Asian Almond Ramen Salad

Salads for summer . . . Tastes & Treasures cookbook is filled with great salads. Here is another one to try with the ever-popular Ramen noodles.

Asian Almond Ramen Salad
Ingredients Dressing:
3 tablespoons rice vinegar or cider vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
Ingredients Salad:

1 package (3 ounces) ramen noodles, any flavor
½ cup snow peas (2 ounces), sliced lengthwise into thin strips
½ cup shredded carrots
1 scallion, chopped
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges in juice, drained
¼ cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions:
To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients in a medium serving bowl until blended.


For the salad, discard the ramen seasoning packet. Crush the ramen in the bag into very small pieces with a heavy skillet or your hands. Add them to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat. Let the ramen stand at room temperature, stirring now and then, until the liquid is mostly absorbed, about 45 minutes.


Gently fold in the snow peas, carrots, scallion, and water chestnuts. Fold in the oranges and then scatter on the almonds and sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 2 days and serve cold.


TIP:You can replace the dressing with store-bought light sesame-ginger dressing.

Grilled Potato Salad with Mandarins and Rosemary

Unique combination of vegetables, fruit and herbs make this one a great company salad. Lindy Isaksen brought it for the Historical League lunch in October. I told you we have great food as well as great speakers at our meetings. Lindy was curious how it would taste but we all agreed we liked it.

Grilled Potato Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Rosemary pg 176

8 small Yukon Gold or red potatoes
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup steak grill seasoning
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
2 (16 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, or to taste
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Parboil the potatoes in a small amount of boiling water in a saucepan for 10 minutes and drain. Let stand until cool and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
Preheat a cast-iron grill pan until hot. An outdoor grill may be used instead. Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, grill seasoning and rosemary in a large bowl; the olive oil should lightly coat the potatoes. Arrange the potatoes on the hot grill pan and cook for 3-5 minutes per side or until grill marks appear. Return the potatoes to the large bowl and cool slightly. Add the mandarin oranges, vinegar and onion and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or chill, covered, in the refrigerator. If chilled, bring to room temperature before serving.
Serves 6-8