Guessipes

Lettuce-less Salad

Posted by Alana on

Sometimes salad kinda bums me out, because even a big bowl of it seems like it’s mostly air. Plus it doesn’t keep well as leftovers once you’ve put the dressing on – nobody likes soggy, wilting lettuce leaves. So this lettuce-less salad is awesome, because it’s a hearty salad you can really dig into. I can happily eat a bowl of it for lunch, and that’s saying something since I normally really like meat and carbs. It also maintains its great combination of textures when you put some away for later – crunch from the jicama, crisp green beans, smooth roasted peppers, pop from the corn, the somehow soft firmness of edamame, and the creaminess of the avocado. This Guessipe makes a good-sized batch for a party. You can certainly cut the ingredients to smaller quantities if you’re just making it for yourself, but I like being able to use a whole jicama, can of corn, and package of edamame, so that I’m not left with random bits of stuff. And I can gobble up a lot of this vegetable salad.

Guessipe

  • 3 red bell peppers
  • 1 small jicama, chopped
  • 3/4 lb green beans, chopped
  • 1 can corn
  • 12 oz shelled edamame
  • 3 avocados, diced
Dressing
  • 3 tsp ginger, minced
  • 3 tsp shallot, minced
  • 3 tsp fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
  • 6 TBSP rice vinegar
  • 4 TBSP soy sauce
  • 4 TBSP honey
  • 3 TBSP lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Roast the red bell peppers by baking them whole at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes, then removing from the oven and wrapping tightly in aluminum foil to rest for another 30 minutes. Remove the stem, seeds, and skin, which should slide right off. Chop the roasted peppers.

Lettuce-less Salad roasted red pepper

In a food processor, blend the ginger, shallot, and rosemary.

Lettuce-less Salad ginger shallot rosemary

Add the vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and lemon juice and blend until well combined. Slowly add the oil while continuing to blend. Salt and pepper to taste.

Lettuce-less Salad dressing

Put the roasted peppers, jicama, green beans, corn, and edamame into a large bowl.

Lettuce-less Salad veggies

Pour the dressing over the veggies and mix well. I like to wait until just before serving to add the avocado, so that it doesn’t turn brown and get totally mushed.

Lettuce-less Salad