Serves 4

Ingredients 24

Difficulty

Easy

Summer chopped salad with citrus sesame dressing

 

Light and breezy, this summer salad is a wonder.

Ingredients

• 2 corn cobs
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 1/4 small white cabbage, finely sliced
• 2 small Lebanese cucumbers, chopped
• 2 small beetroots, cooked, cut into wedges
• 1 small iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup (60ml) apple cider vinegar
• 120g edamame beans, blanched
• 1/3 cup loosely packed dill sprigs & flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup (4 tbs) furikake or nori sesame topping (from Asian food shops)

Citrus sesame dressing

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tbs tahini
• 1 tbs tamari
• 1/4 cup (60ml) rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbs ponzu sauce (citrus soy – from supermarkets)
• 2 tbs light-flavoured oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbs wasabi paste
• 1 Asian (red) eschalot, finely chopped

Deep-fried chickpeas

• 2 cups (500ml) light-flavoured oil, to deep-fry
• 400g can chickpeas, drained
• 1 tbs furikake or nori sesame topping (from Asian food shops)

Method

• 1.

  Cut the corn cobs in half and simmer in a large pan of water for 8 minutes, then drain and cool. Cut off the kernels.

• 2.

  Heat a little olive oil in a hot pan, add the corn kernels and zucchini and cook until the zucchini is just starting to soften and colour.

• 3.

  Meanwhile, make the citrus sesame dressing. Whisk the garlic, tahini, tamari, vinegar and ponzu in a bowl. Slowly add the oils, whisking continuously until emulsified. Whisk in the wasabi and then stir in the eschalot.

• 4.

  To deep-fry the chickpeas, heat oil in a large heavy-based pan until a breadcrumb dropped in sizzles. Carefully add chickpeas and fry for 2 minutes, or until they start to blister. Drain in a bowl lined with paper towel. Season with the furikake while still hot and leave to cool completely. (You can store them in an airtight container for up to a day – they make an excellent snack.)

• 5.

  Arrange cabbage, cucumber, beetroot and lettuce in a bowl, add apple cider vinegar and toss well. Top with corn, zucchini and edamame. Drizzle over sesame dressing and finish with chickpeas, dill, parsley, spring onions and furikake.