The heat wave lives on in Perth this week and therefore, so do the raw dinners! I love summer, but extreme, too-hot-to-go-outside heat is a little intense, even for me. Hurray for air conditioning, swimming pools and icy-poles!
I know I said I’d give the spicy hot dinners a rest while this heat wave continues, but I do so love to spice things up, so how about a raw dinner with a bit of a kick? Win-win!
Inspired by a similar taco salad recipe I saw in The Art of Raw Living Food, this is my version. If you can get your hands on a copy of this book, I thoroughly recommend it. My gorgeous friend Cath, on advice from her personal trainer, recommended it to me and it was the very first ‘cookbook’ that I bought as a vegan. Even though I had no intention of going raw back then (I was barely coping with the idea of life without cheese!), the stunning photos of amazing raw dishes completely seduced me.
Salad:
- Mixed leaves
- Corn (cut fresh from the cob)
- Avocado
- Carrot, shredded
- Mushrooms (raw or gently cooked as per Step 1 below)
This Salad Dressing recipe makes 2 cups and keeps in the fridge for 7 days, so you can enjoy it all week (as a salad dressing or on wraps, etc):
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1/2 cup coconut water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 tomato
- 1/2 red capsicum
- 1 tsp agave nectar
- 1/2 cup de-stemmed coriander
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- a few slices of jalapeΓ±o (to taste)
- In a saucepan, gently cook the sliced mushrooms in a splash of EVOO, garlic, chilli powder, agave nectar and Himalayan salt.
- Blend all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.
- Place salad ingredients (including the mushrooms) into a large mixing bowl and toss in dressing until well covered.
- Serve topped with corn chips and spicy pepitas (I buy mine from Loose Produce).
Of course, depending on how hot it is where you are, you might need a frozen Margarita to go with it. π
And a pretty jar for your leftover spicy, creamy dressing, mmmmm…
This is definitely going on my shopping list this week!
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! π
God this looks gorgeous. Off to a friends for dinner tomorrow night, and I am going to take this.
And it will definately be paired with a frozen margarita.
Great idea, Ali. I made a large one for the Australia Day celebrations on Wednesday and it went down a treat! I’m still hankering after a frozen margarita, though. I hope you got yours. π
wow! it lookis amazing! so delicious!
It is! Give it a try – it’s so much more crunchy and satisfying than a regular salad. π
Can’t wait to try this! I’ll get my margarita ready!
haha, make sure you do! It has a bit of a kick. π