Sesame Grilled Baby Bok Choy Salad

Love this grilled salad.  The toasted sesame and orange flavours blend well and the grilled bok choy is a new favourite for me.  From Food & Drink Summer 2011.

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 baby bok choy, about 750 g
250 g snow peas, trimmed
8 red radishes, halved and thinly sliced
8 large leaves curly leaf lettuce

1. Whisk together orange juice, vegetable oil, sesame oil, mustard 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a measuring cup.
2. Heat barbecue to medium.
3. Trim ends and any tough outer leaves from bok choy.  Cut in half lengthwise and place in a large bowl.  Pour in 1/4 cup of the dressing and toss to coat.  Grill turning once, for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until grill marked and starting to get tender.  Return to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leat steam for about 10 minutes or until tender crisp.
4. Meanwhile, blanch snow peas in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes or until bright green and tender crisp.  Drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water; let stand until chilled.  Drain and pat dry.
5. Just before serving, drain any accumulated liquid from bok choy and cut each half in half again lengthwise.  Return to bowl and add snow peas and radishes.  Pour in remaining dressing and toss to coat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Tear leaf lettuce into bite size pieces and arrange on a platter.  Arrange bok choy mixture on top and drizzle with dressing remaining in bowl.

Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad

This recipe has all the great flavour of the original Caesar salad, but is lower in fat.  Low Fat cottage cheese  and low fat mayonnaise is used instead of egg yolks and oil.  It is about 1/4 of the calories.  From Food and Drink Winter 2001.

Dressing:
1/4 cup 1% low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
2 anchovies chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
Freshly ground pepper

12 large shrimp, peeled
1 head romaine lettuce, washed
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Puree cottage cheese, mayonnaise, anchovies, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic and olive oil in food processor until smooth.  Stir in Parmesan and pepper.  Season to taste.  If dressing is too thick, thin down with a little warm water.  Toss shrimps with 1/4 cup dressing.  Marinate for 30 minutes.  Tear romaine leaves removing the thickest part of the stem.  Toss with remaining dressing.
2. Preheat broiler or grill pan on medium high heat.  Drain shrimps and broil or grill about 1 1/2 minutes per side, or until pink and slightly curled.  Divide salad among 4 plates and top each salad with 3 shrimp.  Garnish with parsley.

Grilled Tomato Pasta Salad

A salad with great variety and colour.  Lots of flavour.

2 lb (1kg) cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2/3 cup Diana Marinade, Garlic and Herb flavour
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups cooked orzo or other pastina (tina pasta shapes)
3 cups coarsely chopped baby spinach
1 cup coarsely shredded basil leaves
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Toasted pine nuts

1. Preheat the grill to mediumhigh.  Line the grate with a sheet of heavy duty foil.  Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle with pepper.  Stir the marinade in a separate bowl with the lemon zest and lemon juice.  Gently toss the tomatoes with half of this mixture.  Whisk the olive oil into the remaining marinade mixture in the bowl; reserve.
2. Brush the foil with a little extra olive oil.  Place the tomatoes on the foil, cut side up.  Grill the tomatoes for 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium and grill for 15 minutes or until wrinkled and browned.   Lift the foil with the tomatoes and any juices onto a baking sheet.  Gently scrape the tomatoes into a bowl.
3. Toss the orzo with the reserved oil marinade mixture.  Gently stir in the spinach and half each of the tomatoes, basil and Feta cheese.  Transfer to a deep plater or bowl.  Garnish the salad with the remaining tomato, basil, cheese and pine nuts.  Season with additional fresh ground pepper to taste.

Makes 8 servings

Grilled Sausage and Wheat Berry Salad

This is the first time I have tried Wheat Berries and I have to say they are wonderful!  A little chewy but I really like them.  They are wheat kernels with the outer hull removed.  An excellent source of dietary fibre and are available at the bulk food store.

4 bratwurst sausages - or turkey sausage
1 cup wheat berries
1 cup diced red peppers
1 cup diced, peeled carrots
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

On greased grill preheated to medium high, grill sausages, turning often, until cooked through - about 15 minutes.  Let cool slightly; slice and set aside.

While the sausages are grilling, cook wheat berries in a large pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until softened - about 40 minutes.  Drain.  Combine in a large bowl with red peppers, carrots, cucumber, green onion, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Toss gently to combine.  Add sausage and parsley, and toss again.

Eggplant with Goat Cheese and Fire-Roasted Tomato

A delicious starter.  I have never been a great fan of eggplant, but this changed my mind!

*Preheat oven to 350F

Salt
1 large eggplant, sliced into 8 rounds, about 1/2 inch thick
All purpose flour
1 cup olive oil
4 oz (125 g) goat cheese
2 tbsp finely diced roasted yellow bell pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 jar Fire Roasted Tomato and garlic pasta sauce
Additional chopped fresh parsley, optional

• Lightly salt eggplant rounds and let stand for 30 minutes.  Pat dry and then lightly toss in flour.  Remove and set aside.
• In a saucepan, heat 6 tbsp oil over medium high heat and fry 3 to 4 eggplant rounds at a time, cooking until both sides are golden, adding more oil when required.  Place cooked eggplant on paper towel-lined trays to absorb excess oil.
• In a small bowl, combine goat cheese, roasted pepper and parsley.
• Spread pasta sauce on baking dish.  Place 4 eggplant slices on sauce and evenly cover each with the goat cheese mixture.  Top with remaining eggplant slices.
• Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.  Serve eggplant rounds with sauce and top with a sprinkle of chopped parsley if desired.

**Eggplant can also be grilled