Asian Chopped Salad with Sriracha Roasted Cashews

This is an older recipe from Foraged Dish and I wanted to give it an update. Same recipe!

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Have you tried these cashews yet?

If your answer is yes, you’re probably now thinking, “I should make those again this week.” If your answer is no, what are you doing?! Hop to it!

We joked that I should sell those cashews rather than sharing the recipe … but here we are. And I’m going to give you one more reason to make them yourself: a fresh, crunchy salad that will make a great potluck dish or light lunch.

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What’s in the bowl: I used to call this a “slaw,” but that word never quite hit the nail on the head. “Slaw” is short for coleslaw, which is usually a cabbage-based salad dressed with mayo. That’s nowhere near what this salad is. While still a cabbage-based salad, this bowl is also full of other veggies, like bell peppers, carrots, radishes, and bok choy (basically a big bowl of crunch!). Cashews sprinkled on top add to that crunchy, and the whole thing is dressed with an orange-sesame vinaigrette. (I’m crazy about toasted sesame oil, the flavor is out of this world and a little bit goes a long way).

Asian Chopped Salad with Sriracha Roasted Cashews

Published April 16, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the salad:

2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage

1 red pepper, sliced in thin strips strips

1 carrot, julienned

1/2 cup daikon radish, julienned

1 heaping cup bok choy, roughly chopped

1/2 cup Maple-Orange Sriracha Roasted Cashews

Optional: 2 tablespoons minced cilantro

For the vinaigrette:

Juice from 1 medium orange

2 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:

1. Pour ingredients for vinaigrette in a jar. Place lid on jar, and shake.
2. Chop vegetables, and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with about 1/3 of the vinaigrette, and toss. Top with cashews.
3. Serve, adding more vinaigrette to taste.

Citrus Cumin Mojo Chicken with Peppers

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 It’s like a trip back in time. Old roads, old cars, and old buildings. The walls of the Cuban houses in Viñales crumble but no one seems to notice. Or they do, but it’s all they know. It’s a part of this country, a part of life. The adobe on churches—which haven’t hosted a mass since the Cuban Revolution- has been chipping off for more then a decade, and they continue to go un-repaired. In town, the good roads have cobblestone laid down from before the war, and the big interstate is a two-lane paved road. The other roads are just dirt. Regardless, people smile and dance and enjoy life.

           When the sun shines in Viñales, Cuba it hits the crops of the local farms and the animals bathe in its warmth. The farmers that tend these small chunks of land still use classic horsepower (that is, horses and oxen) to turn the land and pull the hoes. Barns are full of drying tobacco, which is regulated through the government, along with anything else produced in the country. Wage is rations. 

            Despite the heavy regulations, there is plenty of tobacco enjoyed on the streets. In the evenings, especially during a feriado (holiday), the air is think with it: smokey, sweet, unmistakable. I don’t much enjoy it, but for how very Cuban it is. 

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            I’d like to tell you Cuban food was just as distinct: full of Caribbean flavor, fresh from the sea. I’d like to tell you that tables were covered in a cornucopia, as a continuation of the beautiful scene laid out above, but that isn’t always the case. Tourists may get that experience: I myself was treated to some mighty fine and generous meals, but it was hospitality and should not be mistaken for habit. Lunch was the hardest thing to track down— I remember lunching on personal sized pizzas, if you could even call it that (the cheese was off, the sauce not quite right, and they were served folded in half, like a plump taco). There was also a rather memorable ice cream cone, filled with the best scoop of chocolate ice cream I have had (fifteen years later and I haven’t found one that comes close). And here were two feasts, on one Christmas Eve and one on New Years Eve. But in between, we knew we were eating like tourists.

         I say all of this to explain that while Citrus Cumin Mojo Sauce is considered something of a Cuban classic, it’s is not a dish I experienced while in the country. Rather, it’s a marinade I started experimenting with years later. I say all of this to keep it real, and also to remember. It’s far to easy to day dream about beaches and pine coladas made with local rum; it’s far to easy to forget how things were as time moves on. 

           This marinade is bright and cheery, sunny and fresh. This recipe calls for chicken, but you could use the sauce with shrimp too. 

Want more from the Caribbean? Try this 30-minute ropa vieja.

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Citrus Cumin Mojo Chicken with Peppers

Published June 12, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast cutlets

1 red onion

1 medium sweet potato

2 red bell peppers

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil

For marinade:

Juice 1 orange

Juice 1 lime

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil

1/2 teaspoon high mineral sea salt

For serving:

1/4 cup minced cilantro

Optional: lime wedges

Directions:

1. In a 8-ounce jar, combine orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, oregano, oil, and salt. Place lid on jar and shake to combine.
2. Place chicken in an air-tight container and pour marinade over chicken. Place in fridge and allow to marinate for 8-12 hours.
3. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450°F. Slice red onion and bell pepper into strips, and dice sweet potato into 1/2-inch cubes. Spread out on a baking sheet (optionally, line baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat. (affiliate link!)). Drizzle oil over veggies. Now, using tongs, pull each piece of chicken from the marinade, letting access drip off. Place chicken on sheet pan with veggies.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, brushing extra marinade over chicken every 5 minutes or so, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F and potatoes are cooked through. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot with a lime wedge.

Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chop with Strawberry Mint Truffle Sauce (Paleo)

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As many of you know, I’ve been working my way through old recipes, giving them an update here and there. A month ago, it was this Moroccan Carrot Salad. Today, it’s this lamb recipe, which was originally published in 2014. Oh how much has changed in three years! We were house sitting for my mom when I made this recipe, her strawberry garden providing much of the inspiration. We’ve since moved three times: into a rental apartment, and then another, and finally, into our own home. I don’t currently have a strawberry patch, but revisiting this recipe has made me seriously consider adding one, despite the fact that strawberry plants are super aggressive —verging on invasive here. So, I used store-bought strawberries, which are at their peak right now. They were so juicy and sweet. If you haven’t tried this one, I know you’re going to love it! The rest of this post is the original post from 2014 (with new images). 

It's a battle. A fight for spring's sweetest bounty and a race against the clock. Has anyone else failed to pick a single strawberry this season? I certainly have. It's not that I haven't tried. On the contrary, I've been eyeballing those berries since they were white flower buds. The problem is, I'm not the only one with a sweet tooth. 

Oh no, its seems that every being wants a share of these berries: the robins living in the tree, the chip monk--or was that a mouse?- and probably my own cat. They all have cheeks full of sweet strawberry pulp. Can you blame them? Strawberries on the vine are pretty much juicy summer in a bite.

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For the first time this summer, I took what I could get. After savoring the second bite of this grilled lamb with strawberry sauce, I understood what the animals in the yard were so excited about. Garden-fresh strawberries are good. Really good. 

This recipe showcases our garden's strawberries and mint (which I have no trouble harvesting--that stuff grows like weeds!). The truffle oil and strawberries play on the sweet earthiness of the lamb while the lemon and mint bring it to life!

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Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chop with Strawberry Mint + Truffle (Paleo)

Published Jun 23, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Lamb:
• 2 Lamb shoulder chops
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder OR 1 garlic clove, minced fine
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 

For the Strawberry Mint Truffle Topping:
• 1/2 cup fresh ripe strawberries, diced small
• 1/4 cup minced fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 of a red onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon truffle oil (affiliate link!)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Sea salt (to taste)
• Ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. Turn grill to high. While it heats, prepared the lamb: Season both sides of the lamb with garlic, salt and pepper. Place on grill, and close the lid. Cook for three minutes and flip, cooking for three more minutes (about a minutes less for rare, a minute or two more for well done). Remove from heat and turn off grill. Note: you can also do this in a large skillet. Heat your skillet over medium-high heat and grease with cooking oil. Cook lamb chops for 3 minutes on each side.
2. Make the topping: Combine diced strawberries, minced red onion, minced mint, truffle oil, olive oil, and lemon juice in a bowl. Stir, and season with salt & pepper to taste.
3. Serve lamb chops hot with strawberry mint truffle mixture on top.