Chopped Salad with Peanut, Cilantro and Lime Dressing
Done your way
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I think I write this every summer, but apparently, it’s hot elsewhere in the northern hemisphere right now. Me? I’m in Wales where it is a) raining and b) hasn’t risen above 20°C for the last two weeks.
I am more likely to bake a pie than I am to make a salad right now.
But hey, this isn’t about me, this is about you. And if you’re sweltering under the Summer sun, you probably don’t fancy turning your oven on today.
Which is why I have the dish for you.
We’re talking about a chopped salad with the punchiest peanut-cilantro-lime dressing.
Salad for dinner can seem a bit… meagre. And if your idea of a salad is undressed lettuce, tomato and cucumber, you’d be right.
But get the right salad — especially on a balmy evening — and it can be generous, filling, and exactly what you crave. Especially when it’s filled with big-ass flavours like cilantro, lime and peanut.
One of the bylaws of The Capsule Pantry is to get you thinking like a chef. This means knowing exactly what each ingredient brings to a dish so you know how to substitute for items you may already have in your pantry or fridge.
For this dish, we’re looking at three elements:
The vegetables
The protein
The dressing
The vegetables are easy. This is a chopped salad so you can add pretty much anything you like / have in your fridge from cabbage to carrot to courgette.
Again, you can get jiggy with the protein and put in whatever you like. I originally wanted to include cooked minced pork but I had some roast chicken in the freezer leftover from chicken week, so I used that instead.
I’ve included plenty of protein ideas in the variations section.
The main part of the dressing is to provide aromatics, acid, and richness from the fresh herbs / lime / peanuts respectively. Thus you can swap each of these out like-for-like. For instance you could swap the cilantro for another aromatic herb like mint (or a mix). You could swap the lime for lemon or the peanuts for cashews.
See the variations section for more ideas.
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Serves 4
The dressing
60g / 2 cups cilantro