are tender, about 5-7 minutes on each side.

2. Plate a salad on a plate. Drizzle with more oil and a few dashes of salt. Sprinkle with dill and red pepper flakes.

9/14/20

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Brussels Sprouts With Tahini Dressing And Pickled Red Onions

sweet potato, brussels sprouts, vegetarian, vegan, pickled onions, side, salad, healthy, cilantro

This past weekend I created a vibrant and healthy vegan side dish: Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Brussels Sprouts With Tahini Dressing And Pickled Red Onions.

This recipe is incredibly easy to make because you can make all the components ahead of time, and you can serve this side hot, at room temperature, or cold. Because it's vegan, it's good for you and you can bring it on a picnic without any worries of things spoiling.

A note on tahini dressing: I make mine without any specific proportions, but to taste. I learned a trick of pouring lemon juice over minced garlic and letting it sit for about ten minutes to infuse the lemon juice with the garlic. Then, strain and discard the garlic. Add tahini to the lemon juice, a pinch of salt, a pinch of cumin and enough cold water to whisk into a smooth sauce.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Brussels Sprouts With Tahini Dressing And Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients

sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed into bite size pieces

Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved or quartered depending on the size

za'atar

salt

olive oil

pickled red onions

tahini dressing

cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.

2. In a bowl combine the sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts with za'atar and salt to taste and enough olive oil to coat.

3. In a large cookie sheet, in a single layer, roast the vegetables for about 25 minutes, occasionally shaking the sheet.

4. Serve the roasted vegetables on a large platter topped with pickled red onions, drizzle of tahini dressing, and fresh cilantro.

9/12/19

Dinner In 15 Minutes: Medium Rare Beef Filet With Salad & Corn

It's technically Fall, but the weather has me feeling like we are still dealing with the Summer heat and humidity. That, in addition to metro delays, somewhat unexpected rain, and being overly hungry the last few days, had me craving a satisfying dinner that required very little cooking time or heating up my kitchen.

Good thing I had a beef filet from Trader Joe's in my fridge and a bunch of random produce.

Quick note: if you've not added stone fruit to your salads yet, you are missing out!

Dinner In 15 Minutes: Medium Rare Beef Filet With Salad & Corn

olive oil
beef filet
salt & pepper
corn, boiled
arugula
Boston lettuce, torn into pieces
cilantro, chopped
basil, chopped
Vidalia onion, chopped
pluots, or any other stone fruit, pit removed, flesh sliced
lemon juice

1. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet on the stove. Add olive oil. Season a room-temperature beef filet with salt and pepper on both sides and cook 2-5 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the steak and how you like your steak cooked. Allow to rest before slicing.

Quick note: I wanted my steak to be medium rare, but after slicing it (see the photo), realized it was too rare! I ended up quickly searing each piece in the skillet.

2. In a large bowl combine arugula, Boston lettuce, cilantro, basil, onions, and pluots. Add lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and mix.

Quick note: did you know pluots are a combination of plums and apricots!?

3. Serve sliced steak with the salad and corn on the side.

7/19/19

Fancy Fruit Salad

TGIF!!!! It's hot as hell in DC area. It will feel like 110 degrees this weekend...are you ready? I'm planning to avoid being outside as much as possible, eat cold food, and watch the latest season of Queer Eye!

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you Fancy Fruit Salad I made earlier this week when two of my friends came over for dinner.

What makes it fancy? There are no apples or bananas ;) If you love those fruit in your salad, be my guest!

Fancy Fruit Salad
figs, quartered
cherries, pitted and halved
strawberries, chopped
nectarines, pits removed, chopped

That's it! Mix the fruit together and serve. Depending on how ripe the fruit is, you may want to add a bit of sugar or honey, but mine were sweet as it.

Stay cool friends!

7/16/19

Nectarine, Tomato & Blueberry Salad with Steak

It's over 90 degrees in DC area and supposed to get even warmer. I'm not even talking about the humidity factor!

I'm changing my Facebook status to "in relationship with AC."
Get it!? ;)

Over the weekend I used some of the produce I received as a gift from Seasonal Roots to make a salad to go along with leftover steak I made the night before without turning on the stove or the oven. The heat came from jalapenos!

Nectarine, Tomato & Blueberry Salad with Steak

Ingredients
nectarines, pit removed, flesh diced
tomatoes, whichever variety you like, chopped into bite size pieces
blueberries
jalapeno, minced
red onion, finely diced
basil, chopped
olive oil
salt

steak, sliced

Directions
Mix all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Serve with sliced steak.

The combination of sweet nectarines and blueberries is not only great in a cake, but is lovely in this salad. The jalapeno and red onion add the heat.

7/8/19

Tomato, Mozzarella & Cherries Salad

I have a big announcement: this blog will now become a Meatless Monday blog!

KIDDING! :) It does appear that I've been mostly posting Meatless Monday recipes, so why not continue?

This past Saturday, my friend Sylvie gave me a bunch of home grown tomatoes and basil and took me to Costco where I bought fresh mozzarella balls which I then turned into this beautiful salad!

Tomato, Mozzarella & Cherries Salad
tomatoes of all shapes and colors, sliced or quartered as needed
fresh mozzarella ball, sliced
cherries, pitted and halved
fresh basil, torn
olive oil
salt
rose
fresh mint

Place tomatoes, mozzarella, and cherries onto a plate in a pleasing manner.

Top with fresh basil and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt.

Pour rose into a glass and add a few mint leaves.

Have a great day!

7/1/19

Meatless Monday: Cauliflower Salad Adapted from skinnytaste

If you are in need of a side for your 4th of July get together, or need a fresh idea for using a head of cauliflower you have sitting in the fridge, I highly recommend Cauliflower Salad Adapted from skinnytaste.

I, for one, love cauliflower, and eat it often. I also, however, love potatoes. This salad is good as is, but I'll never give up my love of potatoes!

Here's how I ended up making this recipe:

A few weeks ago, my mom sent me a link to Gina's, aka skinnytaste Low Carb Potato Salad. She said that even my dad liked it! Then, my twin Anna made the salad and said it was delicious.

Not wanting to be left out, I decided to make a batch of Gina's salad, but with a few changes:

1) I used only 4 eggs instead of 6
2) I used whole grain mustard instead of yellow mustard
3) I used cilantro instead of dill
4) I used cucumber instead of celery
5) I used bourbon smoked paprika instead of regular paprika

Helpful tips:

Make sure you cool the cauliflower completely before adding it to the other ingredients. I was impatient and added warm cauliflower to the mayonnaise and it watered down the salad.

The salad gets better as it sits in the refrigerator over night.

6/21/19

Corn Salad With Sesame Dressing

One of my favorite summer salads is a combination of raw corn with cherry tomatoes, avocado, olives, and herbs drizzled with olive oil and seasoned simply with salt and pepper.

Earlier this week, however, I stepped out of my comfort zone and made Corn Salad With Sesame Dressing slightly adapted from Savory Simple's recipe. The star of Jennifer's recipe is the sesame dressing: I want to put it on everything!

Because I very rarely make salad dressings, I was happy to see how easy it was to make Jennifer's sesame dressing. I substituted a few ingredients based on what I had in my cupboard, left out a few, and added garlic.

Below is my version of the dressing that I drizzled over a combination of raw corn, grape tomatoes, green pepper, red onion, and basil.

Sesame Dressing Adapted from Savory Simple
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
1 smashed garlic clove

In a small blender puree all the ingredients until smooth.

This dressing is also great in a cucumber and red onion salad. It'd be great in a chicken salad or drizzled on top of sauteed or roasted vegetables.

6/18/19

How To Cook Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: Chicken Dinner With 2 Salads

Need a fast dinner that will satisfy your taste buds but not make you feel like a ton of bricks? My Chicken Dinner with 2 Salads is perfect for that. Whether you are cooking for one, two or 4, this meal comes together in minutes on a weeknight or can be a great way to get together with a friend Sunday night to catch up.

I primarily eat boneless skinless chicken breasts (other than my occasional craving for wings), and have found a great way to cook them that doesn't dry them out.

How To Cook Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. In oven proof skillet (I prefer cast iron) heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom.
3. Pat chicken breasts with a paper towel and season with salt and paprika on both sides (or use whichever spices you like).
4. Cook chicken breasts in a skillet for 3-4 minutes on each side and then bake them in the oven (in the skillet) for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size, until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Rest the chicken breasts for 5 minutes before slicing on a diagonal.

Roasted Beet, Granny Smith Apple & Red Onion Salad
I saw this salad on Domenica Marchetti's insta story and knew immediately I'd have to try it. It was awesome.

Combine sliced roasted beets with sliced Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced red onion, and drizzle with olive oil and champagne vinegar. Season with salt and top with fresh dill.

Raw Corn Salad With Tomatoes And Radishes
Combine raw corn kernels with chopped cherry tomatoes, radishes, arugula, and torn fresh basil, and drizzle with olive oil. Mix in a bit of lemon juice and season with salt.

To drink: I recommend Sauvignon Blanc.

Dessert: chopped strawberries and whole blueberries topped with home made whipped cream and shaved dark chocolate.

PS a special shout out to oxo for sending me their crazy impressive corn prep peeler: it works incredibly well! (I was sent a sample; no money was exchanged!)

6/3/19

Roasted Vegetables With Turmeric Oil

Oh Hello Monday! It's been about a week that I've returned from my vacation in Oaxaca, Mexico, and I'm slowly getting back to cooking.

Over the weekend I made Roasted Vegetables With Turmeric Oil using beets and sweet potatoes from Seasonal Roots. I teamed up with Seasonal Roots to receive one box of their produce each month and to share with you an idea of what to make with their seasonal vegetables, fruit, berries, etc. I receive no compensation for these posts, but if you are a first time customer, you can get a discount of $15 from the yearly fee by using the code mangotomato.

The inspiration for this dish came after I saw my friend Lisa post a photo of a gorgeous watermelon and tomato salad using turmeric oil recipe from Bon Appetit.

I combined roasted, peeled and cut up beets and sweet potatoes with roasted cauliflower, drizzled them with still warm turmeric oil, and topped with salt and fennel fronds!

This dish is great served at room temperature and stores well in the refrigerator. Add a bit of quinoa, and you have a full meal!

NOTE: I recommend you actually peel and dice sweet potatoes before roasting them instead of roasting them whole and then peeling and slicing them.

5/6/19

Ottolenghi Inspired Pan Sauteed Asparagus With Almonds And Capers

Last week I checked out Ottolenghi's latest cookbook, Simple, from my library, and was intrigued by the Roasted Asparagus with Almonds, Capers, and Dill recipe. Because my oven was acting out, I don't keep butter on hand, and I had Parmesan left from another recipe, and a few lemons, I created my version of Ottolenghi's dish.

Ottolenghi Inspired Pan Sauteed Asparagus With Almonds And Capers

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
salt and pepper
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted in a dry skillet
3 tablespoons capers
lemon zest
dill
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions
1. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add asparagus, season with salt and pepper and saute until your desired level.
2. In a small skillet, heat the remaining oil and quickly saute capers.
3. In a platter, serve asparagus topped with almonds, capers, lemon zest, dill, and Parmesan.

This dish is great served hot but also keep well as leftovers. It can be a great starter to the meal or as a side served with protein.

4/22/19

Vegan Spicy Smashed Chickpea Salad Recipe

This Vegan Spicy Smashed Chickpea Salad Recipe is adapted from and inspired by a post I saw on Cup of Jo earlier last week. Smitten Kitchen's recipe was inspired by a sandwich on 'wichcraft menu, and I further changed it by swiping the black olives for the green ones, adding the adobo sauce, and using chives instead of parsley.

Vegan Spicy Smashed Chickpea Salad Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 cups cooked chickpeas, lightly smashed with a fork
8 large green olives stuffed with sundried tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1-2 teaspoons adobo sauce from chiles in adobo can (use hot sauce or sriracha as an alternative)
olive oil
salt
radishes
wasa crackers

Directions
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients. Drizzle with olive oil and mix to combine. Season with salt.
2. Serve with radishes and wasa crackers.

4/17/19

Smoked Salmon Spring Salad With Jammy Egg, Potatoes & Asparagus

Oh hi warmer days! The days when I don't want to heat up my kitchen and would much rather put together a meal from random ingredients and eat it sitting on my couch watching TV.

This Smoked Salmon Spring Salad With Jammy Egg, Potatoes & Asparagus was inspired by a photo I saw on Domenica Marchetti's instagram. Domenica made a version of Nicoise salad, but with smoked salmon instead of tuna. I immediately went to my grocery store to pick up smoked salmon, the only ingredient that was missing from all the other parts of the salad I had happened to have in my refrigerator. I also added cherry tomatoes and avocado.

Smoked Salmon Spring Salad With Jammy Egg, Potatoes & Asparagus

Boiled potato, cubed
smoked salmon, flaked
jammy egg, quartered (put eggs into a pot of cold water, bring to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and let them stand for 6 minutes, then immediately put them into cold water with ice)
Kalamata olives, halved
avocado, cubed
asparagus, pan sauteed
red onion, finely chopped
cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil
salt

4/15/19

Meatless Monday: Big Ass Salad With Feta

If you follow me on instagram, you saw that I basically ate 10 pounds worth of lamb yesterday at the lamb jam event with my friend Jazmin.

For something lighter, my lunch today is a version of what I like to call BIG ASS SALAD. What's a big ass salad? It's a salad that has a bunch of fun ingredients served in a large bowl or plated that can be a meal in itself. The salad most often doesn't even have lettuce, and instead combines a variety of vegetables in different colors and textures, with a few fun ingredients such as cheese or nuts or protein.

Meatless Monday Big Ass Salad With Feta
lettuce, chopped
cherry tomatoes, halved
red onion, finely diced
yellow pepper, diced
cucumber, diced
kalamata olives, halved
avocado, sliced
feta
olive oil
salt
za'atar

Note on feta: I very much prefer to buy a big block of feta instead of crumbles. It's usually more expensive, but tastes better and you can control how to serve it. This time I added a big slab of feta to my salad.

Note: to "beef" up the salad, you can add a boiled potato and/or chickpeas!

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