Spring Day Salad

I nearly didn't remember that yesterday was the first day of spring even though I enjoyed a very late breakfast in the garden for the very first time this year. After the indulgences of our trip to London last week what we really wanted was a large but filling salad. As usual, I had a rough idea of what I might put into it, e. g. buffalo mozzarella, but in the end it turned out entirely differently. And it took me a while to come up with a title for this raw and cooked salad with fruit and veg topped with tahini and roasted chickpeas.

Please note that you need to roast the chickpeas at least one hour ahead.

(serves 4)

lettuce leaves of your choice
1 ripe avocado
1 ripe pear
steamed sugar snaps
2 hard boiled eggs (optional)
3-4 cooked beetroot (no vinegar)

dressing:
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 part elderflower infused sherry vinegar
2-3 parts elderflower infused extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp agave nectar or runny honey (local if possible)
fresh dill (as an alternative to the flavour of elderflower infused oil and vinegar)

topping 1:
2 tbsp of Greek or Turkish style yoghurt
2 tbsp unsalted tahini
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
touch of lime juice

topping 2:
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1-2 tsp of sweet paprika
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
drizzle of garlic infused extra virgin olive oil

1. First, get your oven on to roast the chickpeas. Place the chickpea into a sandwich tin or similar, season with pepper, salt and paprika, drizzle with olive oil and mix well. Bake in the upper part of the oven (doesn't matter where in a fan assisted oven) at full whack for 10-15 minutes, then turn so the soft side is up. Repeat this until the chickpeas are crunchy. Set aside and leave to cool.

2. Steam the sugar snaps for 3-5 minutes then plunge into ice cold water to stop them from cooking further. Drain and set aside.

3. Prepare your yoghurt dressing next by mixing all the ingredient. Keep refridgerated until neede.

4. Make the salad dressing. If you don't have elderflower infused oil or vinegar use finely chopped dill.

5. Use any lettuce you like, though I'd suggest something a little sturdier and more flavourful than round lettuce, and place into a large serving bowl. Julienne the cooked beetroot, core the pear and cut into chunky slices, spoon out chunks of the avocado with a teaspoon, chop up the boiled eggs (if used) and add to the bowl.

6. Dress the salad, top with a little tahini dip and a tablespoon of roasted chickpeas and serve the remaining tahini dip and chickpeas on the side for everyone to help themselves. Alternatively, serve on individual plates as in the photo at the top.

Rocket, Orange and Avocado Salad

Last week, there weren't any blood oranges at my favourite discounter and I thought that's the season over. Yesterday, however, they were back so I grabbed another bundle. Last night, we had a vegetarian carbonara, which I was going to acccompany with a rocket salad. That's when I discovered two very ripe avocados and decided to try something a bit different. Ordinary oranges will work well with this recipe.

1 bag unwashed wild rocket (approx. 100 g)
1 ripe avocado
2 (blood) oranges
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
balsamic
extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
1 tsp orange marmalade, optional

1. Make the dressing. Squeeze one of the oranges. Add salt, pepper, balsamic, EVO, orange juice and marmalade, if used, to a bowl and whisk together.

2. Wash and spin the rocket. Place into a salad bowl.

3. Peel the second orange and chop into the segments. Add to the rocket.

4. Cut the avocado in half, twist and separate the two halves. Gently squeeze the half that contains the stone so it drops out. With a teaspon, scoop out the flesh in chunks straight into the salad bowl.

5. Pour the dressing over the salad, mix and serve immediately.

Beetroot, Carrot and Strawberry Salad

We eat salad year round but I am looking forward to the warmer months when salad as a main dish is irresistable.

Today at the supermarket, I couldn't resist the shiny, plump looking strawberries from Spain but I should have shown some restraint. They taste only faintly of strawberries. Ach well, as we say in Scotland. I'm not going to waste them. Some of them, I spontaneously added to a side salad tonight.

I think that some toasted chopped walnuts would go well with this. For a non-vegan version, add chunks of buffalo mozzarella or goats cheese.

1 carrot
1 raw beetroot
1 handful of strawberries
1-2 tbsp fresh basil
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp maple syrup (or honey)
2 tbsp balsamic
4 tbsp extra virgine olive oil
juice of half an orange

Peel the carrot and beetroot, then coarsely shred. Chop the herbs. Half the strawberries lengthways and slice. Mix the veg, herbs and fruit. Make the dressing and toss the salad. Leave to marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

Cooked vegetable salad with mozzarella and croutons

1 head of broccoli
frozen or fresh green beans
frozen or fresh peas
1 (buffalo) mozzarella
1 bunch of basil
2 tbsp red onion
bread
olive oil
vinaigrette

Cut the broccoli into florets and steam for 5 minutes. Steam the beans and peas for 3-5 minutes. Rinse under cold water. Drain and pat dry. Place into a serving bowl and dress with a generous amount of vinaigrette.

Finely chop the onion. Tear the basil and break the mozzarella into bite-sized chunks. Scatter over the vegetables and toss the salad.

Cut the bread into bite-sized pieces. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and fry the bread until golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Top the salad with the croutons.

Shredded Winter Salad

I hate boiled white cabbage with a vengeance but like it as or in a salad. This is a Jamie Oliver inspired recipe from Jamie's Great Britain. Jamie uses mayonnaise but I opted for something a little lighter.

2 large carrots, coarsely grated
2 uncooked beetroot, coarsely grated
2 handfuls of very finely sliced white cabbage
1 Abate pear or 2 small pears
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
2 small handfuls of toasted, chopped walnuts

Dressing:
150 ml soured cream or crème fraîche
1 tsp mustard
2-3 tbp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp (elderflower infused) cider or sherry vinegar
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Place the vegetables, fruit, herbs and nuts into a large bowl. Make the dressing and mix together. Marinate for about an hour.

Cooked Salad of Green Beans and Hard Boiled Eggs

Last weekend, we were given a heap of organic veggies by our friends from Rowanbank and have been eating really well all week. Normally I sauté green beens with onion and garlic before adding stock and/or tomatoes and serving them as a vegetable side dish or salad. Today I fancied doing something a wee bit different and steamed them instead. While the salad was marinating I hard boiled some eggs for no specific purpose. Not having had any lunch I decided to add a couple of the egss to the beans. The result was icredibly morish. I could have eaten the whole lot by myself!

500 g green beans
2 hard boiled eggs
fabby vinaigrette
dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Top and tail, then wash the beans. Cut them into 2-inch pieces, place into a steamer, season with pepper, salt and oregano. Bring some water to the boil, place the steamer on top and cover. Steam the beans for 5-8 minutes until just tender turning them occasionally. Place into a large bowl and dress to taste with the vinaigrette. Leave to cool but mix them every so often so prevent the beans from cooking further. Chop up two hard boiled eggs and gently mix with the beans. Eat slightly warm or at room temperature.

Golden Beet Salad

I love beetroot and I love the patterns when you cut them opten and all the wonderful differently coloured varieties. Their earthy flavour goes really well with a sweet dressing, though by that I don't mean adding honey, maple syrup or sugar. Instead I'm referring to the type of vinegar I use. With red beetroot, balsamic is wonderful but it discolours the beautiful golden colour of these beets, which unfortanatley oxidise very quickly anyway.

500 g golden beet
2-3 tbsp elderflower vinegar
6 tbsp elderflower oil
sea salt
freshly ground black or white pepper

Make the dressing. Peel the beetroot and grate finely. Mix and serve immediately.

Beetroot Salad

I love fresh beetroot in all colours and in a variety of recipes. This is a new one but it's becoming a firm favourite. It's just a shame that the red beetroot stains everything. So make sure you wear vinyl gloves. On the other hand, the intense colour is great for colouring Easter eggs.

Raw beetroot has quite a strong, earthy flavour that's not to everybody's taste. But you can also make this salad with cooked beetroot. I just don't think it's as nice. ;)

1 bunch beetroot, approx. 500 g
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Peel and grate the beetroot, finely or coarsely depending on your preference. Make the dressing and mix with the beetroot. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes before serving.

Apple, Carrot and Celeriac Salad

With the weather being so springlike, I decided to make a refreshing salad combining root vegetables and summery flavours. That same day, I also made a soup of celeriac, carrots and apples.


1/2 celeriac
3-4 carrots
2 Braeburn apples
herb salt
white peper
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp elderflower flavoured olive oil
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Peel the celeriac and carrots. Quarter and core the unpeeled apples. Prepare the dressing. Grate the vegetables and fruit finely or coarsely depending on your preference and pour the dressing over immediately to prevent the celeriac and apples from oxidising. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Hazelnutty Salad

Yesterday, I bought hazelnut oil for the first time and of course had to try it out straight away. I used a bag of winter baby leaves, chopped toasted hazelnuts and a very simple dressing. I found I'd made too much dressing so I covered the remainder with cling film and stuck it in the fridge.

1 bag of baby leaf lettuce
chopped toasted hazelnuts
Herbamare organic herb salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp organic balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp hazelnut oil
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Fresh Dill

1 cucumber
300 g small vine tomatoes
150 ml soured cream
1 heaped tsp German mustard
1 bunch fresh Dill
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Optionally peel the cucumber. Cut in half and cut the halves again lengthways. Using a teaspoon scoop out the seeds. Cut into 5 mm thick slices and place into a bowl. Quarter the tomatoes and add to the bowl.

Make the dressing and finely chop the dill. Combine and dress the salad. If possible leave to marinate at room temperature for 15 - 30 minutes.

Refreshing Fennel Salad with Dill

I love fennel both sautéd, roasted and raw with dips or in a salad. This is a real summer salad to be served in the garden with a BBQ or a summer lunch. I made it yesterday evening and pretended it wasn't still far too cold for the time of year. And it almost worked. ;)

3 small fennel bulbs
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch Dill
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Trim the top and bottom of the fennel bulbs und cut lengthways along the narrow side of the bulb into 2 mm slices. This way the slices hold together. Scatter in a large bowl. Make the dressing using about 3 to 4 times as much olive oil as lime and lemon juice. Dress the fennel and mix through. Leave for at least half an hour.

Before serving, finely chop the dill and scatter over the fennel salad.

Salad of oak leaf lettuce, sautéd pear and mushrooms and buffalo mozzarela

I got the idea for this salad from fellow blogger Ghislana of the German blog Jahreszeitenbriefe. Ghislana used lambs lettuce and some other ingredients. This is my take on her recipe.

(serves two)

1/2 head of oak leaf lettuce
200 g mushrooms
1/2 abate pear or 1 conference pear
1 small (125 g) buffalo mozzarella
20 g butter
olive oil
juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon
balsamic glaze
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Roughly tear the lettuce leaves, wash, spin and set aside.

2. Wipe or peel the mushrooms and slice them. Dice the pear. Heat the butter and a little olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms and pear together. Add a little balsamic glaze and cook until they're nicely nicely browned. Season with pepper and salt.

3. Drain the liquid off the the mozzarella and tear into bite-sized chunks.

4. Add the lettuce to a bowl, scatter the mushrooms and pear, top with the mozzarella and squeeze the lemon juice over everything. Drizzle on a little more olive oil. Serve immediately.

Red and green slaw

I got this idea from a recipe for winter slaw in Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook Plenty, which I'd intended to make only to realise I didn't have all the ingredients. I'd forgotten to buy a mango and papaya among other things. But I did have a red cabbage and fresh greens. So instead of using them in a hot dish, I decided to make a salat that is based on both the German "krautsalat" (white cabbage salad) and coleslaw. I reaky love the colours of the finished salad.

500 g red cabbage
250 fresh greens
150 ml natural yoghurt
1-2 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)
juice of 2-3 lemons
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
100 g brazil nuts
maple syrup

Place the brazil nuts into a roasting and toast with the oven at full whack for about 10 minutes. Remove and leave to cool when done. Slice or chop and keep aside for serving.

Slice the cabbage and greens very finely and place into a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients and mix well with your hands scruncing the cabbage to bruise it. This will make it more tender and enable it to absorb the dressing much better. Cover with clingfilm and leave to marinate for at least an hour, ideally weighed down with several tins or similar.

Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkling of brazil nuts (2-3 per portion).

This salad will keep in the fridge for a few days.

Tomato, cucumber and pomegranate salad

1/2 cucumber
250 g cherry plum tomatoes
1 pomegranate
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lime
extra virgin olive oils

1. Peel the cucumber if you or your guests have problems digesting the skin. Cut lenghtways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut lengthways again and chop into 1 cm pieces.

2. Halve the cherry tomatoes.

3. Remove the fruit from the pomegranate taking care that none of the white pip gets in as it's bitter.

4. Place all the salad ingredients into a nice serving bowl. Season with pepper and salt. Squeeze over the lime juice and add about 4 tbsp olive oil. Leave to marinate for an hour or so before serving.

Warm Broccoli Salad

I served this with a chorizo cassoulet and it was just divine.

500 g broccoli
1 tbsp red onion, very, very finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
approx. 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Cut the broccoli into florets and cut the florets into halves or, if bigger, three or four pieces. Pleace into a steamer and steam for about 10 minutes until just cooked al dente.

2. In the meantime, make your dressing.

3. Tip the broccoli into a dish, leave to cool for a few minutes. Then dress and serve.
Variation:
Add a finely chopped chilli and use balsamic instead of lemon juice.

Pasta Salad with Chorizo

This is a a light and tasty summer salad that goes with outdoor eating of any kind.

250 g of cooked pasta
250 g cherry tomatoes, quartered
100 g chorizo, halved length-ways, sliced and sautéed, drained on kitchen paper
fresh parsley, chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp sherry vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
a touch of sea salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)

1. Mix the olive oil, vinegar, pepper, a little salt and Dijon into a dressing.
2. Mix in the pasta, tomatoes and chorizo.
3. Leave at room temperature for a couple of hours.
4. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Variation:
Add one or two 250 g bundles of pan-fried green asparagus.

Lambs Lettuce with Sautéd Mushrooms

Just came home from 5 days in Berlin that envolved a lot of eating and drinking. So for now, it's salad days!

Serves 2 as lunch/supper or 4 as a starter.

100 g lambs lettuce
250 g mushrooms, sliced
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
vinaigrette

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms when hot. Fry over a high heat http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifuntil golden all over and season with pepper and salt.

2. Meanwhile wash and spin the lambs lettuce and arrange on plates. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette.

3. Sprinkle with the hot mushrooms and serve immediately.

Variation:
If you're worried about the fat content, mix the juice of a lemon, pepper and salt and drizzle over the lettuce instead of the vinaigrette,

Creamy Chicken Salad

This is a rich and creamy dish - real summer comfort food!

Serves 4-6

300-400 left-over free range or organic roast chicken, a room temperature
3 tbps of Greek yoghurt or soured cream
1 avocado, cubed
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
freshly squeezed lemon juice
frehsly ground black pepper
mixed salad leaves
a handful of cucumber slices, peeled, halved and cored
a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
vinaigrette (optional)

1. Mix all the chicken, yoghurt, avocado, egg, lemon juice and black pepper.
2. Place a generous portion of salad leaves on a individual deep plates. Scatter with cucumber and tomatoes and drizzle with a little vinaigrette, if used.
3. Place a couple of heaped tablespoons of the chicken mix on top.

Mixed Green Salad with Broad Beans and Beetroot

When I went to the supermarket today, they had ready-washed organic lettuce mix greatly reduced. I don't normally buy those but they looked good and at half price what did I have to lose?

1 bag of organic salad cress, baby spinach and rocket mix
2 pre-cooked beetroot, very thinly sliced
a couple of handfuls of broad beans, fresh in summer, frozen in winter
pepper
salt
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

1. Bring a bit of water to the boil and cook the broad beans, seasoned with pepper and salt, for 5 minutes. Drain and leave to cool.

2. For the dressing, mix pepper, salt, balsamic and olive oil. You probably won't need all of this.

3. Place the beetroot slices, lettuce and broad beans in a wide bowl. Serve dressed or let everyone dress their own bowl of salad.