SALADS (Continued)

Fresh and cooked vegetables are the key to preparing Javanese salads.

Dressing ingredients in
a large mortar with the pestle

Lotek is freshly prepared vegetable salad dressed with peanut dressing. Traditionally the dressing, ing is ready newly crushed in a large mortar with the pestle.
Place all the peanut dressing ingredients in the large mortar, crush them together with the pestle, when it is smooth enough, add in the vegetables, toss together and make sure the mixed vegetables are evenly coated with the dressing.

Lotek - Super Fresh Salad

Preparation for Lotek (Freshly Prepared Vegetables Salad)

Peanut dressing ingredients

Smooth spiced crushed peanut
but with texture

The dressing and the vegetables
are ready for tossing

The vegetables: cooked spinach or cabbage, fresh leafy greens, tomato and bean sprout.  Some Authentic Javanese green leaves are not available here in Australia.  For the replacement, I use lettuces or endives.  Not everyone has a large mortar and pestle, that is OK.  What you need is a regular size mortar and pestle to prepare the peanut dressing, then transfer it to the mixed vegetable which is ready in a bowl, toss and mix together, serve at once.
Peanut Dressing for Lotek
125 g roasted peanut
25 g brown sugar
1 fresh chilli and garlic (optional)
Salt and juice of a lime or lemon

Cutting vegetables My way based on Javanese Cooking

Cucumber

Finely shredded is for salads and garnishes, large shredded is for mixed vegetables,  the large cut is for stir fry and to add to noodle dishes.

Cabbage

Gado-Gado
The most popular salads in Java is Gado-Gado, it is mixed cooked and fresh vegetables served with Peanut Sauce.

Other garnishes are halved a boiled egg, sliced cooked potato,  and krupuk (prawn crackers)
The recipe: look on an older post.  Type Gado-Gado to search.

Peanut Sauce

Gado-Gado

It is a meal in itself, I love to have it for lunch during spring to autumn.

Tofu Salad is a salad made of sliced fried tofu mixed with vegetables. The dressing is the mixture of soy, lemon juice oil, salt, sugar and kaffir lime leaf.  Add in these vegetables which go with the tofu: sliced cucumber in strips, shredded cabbage, carrots and fresh bean sprout. The tastes should be a perfect balance of salty, sweet and sour.  It is a very refreshing taste.

You could prepare the tofu salad with the different cutting vegetables, and choose the vegetables as you prefer, at the end of the day, do what is comfortable for you.  The above picture is an example of tofu salad "as you like it".  The recipe is in the older post. Type Fried Tofu to search.

Gudangan is cooked vegetable or mixed vegetables salad dressed with coconut dressing.  Here I prepared boiled snake beans dressed with the savoury coconut dressing, a very traditional Javanese salad. The dish is suitable for children, as it has a mild and tasty flavour.
You could serve mixed fresh finely cut vegetables instead of cooked vegetables and dressed with the dressing as well.

Nasi dan Gudangan Kacang Lanjaran.

The Dressing and the recipe:

 The Recipe

Savoury Coconut Dressing
(Bumbu Gudangan Gurih)

Snake Beans

Ingredients
1 cup desiccated coconut- traditionally is using grated young coconut.
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons grated Palm sugar/coconut sugar
1 shallot and 1 garlic
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 small sliced galangal
1 kaffir lime leaf
Salt to taste (1/2 teaspoon)
1 cup of water extra
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Ingredients of the Dressing

Method
Place the peeled shallot, garlic, coriander seeds, grind them to make a rough paste
In a saucepan, place the coconut, water, sugar, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, cook to soften
Add in the coarse paste, extra water and lemon juice, keep on cooking until all water is absorbed
(about 11 minutes cooking over low heat)
Transfer to a bowl, add the oil, mix together.
It keeps well refrigerated.

This summer, you may like to try these Javanese salads, the ingredients are readily available in the markets or supermarkets.   Have fun and Enjoy!



Composed Salads
Create a salad as you like it by using all the ingredients that you already have at hand.
One day I prepared a composed salad, and it was perfect a very satisfying dinner.

Thursday Composed Salad was successful, dressed with a simple dressing.
The dressing: balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, shredded lemon rinds, and chopped fresh parsley.
It was quick to prepare
It was delicious
It was delightful
It was enjoyable
It was satisfying
Often simple cooking can make a yummy meal.

Readily Ingredients for my Thursday composed salad.

Tomatoes from Irene's garden

Mixed Vegetables

Crispy Fried Prosciutto

By four o'clock a late afternoon, and you are not sure what to do for the dinner, then you have to think fast and be creative.  I know, it may be a pasta dish, a rice dish or a substantial salad. It was on a Thursday we both were tired, I took an afternoon nap, woken up in a wrong way, tiredness is the enemy for anyone.  We ought to have dinner at some point, I have to do something, then I saw a beautiful heap of fresh tomatoes sitting on my kitchen bench. Thank you, Irene, for these gorgeous tomatoes, you just saved me from this misery.  A composed salad, it's going to be (I thought), I have lovely greens to match with the tomatoes.  A composed salad for dinner was easy enough, especially preparing only for two.  So I gathered the ingredients, from the pantry was an egg, some prosciutto ham and fresh leafy salad from the fridge.  Luckily,  I have my home-baked crusty sourdough bread in the freezer to serve with instead of pasta.  It was an enjoyable dinner, and the salad was sufficed for the two of us.

The Thursday Composed Salad

Leafy vegetables, tomato, egg, crispy fried prosciutto dressed
with lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and sprinkle with
shredded lemon rind and fresh parsley

You could easily add some shaved Parmesan Cheese to this composed salad for extra flavour.

Potato Composed Salad with Spanish Flavour

This salad is very substantial, it is almost a meal in itself.  An ideal for a family with children, the preparation does not take long, excellent for all busy mothers.  The preparation up to serve the dinner takes only for forty-five minutes.

Ingredients

Cooked Potatoes - 3 large

Omelet - 3 eggs

Panfry 2 chorizo - cut in pieces

Sliced red onions - one large

Sliced red capsicums - one large

Cooked green beans - 2 cups-topped and tailed

Fresh red tomato and Leafy greens - 2 tomatoes and 3 cups leafy greens

Dressing: 3 tablespoons olive oil, a dash of lemon juice, salt and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika.

Preparation and the Procedures

Start at 5 o'clock

5.00 - 520  -------- clean leafy greens, the beans, peel potato, slice onion-chorizo-capsicums-tomato 

5.20 - 5.30 -------------------------------------------- boil the potato and the beans.

5.22 - 5.24--------------------------------------------------- place fresh vegetables in a large bowl, set aside

5.25 - 5.29 -----------------------------------------sauteing red onion and cooking omelette-cut in wedges.

5.30 -----------------------------------------------   straining the potatoes and the beans, leave them to cool

5.32 - 5.34 ---------------------------------- pan fry the chorizo using the pan from cooking the omelette.

5.33   ------------------------ prepare the dressing: mix olive oil, salt, little lemon juice, smoked paprika.

5.36 ---------------------------- cooked potatoes, beans, chorizo put in the bowl with the rest fresh vegs

5.40 ---------------------------dress the salad, toss gently, garnish with the omelette. 

5.44 --------------------------------  add the onion to the dish and sprinkle with fresh parsley on top

5.45 ----------------------------------DINNER  IS  SERVED

Note: it is handy to have the leafy salad ready at hand and keep refrigerated.

I hope the procedures and timetable which I prepared for you will help your food preparation running smoothly.  Enjoy!

Have this composed salad for dinner, followed by a pastry dessert for indulgence, I think it is fun.  A  good weekend cooking if you stay in.


OTHER  SALADS  

One of the radicchio varieties

Pan-fried Radicchio Salad

Rustic salads with bitter lettuces are delicious, one of my favourites is grilled, or pan-fried radicchio dressed with balsamic vinegar and garnished with roasted nuts.  I love to eat it as it is or serve with grilled red meat.

I cooked the rustic salad for lunch, and it was good, a little taste of bitterness was there, but the family did not complain.

Panfrying the Radicchio

Cut the radicchio into wedges, pan fry with oil in a pan until brownish colour all over.  Add a splash of vinegar, and salt, turn them over and add some caramelise balsamic vinegar for a touch of sweetness.  Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with the nuts and some yoghurt (optional).

Pan-fried Radicchio Salads with Pecan Nuts.

The family helped themselves with this rustic salad, one preferred to add some rocket leaves, and others loved with cheese.

Served with Rocket Leaves

Served with Feta Cheese.

Creamy salads, cabbage and apple dressed with mayonnaise dressing are the best to garnish any white meat and fish.  Avocado mixed with sliced chicken breast and dressed with mayonnaise is delicious. Garnish it with almond flakes.  It is suitable for a light lunch, add crusty bread on the side.

I am sure a lot more variety of salads are available, but what I suggest is the salads that I prepare in my kitchen.  I don't need to write the quantities of the ingredients for those other salads. Be creative and improvise!

We love our salads. A salad is there always at our table.


Until Next Post
Susy