A delicious plant-based dinner recipe, this Southwestern Salad is a mixture of sweet potatoes, vegetables and rice with a green chili dressing.
I am a cancer survivor. My type of cancer, CML (chronic myeloid leukemia), is treatable with a pill. This pill was invented about ten years before I was diagnosed and is a true miracle cure. Not only did this pill save my life, but it made curing cancer an invisible process with no major side effects. Indeed a miracle. Cancer is all around me lately. Today it’s almost impossible to find anyone whose community hasn’t been rocked by cancer. It’s easy to hate. I hate that my boyfriend never looks at his 4 month old twins who are graduating from college or walks them down the aisle. But while it’s a deadly and horrible disease, cancer has also brought me into contact with phenomenal people.
The inspiration for this southwestern salad
This southwestern salad recipe is inspired by a relationship formed by CML. I recently met Erin, a cytogenetic technologist in Texas who loves to cook. Strangely enough, Erin spends most of her day under the microscope, analyzing the DNA of cancer patients. CML just so happens to be one of the main cancers she encountered in a previous lab. When she heard me talk about CML on our podcast, her ears perked up. She told me over email that hearing my speech put a face to the slides she looks at under the microscope every day. Although her work is monotonous, my story reminded her that even if she doesn’t see the people she helps, it’s important work.
So, Thanks-to those of you who silently work on cancer research, read slides in the monotony, diagnose, draw blood, donate blood, minister to children and walk alongside adults. To all those who have dedicated themselves to the fight against cancer, your work is important and touches people around the world, many of whom have survived because of what you do.
Erin and I struck up a conversation and she asked me where Alex and I got inspiration for our recipes. I said here and there, the farmers market, food blogs, magazines, cookbooks and the food we eat at restaurants. We look everywhere for inspiration and are on the lookout for healthy dinner ideas and recently vegan recipes. She told me about a salad she recreated from a local grocery store, a southwestern salad bowl with veggies, roasted corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin seeds, and chili dressing. And in that brief exchange, inspiration struck. I asked if we could recreate our own version of the recipe to share and she graciously agreed.
I recently received another email from Erin; She told me that her mother had died of cancer years ago. At the time, she felt that nothing good would ever come of this experience. But since then, she has been able to connect with and walk by the side of people going through grief and loss. And although she would give anything for one more day with her mother, she is grateful that she can now be there for others. In the same way, amazing people have been there for me, and I see them rallying around others in my community who are in need. So, Thanks-Youo Those of you who walk in any way alongside those touched by illness, grief and loss: you are a lifeline and give us hope. And yet Cancer sucksit can also bring us closer in a beautiful way.
How to make this southwestern salad
A few things to note about this Southwestern salad recipe:
- It is a healthy dinner idea and a vegan Recipe; It’s a filling main course and uses colorful seasonal produce. We used tomatoes and corn from the local farmers market.
- sweet potatoes were part of the southwest-inspired salad. While these aren’t exactly summertime products, we love that they are filling and add a contrasting sweetness. You can omit the sweet potato if you like.
- We added spicy rice to fill the bowl. If you use short grain rice, the cooking time will only take about 15 minutes while the veggies roast.
- We used canned sweet green peppers rather than hatching chillies in the dressing as they are more readily available in Indiana.
Looking for healthy dinner ideas?
Aside from this Southwestern salad, here are some of our favorite healthy dinner ideas:
did you make this recipe
If you make our Southwestern Salad with Green Chili Dressing, we’d love to know how it turned out. Leave a comment below or share a photo on Instagram and mention @acouplecooks.
This recipe is…
This Southwestern salad recipe is vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free.
The description
A delicious plant-based dinner recipe, this Southwestern Salad is a mixture of sweet potatoes, vegetables and rice with a green chili dressing.
For the rice
- 2 cups Short grain rice, white or brown rice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the fried vegetables
- 2 large sweet potatoes (1 1/2 Pound Sterling)
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ tablespoons Olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 2 at 3 Corn on the cob, enough for about 2 cups* (use frozen corn if you like and thaw)
For the dressing (more than enough for salads)
- 4 oz can dice mild green chili peppers
- 2 teaspoons Soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 12 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the salad
- 12 cups mixed green
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 small red onion
- ¼ cup roasted and salted pumpkin seeds
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Prepare the rice: follow package directions or use our Instant Pot rice method. Then stir in the olive oil, cumin, chilli powder, and kosher salt.
- Meanwhile, prepare the roasted vegetables: Cut the sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Mix with garlic powder, salt and olive oil. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until tender.
- Peel the corn cobs and cut the corn kernels. Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the same oven until tender and bright yellow, about 5 minutes.
- Prepare the vinaigrette: Drain the peppers well. Using an immersion blender or hand blender, mix the chilies, soy sauce, and sherry vinegar together. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix. Then gradually add 2 tablespoons olive oil at a time and mix until a creamy emulsion forms. (Makes more than enough for bowls; refrigerate leftovers; warm to room temperature before serving.)
- To serve: Slice the tomatoes and finely chop the red onion. Sprinkle the tomatoes with some kosher salt. To serve, place the vegetables in bowls, then top with the rice, roasted sweet potatoes and corn, tomatoes, red onions, and pumpkin seeds. serve dressing on the side; Store leftover dressing in the fridge.
- Category: main course
- Method: roast meat
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: Southwestern Salad, Southwestern Dressing, Salad Recipes, Bowls Recipes, Vegetarian Dinner Recipes, Vegan Dinner Recipes
