Salad Recipes

In my opinion, the key to a good salad is the dressing. If you find some dressings that you like, you will eat a mountain of greens.

I have no objection to iceberg and the like: I eat them all the time. But if I am making a proper salad meal, I use baby spinach, rocket and the 'live lettuce' ranges that you can buy in most supermarkets now.

Also, salad needs to be fresh. Once you've dressed it, you need to eat it. Don't leave it to stand.

I like a nice contrast of sharp and sour with sweet in my dressings. My standard salad dressings are:

Olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, honey and wholegrain mustard
Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup and wholegrain mustard
Balsamic vinegar, raspberry jam

Occasionally I just have oil and lemon juice or oil and vinegar.

Now with your fresh leaves and your dressing you have a great base for your fillings. I like to add a nice cheese - my favourite is soft goat's or a salty feta.

I usually add a protein source - some examples would be nuts or seeds, or a can of chickpeas, rinsed. Of course you can add meat or fish, too. I love to eat prawns with a salad, or finely chopped and fried bacon.

You might want to add extra vegetables - shaved cucumber or carrot strips, or finely sliced red onion. You might want to add fruit - I like mango and pomegranate.

Some fresh herbs are nice too occasionally - chopped mint is refreshing.

If you are bringing a salad to work bring the ingredients and assemble them when you are ready to eat.

Remember also that a salad can be made up of pre-roasted vegetables. My favourite is to roast sweet potato and corn. Then I make a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, white wine vinegar, garlic, chilli and finely minced red onion. Toss it all together and top with feta and chopped coriander. This is spectacular.

Another good salad is Mediterranean vegetables roasted - peppers, onions, courgettes. Allow to go cold and toss with a tangy dressing. Top with a cheese of your choice and away you go. Eat with a little hoummus and pitta.

One way to eat iceberg that is a little novel is the American steakhouse way - bin the flabby outer leaves, then cut the iceberg lettuce into four quarters (as you might an orange). Make up a dressing of creme fraiche, mayo and blue cheese and drizzle it over your iceberg wedge, and serve as a starter. Really refreshing.

My all time favourite salad is spinach and rocket, tossed with a raspberry and balsamic vinaigrette, topped with bacon and creamy goats cheese. An absolute winner.

Basically the world is your oyster.

Lyaiera wrote: »

I've never really been into salads, and have never made one. I need to start eating more healthily and lose weight though so green leafy stuff seems like a good option. I had my first salad in years at a Japanese restaurant a few weeks ago, and it was ok (even though I had a bit to drink at the time.) I want to start incorporating salads into my diet but I don't even know how to make one.

So, Boardsies, tell me what to put into a salad. I wouldn't even know what half the stuff looks like as green leafy things all just look green and leafy to me. If I was to start at the start, by going into a Lidl or Supervalu what should I be buying, how much of whatever should I be using, what should I be putting over them?

I find it's handy to make up a salad in a huge bowl in the fridge, and just take out as much as you want at any time. Saves you the hassle of washing and chopping every time!

If I was shopping for this, I'd buy, for example:
- Either a head of iceberg lettuce or a bag of baby spinach leaves
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
- A cucumber
- A red onion
- Pine nuts

I'd wash, dry and chop the leaves. Chop up the peppers, tomatoes and cucumber and throw them all into the big bowl with the leaves. Finely chop the red onion - for some reason, I'm not even sure why, I keep this in a separate bowl in the fridge and just add to the salad each time I'm eating it. Toast the pine nuts in a large pan and throw them into the big bowl. Mix it all up. Cover with clingfilm. This should be good for around four days in the fridge.

Then when I'm hungry I transfer as much as I want into another bowl. Add in the onion. Add in maybe tuna, chicken or ham. Add a dressing - French Dressing is a nice simple one to start off with, I have a bottle of it in the fridge but it's very easily home-made. Even just olive oil is nice as a dressing. I often have cheese as well, maybe fresh mozzarella, or just normal grated cheddar or whatever.

I know the above is really basic and unadventurous. Might be a good way to get started though, and you can experiment with more ingredients as time goes on!

Lime always makes me want a mojito!