Superfood Salad with Raw Onion Rings and Curry Tahini

You know what takes any salad to the next level? No scratch that… you know what takes *anything* to the next level?

Onion rings.

(Did you ever have that moment when you completely justified ordering onion rings because they’re totally a vegetable?!)

I mean… who doesn’t remember sitting at Red Robin (or your local burger joint!) with a glorious stack of those rings piled up like an absolute work of deep-fried art. Ahh, childhood. By this point though, you have caught on that while undeniably delicious, this ridiculously tempting appetizer will leave you bloated and totally toxified – every time. (So sad!) Yes… I believe that all health nuts have their guilty pleasures… and for better or for worse, onion rings are one of mine.

So you wanna know one of the most amazing things I discovered while here for a month of raw vegan business-building in Costa Rica? The food dehydrator. Yep – this magical little contraption is the secret to keeping you sane on a raw vegan diet, as it has the power to transform 100% nutritious raw foods into delightful crunchy, chewy, and – dare I say – nearly fried sorts of textures and flavors!

I couldn’t believe it. And now, they can’t keep me away from the food dehydrator. Goodbye boring days of simple salads… hellooo raw breads, pizzas, and cookies! And yes – onion rings.

So how does it all work? Basically, the food dehydrator heats foods at such a low temperature that they are still considered raw – removing the water. It’s an overnight process, so it really takes mindfulness and patience to prepare foods this way! (You’re looking at the kid who contemplated just eating cookie dough rather than waiting the 30 minutes of bake time..)

Anyway, the great part about dehydrating foods is that it intensifies the flavor when you add a sauce – like the delectable curried tahini we drenched these little onions in. Trust me – this is one stack of onion rings that’s not going to last long on any table!

I chose to toss the rings on top of a super salad, filled with organic raw veggies and sundried tomatoes. You can mix up your salad with whatever you have on hand! Just make sure you make enough extra sauce to use as dressing.

Warning: make more onion rings than you think you will need! A TON of onions will dry up and shrink in size, and you’ll use these to top everything, so use 5-6 full onions minimum!

Superfood Salad with Raw Onion Rings, Sundried Tomatoes and Curry Tahini

Onion rings/dressing:

5-6 onions

1 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 zucchini

2 tbsp curry powder

pinch salt

Salad

Sundried tomatoes

1 cucumber

1 avocado

1/4 purple cabbage

Kale/lettuce

1 red pepper

handful dill

Slice onions into rings and separate in a big bowl. In a Vitamix, blend sesame seeds, apple cider vinegar, the zucchini, curry powder and salt to make the tahini sauce. Pour sauce over onions and mix until onions are completely covered.

Slice tomatoes SUPER thin.

Place onions and tomatoes on a single layer on dehydrator trays (it’s fine if they’re mixed.) Allow to dehydrate for about 24 hours.

Once the onion rings and sundried tomatoes are ready, chop your veggies in a bowl, top with onion rings and sundried tomatoes, extra tahini dressing and whatever herbs you desire! (I recommend dill!) Dig in!