Spicy Green Salad

Add some heat to your greens with this blend of veggies and spicy dressing. Dressing salads properly means coating the leaves lightly. With vinaigrette, one tablespoon of dressing for two cups of greens accomplishes this. In addition to saving calories, these amounts allow salad ingredients to stay sprightly since oil is what makes them wilt. In this week's recipe, the pureed vegetables give the salad dressing body that normally comes from oil. See how in this vivid, almost creamy combination of roasted red pepper, tomato, jalapeño and just one tablespoon of oil.

Ingredients:

1/2 roasted red bell pepper*
1-inch wedge sweet onion, chopped
1 small garlic clove, chopped
1 medium plum tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4-1/2 jalapeño pepper, chopped (for a hotter dish, do not remove seeds)
1 tsp. raw honey
1 Tbsp. fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 large romaine lettuce leaves
4 red-leaf lettuce leaves
1 packed cup baby arugula
6-inch piece English cucumber, sliced
2 plum tomatoes, sliced crosswise
1/8-1/4 red onion; about 3-4 very thin slices as rings

(As always, for the healthiest recipe, use organic content whenever possible.)

Instructions:

1. In blender, whirl red pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, jalapeño, broth, honey, vinegar and salt until pulpy. With motor running, whirl in oil. Set dressing aside while making salad.

2. Wash greens. Tear lettuces into bite-size pieces and whirl in salad spinner to dry. Place lettuce and arugula in salad bowl. Add 1/4 cup dressing and toss until greens are just coated. Add cucumber, tomatoes and onion rings. Toss lightly, and serve immediately.

*If possible, roast pepper yourself as follows:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place seeded pepper half, cut-side down on oiled baking sheet and roast 20 to 30 minutes until skin is well-blistered.

Place pepper in small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes.
Using fingers, remove skin. Roasted peppers may be tightly covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 70 calories, 4 g total fat (0.5 g saturated fat), 9 g carbohydrate, 
2 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 160 mg sodium.