Basic Salad Dressing

Serves 4
Time: 3 minutes
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

2 tbsp canola oil (a)
2 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp brown rice malt syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp citric acid

Variations

Add 1 tbsp chives
Use pure maple syrup instead of brown rice malt syup for a sweeter dressing

Foodnotes

(a) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)

Instructions
  1. In a glass jar, dissolve brown rice malt syrup, salt and citric acid in hot water with shaking/stirring. Release pressure often if shaking.
  2. Add canola oil and finely chopped and rinsed chives (optional) to the jar.
  3. Shake immediately before use.
Personal notes

I recently tried brown rice malt syrup instead of pure maple syrup in this recipe and was pleasantly surprised – it is more mild in flavour and less sweet, which is perfect for a salad dressing. The dressing keeps well in a jar in the fridge, so I recommend dressing your portion of salad when you are about to eat it so that the salad doesn’t go soggy.

This dressing can be used with the Friends-and-Family Friendly Salad. A photo of this dressing can also be found as part of that recipe. The dressing can be made more familiar to the “normal” person by excluding the chives and using maple syrup, but the citric acid is essential. Bring your own citric acid if you are not sure if your friends will have some. Sometimes people keep it for cleaning out coffee machines, so it may not be in the location that you expect.

Friends-and-Family Friendly Salad

Serves 4
Time: 5 mins
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

iceberg lettuce
red drumhead cabbage (a)
bean sprouts
10 green beans (b)
2 sticks celery (c)
4 dark green tips of spring onion (d)

Optional moderate salicylate additions

1/2 carrot
1/2 cucumber

Foodnotes

(a) Red drumhead cabbage is low FODMAP at 1 cup (89 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(b) Green beans are low FODMAP at 14 beans (75 g, FODMAP Friendly App, 2018)
(c) Celery is low FODMAP at 75 g (FODMAP Friendly App, 2018)
(d) Tip: re-grow spring onions

Instructions
  1. Rinse all ingredients.
  2. If including carrot and cucumber (moderate salicylate), peel vegetables. Top and tail green beans.
  3. Tear or chop up lettuce and red cabbage and add to salad bowl.
  4. Chop celery, green beans, dark green tips of spring onion and (optional) cucumber and carrot into small pieces.
  5. Add green beans, celery, dark green tips of spring onion, bean sprouts and (optional) carrot and cucumber to salad bowl.
  6. Dress salad with basic salad dressing immediately before serving.
Personal notes

I have come up with this salad because the ingredients are familiar to most people and it is comforting for family and friends to find a recipe that they can try. In particular there are no unusual and hard to find ingredients like large white-flesh potatoes, sprouted mung beans or choko! It is really great to encourage people to attempt to cater for you, especially when it is not too difficult. I have helped make this salad at a family friends’ house when we were having a BBQ.

I usually make the salad without the carrot and cucumber, but if you can tolerate moderate salicylates, this makes the recipe even more familiar for people – although they might ask about peeling the vegetables! The green beans were a new addition tonight, and I like the crunch and flavour that they bring to the salad – if you don’t have any they can be left out.

If you are cooking for one, or not eating all of the salad at once, make the dressing in a jar and just add the dressing to the salad on your plate. The salad will keep fresh much longer undressed.