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I very rarely buy those packages of mixed salad greens–all too often I’ve opened them to find that roughly half the contents are what I call “pre-compost.” But a new one caught my eye the other day, and it looked super-fresh, so I gave it a shot. It was called “Five Happiness,” by Organic Girl, and to say it did not disappoint would be a spectacular understatement. It must have just come off the truck, because every single leaf was resplendent and bursting with lifejuice (a neologism coined just now). I couldn’t wait to make something that would do them justice.
At the same market, I found some irresistibly ripe champagne mangoes, and this salad formed instantly in my head, which I would later dub “Asian Greens with Bean Sprouts, Red Pepper and Mango.”
I combined the greens, mung bean sprouts, slices of the mango, and strips of roasted and peeled red pepper (for a step-by-step demo showing how to roast and peel peppers, check out my 14-minute webinar–it’s in there about halfway through). For the dressing, I wanted something very light that would spark it to life without getting in the way. I pressed a little garlic into a bowl and added fresh lime juice, splashes of tamari and sriracha sauce, and just a dab of toasted sesame oil. I whisked it together and quickly tossed the salad. After piling it on plates, I topped each serving with thinly cut scallion slivers.
This salad now holds an iconic spot in my taste memory–one of those that not only stand out as near-perfect, but that also rely completely on specific ingredients that must be at the peak of freshness and ripeness. Crunchy, juicy, spicy, sweet, sour, bright, light, and thoroughly satisfying. Unbelievable. Sometimes I surprise even myself–which of course is the crass way of acknowledging that flow of genuine inspiration we mortals receive directly from the divine. Hats off to the kitchen gods!
My 19-year-old son, who is decidedly not interested in anything vegan, declared it a winner. To be fair, he is (as I am) profoundly enamored with mango in any form, so this was a slam-dunk from the get-go. But one must use one’s wiles if one is to promulgate one’s worldview among those determined to resist it. Sounds like a message you’d pull out of a fortune cookie, doesn’t it? Apropos.
P.S. You go, Organic Girl!
