Heidi Swanson’s Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel takes us on a gorgeous journey through Japan, Morocco, Italy, France, and, finally, Heidi’s hometown of San Francisco. Each chapter is filled with charming details about the given locale, most of them recipes. In the tradition of her blog, 101 Cookbooks, Heidi’s food and photographs in the Near & Far cookbook are simple and stunning. Make this modern-version of a sprouted salad with yogurt sauce from the cookbook’s pages…
A powerhouse of a lunch salad, this recipe from my Near & Far cookbook comes together fast – fresh-sprouted mung beans, creamy avocado, and golden, toasted almonds sit alongside a generous dollop of salted, arugula-spiked yogurt. It is beautiful, and you feel great eating it. If sprouts aren’t your thing, know that you can easily swap in cooked mung beans, cannellini beans or any lentils that hold their shape when cooked – black belugas or lentils du Puy are both good options.
Heidi Swanson’s Sprout + Yogurt Salad
Serves 2 – 4
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Greek-style yogurt
fine-grain sea salt
1 handful of arugula, chopped
1 small bunch chives, minced, flowers (if any) reserved.
8 oz sprouted mung beans or cooked mung beans (about 2 cups)
A big handful of well-toasted sliced almonds
good extra-virgin olive oil
1 ripe avocado, chopped
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, the arugula, and chives. In a larger bowl, toss the mung beans and almonds with a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the avocado and gently toss once or twice more. Serve the mung beans next to the yogurt mixture and drizzle with a bit more olive oil. If your bunch of chives included a few chive flowers, sprinkle them across the top.
Take a peek inside Heidi Swanson’s fridge for even more foodie inspiration.
