After that weekend you need veggies

After we returned from our amazing NYC weekend and all the great food, it's time for something related to veggies. While vegetating in the chair and playing couch potato, we caught this Sunday's episode of Nigella and she was making Temple Food...food to make your body feel like the temple that it is. And a weekend of foodie indulgence requires some temple renovations.

This dish was oddly appealing to me on TV and I had no idea what I would think of it in person...let's see...


Vietnamese Mint Salad
Recipe from Nigella Lawson
Yield: 2 to 4 servings

1 Thai chile, seeded and minced
1 large garlic clove, peeled, minced
1 TB sugar
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 TB lime juice
1 1/2 TB fish sauce
1 1/2 TB vegetable oil
1/2 medium red onion, finely sliced
Freshly grated black pepper
7 to 8 oz white cabbage, shredded
2 medium carrot, shredded, julienned, or grated
1 large cooked chicken breast, shredded, or cut into fine strips (optional)
1 bunch mint, plus extra for garnish, leaves roughly chopped
1-2 TB toasted sesame seeds
Salt

In a medium bowl, stirring with spoon, combine the chile, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, oil, onion, and black pepper, set aside for 1/2 hour. In a large bowl combine cabbage, carrot, chicken breast, and mint, tossing with tongs. Pour cabbage mixture over the dressing, tossing with tongs, slowly and patiently so everything is coated. Add salt, to taste. Serve on a flat plate with sesame seeds and mint for garnish.


So there you have it. I ate a plate of vegetables. Nigella's recipe is actually Vietnamese Chicken and Mint Salad, for the purpose of this blog and to give some more vegetal variety, I'm going to just call this Vietnamese Mint Salad, putting the chicken as an optional ingredient. You can see there was a little chicken in there. We really enjoyed this salad. I prefer this more as a side salad instead of as an entree salad which we did tonight. I added the sesame seeds at the last minute. I used red onion instead of a yellow onion. Little color and a more palatable onion. I also added a second carrot. I might add a third carrot next time, I like carrots. And maybe...maybe use napa cabbage next time? Of course Giant didn't have Thai chiles, so one jalapeno worked for us. And PS, if you don't have fresh mint...don't bother!!! Vital!!!