Lettuce Slaw... a la Cat

YUM! 

My walking friends and I were talking early this morning on our walk about what to do with an abundance of lettuce this time of year - something other than "just" salads.

I just made this salad today using this and this for inspiration. Somewhere I saw a salad recipe calling for grilled sweet potatoes, which gave me the idea to used diced yams, but I couldn't find the recipe. It might have been something that I tore out of a magazine somewhere in time. The diced yams reminded me of croutons, but better for you.

I made the VegTimes recipe twice in one week, for two different occasions, it was so good. The smoky walnut topping made enough for both batches. Thought I'd try this MyRecipes recipe for a change in flavor.

Add other elements to the salad, whatever seems good to you, to make it even more filling... I think the smoky toppings from the recipe would be good on the salad, but I was trying to keep the fat under control here given that I already used cashews in the recipe.

Sadly, we devoured most of the salad before I took a photo. Just a tiny little bit leftover, on my small Fiesta plate.

Here is my final recipe for today's salad:

LETTUCE SLAW... A LA CAT 

Serves 2 generously for a main salad, or 4 side salads

The Salad:

1/2 half large cucumber (a gift from my neighbor's garden), peeled

1/4 medium red onion, sliced very thin

8-10 leaves romaine, sliced very thin (should look like it's shredded)

5-6 leaves kale, sliced very thin (should look like it's shredded)

1 peeled and cooked orange yam, medium-large, 1/2" dice

Olive oil spray

1 large stalk celery, sliced very thin

9-10 fresh green beans, sliced into very thin rounds or on diagonal

Salt & Pepper to taste

The Dressing:

1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked in 1/2 cup water for an hour, then drained*

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. agave nectar

1 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion

Instructions:

1. Spray diced yams and sliced green beans with olive oil; season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill them over medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet until they begin to brown. Remove from heat to cool.
2. In a small food processor, add all ingredients for dressing. Blend for about 3-4 minutes until as smooth as possible. * If you really don't want to take time to soak the cashews, you can put them in water in the microwave to heat for 30 seconds on high power, then drain.
3. Slice cucumber into very thin rounds; then slice stacks of the rounds into match-sticks.
4. Add all the salad ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and then toss with the dressing. Serve immediately.