Cook By Book

After hogging lots and lots of sweets and fried stuff during 5 days of festivities in the past week, believe it or not, but my digestive system needed a break. So I am doing a cleanse/detox for few days.

I made this skinny salad for lunch one day and have fallen in love with it since then. It is so versatile, protein-packed and healthy even for people with diet restrictions. Yes! It is suitable for all the vegetarians and vegans out there! A complete meal in itself.

Add any or all of the ingredients mentioned below or whatever you have in your refrigerator. Don’t like uncooked Paneer/tofu? Don’t worry! You can grill it with a bit of olive oil and some seasoning before adding it to your salad or skip it. I once made this with just apple, pear, pomegranate and it was still lip-smacking!

So do your body a favor, give yourself a break from cooking and make this hearty salad! 🙂

Skinny Zesty Salad

Serves: 2 as a side and 1 as a main-course

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 200 gm Paneer/extra-firm tofu, cut into 2 inch-long thin strips
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped into thin strips
• 1 small yellow zucchini, cut into semicircles
• 1 small apple, thin slices
• 4 Tbsp black olives
• Bunch of lettuce
• few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped

For dressing:

• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• Juice from 1 lemon, or more to taste
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a small pan on stove and add 1/2 Tbsp oil to it. Add garlic and broccoli florets. Stir fry till cooked, approximately for 4-5 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for dressing.
3. In a medium bowl, add stir-fried garlic and broccoli florets. To this, add prepared paneer/tofu, bell pepper, zucchini, apple and black olives. Pour dressing over it and toss nicely.
4. In a salad serving bowl, arrange lettuce at the bottom. Add salad on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately*.

*If serving later, refrigerate the salad and add apple just before serving.