Hot and Cold Bean Salad in Lettuce Cups with Tomato Lime Dressing

       Spring time has arrived with all its glorious colours ... or atleast I think it has arrived. What better way to welcome this lovely season other than with a colourful flavourful salad.
       If u r looking for healthy meal or snack, salads take the first place. We do eat with our eyes and nose first even before we taste the food. Salads are the best way to treat all the senses.

            
                Regular bowls of salads in our meal plans and our body automatically compliments us with glowing skin, sparkling eyes, healthy nails and crowning glory of bouncy dark hair... It is undeniably the best way to cleanse our insides and uplift our spirits...

                This recipe is full of color and bursting with flavours and textures. The best way to serve this salad is both hot and cold at the same time.... Confused !!!!  Well, don't be.... One ingredient is warm and the rest of them are cold.... the best thing is that the cup in which it is served can also be eaten... so minimal washing [That is a well deserved bonus for all the busy bees out there ....:)]

Points to remember :
Buy fresh vegetables and cut them before 20 minutes or so before serving time. Refrigerate all the vegetables added in this salad before and after cutting them until serving time.
Add as many colourful vegetables as possible.
This can be easily turned into a non-vegetarian salad by adding around 100gms of cooked shredded chicken or lamb or prawns.

Cannellini beans: 1 can [400gm]
Celery sticks: 2.
Red bell pepper: 1.
Yellow bell pepper: 1.
Ripe avacado: 1.
Cucumber : 1 [medium]
Mint leaves: a handful
Coriander leaves: a handful

Salad dressing
Readymade tomato juice: 70 ml.
Lime juice: 25-30 ml.
Flax seed oil: 1-2 tbsp.
Lemon thyme: few sprigs.
Garlic pods: 2 [small]
Thai red chilli : 1
Salt: to taste.
Pepper powder: to taste.

To serve
Whole iceberg lettuce leaves or gem lettuce leaves : 3-4
Wash and trim the edges of the leaves. 1/2 hour before serving time, take a large bowl of cold water and add ice cubes. Plunge the lettuce leaves in this ice cold water.

1.Wash and chop the veggies. Keep the chopped avacado in a seperate bowl. Refrigerate all the veggies.
2.Wash the mint and coriander leaves and chop coarsely
3.Grate the garlic finely. Deseed and chop the red chilli. Finely chop the lemon thyme sprigs. Mix all the ingredients given for the salad dressing and refrigerate.

Assemble and serve:
1.In a large bowl add the chopped veges except avacado, mint and coriander leaves.
2.Add half the dressing and mix two to three times.
3.Drain and rinse the beans to get rid of the excessive salt. Add fresh water [just enough to barely cover the beans].
4.Cook in microwave high for 4-5 mins until pipping hot.
5.Add this to the veggie mix along with the avacado and toss once.
6.Serve immediately in the chilled lettuce cups along with the reserved salad dressing.

Note:
      Avacado can turn mushy if mixed at the beginning and will not look and taste nice.

      It is important to serve the dressing chilled even if the salad is at room temperature. The reason being- flax seed oil contains more than 50% of good fats [omega 3 and omega 6] which gets destroyed when heated.
      Even though this is a healthy oil,1-2 tbsp is enough as it does comes with more or less the same amount of calories as the others. If this oil is unavailable, please kindly use olive oil or peanut oil for a smoky tasty.

Sending this to Manjula's Kitchen - March Contest 2011

Enjoy.....

Scribbled by Reva