Recipe: Friday night salad with toasted cumin, honey and lime dressing

Total time: 25 minutes

Servings: 2 as a main course, 4 as a side

Note: This dressing is tart sweet, making the salad a nice start to a post-Thanksgiving meal. And it has less oil than you might be accustomed to. The recipe assumes a mix of diced turkey, fresh greens and some leftover vegetables, but the components are just a suggestion. Adjust according to your taste and what’s in your fridge.

Cumin, honey and lime dressing

2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey, more if desired

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, more if desired

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more if desired

1/4 teaspoon pepper (freshly ground if available), more if desired

1. Place a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and toast just until they begin to take on some color and become fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Roughly grind the seeds using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, or in a mixing bowl using the bottom of a measuring cup.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk in the oil, honey and lime with the cumin seeds until all of the ingredients are emulsified. Whisk in the salt and pepper, then taste and adjust the seasoning and flavoring if desired. This makes a generous three-fourths cup dressing, which will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week.

Salad and assembly

1 1/2 cups of diced cooked turkey, cold or reheated as desired

2 cups cut Napa cabbage or other leafy greens, thinly sliced or chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 cups chopped leftover vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces, cold or reheated as desired

1 cup shredded or thinly sliced fresh carrots

1 apple, cored and diced

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (green parts only)

Cumin, honey and lime dressing

Salt and pepper

Blue cheese crumbles, to taste

Freshly chopped cilantro, optional, to taste

Few handfuls of roasted cashews or dry-roasted almonds, optional

In a large mixing bowl, toss together the turkey, cabbage, vegetables, carrots, apple and green onions. Pour about half of the dressing over the salad and toss to lightly coat. Taste and add additional dressing if desired, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss in the blue cheese crumbles, as well as the cilantro and nuts if using. Serve immediately.

Each of 4 servings: 257 calories; 17 grams protein; 26 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 10 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 40 mg. cholesterol; 18 grams sugar; 237 mg. sodium.