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A salad can be more than lettuce and vinaigrette, as an imaginative new cookbook reveals in more than 75 recipes.
Sensational Salads by Kathy Kordalis (Ryland Peters & Small/Firefly, $24.99) offers plenty of tossed green salads, but ranges widely over mixtures of fresh and cooked ingredients, such as this combination.
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Kordalis, the daughter of Greeks and raised in Australia, trained at the celebrated Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London. She shows how to make salads more of a meal. London photographer Mowie Kay provides outstanding pictures.
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Eggplant with cucumber and buttermilk dressing
Serves 4
Dressing:
½ cup (125 mL) buttermilk
Juice and zest (grated peel) of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon (5 mL) honey
Freshly ground pepper
1 green onion, finely chopped
Salad:
5 tablespoons (75 mL) olive oil
4 green onions, cut lengthwise in half
8 baby eggplants, sliced lengthwise
2/3 cup (150 mL) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup (75 mL) fresh, chopped chives
1 ripe avocado, in chunks
2 cups (500 mL) arugula (rocket) lettuce, stems discarded
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, lemon juice and zest, mustard, honey and some pepper. Then add onion and set aside.
Salad: Heat 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of the oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat and fry onions for about 5 minutes until tender, slightly charred and crisp on all sides. Season with salt.
Add 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of the oil to the pan and, when hot, add half the eggplant slices, sprinkle with salt, and fry for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned on one side.
Turn eggplant and fry the second side for about 2 minutes, until browned and tender.
Transfer to a large bowl.
Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of oil and remaining eggplant. Let cool slightly and add to the bowl.
Add cucumbers, parsley and chives to the bowl, tossing well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and gently fold in avocado.
Transfer to a platter and drizzle with several spoonfuls of the dressing. Then add arugula and serve.
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