Creamy Tahini Chopped Salad

Lately I’ve been trying to challenge myself to work on more salad dressings that can be made with ingredients that I generally already have on hand. I will often change up what vegetables I include in salads, mostly based on whatever I have in my refrigerator.

But I love adding to my ever-growing list of easy-to-make salad dressings. This one features tahini and is sort of, kind of, a lighter version of this spicy peanut sauce.

This dressing is creamy and quite balanced with a little spice and a little sweetness. If you want more spice, add a little more red curry paste or throw in some red pepper flakes.

If you want to keep this vegan, make sure to use a vegan-friendly red curry paste, as it often contains shrimp otherwise.

Creamy Tahini Chopped Salad, makes two big salads or could be divided into four if served with an entrée.

For the dressing:
1/4 cup tahini
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt + pepper to taste

For the salad:
one head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 head of purple cabbage, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
two green onions, chopped (ends discarded)
1 cup cooked edamame (I used frozen that I thawed completely)
1/3 cup cashews, chopped

Prepare your salad ingredients, which mostly involves chopping everything. Feel free to channel your inner Swedish Chef for this. And again, feel free to change up your ingredients based on what you have.

I have the addition of edamame for some extra protein, and I personally LOVE chopped nuts on almost anything, but especially salad.

For the dressing, once you have the garlic minced, simply whisk everything together until well combined. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Now you’re ready to toss your salad in the dressing and get down to business. Enjoy! xo. Emma