I have always been a salad whisperer of sorts. I seem to have this knack for gathering an armload of super random ingredients from the fridge {that may or may not be on the verge of expiration} and then working my salad magic and whipping them into something delicious…and dare I say..exciting?!
This current recipe was one that I made when I had a near empty fridge. The pickin’s were very, very slim: butter lettuce – which I buy from a hydroponic farmer so it lasts a really long time in the fridge, one mango that was on the verve of being tossed to the chickens, a quarter of a cabbage that was very iffy looking around the edges, one half of a red pepper and cilantro…for some reason I always have cilantro in the fridge.
So I peeled and cut away the not so pretty parts, tossed them together and then went to work on the dressing.
Truth be told – I have a pretty obnoxious collection of Baker + Olive oil and vinegars that I normally pull from to make dressings but I wanted to create something using ingredients that anyone can get easily – olive oil, cilantro, rice vinegar and the zest and juice from an orange. That’s doable right?
But the salad wasn’t quite complete…I really wanted some crunch so I grabbed hemp seeds and sunflower seeds from the pantry.
Did you know that hemp seeds are the most nutrient seed on the planet AND there are 9 grams of protein in 3 tablespoons?? These little fellas are definitely a super food that can take the healthiness of your salad to the next level.
Mango and Red Pepper Salad with Orange Cilantro Dressing
Prep time: 15 minutes. Serves 4
Download Mango and Red Pepper Salad recipe here.
1 head of butter lettuce
¼ red or green cabbage, shredded
1 mango, cubed
1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips (julienne)
¼ cup mint, chopped
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
Mix everything together in a bowl.
Dressing
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
zest and juice of one orange
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
Shake all the ingredients together in a jar and then serve with the salad.
