Spice Up Dinner with Vibrant Escabeche Vegetable Salad!

Escabeche Vegetable Salad is a Cheesecake Factory copycat dish that can be made at home in just a few minutes with no cooking required. This salad is loaded with cucumbers, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, and peppers, making it a fresh and healthy side for any meal. The vegetables are lightly pickled, creating a crunchy and tangy flavor that pairs perfectly with spicy Mexican flavors.

My Experience with Escabeche Vegetable Salad

As a big fan of Mollie and her taste in food, I’ve always been fascinated by her love for chain restaurant dishes. Our shared guilty pleasure is dining at The Cheesecake Factory, where her favorite is the Skinnylicious Soft Tacos served with the Escabeche Vegetable Salad. This salad, the favorite part of the entree, consists of quick pickled veggies like garlic and onions. It’s something you find on every table at good Mexican restaurants. The crunchy and tangy veggies not only complement the tacos but also bring a delightful contrast to the spicy flavors. It’s a testament to how simple ingredients can come together to create something truly delicious.

escabeche vegetable salad (1)

What is Escabeche?

Escabeche is a popular dish in Spanish, Portuguese, Filipino, and Latin American cuisines. It involves marinating vegetables, meat, or fish in oil, vinegar, and spices. In this recipe, we marinate vegetables to achieve a quick pickled effect. This method uses simple ingredients like oil, vinegar, and spices without the need for cooking. The raw veggies absorb the flavors, and the marinade breaks them down just enough to create a slightly less crunchy texture compared to their pre-marinade state. The best part is that you get the added benefit of not having to cook anything, making it a quick and easy dish to prepare.

As a lover of Latin American cuisines, I often make Escabeche Vegetable Salad at home. The raw veggies marinated in oil and vinegar with a mix of spices offer a delightful crunch. The quick pickled effect enhances the flavors, making it a perfect side dish for any meal. I appreciate the simplicity of this recipe—no need to cook anything. Just mix the ingredients, let them marinate, and enjoy the refreshing taste of Escabeche.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

For Escabeche Vegetable Salad, the key ingredients are mini cucumbers, carrot, cauliflower florets, shredded cabbage, and serrano or jalapeño pepper. We prefer mini cucumbers because they are perfectly bite-sized, but regular cucumbers can work too. Just cut them into slices, halves, or fourths to get the right size. The carrot should be regular sized for the best texture, but feel free to use what you prefer.

We use white cabbage for its crispness, but red cabbage also works well in this recipe. The choice between serrano pepper and jalapeño pepper depends on your heat tolerance and availability. Serrano peppers are hotter, so choose based on your preference. While these peppers are optional, they add a significant flavor to the marinade. If you don’t like hot stuff, you can leave out the peppers, but I recommend adding them during the marination process and then remove them prior to serving.

The marinade or dressing ingredients include white vinegar, olive oil, honey, dijon mustard, black pepper, and salt. These simple ingredients blend to create a delicious and tangy marinade that enhances the flavor of the vegetables.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To make Escabeche Vegetable Salad, start by preparing a quick pickled mixture. Combine white vinegar, honey, olive oil, dijon mustard, black pepper, and salt in a mason jar or bowl with a lid. Shake or whisk these ingredients to create a tangy dressing. This process is done quickly and without cooking, saving you valuable time in the kitchen.

Next, add the cucumbers, carrots, cauliflower florets, cabbage, and peppers to the dressing. Make sure the vegetables are mostly submerged in the marinade. Mix everything well, ensuring all the veggies are coated evenly. Then, refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours, or up to 48 hours. The longer it marinates, the more pickled the taste becomes. When ready, serve this flavorful salad alongside tacos, chicken, shrimp, or any other dish you like.

Mexican Pickles are a Staple That’s Never the Same

In Mexico, many people grew up enjoying escabeche. Your mom might have kept a service container of it in the fridge, ready to put a little on your plate with every meal or enjoy as a snack. This spicy nugget of pickled cauliflower, hot carrot, and onion was always a treat. Sometimes, it’s just known as hot carrots and hot peppers in vinagre picosso.

Escabeche is a versatile dish made with sliced carrots, cauliflower florets, sliced onions, and sliced jalapenos, all pickled in white vinegar. There are different versions, like the classic escabeche with garlic and radishes, or even with kielbasa. The definition of escabeche is vegetables marinated in an acidic sauce, sometimes with fish, chicken, or pork. Mexican escabeche has roots in Spanish and Portuguese escabeche, which descends from the Persian dish al-sikbaj. No matter the variation, you can always make yours to suit your taste

However, Mexican Escabeche Salad Has a Basic Recipe

The classic version of Mexican Escabeche Salad is simple and allows you to add whatever you like. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of making pickles; trust me, it’s easy stuff. The quantities in the recipe are not set in stone, so feel free to adjust. Start with a jar, service container, or Tupperware. Slice a carrot, onion, and jalapeno. Sauté your carrots and cauliflower for a few minutes, then toss in the onions and garlic for a couple more minutes.

Next, pour in the vinegar and stir. Cook for three minutes and then let it cool. Finally, pour everything into the container. Boom, you have escabeche! This versatile salad can be enjoyed as a side dish or a tasty addition to any meal.

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Equipments needed

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I love storing my fresh salads in a mason jar; it keeps them crisp and fresh.

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Refrigerating my escabeche vegetable salad keeps it deliciously zesty for days.

Cooking Time 

Total time: 2 hours 9 mints

This Escabeche Vegetable Salad is a Cheesecake Factory copycat that you can make at home in just a few minutes without any cooking. It’s packed with lightly pickled cucumbers, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, and peppers, making it a fresh, healthy side dish for any meal.

Ingredients

1️⃣ Vegetables:

  • Mini cucumbers 🥒, sliced to a quarter inch thick
  • Large carrot 🥕, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 cups of cauliflower florets 🥦
  • 1 cup of shredded white cabbage or red cabbage 🥬 for added crunch and color
  • Jalapeño pepper 🌶 or serrano pepper, with the seeds removed for a bit of heat

2️⃣ Dressing/Marinade:

  • 1 cup of white vinegar
  • ¾ cup of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon of black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon of salt

3️⃣ Mix these ingredients well to create a tangy and flavorful dressing that will enhance the vegetables.

Instructions

1️⃣ Prepare the dressing: In a mason jar or bowl with a lid, combine white vinegar, honey “This honey is the perfect sweetener for my homemade salad dressings.”, olive oil ” This olive oil adds a rich, smooth flavor to all my vegetable salads.” Dijon mustard, black pepper, and salt. Shake or whisk until well mixed. 🥄

2️⃣ Add the vegetables: Add the cucumbers, carrots, cauliflower florets, cabbage, and peppers to the jar or bowl with the dressing. Mix everything together until the vegetables are well coated and submerged. 🥒🥕

3️⃣ Refrigerate: Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours, and up to 48 hours, to let the flavors marinate. The longer it marinates, the more pickled the taste will be. ❄️

4️⃣ Serve: Serve the salad in a bowl alongside tacos, chicken, or shrimp for a delicious meal. 🌮🍗🍤

Notes

When making Escabeche Vegetable Salad, keep in mind that Serrano peppers are hotter than jalapeños, so choose your pepper based on your heat tolerance and availability. The nutritional information provided is an estimate and includes the marinating liquid, so adjust accordingly if you prefer less marinade in your salad.

NUTRITION

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 445.2
  • Sugar: 11.1 g
  • Sodium: 73.1 mg
  • Fat: 43.2 g

FAQS

What is Vegetable Salad Made Of?

Vegetable salads can be made with marinated or sauced mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables. Common ingredients include tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, beets, and mushrooms. A classic example is cole slaw, which comes from the Dutch word kool meaning cabbage. It typically features shredded or chopped cabbage mixed with either a mayonnaise or vinegar-based dressing.

How Many Types of Salad Vegetables Are There?

There are many types of salad vegetables that can be used in your Escabeche Vegetable Salad. Leafy vegetables like various varieties of lettuce, garden cress, watercress, endives, cabbage, spinach, escarole, romaine, cos, arugula, and fresh herbs can be eaten raw. Additionally, other vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, peppers, and beets can be raw or cooked and used to garnish your green salad.

Which of the Following Vegetables is Used as Salad?

In a culinary sense, many raw vegetables are commonly used in a salad. These include cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, radishes, mushrooms, avocado, olives, artichoke hearts, heart of palm, watercress, parsley, garden beets, and green beans. Sometimes, less common components like nuts, berries, seeds, lentils, and flowers are also added to enhance the flavor and texture.

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