I've always loved bean sprouts but never thought to buy them as a snack or add them to a salad until I developed the Pad Thai recipe. Since then, I've gone sprouty, and I'm loving the crunch.
We are munching through a few bags of bean sprouts every week. They make a great water-quenching snack, and they're a nice addition to salads and stir-fries (for stir-fries, add them at the end so they don't get too soggy). I've even made scrambled eggs with sprouts in them - kind of like a Pad Thai version of scrambled eggs.
But this post is not entirely about the sprouts. With orange and citrus fruits coming into season, I'm reveling in the abundance of clementines, navel, satsumas, and Valencia oranges. Just heaven for citrus lovers. Not to mention Meyer lemons. And just in time for flu season.
I've been eating lots of greens with oranges and thought you might enjoy a salad of this type. While I use cabbage in this recipe, I vary or substitute it with salad greens and romaine lettuce.
The current dressing I whip up uses Meyer lemons, but you can use any lemon or orange for this dressing. It's not heavy on the oil since I like a lighter dressing, but feel free to add more oil if you want to lighten the strong flavor of citrus. Also feel free to sub the honey with maple syrup or your sweetener of choice. An Asian-inspired dressing would be tasty as well, you can use the dressing from the Asian Coleslaw recipe.
Tip Sprouts are rich in nutrients and enzymes that aid in digestion. The beans in my salad photo are made from mung beans.You can easily grow your own sprouts from a variety of beans, including lentils and mung beans. I haven't tried it yet, but it's pretty simple - just search the web and you'll find a host of videos and tutorials. Different beans and seeds require different soaking times, as you can see here. And here's a source for sprouting jar tops if you already have glass jars at home.
Note Make sure the sprouts you buy are fresh - they should be fairly white (not browned) and have a crunch to them.
Toppings for this salad
- candied nuts
- grilled chicken (or other grilled meat or vegetables)
- shaved or grated cheese
- pieces of walnuts, almonds or other nuts
- diced string beans or other greens
Luana says
It looks so beautiful and refreshing, perfect for these dark days.
Elise (Healing Cuisine) says
Mmm, looks great!! In the mood for an Asian-inspired salad myself. xo!
Erica says
🙂
France Morissette says
Those photos of the oranges makes me want to run out and get my fill of citrus fruit. A lovely fresh salad with not to much dressing. Just the way I like it! Thanks for sharing.
Sophie says
MMMMMM,..a stunning &healthy colourful salad!!
Happy 2011 filled with good food!
Erica says
thanks Sophie - same to you!
Tiffany says
This kind of salad is right up my alley!! Especially right now while pregnant when I'm allowing myself wonderful treats like clementines! I also love sprouts. One of my favorite salads is a grilled chicken breast over greens, topped with sprouts and sliced almonds, then a dijon honey mustard dressing - it's fantastic.
One thing though, saw on the news a couple nights ago that a big bunch of organic sprouts are contaminated with salmonella - so one might want to look that up before buying.
Erica says
Yes, thanks. It is important to buy them from a reliable source, or make them yourself (which I'm about to try). Also, rinsing them in tap water might help.
Ina Gawne says
Your salad looks delicious, and the fruit? Gorgeous! I wish we could get fresh citrus where I live. Only once in my life have I ever tasted citrus fruit right off the tree, there is nothing like it!
Erica says
These clementines in the picture lasted about a week in our local PCC market. I have had grapefruit fresh from a tree when in California - fresh is best 🙂
Natalie says
MMmmm this sounds delicious!