edamame and carrot salad

After making my Asian fare the other day (Sweet Chili Shrimp and Garlic Noodles), I realized that I needed a vegetable to go with it. I wanted something light and fresh so I picked up a bag of frozen, shelled, blanched (cooked) edamame (soy beans), a couple of carrots and decided to build a simple salad. As I have said before, one of favorite ways to enjoy vegetables is to simply add a little salt, pepper and a dash of garlic. Even though this is a cold salad I applied the same principles. The carrot shreds offer a nice contrast in color, taste (sweetness) and texture (a slight crunch). Although I haven't tried it warmed, I'm sure it would be just as delightul!



Total Recipe cost: $2.74
Servings Per Recipe: 6 (approx. 1/2 cup each)
Cost per serving: $0.46
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 0 min. Total: 5 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
16 oz.	shelled, blanched edamame (soy beans)	$1.99
2 medium	carrots	$0.22
3 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.43
1/2 tsp	garlic powder	$0.05
to taste	salt and pepper	$0.05
TOTAL		$2.74

STEP 1: Thaw the soy beans by either leaving them in the refrigerator for a day, letting them set on the counter for 30 minutes or defrosting in the microwave according to the directions on the bag. If you are not going to be serving this salad immediately, you can prepare the salad with the beans still frozen and let them thaw as the salad marinates in the refrigerator.

STEP 2: Wash and peel the two carrots. Using a cheese grater, shred the carrots. Take care not to shred your knuckles, it's easy to do my mistake when grating small objects!

STEP 3: Combine the edamame, carrots, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I used approximately 1/2 tsp of salt and 10 cranks of the pepper grinder. Start out with a small amount and then taste the salad and adjust according to your preferences. The garlic flavor will become more pronounced as the salad sits refrigerated so keep that in mind.



NOTE: Edamame can be found in the freezer section of most grocery stores these days. They often come in a couple different varieties: in-shell (great for snacking), shelled and blanched (ready to eat) or shelled and ready to cook (requires steaming or boiling). There are so many delicious ways to prepare edamame, I'm sure to have more recipes soon!

This recipe could be made even more budget savvy by using a regular salad oil (like canola) which tends to be less expensive than extra virgin olive oil. Also, the only carrots I could find were organic so the 1 lb. bag I bought cost $0.88 (of which I only used about a quarter). Since I don't want my extra carrots to go to waste, I will most likely roast them in the oven with just a little olive oil, salt, pepper and perhaps garlic (didn't see that coming, did you?). You could also toss in a little bit of brown sugar or maple syrup instead of garlic for a sweeter version. Waste not, want not!