Cooks Joy

Hard to believe, but we are already on our second post for the Gourmet Seven and for this month we have chosen salads. It is not a regular salad, but a gourmet one

. Having known only the lettuce salad with store bought dressing, I have to admit I have come a long way. Salads are healthy in many ways and I particularly love it because I only partially cook the veggies thus enabling them to retain more nutrients.

The veggies used in this salad have a vibrant color and in my excitement to click I forgot to garnish with coriander leaves. The dressing is creamy and can also be used over pita bread instead of the usual hummus or baba ganoush. This salad is a meal in itself due to addition of ravioli. Off to the tasty recipe. Recipe from 101cookbooks.

Creamy salad dressing.

Salad wating for the dressing

Ingredients – Salad Dressing
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
Pinch of chilly powder
Pinch of turmeric
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 cup greek yogurt (if you use regular yogurt, reduce the quantity of warm water)
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
Salt

Ingredients – Salad
2 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup beans
10 ravioli pieces (stuffed pasta – fresh or frozen)
1 tomato
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method
Slightly cook the vegetables. They should retain their crunch. I added carrots to boiling water first.

After a couple of minutes I added broccoli and beans. I let them cook for say 3- 4 minutes. You can cook longer if needed.

Plunge the vegetables in cold water to stop the cooking process.

To the same pot of water used to cook the vegetables add the ravioli.

Ravioli is cooked.

Take the vegetables in a bowl.

Add ravioli and tomatoes. Keep aside and work on the dressing.

Heat olive oil and add garlic. Saute for a few seconds and then add the spice powders. (Cumin, coriander, chilly and turmeric). Saute for a few seconds and turn the stove off.