Crunchy Herb Salad with Smokey Tempeh from Vienna’s Naschmarket
If you’re looking to seriously up your salad game this summer, this zingy bowl of goodness the. meal. for. you. Seriously. This crunchy herb salad is not a side salad. Its a one-dish meal that’s everything a body could need. It’s light, bright, and extremely satisfying.
To make it, just top a mix of cabbages, arugula, and herbs with steamed edamame (for a lil’ protein), a bit of dried mango, and some juicy grapes for the ultimate crunchy flavor explosion. Then we take it even further by dressing it up in a super fresh zingy sauce, adding a generous dollop of hummus, and finishing with ultra-satiating smokey marinated tempeh (more protein = a more satiating salad!).
It’s a salad we get seriously pumped about around here.
In fact, I actually like to keep a stash of tempeh marinading in the fridge all the time so I can just throw it on salads like this whenever we get hungry. If you do it that way and have your tempeh marinating ahead of time (which only takes a few minutes to prep), this meal can be done in less than 15 minutes. Plus, the longer time in the marinade makes the tempeh taste that much better. Win win.
Click to read moreThe combination of flavors in this salad is actually inspired by a salad I had in Vienna last summer at the city’s famous Naschmarket (pronounced “NASH-market”). Somehow managing to be both super fresh on a hot summer day and super filling, that salad really hit the spot, and I had to make my own version of it as soon as we got home.
This salad always transports me back to that place–the corridors lined with barrels of fresh dates, honey sesame coated almonds, and candied hibiscus.
This salad is inspired by our meal there. It was so packed with colors and flavors from all the fruits and herbs, it felt like a treat in salad form. The perfect meal for the summer days ahead.
Crunchy Herb Salad with Smokey Tempeh
Begin by preparing the tempeh marinade. Add all marinade ingredients to a medium-sized bowl or a ziplock bag. Then cut your tempeh into strips about 1/4 inch thick and add them to the marinade. Cover or seal the tempeh then allow everything to marinate for at least 30 minutes. If you want to prep the tempeh in advance, you can let the tempeh marinate for up to a week, and all the flavors will only deepen with time. But a 30 minute marinade will still be delicious.
While you wait on the tempeh, make the herb sauce. Chop all your herbs medium-fine on a cutting board. Then zest a lime into the pile of herbs, and chop everything together to incorporate the herbs and zest together. Add the herbs and zest to the bottom of your medium-sized salad bowl along with lime juice, agave, and olive oil. Mix well, and set the herb sauce aside so the flavors begin to meld while the tempeh marinates.
Once the tempeh is done marinating, add 2 Tablespoons of water to a skillet and bring it to a boil. When the water bubbles, add the tempeh to the pan and cover the skillet with a lid. Steam the tempeh for 5-7 minutes or until the water mostly evaporates. Then remove the lid, add a bit of oil to the pan and sear the tempeh for 1-3 minutes on each side (or until they become golden brown). Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
Finally, prep all your salad ingredients and add them to the bowl (To minimize dishes, I put my bowl on a kitchen scale and just add all the ingredients one at a time). Toss the salad ingredients together with the herb sauce. Serve salads topped with tempeh slices, hummus, and a few extra herbs for garnish if you want it to look extra pretty. Dig in!
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Serving Size 1 entree-sized salad (calculated without hummus)
Servings 2
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 490
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 15g24%
- Saturated Fat 2g10%
- Cholesterol 0mg
- Potassium 1135mg33%
- Total Carbohydrate 56g19%
- Dietary Fiber 17g68%
- Sugars 26g
- Protein 34g68%
- Vitamin A 104%
- Vitamin C 93%
- Calcium 53%
- Iron 51%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
Directions
Begin by preparing the tempeh marinade. Add all marinade ingredients to a medium-sized bowl or a ziplock bag. Then cut your tempeh into strips about 1/4 inch thick and add them to the marinade. Cover or seal the tempeh then allow everything to marinate for at least 30 minutes. If you want to prep the tempeh in advance, you can let the tempeh marinate for up to a week, and all the flavors will only deepen with time. But a 30 minute marinade will still be delicious.
While you wait on the tempeh, make the herb sauce. Chop all your herbs medium-fine on a cutting board. Then zest a lime into the pile of herbs, and chop everything together to incorporate the herbs and zest together. Add the herbs and zest to the bottom of your medium-sized salad bowl along with lime juice, agave, and olive oil. Mix well, and set the herb sauce aside so the flavors begin to meld while the tempeh marinates.
Once the tempeh is done marinating, add 2 Tablespoons of water to a skillet and bring it to a boil. When the water bubbles, add the tempeh to the pan and cover the skillet with a lid. Steam the tempeh for 5-7 minutes or until the water mostly evaporates. Then remove the lid, add a bit of oil to the pan and sear the tempeh for 1-3 minutes on each side (or until they become golden brown). Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
Finally, prep all your salad ingredients and add them to the bowl (To minimize dishes, I put my bowl on a kitchen scale and just add all the ingredients one at a time). Toss the salad ingredients together with the herb sauce. Serve salads topped with tempeh slices, hummus, and a few extra herbs for garnish if you want it to look extra pretty. Dig in!
Serves 2 entree-sized salads
Total Time: 1 hour (including marinading time)
Ingredients
for the tempeh…
- 8 oz tempeh
- 3 Tablespoons liquid coconut aminos or tamari*
- 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable broth
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup or dark agave
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
for the salad…
- 100 g red cabbage chopped/coarsely grated
- 100 g white/green cabbage, chopped/coarsely grated
- 50 g arugula or soft mixed greens
- 1 long piece dried mango, roughly chopped
- 10 grapes, halved (can sub with pomegranate seeds or figs)
- 1 cup frozen, shelled edamame
- 1/2 teaspoon high quality garlic powder
- salt to taste
for the herb sauce…
- 1/4 cup each fresh parsley, mint, and cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons fresh dill
- zest of 1 lime
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons dark agave (or substitute raw honey)
- 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (can omit if you prefer your meal to be oil free)
for serving…
- lots of hummus
Preparation
- Begin by preparing the tempeh marinade. Add all marinade ingredients to a medium-sized bowl or a ziplock bag. Then cut your tempeh into strips about 1/4 inch thick and add them to the marinade. Cover or seal the tempeh then allow everything to marinate for at least 30 minutes. If you want to prep the tempeh in advance, you can let the tempeh marinate for up to a week, and all the flavors will only deepen with time. But a 30 minute marinade will still be delicious.
- While you wait on the tempeh, make the herb sauce. Chop all your herbs medium-fine on a cutting board. Then zest a lime into the pile of herbs, and chop everything together to incorporate the herbs and zest together. Add the herbs and zest to the bottom of your medium-sized salad bowl along with lime juice, agave, and olive oil. Mix well, and set the herb sauce aside so the flavors begin to meld while the tempeh marinates.
- Once the tempeh is done marinating, add 2 Tablespoons of water to a skillet and bring it to a boil. When the water bubbles, add the tempeh to the pan and cover the skillet with a lid. Steam the tempeh for 5-7 minutes or until the water mostly evaporates. Then remove the lid, add a bit of oil to the pan and sear the tempeh for 1-3 minutes on each side (or until they become golden brown). Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
- Finally, prep all your salad ingredients and add them to the bowl (To minimize dishes, I put my bowl on a kitchen scale and just add all the ingredients one at a time). Toss the salad ingredients together with the herb sauce. Serve salads topped with tempeh slices, hummus, and a few extra herbs for garnish if you want it to look extra pretty. Dig in!
Recipe Notes
*Braggs Liquid Aminos and regular soy sauce are not a direct substitution for coconut aminos or tamari as they are usually much more vinegar-y and less sweet. If you really need to make the substitution, you can add an extra dash of maple syrup to the marinade to balance out the vinegar flavor.
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