Hearts of Palm, Chayote Squash, Radish Seed Pods salad

Hearts of Palm, Chayote Squash, Radish Seed Pods plus a few other vegetables come together for this summery salad served chilled, with Asian flavored dressing.

I threw some vegetables I had handy as I liked the combination, but, any favorite set of vegetables would work as well.

The salad tastes better when prepared a day ahead and allowed to rest in the fridge and develop flavors.

Ingredients
a jar of SunPix™ Hearts of Palm, cut into rings (use as much as preferred)
1 small chayote squash, peeled an diced
¼ cup water chestnuts (optional)
¼ cup radish seed pods (optional)
½ cup chopped baby corn
a handful of sugar snap peas
1 crisp fresh tomato, pulp removed if preferred, chopped
1 carrot cut into rounds
a handful of chopped bok choy
3 or 4 mint leaves, chopped finely for garnish
1 tsp lemon zest for garnish
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Asian Peanut Chili Dressing:
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sambal oelek
1 tsp ginger marmalade (or orange marmalade)
1 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp unsweetened peanut butter

Preparation

1. Blanch the chayote squash in salted water, drain and keep handy
2. Blend the dressing ingredients and keep handy
3. Heat the peanut oil in a pan, saute the vegetables with a hint of salt, adding in the blanched chayote squash - all except the hearts of palm and tomatoes - for a few minutes and turn off heat; allow to cool completely
4. Toss in the tomatoes and hearts of palm with the sauteed veggies, drizzle some dressing, chill in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes; garnish as desired, drizzle more dressing as preferred and serve cold

Zucchini Mahshi

This Lebanese-cuisine inspired Koussa Mahshi or Stuffed Zucchini with a blend of Mediterranean spices, served hot with fresh warm flat bread, is a treat to be relished.

Small whole zucchini is cut at stem end, cored, stuffed and stewed in tomato-based sauce.

I had fairly large zucchinis and scooping out the core seemed tricky, so, I cut them in half and made little zucchini cylinders/tubes. One half of each zucchini is open at both ends, the other half is open only at one end.

Of course, this means, stuffing is not going to be contained inside and will definitely ooze out when cooked, but, the whole blend in the pot with the softened zucchini cylinders, the sauce, and the aromatic rice stuffing came together nicely in the end.

I used the left over stuffing from Swiss Chard Dolmas.

Ingredients
5 or 6 small zucchinis, stem-end trimmed, cored

For the stuffing:
(see Swiss Chard Dolmas)

For the sauce:
12 oz tomato sauce
1 medium onion, diced finely
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried mint (or about 12 to 15 mint leaves chopped finely)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 pod of cardamom, crushed
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
water and salt as needed

Preparation

Stuff the zucchini and keep handy

Bring the sauce to a simmer in a large pot and arrange the filled zucchini cylinders, cover and simmer over low heat till zucchini is tender and cooked just enough, but not mushy.

Swiss Chard Dolma

Dolmas: Something Stuffed.

Flavorful stuffing wrapped in favorite leaves and steamed. Be it East Asian style lettuce leaves or Mediterranean style grape leaves or Swiss chard.

Blanch the Swiss chard leaves after cutting away the white thick stems carefully. I have a tendency to over-stuff, but, this time I managed to use just enough and wrap it into tight little packages for steaming.

Brown rice with toasted pine nuts, feta, and dried cranberries, flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and a hint of cayenne pepper makes up the stuffing for these Swiss Chard Dolmas.

I served it with a Balsamic Vinaigrette dip and Sweet Chili Sauce. But a delicious rich tomato sauce or a light and delicate Mint-Yogurt sauce or Tahini-Sumac-Yogurt Dressing would be wonderful as well.