Make-Ahead Chinese Leaf, Apple & Cucumber Salad: frugal, low-fat, high-fibre, make ahead

Crispy crunchy salad - a perfect foil for pasta, and can be made ahead...

Finely chopped Chinese Leaf, Cucumber & Apple Salad 
appeals to all ages

Chinese Leaves (also known as Napa Cabbage) is a lettuce-like frilly leaf with a hard base and core.  It's like a cross between lettuce and celery, and adds plenty of healthy fibre to your diet. 

It's in season at the moment and highly recommended; it's fresh, clean-flavoured and crunchy. 

Chinese leaves as grown, left
shredded & finely sliced on right 

Chinese Leaves are about the same price as romaine lettuce but goes much further.  The leaves are tightly packed and sturdy.  That means they are ideal for make-ahead salads.  No wilted leaves or sorry looking additions with this make-in-advance salad

The leaves are easy to prepare.  The frilly bits are shredded and the white core, finely sliced.  Add cucumber and a simple vinaigrette or creamy dressing for a tasty side, or a base for something more complicated.  Nuts, seeds and fruit (fresh or reconstituted dried) will make for something stunning. 

67's recipe adds fresh apple and bathes the lot in a sweet'n sour lemon, maple and mustard dressing

Cost: about 50 pence

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

3-4 Chinese leaves, washed and trimmed

1/4 medium cucumber, in small dice

1 small apple, unpeeled, in small dice

1 tbsp lemon juice mixed with 1 tb water

2-3 tb walnuts, chopped fine

          1 tbsp lemon zest & juice

4 tb low-fat yoghurt

2 tb mayonnaise  

1-2 tb maple syrup (or honey or sugar)

          1 generous tsp Dijon mustard  

Method:

1. Mix lemon zest & juice, yoghurt, mayo, mustard and maple syrup in a medium bowl
2. Stir in apple pieces; coat
3. Shred green frilly bits of Chinese leaves; finely slice white base
4. Mix with diced cucumber; layer on top of apple & dressing without mixing
5. Refrigerate until half an hour before needed 
6. Just before serving, toss until all ingredients are coated in dressing 

Comments:

'Really refreshing but if having this with creamy pasta, I would prefer a simple vinaigrette.' Retired writer

'Very nice and crunchy; everything was cut small so it wasn't difficult to eat.' 86-year-old retired priest

Tip:

Also try the leaves stir fried with garlic, steamed on top of salmon or thrown in a mixed vegetable stir-fry. 

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.