Thai-inspired Tossed Salad

This salad is one of our new favorites and is inspired by the salad I had for lunch when we were in Baton Rouge at Fresh Junkie.  I'd never had a salad with peanut dressing before, and boy were my taste buds in for a treat!  My version of the dressing is much milder than the original salad I tasted, but you can make it spicier if you'd like (though I recommend no more than 3 tsp. of sriracha before switching to cayenne to avoid an overly vinegary taste).  This salad is so wonderful because it's simple, it uses inexpensive ingredients, and it is an explosion of flavor.  The dressing is super easy to make-- just a lot of measuring, so that takes a bit of time.  But once you're done, you easily have enough for 8-12 salads, depending on how slathered in dressing you like your veggies.  This was great for us because we ate it for three days this week and still have dressing left over for either next week or the week after, so all we'll need to do is chop up the ingredients for the salad-- how easy is that?  I hope you enjoy it!

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing

(Adapted from our best bites)

• 1/2 c. peanut butter (I used RF Peter Pan)
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 2 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce (I used reduced sodium Kikkoman)
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp. minced ginger
• 1/2 c. canola oil
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. sriracha chili sauce
• 1 tbsp. water
• cayenne pepper to taste

1. Combine everything in a blender and mix until smooth.  Store in the fridge.

*Note: you may need to adjust seasonings (salt, sriracha, cayenne) depending on what peanut butter you use as well as your taste.  The original recipe had cilantro in the dressing, but since I put cilantro on the salad, I omitted it from the dressing.

 

Thai-inspired Tossed Salad

Makes 2 servings

• 2 large handfulls of spring mix
• 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
• about 30 cilantro leaves, plucked from stem
• about 3 tbsp. roasted peanuts
• about 1/4 c. shredded carrots
• Thai Peanut Salad Dressing (see above)

1. Split ingredients between two servings, putting the ingredients for the first serving into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add about 2 tbsp salad dressing or more/less to taste.
3. Toss dressing onto salad and pour into serving bowl.
4. Repeat for second serving.

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