Salad Recipes

Kurumba

Having a bbq this weekend and wondered if anyone had any nice salad recipe's they can share?
Pasta salad's maybe or any cold salad that's not just plain old lettuce and tomato..
Thanks!

olaola

Cous cous is very easy

I don't use stock in mine (unless I have made it myself)
I just add the hot water, when it is 'done' I add:
Lemon juice
Pesto
Garlic
Finely chopped peppers
Toasted pine nuts
Feta cheese

Lash it all in, you don't need salt - the pesto & feta is salty enough.

Pasta salad -
Chopped tomatoes or peppers
Sesame oil
Just mix it around.
Add onions if you like.

If you get good feta, a simple tomato & feta salad is nice.
Just season it and add nice olive oil

adonis

an old tomato salad is great too
olive oil
salt
garlic and tomatoes ---
if you dont want salt one can add anchovies..not to everyones liking though.

galah

good old "tomato and mozarella" goes down a treat as well - simply layer tomato slices and mozarella slices, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and oil, and maybe some fresh basil - and you're done ;-)

r3nu4l

Well, I like mixed bean and walnut salad.

Tesco sell a 500g pack of dry mixed beans in their "Whole food" range. You soak them overnight, cook the next day for about an hour and 15 mins and they are ready.

I usually add lettuce leaves, spring onion, diced peppers, chopped celery, grated carrot, walnut halves (or chopped walnuts) and sliced tomatos. I leave a bottle of extra virgin olive oil out with salt, pepper and BBQ sauce for those that aren't ahppy with those flavours alone.

I sometimes keep some of the beans aside and spice them in a frying pan by adding olive oil, freshly crushed garlic, powdered nutmeg, powedered ginger, mild chilli spice and maybe some tumeric.

If I do this then I make up the rest of the salad without the beans and have two separate bowls of beans, spiced and unspiced and people can add what they want.

The beans must be cooked long enough otherwise they stay hard and may break teeth!


EDIT: Oh, and a cous cous salad as suggested by olaola is a great idea!

Nevyn

Tender baby spinach leaves and good sweet chilli scauce.

adonis

yeah speaking of bean salads...

cherry tomatoes -halved
a can of red kidney beans
a can of chick peas
small amount of a mild onion
cracked pepper and salt
dressing - whichever u prefer

lovely
just watch out for the day after

Kolodny

Simple: Rice with tinned or soaked chickpeas, finely chopped red pepper and cucumber and a drizzle of olive oil/simple dressing.

Bit fancier: Rocket leaves with soaked puy lentils, cubed stilton (or brie if you prefer it milder) and seedless grapes (any colour) or chopped green apple, drizzled with balsamic dressing.

Also nice with a balsamic dressing - sliced avocado with crispy bacon strips tossed with mixed leaves and cherry tomatoes.

emeraldstar

Something very simple:

-Grated carrot
-Raw broccoli chopped up smallish
-Nuts (any kind you want really, I tend to use peanuts coz we usually have them in the press)

Mix it all up with as much mayo as you want......absolutely gorgeous!! and much nicer than coleslaw

Kolodny

emeraldstar wrote:

Something very simple:

-Grated carrot
-Raw broccoli chopped up smallish
-Nuts (any kind you want really, I tend to use peanuts coz we usually have them in the press)

Mix it all up with as much mayo as you want......absolutely gorgeous!! and much nicer than coleslaw

That's just reminded me of another one that the chef in my canteen at work makes. A sort of Chinese style salad with grated carrot, small broccoli florets and beans sprouts, tossed in a little soy sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds and served with either Chinese leaves or regular lettuce.

lemeister

One of my favourites:
Grated Carrot
Grated Cucumber (don't use soft inner core)
Chopped fresh coriander
Sweet chilli sauce

Big bowl, mix it all together, yum!

Kurumba

Wow, thanks for all of that! They all sound lovely. Will give a few of them a go.
I'm now looking for a tried recipe for Bruschetta if anyone has one!
I'm pushing my luck here i know

The Hill Billy

Here's my Five Spice Rice Salad

250g rice
1 medium red pepper, finely diced
1 medium red onion, finely diced
1 bunch scallions, finely diced
2 medium carrots, finely diced
2 sticks celery, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tsp chinese five spice
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground chilli
Salt & pepper to season
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Tabasco

On a medium gently fry the rice in 2 tbsp of oil & turmeric for 3 minutes & ensure rice is well coated.
Add water & cook as normal then allow to cool.
In small bowl mix remaining spices & oil with soy sauce, balsamic & Tabasco.
When cool transfer rice to large bowl & add diced vegetables.
Pour spice mix over rice & vegetables & mix thoroughly.

Miss Fluff

jessie1 wrote:

I'm now looking for a tried recipe for Bruschetta if anyone has one!

I make this one for myself about once a week but I have a propensity for raw garlic so you will have no love life and no friends for a day or two after!

Organic ciabata, drizzled lightly in extra virgin and placed under grill (after you've prepapred your tomatoes etc ) RIPE juicy vine tomatoes diced, shredded basil, (some people use pesto - not half as nice) raw garlic cloves diced into teensy bits, mix. Spoon over your ciabatta. I then add shaved parmesan (tonnes of) and shredded parma ham (tonnes of)...so deviate slightly from traditional bruschetta....still the beauty of it is you can add whatever you like. Some people prefer buffalo mozzerala but I think shaved parmesan gives it a nice edge. (I'm off to make some now.........!:p )

adonis

i pretty much do the same for bruschetta.
except i use a griddle pan or george foreman style...then i rub the clove of garlic over it...and from there---whatever u want...
normally beef tomatoes, mozarella and basil! perfect.

The Sweeper

Before anyone thinks I'm nuts, there's method in my madness here. I know there are lots of requests for salad dressing, but I'm after recipes for salads themselves. I'm not talking about things like cold pasta salad (which I personally believe is a crime against humanity).

This thread was inspired by me fishing a bulb of fennel out of the cool drawer last night and thinking 'Hmm, what's going to go with this?' I had been having fennel with rocket, quartered fresh figs and shaved parmesan, but now I'm all out of figs. Instead it was fennel with rocket, shaved parmesan and a fig vinegar I bought last time I was in England in August 2007, but it really didn't hit the same spot. I don't really know what else to put with fennel for a salad that isn't like a bad night on the pernod though.

If I'm making a standard 'salad' to go with a baked potato and a steak, I'll always use a watercress, spinach and rocket mix, and to that I'll add finely chopped carrots and celery for crunch, sliced sundried tomatoes for sweetness, a few chopped black olives (again the kind that have been brined but are not floating in water in a jar). I'll then add toasted pine nuts and shaved parmesan, and dress it with a dressing made from balsamic vinegar and olive oil shaken with a clove of crushed garlic and some pepper and salt.

I know Minder has a good recipe for a salad involving feta and oregano, but I can't remember how it's done, or the one with the melon and tomato (hint hint, post here!)

Plus there are salads that are just leaves, salads that are no leaves at all, and specific mixes that go with specific dressings (waldorf, caesar).

So what's your speciality?

NextSteps

You know it's deepest winter in Ireland?

Minder

I make greek salad like this for two people

4 tomatoes - chopped
Cucumber - peeled & chopped
Red onion - thinly sliced and salted to draw some of the moisture
Feta - crumbled
Black olives - split & de-stoned
Green pepper - thinly sliced
Dired oregano

I put some olive oil in a salad bowl and add the dried oregano,
Thinly slice the onion and salt it.
Add everthing else to the bowl but don't mix
After about 15 minutes of salting the onions, I add these.
Season with black pepper and mix. Leave to stand for a bit before serving.

This is excellent with a steak and a few chips. The flavour of the oregano in the salad really compliments the steak.

Other salads

Warm salad of poached pear with blue cheese and hazelnuts. This is served with a light vinegarette.

Peel, halve and core one pear per person.
Poach in mixture of white wine & water with a squeeze of lemon, until soft.
Toast hazelnuts in the oven and rub in a teatowel to remove skins. Bash them up a bit.
Take the pear out of the liquid, place on a grill and add a slice of blue cheese.
Grill until the cheese melts.
Plate up - A handful of rocket dressed with vinegrette, scatter some hazelnuts and put the pears on top. Gather up any of the melted cheese that escaped.

Or try roast parsnips with beetroot.

Peel and cut parsnips into long pointy fingers. Take out the woody core.
Blanch in boiling water and roast until crispy.
Dice some cooked beetroot.
Mix yoghurt and homous for a dressing and thin with a little water if too thick. Add a little horseradish to taste.
Add half the diced beetroot to the dressing.
Plate up a pile of green leaves dressed with a little olive oil.
Arrange the parsnips on top like a tent with the points up.
Scatter the diced beetroot around the plate and spoon on the dressing.

catho_monster

My new favourite thing, to go with my other new favourite thing - pulled pork. Although I did end up having it with grilled cheese sandwiches and it was divine then too.

Taken from the Food Network.com
I despise coleslaw, but God is this divine.

PS - I dont find you need to leave it overnight - its much milder if you dont. However this makes LOADS, so the second day its more horseradishy, the third more spring oniony etc....

Horseradish Cole Slaw
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004
Show: The Essence of Emeril
Episode: Football Party Food


5 cups shredded green cabbage
5 cups shredded red cabbage
2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup finely sliced green onions
2 Granny Smith apples, cored, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish, or 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Creole mustard or other coarse-grained mustard

Combine the green and red cabbages, carrots, and green onions in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, toss the cubed apples with the lemon juice and add to the cabbage mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the seasoned vinegar mixture over the cabbage mixture and toss to thoroughly combine. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, and mustard and stir to combine. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the coleslaw and toss to thoroughly combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight before serving.

NextSteps

I made celeriac remoulade yesterday for the first time - grated peeled celeriac (coarsely grated, and quickly - it discolours if you don't put it in acidulated water as you work), mayonnaise (I used garlic aioli), lemon juice and wholegrain mustard. We had it with roasted spuds but I think it would be even better with fish & chips, in place of coleslaw.

watna

I love celeriac. I must try that recipe. Celeriac coleslaw is like the posh mans coleslaw. It's yummy!

The Sweeper

UB wrote: »

You know it's deepest winter in Ireland?

I'm fully aware of that. I'm currently baking a lot of pies. Puff pastry and lucious fillings, very wintry fare. Also potentially thick-waistline-and-heart-attack-enducing if served with buttery mashed potatoes or a bowl of chips and some peas, especially since they're on the menu three or four times a week.

Puff pastry beef pies with a side salad, however, is the best of both worlds. It also has the added advantage that you feel like you can actually still move when you've finished eating.

Anyway, as you hit on with the celeriac remoulade, I'm not thinking of salads as in green leaves skinny women have for lunch with no dressing - I'm basically looking at it as a cold (or warm) side dish through which you get your vegetable intake.

Miss Fluff

Happy Australia Day MJD! A salad I have regaularly, one which is by no means a low cal option but is really delicious is:

Mixed leaves with lots of Rocket
Cherry Tomatoes
Shaved parmesan
Spring onions (optional)
Tonnes of shreaded parma ham
Smothered in blue cheese dressing - yum!

lostinsuperfunk

Peter Gordon's Salads book is very good, but it requires a lot of ingredients which are hard to find in Ireland, but you might have better luck down under.

Minder

I have the Peter Gordon book and would be interested in the ingredients that you find difficult to find?

Black Swan

UB wrote: »

You know it's deepest winter in Ireland?

Time for hot bacon dressing on spinach salad with crumpled feta and sprinkles of parmesan. Yummmm!

Minder

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

I'm basically looking at it as a cold (or warm) side dish through which you get your vegetable intake.

Roast pepper salad - roast or grill peppers until the skins are charcoal. Cover with cling film in a bowl or put the peppers in a plastic bag. Slice garlic thinly, anchovies into thin strips, chuck in some capers, a handful of torn basil. Peel and slice the peppers and add to the mixture. Lashings of olive oil.
Pepper and a touch of salt.

Spread it out on a big plate and eat with warm italian bread.

The alternative is to leave out the anchovies, but grill courgette and aubergine, maybe even some artichoke with the peppers. Basil, garlic and oil finish it off.

The Sweeper

I love making roast pepper salads, but I find it takes utterly sodding AGES to take the skins off the peppers. Any tips for a quick fix? I can get big, really fresh capsicums here (as they call peppers in Australia), but I don't know if they're extra fresh and juicy or what, but the last time I made a pepper salad it took nearly 40 minutes for me to charcoal the skins on four large peppers. I was sitting them directly on the gas burners of the five-ring hob here, but it was hard to prop them up and teh whole thing was fiddly.

Interestingly, by the time they were charcoal-skinned they were also pretty much cooked so the salad was extra nice, but still, there's gotta be an easier way?!

lostinsuperfunk

Minder wrote: »

I have the Peter Gordon book and would be interested in the ingredients that you find difficult to find?

Your post prompted me to pick up the book again, and I have to admit that most of the ingredients don't seem that hard to find. Although one recipe I glanced at called for sorrel, salsify roots and fresh horseradish, none of which I have ever seen in the local Supervalu
In fairness, he does suggest substitutes for some of the more unusual ones.

This sounds good: Fried haloumi topped with chilli, spinach, water chestnut, orange and sun-blushed tomato salad. Mmm....

Minder

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

I love making roast pepper salads, but I find it takes utterly sodding AGES to take the skins off the peppers. Any tips for a quick fix? I can get big, really fresh capsicums here (as they call peppers in Australia), but I don't know if they're extra fresh and juicy or what, but the last time I made a pepper salad it took nearly 40 minutes for me to charcoal the skins on four large peppers. I was sitting them directly on the gas burners of the five-ring hob here, but it was hard to prop them up and teh whole thing was fiddly.

Interestingly, by the time they were charcoal-skinned they were also pretty much cooked so the salad was extra nice, but still, there's gotta be an easier way?!

An old grill tray or oven rack will keep them off the burners - Once black they need to be kept under cover for 15 minutes. That helps loosen the skins and also avoids scorched fingers.

NextSteps

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

I love making roast pepper salads, but I find it takes utterly sodding AGES to take the skins off the peppers. Any tips for a quick fix? I can get big, really fresh capsicums here (as they call peppers in Australia), but I don't know if they're extra fresh and juicy or what, but the last time I made a pepper salad it took nearly 40 minutes for me to charcoal the skins on four large peppers. I was sitting them directly on the gas burners of the five-ring hob here, but it was hard to prop them up and teh whole thing was fiddly.

Interestingly, by the time they were charcoal-skinned they were also pretty much cooked so the salad was extra nice, but still, there's gotta be an easier way?!

If you halve them and deseed them before you start, it takes some of the fiddlyness away. I usually put them in an oven for however long it takes (30 minutes?), then cover them in tinfoil till the skin is easy to peel off.

Birdsong

Does anyone have any tasty receipes for a pasta salad, my sister is having a party on Sat, and was thinking a big pasta salad would be a good idea as a soaker up along with some chips & dips. She doesn't have big fridge space to store before hand.

superficies

Option 1: Pasta, small brocolli flowers (is that what they're called? florets? whatever...small bits of brocolli), feta cheese and pine nuts. Olive oil. Mix. Yum

Option 2: Pasta, tomatoes, boiled eggs, tuna, mayo. Mix. Double yum

Option 3: Pasta, simple tom sauce (garlic, onion, courgette, red pepper, tinned toms, mix and heat), mix, cool, yum.

Kenny_D

Pasta, Mayo, sweetcorn, kidney beans, bacon pieces and peanuts, pepper to taste. Simple and delicious

Swampy

twirly pasta, buy a cooked chicken and shred it, small cubed chees, sliced peppers, diced scallions, whatever else and some dressing of your choice.

the beer revolu

Does anyone else think that pasta salad is just wrong - like cold , stirred up pasta dinner??

Anyone?:rolleyes:

olaola

I love the carby-satisfying chomp of pasta salad.

Green pesto, fresh basil, pine nuts & grated grana padano.

And edited to add: Make it up in a large zip-lock bag, and serve when needed. You could leave it outside - as it's prob as cold as her fridge is at the moment!

peepeep

Pasta, sweetcorn, shredded chicken, mayo and curry powder. rockin.

Minder

Fusilli pasta with tomato, herbs and garlic breadcrumbs. Cook the pasta, fry breadcrumbs in olive oil until golden and add chopped garlic. Fry some diced fresh tomato. Chop handfuls of fresh summer herbs - basil, oregano, marjoram, parsley, chervil (If you can get them). Add all ingredients together and give it a good mix - season and serve while still warm.

Birdsong

Thanks folks, some great suggestions there - we might even do different ones, because one the pasta is cooked its just adding the main flavour

Kimia

Hi everyone,

So I had a bit of a breakthrough with salads. I'd always thought that salads were horrible rabbit food and I'd never get into them but I made a beautiful tiger prawn salad which changed my mind completely so I'm hoping that others can share their recipes with me!

Here's the Tiger Prawn & Spinach salad, quantities are by taste

Ingredients

200g raw tiger prawns
Coriander
Garlic puree or mushed up garlic paste
Chilli, either fresh or ground
Lemon juice, few tablespoons
Olive oil
Spinach leaves

Method

• Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, coriander and chilli
• Marinade the tiger prawns with it
• Heat a frying pan med-high
• Fry the prawns until nicely browned on each side, about 2-3 mins a side
• Place prawns on spinach
• Pour in the rest of the marinade to 'cook' it, only for about 10 seconds as the pan is hot
• Pour over the prawns & spinach as a hot dressing

Faith

I make a rather lovely crab and avocado salad . It's an extremely rough recipe, but it's hard to go wrong.

Cooked and prepared crab meat, about 100g per person
Lettuce leaves - whichever you like. I prefer a baby leaf salad for this.
Half an avocado per person
Cherry tomatoes, as many as you like.

Dressing:

Mayonnaise
Ketchup (less than the mayo by about 50%)
Worcestershire sauce (about 5 drops per person)
Tabasco sauce - to taste
Salt & pepper
Lemon juice

First mix all the dressing ingredients together. Add your crab and mix.
Prepare lettuce leaves, slice tomatoes and cube the avocado.
Add crab mixture to salad and voila!


Alternatively, leave out the lettuce and tomatoes, and serve on brown bread.

neuro-praxis

Goat's cheese salad

Raspberry jam
Balsamic vinegar
Bacon lardons
Log of goat's cheese
Large bag of mixed baby leaves

Make a dressing by combining raspberry jam with some good quality balsamic vinegar. You can whisk these together and, if you like, warm them up in a pan.

Take a soft goat cheese log with a very soft rind and cut into slices. (If you feel like it, you can warm your goat's cheese gently under the grill.)

Fry some lardons of bacon.

Using most of the dressing, coat a large bag of baby leaves (spinach, rocket etc.) and divide into bowls. Sprinkle with bacon. Top with goat's cheese and drizzle with the last of the dressing.

Pear and stilton salad

Bacon lardons
3 ripe pears , peeled, cored and sliced
140g blue cheese , cut into small cubes, such as Colston Bassett Stilton
100g washed baby spinach

1 tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar
1 tsp clear honey
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp olive oil

Fry the lardons in a small pan until crisp.

To make the dressing, reduce the heat in the pan to low and stir in 1 tbsp water, then the vinegar, honey and mustard. Stir well, scraping up any residue on the base of the pan. Stir in the oil, taste and season.

Meanwhile, heat a ridged griddle pan or grill and cook the pears for about 5 mins on each side, until browned. Place in a bowl and mix with the cubes of cheese (this melts the cheese a little, making it nice and squidgy).

Tip the spinach into a serving bowl, and scatter the cheese and pear mixture over. Top with the warm bacon dressing and serve immediately.

arknine

Vietnamese Mango Prawn Salad

Make a Vietnamese dressing of Fish Sauce, Sugar, Rice Wine Vinegar, Seasame Oil, Juice of a Lime, Chilli, Coriander, and Garlic – thrown into a jam jar and shook up (2 parts of fish sauce, 2 parts of lime juice, to 1 part of rice wine vinegar and 1 part of seasame oil – ratios dependent on portions – herbs,chilli and garlic to taste).

Add the dressing to a bowl of Mango, Red and Orange Peppers, cut into long thin strips.

Some Spring onions pan-fried with seasame oil, seasoned and finished with soy sauce.. throw into bowl with mango and peppers.

Same with pak choi, oil, pan-fried and some soy sauce.
Peanuts dry fried on pan – thrown into bowl.

Then marinated prawns (marinade of chilli, olive oil, garlic) pan-fried and add into bowl.

Add some cooked wok noodles.

Toss the salad.

Enjoy.

<Photo of dish on my blog>

Vietnamese Mango Prawn Salad

Kimia

Yum!! Thanks everyone!

Anyone got any nice ideas for beef? I am a real carnivore so I always start my recipes off with the meat..

looking4advice

With all this fine weather that we are having at the moment, I'd like to eat more salads but can't think of any recipes bar the standard lettuce, tomato, pepper etc.

Care to share some recipes?

The Hill Billy

If you could say what salad ingredients you actually like it would help.

tHB

Outkast_IRE

i like chinese dry coleslaw simple to make,
white cabbage shredded small, grated carrot, rice vinegar , spoon of sugar or 2 in the vinegar to take the sting out. Refrigerate for half a hour before eating

Yum

looking4advice

The Hill Billy wrote: »

If you could say what salad ingredients you actually like it would help.

tHB

I like all types eg Caesar salad, couscous salad, hot chicken salads. Everything and anything. Just looking for ideas really.

_blank_

a tomato diced
three olives, quartered
four radishes, chopped
feta cheese cubes
few slices of red pepper diced
a pickled gherkin, sliced
salt
pepper
glug of olive oil
two pinches of oregano
some of those crisp fried onion bits
small glug of balsamic vinegar
half a tin of tuna

into a bowl and all mixed up together, served on a bed of peppery rocket mixed with iceberg lettuce

delicious

the tuna can be subbed out for any kind of other meat. left tover roast chicken, ham etc

Pembily

Baby tomaotes
Rocket
Iceberg or other lettuce leaves
Corriander
Grated cucumber
Seeds
Pepper
Spring onions
Dressing (mix of balsamic vinegar, mustard, oil, garlic)
Grated carrot
Beetroot

Toss up and eat

Sometimes I will mix the carrots, onions, tomato and cucumber a couple of hours before as they are wet and the juices mix well!