Salad

Grilled Aubergine and Peach Couscous

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The summery sweetness of flat peaches combines beautifully with aubergines and other goodies in this delicious couscous salad.

Serves 2.

Note: Grill the halloumi right before you’re going to eat, it tastes so much better fresh from the pan!

Ingredients: 150g cherry tomatoes, 2 baby aubergine, 1 flat peach, small bunch of flat and curly parsley.

Larder: 100g couscous, juice of 1 lemon, 5 tbsp olive oil, salt, 150g halloumi, dollop of yoghurt.

 Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Slice the aubergines into ½ cm thick circles. Slice and chop the peach into 1-2cm chunks. Place peach and aubergine pieces on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle aubergines with salt. Roast for about 15 mins or until soft.peaches and aubergine 1600px
  • Finely chop the curly and flat parsley and quarter the tomatoes. Place in a salad bowl.
  • Place the couscous in a bowl and pour 175 ml of boiling water/stock to cover the couscous. Cover with clingfilm or a plate and leave to stand for about 5 minutes. Then stir with a fork and add to the salad bowl, mixing the couscous with the tomatoes and parsley.couscous and salad
  • Slice the halloumi into ½cm slices. Grill in the oven, or fry in a pan, until golden on both sides.halloumi cookinggrilling halloumi
  • Make a dressing by combining juice of 1 lemon, 5 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add to the salad and mix.
  • When aubergines and peaches are soft and starting to crisp around the edges, remove from the oven.
  • Serve couscous and tomatoes with halloumi, aubergine and peaches piled on a plate with an optional dollop of yogurt on the side and more lemon or seasoning to taste.

Warm Winter Salad

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This is a delicious hearty winter salad, full of roasted sweet potato and carrots, cumin seeds as well as butter beans, crunchy kale and pretty pink radishes and finally finished off with a zesty basil dressing

Ingredients: 1 parsley root, 100g purple chantenay carrots, 1/2 a sweet potato, 10g basil, garlic, 70g radishes, handful of kale.

Larder: 1 tin of butter beans, 100g quinoa, 1tsp cumin seeds/powder, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp honey, 5-6 tbsp oil, pinch of salt.

 

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Peel and chop the parsley root, sweet potato and chantenay carrots into small chunks and place in a large roasting tin. Drain and rinse the butter beans and add to the roasting tin.
  • Drizzle with olive oil; add cumin powder or seeds, a pinch of salt and stir to coat veggies and butter beans. Roast for 25 minutes.
  • Make a dressing by combining together minced garlic clove, chopped basil, 4 tbsp oil, lemon juice and honey. Adjust proportions to taste.making-basil-dressing-600px
  • Finely chop the kale, and slice the radishes, pour over the dressing in a salad bowl, mix well so kale is coated and set aside to marinade.
  • Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions.
  • When veggies are cooked and butter beans slightly crisping, remove from the oven, add to the salad bowl with kale and radishes and mix in the cooked quinoa.
  • Serve while still warm.

Roasted Veg with Quinoa and Sprouting Flowers

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Born from a cross between kale and brussel sprouts around 15 years ago, they have a lovely sweet nutty flavour and have been classed as a ‘superfood’ for being vitamin rich and packed full of dietary fiber. Developed through traditional breeding techniques, we enjoyed finding out that the breed was named by a reader of Good House Keeping in a competition run on the magazine’s website!

Ingredients: 150g new potatoes, 1-2 small beetroot, 100g chantenay carrots, 1 grelot onion, a small bunch of basil, 80g sprouting flowers.

From the larder: 100g quinoa or couscous, 1 tin black beans or kidney beans, 1-2 tbsp honey, juice of ½ a lime, 3 tbsp olive oil (optional extra: ½ tsp cumin powder, grilled salmon or poached eggs).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Chop the potatoes, beetroot and the bulb of the onion into 1-2 cm chunks. Chop any larger carrots in half.
  • Place in a roasting tin with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle with cumin powder, salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes.roasting-veg-600px
  • Meanwhile, make the dressing; finely chop the basil and combine with 2 tbsp olive oil, lime juice, honey and a pinch of salt. Taste and add more salt, lime, honey or oil according to taste.
  • Cook the quinoa or couscous as per packet instructions. Trim the ends of the sprouting flowers. Add them whole to the quinoa during the last 3 minutes of cooking and then drain. If using couscous, steam the flowers separately in a small saucepan of water for 3 minutes.
  • Drain and rinse the beans and mix in to the quinoa.
  • To serve, place roasted veggies on top of the quinoa, beans and sprouting flowers and drizzle with the basil dressing.

Warm Gem Squash Salad

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This warm salad is a yummy combo of bitter and sweet flavours found in the slightly bitter chicory and a sweet cranberry dressing combined with delicate gem squash and hint of mint.

Ingredients: 1 gem squash, 150g cauliflower, 1 small head of chicory, 2 stems of mint, 40g cranberries.

Larder: 75g rice or farro, ½ -1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1-2 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper (optional: feta, grilled salmon or chicken).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Peel, scoop out the seeds, and slice the gem squash into thin ½ cm rounds; break the cauliflower into small florets and place in a large roasting tin.
  • Drizzle generously with olive oil, season and roast for around 20 minutes until veggies are soft and cauliflower is crisping slightly.
  • Meanwhile, start cooking the rice or farro according to the packet instructions, and if using, grill the salmon or chicken.
  • Make a dressing by placing cranberries in a saucepan with 150ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes until reduced by about half. Stir to break up the cranberries as they burst open. Remove from the heat and combine with 3 tbsp olive oil, ½-1 tbsp vinegar, 1-2 tbsp honey. Adjust honey and vinegar to taste.
  • Cut the end of the chicory stem off and break apart the leaves. Slice the leaves down the middle. Chop the mint leaves.squash-and-cauliflower-cooked-600px
  • When rice or farro are cooked and roasted veggies are ready, transfer all to a salad bowl and combine together with the mint, chicory and if using, crumbled feta. Serve with optional fish or meat.

Red Rice Salad

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Red rice has a lovely wholesome and nutty flavour, not to mention and fabulous colour. It’s combined with beetroot, rocket and delicious dressing in this tasty salad.

Serves 2

Ingredients:  1 and a half beetroot, 1-2 carrots, 2 runner beans, 1 spring onion, handful of rocket, small bunch of curly parsley and flat parsley and 1-2 shallots depending on size.

Larder: 200g red rice or mixture of puy lentils and red rice, 1 tsp honey, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, juice of ½ a lemon,

(optional extras: 50g feta, grilled fish or chicken, stock cube).

 Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
  • Cook the rice with 600ml of water or stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for approx 30 mins.
  • Make the dressing. Combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, a pinch of salt and finely minced shallots in the salad bowl, whisk to combine, adjust proportions to taste.dressing in a bowl 600pxdressing and herbs 600px
  • Finely slice the spring onion and chop both kinds of parsley. Add to salad bowl and mix.
  • Peel and grate the beetroot and carrot. Add to the salad bowl.
  • Slice runner beans on the diagonal into 2cm pieces and when rice nearly ready, add them to the rice for the last 3 or so minutes of cooking. When rice cooked, drain any remaining water.red rice and runner beans 600px
  • Add to the salad bowl. Mix in the rocket and if using, crumble in the feta.
  • Serve with optional grilled chicken or fish.salad on a plate original 600px

Warm Fig Salad

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Serves 2

Ingredients: 2 figs, 1 head of chicory, 1 purple carrot, 1 orange carrot, smal handful of walnuts (allergen), small handful of chopped coriander, small handful of chopped mint.

Larder: 150g Puy lentils, 2 tsp honey, 4 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, pinch of salt, (optional extra: 50g goats cheese, 2 slices of bacon chopped into bits).

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  • Start cooking the Puy lentils/rice or a mixture of the two according to packet instructions.
  • Quarter the figs, peel and chop the carrots into 1cm chunks and place both in a roasting dish. Drizzle with a glug of olive oil and 2 tsp honey. Place in the oven and roast while you prepare the rest of the salad for 15-20 minutes until softening and caramelising.figs and carrots 600pxDSC_0307
  • Make a dressing by whisking together 4 tbsp olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. Cut the cheese into pieces, chop mint and coriander leaves and walnuts in small pieces.DSC_0283
  • Break the chicory leaves from their core and slice the larger leaves in half, length ways. If using, cook the bacon pieces.chicory, mint and wlanuts 600px
  • On two plates make piles of salad starting with lentils, chicory, walnuts, coriander, mint and cheese, followed by the roasted carrots and figs and optional bacon. Pour over the dressing and serve.DSC_0325

Rainbow Summer Salad

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Ingredients: 100g tomatoes, 1 baby cucumber, 5 radishes, 15g lovage, 15g parsley, 1 spring onion, 3 baby peppers.

Larder: 400g tin of chickpeas or butter beans, 4 tbsp olive oil, juice of half a lemon, ½ tsp salt, (optional 160g tin of tuna and pita bread). 

Instructions:

  • Slice the spring onion and radishes. Chop the pepper into 1cm chunks. Quarter the tomatoes, quarter the cucumber lengthways and then cut into 1cm chunks. Finely chop the lovage and parsley.
  • Combine all the chopped veg and greens in a salad bowl. Drain, rinse and add the tin of chickpeas or butter beans.
  • Make a dressing: whisk together the oil, lemon juice and ½ tsp salt and mix into the salad.
  • Drain the tin of tuna and divide the salad and tuna between 2 plates.
  • Serve salad with toasted pita bread or crusty bread and eat up!