SERVES: 2 FREE-FORM, 2 OR MORE BOXED SALADS, DEPENDING ON THE BENTO BOXES!
TIME: 1 HOUR
Salad is about making decisions: nibble on a tender potato or a crisp green bean, maybe a toothsome olive. This plant-based twist on the French seaside salad is enhanced with chickpeas spiked with dulse seaweed and Coconut Bacony Bits (page 48), all bathed in a chia seed Dijon mustard dressing. The kicker? Avocado laced with Indian black salt—an amazing stand-in for hard-boiled eggs.
I won’t lie: this salad is made in stages; for the most efficient use of your time, chop the fresh veggies and blanch the green beans while the potatoes boil. But once the ingredients are prepared and packed in Japanese-inspired bento lunch boxes, your busy week will be full of tasty salad.
VEGETABLE SALAD
Shallot Mustard Chia Vinaigrette (page 22)
½ pound small, new red potatoes or fingerling potatoes, unpeeled
½ pound green beans
4 cups torn tender lettuce leaves (such as Boston, Bibb, red leaf), washed, spun dry, and chilled
1 cup niçoise olives or similar brown olives, pitted
½ cup Coconut Bacony Bits (page 48)
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
SEA CHICKPEAS
2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons dulse seaweed flakes, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise or Back at the Ranch Dressing (page 17)
2 tablespoons capers
½ teaspoon sea salt
Big pinch of cayenne pepper
BASIL “EGG” AVOCADO
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded
½ teaspoon Indian black salt
1 ripe avocado
1 Make the vinaigrette first and chill it while you prepare everything else.
2 Scrub the potatoes, transfer to a large saucepan, and cover with 4 inches of cold water. Boil for 12 to 14 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, slice into ½-inch-thick wedges. Meanwhile, boil the green beans for 3 to 4 minutes, only until bright green but still firm. Drain and rinse immediately with cold water to stop the cooking. If serving the salad later, cover and chill the potatoes and beans.
3 Prepare the chickpeas: combine all of the chickpea ingredients in a mixing bowl. If desired, lightly mash the chickpeas with the back of a wooden spoon: don’t make a paste, just mash until the beans are slightly creamy. Cover and chill.
4 Just before serving, prepare the avocado. In a small bowl, combine the citrus, basil, and black salt. Peel and dice the avocado, then gently toss with the dressing.
5 If assembling a bento box, line each compartment with a few small lettuce leaves. Divide the chickpeas, avocado, potato, and beans into each compartment. Garnish with olives, coconut bacon, and seaweed flakes and pack up the mustard dressing.
6 If serving free-form on dinner plates or in big salad bowls, line the dishes with lettuce and arrange each ingredient like a wedge in a pie. Garnish with olives, coconut bacon, and seaweed flakes as instructed for the bento box. Pass around the dressing and devour!
SALT-N-SEAWEED: SAMURAI ESSENTIALS
Two ingredients you may not be familiar with, Indian black salt and dulse seaweed flakes, add a unique, deep flavor to this salad.
Indian black salt, or kala namak, is a finely ground pinkish salt with a pronounced, realistically egg-like flavor and aroma. You can find it at Indian grocers, typically stocked along with spices.
Dulse seaweed flakes—toasted, reddish-brown flakes of kelp—are popular in vegan dishes to impart a “fishy” flavor into some foods. They lend a natural saltiness to foods and can be found in most natural food stores.
If you can’t find these ingredients, no substitutions needed, just make the salad without them.