Daikon and Endive Salad with a Creamy Spiced Dressing

It’s that time of the year again in Australia. When spring comes around, everybody seems to be “going on a detox”. It’s on the cover of every magazine, a billion celebrities are bestowing it's virtues and it’s very tempting to want to “spring clean” your body and jump on the band wagon.

Although I don’t advocate going on a strict juice detox, I like to naturally support and assist my body's detoxification process by eating specific detoxifying and digestion-enhancing foods.

So today I'm sharing a recipe that will improve your digestion and cleanse your body once you have Healed Your Gut, so you can enjoy for vibrant and energized spring, as opposed to a depleted, post fad detox one!

This recipe is a delicious, fresh salad of daikon and endive, two very powerful vegetables when it comes to digestion and I have topped it off with a spoonful of creamy spiced dressing.

Daikon, a giant white radish and a cousin to red radishes, is used abundantly in Japan and Korea to aid digestion and cleanse blood.

Raw daikon is rich in digestive enzymes, similar to those found in the human digestive tract (amylase, diastase and esterase), which makes it the perfect addition to any meal, especially for people with a weak digestive system as the enzymes assist with the digestion of heavier foods, such as oils and proteins.

To reap all of its super powered digestive benefits, raw daikon is best eaten grated and consumed immediately, as almost half of the enzymes are lost after just thirty minutes.

Other benefits of daikon include:

• diuretic properties (daikon activates the kidneys tor release excess fluids)
• decongesting properties
• good source of vitamin C, and other anti-oxidants to help fight free radicals and boost immunity

Endive, also known as witlof, is another interesting vegetable that will gently cleanse your body and improve your gut function.

As its rich in fiber it helps to flush waste and toxins out of your body to support the detoxification process.

Its bitter taste will enhance the body’s digestive function by stimulating the bile production in the liver, which in turn will help the digestion of fats.

The yoghurt and tahini dressing, with its Indian and middle-eastern spices, turns this salad into a bowl of creamy deliciousness.

Try this recipe and let me know how you like it...

Daikon and endive salad with a creamy spiced dressing

Serves 4

Salad, ingredients:

• 4 cups daikon, peeled and freshly grated
• 2 endives, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
• ½ teaspoon Celtic Sea salt

Dressing, ingredients:

• 1 cup goat’s or sheep’s milk yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt for dairy free)
• ½ cup tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
• zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• crushed hazelnuts, fresh coriander and fresh mint to serve

Method:

• In a bowl, mix daikon, endive and carrots.
• In another small bowl, whisk together lemon, rice malt syrup, salt, coriander and mint.
• Mix together with the daikon, endive and carrots and let marinate for 15-30 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare the dressing. In a bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice and zest, apple cider vinegar and rice malt syrup. Add the cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Combine well. Store in the fridge.
• When ready to eat, serve over the daikon, endive and carrot mixture.
• Mix well.
• Serve with some crushed hazelnuts, fresh coriander and mint.

To find out more about my Heal Your Gut four week program, click here.