Tag: salad

Japanese-style sesame salad dressing

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Tangy, creamy, deeply delicious. Japanese flavours with no pretentions of authenticity – but it makes the perfect dressing for a salad to eat alongside a katsu curry.

  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tbsp mayo
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp mirin
  1. Thoroughly mix all ingredients
  2. Use to dress a salad of crisp lettuce, pickled ginger, cucumber, radish and spring onion

Smacked Sichuan cucumber

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Spicy, sweet, salty, tangy and crunchy – a veritable feast for the senses. Super-simple to make AND you get to smack a cucumber. What more could you want?

  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp black vinegar
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp chilli oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, lightly squashed
  1. First make the dressing as it improves with standing for 5 mins. Just mix together the sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, chilli oil and garlic. Leave on one side til all the ingredients have made friends
  2. Put the whole cucumber on a chopping board and place a wide knife flat on top.
  3. Using the palm of your hand, smack the knife until the cucumber splits and breaks
  4. Chop it into bite-sized pieces and tip into a bowl
  5. Then tip the dressing over the cucumber and mix thoroughly. Give it a couple of mins to stand before serving, sprinkled with sesame seeds and finely chopped red chilli if you like

Serve with this teriyaki aubergine rice bowl, as part of a feast with Chinese spiced roast chicken, or alongside rich, spicy pork and carrots. So many delicious options!

Spicy slaw

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Crunchy, spicy, fresh and tangy

  • ½ sweetheart cabbage (or ¼ white cabbage) cored and shredded
  • 3 green chillies, de-seeded and sliced into thin strips
  • Handful fresh coriander, chopped
  • Juice of ½ lime
  • 2 tsp garlic oil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp mayo
  • 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Large pinch salt
  1. Mix the cabbage, chilli and coriander together
  2. Whisk the rest off the ingredients together in a small bowl
  3. Pour/scrape the dressing over the salad and toss together
  4. Serve immediately so it’s still crisp (if you want to prep in advance, just don’t mix the dressing into the salad until the last moment)

Chicken tikka salad

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Not traditional AT ALL, but so delicious and crunchy I couldn’t not share. This is the ultimate lunch and a sublime way to use up leftover chicken tikka. Not so much a cooking job, as a tossing job – and then immediately eating with undignified grunting sounds job. Feeds 2.

  • Leftover chicken tikka (equivalent of 4 thighs)
  • 1 gem lettuce, cut into bitesized pieces
  • 10 cm piece cucumber, cut into little chunks
  • 8 radishes, sliced
  • 1 avocado, peeled and cut into bitesized pieces
  • ½ mango, peeled and cut into small bitesized pieces (could replace this with apple if you like)
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • Flaky salt
  • Pinch of chaat masala spice mix (optional)
  • 6 tbsp plain Greek yoghurt
  • Couple of handfuls bombay mix
  1. Mix together the lettuce, cucumber, radish, avocado and mango and dress with the lemon juice, oil and a pinch of salt
  2. Toss together gently, then top with (in this order) big dots of yoghurt, a little sprinkle of chaat masala, the chicken pieces and then a generous cascade of bombay mix (which should be added just before serving)

Warning: may incur office-based jealousy and lunch thievery. I take zero responsibility for this.

Quinoa, avocado and black bean salad

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A tumble of vivid flavours and textures, gorgeous alongside grilled steak marinated with chilli, cumin, garlic, paprika and lime. Feeds 4.

  • 200g cooked quinoa (80g dry weight)
  • 4 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 red pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 large avocado, peeled and diced
  • 1 large green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 small tin sweetcorn, drained
  • Bunch fresh coriander, chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • Salt
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ clove garlic, grated or minced
  • Toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds
  1. In a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, spring onion, peppers, avocado, chilli, black beans, sweetcorn and coriander
  2. Whisk up the lime juice, oil, paprika, garlic and a decent pinch of salt in a small bowl or jug. Tip over the salad and mix well
  3. Serve at room temperature, sprinkled with toasted seeds

Pea and avocado salad

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Fresh summer salad, an excellent combo of sweet peas, sharp mint, creamy avocado and slightly bitter leaves. Feeds 4.

  • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 20g mint leaves, finely chopped
  • 300g frozen petit pois
  • 2 baby gem lettuces, leaves separated and roughly torn (or other crisp salad leaves)
  • 2 avocados, scooped into chunky pieces direct from the skin
  1. Put the peas in a large bowl, pour boiling water over them, stir and leave to stand for 5 mins, then drain well and tip back into the bowl
  2. Add the sugar, vinegar, oil and most of the mint. Season and stir together well, leaving for 20 mins to get to know each other
  3. Just before serving, throw in the lettuce and avocado and toss everything together
  4. Strew onto a platter, sprinkle with the rest of the mint and serve straight away

Pineapple and cucumber salad

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Malaysian-style salad, fresh and refreshing, sweet and tangy. The best alongside anything spicy. Serves 2.

  • ⅓ cucumber
  • 200g pineapple
  • 1 big red chilli, deseeded and sliced
  • Handful fresh coriander, chopped
  • 50g roasted salted peanuts
  • 1 tsp tamarind paste
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 2 tsp lime juice (about ¼ of a juicy lime)
  1. Slice the cucumber in half lengthways then cut out the core
  2. Cut into thin half moon slices
  3. Cut pineapple into chunks and cut this into thin slices too
  4. Pile the cucumber and pineapple into a bowl with the chilli, peanuts and coriander
  5. Put the tamarind, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice in a little bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves
  6. Pour over the salad and toss together before serving straight away

Red cabbage and coconut salad with honey chilli dressing

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Pretty pink salad, crunchy and toasty and flecked with green and orange. An unusual combination that works amazingly. Feeds 2.

  • ¼ red cabbage, chopped into small 1cm-ish pieces
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and grated
  • 30g desiccated coconut
  • Small handful coriander, chopped
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp veg oil or rapeseed oil
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • ½ tsp salt
  1. Toast the coconut in a dry pan until it smells amazing and turns golden around the edges
  2. Tip it in a bowl and add the cabbage, carrot and coriander
  3. Mix the honey (warmed to liquid with 10 secs in the microwave if it’s set), vinegar, oil, salt and chilli together and then tip the dressing over the salad
  4. Mix well and serve straight away

Coleslaw

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Beautiful shades of orange and palest green, crunchy and creamy with the yoghurt, mustard and vinegar cutting the richness of the mayo. A brilliant side dish for burgers or pulled pork, or make it a bit more special by scattering with finely chopped parsley, nigella seeds and toasted pumpkin seeds.

  • ¼ white cabbage, cored and finely shredded
  • 3 carrots, peeled and grated
  • 4 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
  • 3 heaped tbsp plain yoghurt
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Mix everything together and taste to check seasoning. Eat straight away

Tomato and chorizo salad

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Spicy, chewy and savoury from the chorizo – sweet, tangy and fresh from the ripe tomatoes. Big ticks all round. I love using a variety of different tomatoes for this, cut in different ways for texture and general prettiness. Feeds 4.

  • Around 200g chorizo, roughly cut into bite-sized 1-2cm pieces
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 3 large or 5 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped into interesting-shaped pieces
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 spring onions, finely sliced
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced
  • 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  1. Heat a frying pan with the tsp of olive oil over a medium heat
  2. Fry the chorizo, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp round the edges and the fat has rendered
  3. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the fat behind as poss
  4. Tip the cooked chorizo into a bowl with the tomatoes and spring onions
  5. Season generously with pepper and sparingly with salt (bearing in mind that the chorizo is pretty salty)
  6. Add the sliced garlic to the chorizo pan and heat gently until the garlic sizzles and smells delicious. Take off the heat and whisk in the sherry vinegar
  7. Throw the contents of the pan over the salad, add the parsley and mix everything together. This is completely delicious with a chunk of crusty bread to mop up the juice.