Asian Coleslaw

There's no doubt that I just love fresh herbs....they just bring a dish to life. This is especially true for this dish.

There's nothing fancy about cabbage - it's pretty bland to look at and has a bland taste to match!

But....add some mint & coriander and a flavoursome sweet dressing and ..... ta-dah ..... you've got yourself cabbage that will have them coming back for more.

Now that's got to be a first!

Ingredients

1/2 savoy cabbage, shredded finely
1/4 purple cabbage, shredded finely
4 Lebanese cucumbers, halved length ways, seeded & sliced thinly
2 carrots, grated coarsely
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked
1 bunch fresh coriander, leaves picked
1tbs sesame seeds

Dressing

1/3C grapeseed oil
1tbs sesame oil
2 1/2tbs light soy sauce
1 1/2tbs honey
1tbs mirin
1 lemon, juiced

Assembly

Dressing: whisk together all ingredients
Salad: combine all the ingredients together and toss gently. Drizzle dressing over the salad just prior to serving.

Hints:

• Savoy Cabbage: If you can't find this at your local fruit & veg stall just use normal cabbage


• Mirin: As this is sweet you could just substitute this with a little extra honey


• Light Soy: I didn't have any so I just used normal soy but only added 2tbs


• Without the dressing the salad will last for a day or two in the refrigerator in an airtight container

Thai-licious Salad

I know....the title is lame, but I can assure you that the dish isn't.

A couple of weeks ago I needed to take a dish to a family gathering. As I was searching through magazines, looking for something that met my criteria - simple, different, yummy - I stumbled on a Thai Beef Salad salad that ticked all my boxes.

I followed the recipe pretty much but just added some rice noodles to bulk it up. The salad was such a success I re-made it the other day without the beef and added some raw peanuts for that extra crunch.

Hints......

Red Chilli - I took the seed out of the chilli but if you would like a bit of heat just leave them in

Shallot -if you can't find any just use a red onion

Beef - If you want to turn it into more of a main meal add some beef. Last time I used rump steak

Leftovers - if by chance it wasn't gobbled up, it tastes great the next day