Tag: salad

Tabbouleh

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

I love this salad for its herby, zingy freshness.

  • 50g fine bulgar wheat
  • 3 tomatoes, diced (save the juice to add to the salad)
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • ½ cucumber, seeds removed then diced
  • 60g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 20g mint, finely chopped
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Rinse the bulgar wheat in a sieve, then pour boiling water over to cover by an inch or so
  2. After 15 mins, drain it and put it in a bowl with all the other ingredients
  3. Taste and adjust the seasoning, add a squeeze more lemon if you want

Apple and chilli salad

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Tart, fiery and super-fresh. An unusual and delicious flavour combination which works as a brilliant foil for rich, savoury stews or curries.

  • 2 granny smith apples
  • 1 red birdseye chilli
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • Pinch sugar
  1. Halve, core and then thinly slice the apple (just a mm or 2 thick)
  2. Slice the chilli, leaving the seeds in
  3. Whisk together the lime juice, sugar and fish sauce
  4. Mix everything in a bowl and serve at room temperature

Sweet potato, red onion, lentil and halloumi salad

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A delicious combination of textures, colours and flavours. Eat it on its own or as part of a spread to delight friends and family.

  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky pieces
  • 1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • Pinch chilli flakes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 225g block halloumi, cut into pieces about the same size as the sweet potato
  • 250g cooked green lentils
  • Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C)
  2. Mix the olice oil with all the spices
  3. Dump the sweet potato and red onion into a roasting tin, pour the spiced oil over the top and season well. Mix with your hands until it’s all thoroughly coated
  4. Roast for around 25 mins, then add the lentils and halloumi and give it a gentle mix around
  5. Return to the oven for a further 15 mins until the sweet potato is soft and caught around the edges, the halloumi is soft, the lentils have absorbed all the delicious juice and everything is good
  6. Remove from the oven and stir through the lemon juice and a bit more olive oil
  7. Arrange on a platter, sprinkle with parsley and eat!

Rocket and orange salad

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Tangy, peppery and fresh. The most summery of salads.

  • 60g rocket
  • 1 orange
  • 1 small bunch parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp tiny capers
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Prep the orange by cutting off the top and bottom and then cutting down the curve of the orange with a sharp knife, taking off all the pith. Then cut between each segment, leaving the membrane attached to the orange. Keep the juice that comes out and squeeze out the empty orange husk to get the last of the juice from it
  2. Lay the rocket on a platter, sprinkle over the parsley and capers, then add the orange segments
  3. Whisk together the olive oil and orange juice and season. Drizzle over the dressing just before serving and serve straight away

New potato, asparagus and broad bean salad

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A fresh, lovely spring salad. Pretty, pale green and so tasty.

  • 500g new potatoes, halved
  • 350g bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 300g shelled broad beans
  • 6 spring onions
  • 1 packet feta
  • Fresh mint
  • Fresh dill
  • Handful spinach
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Boil a pan of water and salt it. Cook the potatoes until tender, around 15-20 mins. Then drain and set aside
  2. Cook asparagus in boiling, salted water for 3 mins. Remove with tongs and refresh in cold water
  3. In the same water, blanch the broad beans for 2 mins, drain and refresh, then remove the outer skins
  4. Chop the herbs and spring onions then mix with the cooled potatoes, asparagus and broad beans
  5. Whisk the mustard, lemon juice and oil, season and dress the potato salad
  6. Scatter the spinach across a platter or wide bowl, and spread the potato salad across the leaves
  7. Crumble over the feta just before serving and adorn with a few whole mint leaves

Use jersey royal potatoes if you can get them. If you’d rather, don’t use feta and instead add curls of beautiful pink prosciutto on top

Beetroot and dill salad

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

So pretty, so easy, so tasty!

  • 500g or so of raw beetroot
  • 20g fresh dill, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp baby capers, rinsed
  • 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Trim the stalks and roots about 3 inches from the body of the beetroot and scrub clean
  2. Bring a big pan of salted water to the boil and pop the beetroots in
  3. Simmer for 45 mins to an hour, depending how big the beetroots are. When cooked, they should be tender enough to slide a sharp knife into
  4. Once cooked, drain the beetroots and leave to cool. Slide the skins off – deeply satisfying!
  5. Cut the beetroot into little wedges, and sprinkle over the dill and capers. Dress with the oil and vinegar, season and toss together gently

You can add some crumbled feta on top, some toasted hazelnuts, or just have it as is.

Artichoke, tomato and walnut salad

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Lovely contrasts of flavour and texture, and amazingly easy to make. Soothing shades of green and brown adorned with pretty pops of ruby red. The perfect accompaniment to a platter of finely sliced prosciutto and salami, and a freshly baked loaf of bread. You can of course prep your artichokes from scratch, but it’s much speedier to use a jar of artichoke hearts in oil.

  • 40g rocket
  • 40g baby spinach leaves
  • 250g artichoke hearts, drained and broken into rough pieces
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 100g parmesan, shaved into thin pieces
  • 100g walnut pieces
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Sherry vinegar
  • Squeeze of lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan until they turn a deeper brown than they started. Careful you don’t let them burn as they’ll go bitter
  2. Whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice and seasoning to make a simple dressing. Toss the spinach and rocket with it
  3. Fluff the dressed leaves out on a serving platter
  4. Over the top, evenly strew the artichokes, cherry tomatoes, walnuts and parmesan
  5. Serve straight away

Green bean, chickpea and almond salad

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

It’s not really cooking once the green beans are steamed – so, a delicious construction job resulting in a salad that looks and tastes beautiful. Features deep green of the beans and olives, pale pink of the harissa yoghurt, and lightest fawn of the chickpeas and almonds

  • 200g fine green beans, topped and tailed
  • 200g (half a tin) chickpeas, drained and rinsed – maybe use the rest of the tin for hummous!
  • Handful green olives, sliced or left whole (I live with an olive hater so tend to leave them whole so they can be picked out more easily)
  • Handful fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olice oil
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  • Plain yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp harissa paste
  • Handful flaked almonds, toasted
  1. Steam the green beans over boiling water for 6 mins (depending on how thick they are) – they should be just past crunchy. Definitely nowhere near raw
  2. Mix together the cooked green beans, chickpeas, parsley and olives. Drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice, season and toss gently together
  3. Mix the yogurt and harissa paste to a pretty pale pink
  4. Serve the salad at room temp with the yogurt dressing drizzled/blobbed over the top (depending how dextrous you are and how thick your yoghurt is), Sprinkle with the toasted almonds

Roasted red pepper and cannellini bean salad with preserved lemon dressing

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A bright, perky, zingy side salad. Pop some grilled halloumi on the side and eat it for dinner.

  • 4 red peppers
  • 1 tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • Handful pine nuts, toasted
  • 2 preserved lemons, flesh removed and shell finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp garlic oil (or a minced clove of garlic if you’d rather)
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Large pinch of salt
  1. Heat the oven to 180C fan (200C). Line a baking tray with foil and lay the whole peppers on it
  2. Roast for 40 mins, flipping them over halfway through. The skins will blacken and wrinkle. This is fine.
  3. Using tongs, lift the peppers into a large bowl, stick a plate on top and leave until they’re cool enough to handle
  4. Peel off the skins, remove the seeds and white bits, and drain off any liquid
  5. Cut the peppers into 1 cm strips dump into a bowl with the cannellini beans and chopped parsley
  6. Whisk together all the other ingredients and pour over the salad
  7. Toss everything together, taste and adjust the seasoning. Leave to get to know each other for 20 mins and then serve at room temperature

Add other ingredients if they take your fancy – some giant cous cous or farro, some ripe tomatoes would be yum – change the beans (butter beans or chickpeas also v good).

Kisir

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Turkish bulgar wheat salad with tomato, pomegranate and red pepper. A more-ish texture and flavour combination in beautiful tones of garnet, rust and russet.

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • ½ red pepper, finely chopped
  • 100ml water
  • 200g fine bulgur wheat
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Large handful fresh parsley, chopped
  • Handful fresh mint, chopped (keep a few whole leaves for garnishing)
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp pul biber (Turkish chilli – substitute with a pinch of chilli flakes)
  • 40g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
  • 30g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
  • Seeds from ½ pomegranate
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion for about 5 mins until it turns translucent
  2. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another minute
  3. Add the tomato puree and stir in, cooking for 2 mins
  4. Add the tomatoes, turn the heat down and put the lid on. Cook for 4 mins then add the water
  5. Bring to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bulgur wheat. Put the lid back on and leave to stand off the heat for 10 mins.
  6. Tip into a bowl with the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, parsley, mint, spring onion, chilli, cumin, pul biber and toasted nuts
  7. Season, stir and put to one side until it has cooled to room temperature
  8. Taste again (try not to eat it all with your hands) and adjust the seasoning
  9. Serve at room temperature – spoon into a wide serving dish, drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and scatter over the pomegranate seeds and a few mint leaves