I remember when I first came to live in the United States. I was living with a wonderful American family on a farm in Idaho. A big, huge change. There were lots of fresh produce available of course, especially in the summer. That’s when I was introduced to salads. Don’t get me wrong, salads are eaten all over the world but usually not as a meal. It’s almost always eaten as part of a meal, like a side dish or even a palate cleanser or like a condiment. In North America the salad reigns as a meal. That was a strange thing for me. To eat an entire meal that was mostly raw. I remember telling my mom about having a salad for dinner and she exclaimed in dismay, “can’t those people cook?”. After I got over the initial shock, I grew to love salads. I love the textures, the freshness and the variety. They are never going to go over big in any part of South Asia as a meal but I’m winning people over, one at a time.
I had this just the other day. It was great and refreshing after a hard workout! Yes, Ma…I ate it as a meal.
Thinly sliced radishes, english cucumbers and some mangoes
Added the vinaigrette
Toss, chill and serve
Radish Cucumber and Mango Salad
4 fresh radishes, thinly sliced
1 English Cucumber, thinly sliced
1 Mango, cut into small bite sized pieces
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Dressing
1 lime
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp spicy brown mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
Thinly slice cucumber, radishes and mangoes and place in a medium sized bowl. Add chopped cilantro. In a separate bowl zest the lime and then juice the whole lime. Add the rest of the dressing ingredients and whisk until a thick emulsion is created. Pour over salad and toss. Chill and serve.
Just made this tonight — people thought it was very yummy. I thought you’d like to hear that instead of looking for a recipe book, my first thought was just to browse through the recipes here!
I LOVE hearing that and I’m truly honored. I love knowing that a new friend has made something in their kitchen that I came up with in my kitchen!
This salad looks mouth-watering, will have to give it a try!
It was very tasty and crunchy!
Mangoes are an interesting addition to this salad… Have mentioned you in my post today Tahmina on grounds of emotional vulnerability:)
I just barely finished reading your post. Beautifully expressed as usual my friend!
Yum! I think this would be nice with the mackerel recipe I just posted
And being an American living in Britain I introduced ‘meal salads’ to friends and family too. They initially thought it was odd but they’ve since come round to the idea. Glad to see you like them too
I just finished reading through your mackerel recipe. It looks amazing as usual. I can’t get mackerel here so I’ll see if I can use orange roughy or trout. I get a lot of trout in the summer from my fishermen friends.
It would probably make an interesting study, but I would guess that the phenomena of a salad as a whole meal is not much older than a few decades even here in North America…
I think it also has a lot to do with how the vegetables are cleaned, water supply etc. I know that whenever I’m traveling in any part south or southeast Asia, I always avoid fresh salads. I stick with cooked foods that are hot so that I can avoid being sick. Doesn’t always work….
That looks delicious and refreshing! Great combination. My mother also doesn’t understand salads. She just thinks raw, cold food is for weirdos. She will put up with me having one for a meal. She’ll look at me funny, though!
Ahhhh moms!!
Yeah. She still boils tap water before drinking it. And it’s city water.
Well, I’m first generation here so I have PLENTY of quirks. My kids will write a book some day. This past summer we took a month long trip to see parts of India and Bangladesh. There were places, I’d give anything for a glass of boiled water!!