For some, being healthy means one thing – eating lots of salad!
Although this is so far from the truth, salads can be very healthy (as well as very unhealthy!); they are also delicious, varied, colourful and work well as a whole meal or as part of a meal such as a side salad or in a sandwich.
Most people get stuck on the definition of salad as being – onion, lettuce, tomato and cucumber, but it really doesn’t have to be like that.
Yes, salads can be simple:
A handful of rocket
6-10 chopped cherry tomatoes
A few squirts of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar – and…done!
Easy. Simple. Healthy.
They can also be so much more than simple. Here are a few of my favourite salad dishes, just in time for summer!
Keeping it simple – Tricolore Salad
Ingredients: (serves one to two)
½ an avocado
½ a large beef tomato
A few slices of buffalo mozzarella
Olive oil
Fresh basil (optional)
Method:
- Slice the avocado half into long, thin slices and lay them out separately on a plate (you could add a few squeezes of lemon to them if you wanted)
- Slice your beef tomato into fairly thick slices and put them on the plate between the avocado slices
- Cut off a few slices of mozerella cheese (as required) and add them to the plate, between or at either end of the other slices
- Drizzle less than a teaspoon of olive oil over the top of the salad and add a small sprig of fresh basil
(Other options: you could add some pesto instead of the olive oil and, if you don’t eat much in the way of processed foods, a tiny pinch of salt can be added too.)
The Healthy One – Fresh Kale Salad
Ingredients: (serves four)
1 bunch of fresh curly kale (washed)
100g pine nuts
60g grated parmesan
Juice from one lemon
50ml extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Wash and dry kale and remove stems/ stalks.
- Chop kale very finely
- Put the lemon juice and the olive oil into a small jam jar. With the lid on, shake jar vigorously.
- Add whole pine nuts and dressing to kale and mix well
- Add grated cheese and mix
- Season with pepper and a little salt (to taste) and serve
The naughty (er) one – Caesar Salad
Ingredients: (serves four to six)
2 Little Gem Lettuce
1 large Cos lettuce
50g (2 oz) Wholemeal bread (cut into small square chunks)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese
1 clove of garlic
Dressing:
1 egg
1 clove garlic
juice of one lime
1 teaspoon mustard powder
100mls extra virgin olive oil
40 grams parmesan cheese
Method:
- Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius
- Place the squares of bread, the crushed garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of parmesan into a bowl and mix well
- Place in the oven and bake for just under 10 minutes
- Meanwhile use a food processor to blend together the ingredients for the dressing (minus the parmesan)
- Tear the lettuce leaves and add to a bowl, when it’s ready, add the dressing and mix it well with the leaves
- Sprinkle the parmesan over the top of the dressing
- Scatter the crutons on the salad and serve
- Of course you can add grilled chicken and or anchovies to suit