Interesting salad ideas

[Prettykiwicrazy]

I bought a very nice salad from Marks yesterday. It was giant couscous which I love, green beans, chargrilled,courgettes, hazelnuts , leaves and a tahini dressing. Lots of different tastes and textures and went really well with my steak. Will definitely make myself.

Another salad I really like is from Sabrina Ghayour. Tomato, pepper and red onion dressed with sumac and pomegranate molasses . To try and lose a few pounds , and because I generally do love salad, I'd like to try a few more different ideas if anyone has any ?

[Ratatouille]

I only think of really simple salads as an accompaniment. More complex ones, such as you describe I think of as a light meal

For example I adore an avocado, blue cheese and pancetta salad with mixed leaves with a lemony vinaigrette. I also love melon, mozarella and jambon cru with a very mint heavy dressing I wouldn't serve either with anything else. I often make a proper tabbouleh with bbq's I suppose.

[Herbidacious]

I quite like this:

https://smittenkitchen.com/2015/04/obse ... ber-salad/

I just bought the new Sabrina Ghayour vegetarian book. Which book is your salad from?

I think I am not quite in salad mode yet. It's too cold still.

[karadekoolaid]

My wife loves playing Canasta, and today she invited 6 friends to play here at home.
I made a pasta salad; something I rarely do. It worked out very well , however.
Little pasta shells, with chopped red peppers, spring onion, celery, fresh sweetcorn, black olives, grated carrot, parsley, basil, a clove or three of garlic, and cubes of cheese & ham. Slathered in olive oil, of course.
A simpler favourite is to use some fairly bitter leaves ( radicchio, chicory, endive, spinach) and mix them up with crispy bacon and pineapple ( FRESH!) chunks. Lemon and garlic dressing.
Or try cooked beetroot, lentils and goat cheese on mesclun.

[earthmaiden]

Worth looking at the search facility on this board as we've had similar conversations (although always good to start more as there are always new ideas ). I think if you are having salad as an accompaniment and want to lose a few pounds you have to watch the ingredients a bit. It is all too easy to class cheese, nuts, avocado, dressings, grains etc as low calorie vegetables.

I love salads where all kinds of things (cucumber, tomato, pepper, fennel, apple - whatever you have in store) are chopped up small. Quite a few herbs are interesting to add too small amounts of mint or basil, parsley, tarragon etc.. Add grains if appropriate for your meal.

Soy sauce and Sesame oil makes an interesting dressing sometimes go make a change from olive oil and vinegar/lemon.

I still dream of a salad I had in the USA. Crisp lettuce with blue cheese chunks and candied pecans with a creamy dressing. Sounds simple, I have tried to recreate it but never quite managed.

[scullion]

[Prettykiwicrazy]

Hi Herbi, the salad is from Persiana . It is gorgeous . Thanks everyone for all your replies .

Another salad I don’t think you can heat is a good Greek salad . Best olives and feta you can get . I also used to do a watercress , orange and olive salad but can’t remember the dressing think it was quite mustardy

[liketocook]

My friend made this for us at the weekend https://ottolenghi.co.uk/tomatoes-with- ... -nuts-shop and it was gorgeous
I always get asked to make this if we are having a family BBQ http://whats-for-supper.com/blog/puy-le ... s-and-feta though I usually use standard green lentils which work just fine.

[KC2]

We've made Nigel Slater's Broccoli, blue cheese and walnuts with horseradish (https://bit.ly/2GkhpQk) with variations - such as no celeriac, horseradish sauce instead of fresh horseradish - and it's always delicious. It's not really called a salad but we think of it as a warm salad!

[StokeySue]

A Josceline Dimbleby salad of blanched broccoli, avocado chunks and red peppers dressed with a garlicky vinaigrette. She uses raw red peppers, but I think grilled and skinned are better, even if out of a jar.

It’s hard to beat salads nicoise, but a white bean and tuna salad is nice for a change

But the nice thing about salads is you can make them up as you go along

[Herbidacious]

[KC2]

[Catherine]

we like braised puy lentils done in a little chicken stock and white wine with diced carrot and celery served cold as a salad. The kids take leftovers to school with them for lunch. Beetroot salad is also delicious and a grilled courgette one with garlic and rosemary

[Catherine]

Fennel, watermelon and rocket is nice

[Prettykiwicrazy]

The lentil one sounds lovely , nice and healthy too . I must get out of my cooking rut too Herbi, I always think in winter it’s easier to stick to traditional tried and tested . With the good weather approaching and all the lovely produce appearing , it kind of gets me feeling a bit more creative cooking wise

[wargarden]

waldorf or cobb salads work with everything

[Catherine]

Chicken, strawberry and mango with watercress, baby spinach and rocket and balsamic dressing

[Herbidacious]

I think it might be salad weather now...??!! (In my part of the UK, at least.)

[TeresaFoodie]

[earthmaiden]

I'm not very keen on Waldorf salad because I'm not mad about celery. It's certainly a classic though!

I have started making salads containing whatever I've got along with chopped radish and chopped orange. I love the orange!

[Herbidacious]

I feel the same about celery, although I will eat it. I am going to do some thorough salad recipe reserach over the next day or two.

Succotash is calling to me after a quick flick through the Smitten Kitchen book.

[Ratatouille]

I love Waldorf salad too Tezza. It's actually a good standby becaue I always have apples and celery in the fridge and walnuts in the cupboard.

I made a tabbouleh for last night's meal with lots and lots of fresh mint and parsley, tomatoes from the garden and a mixture of both lime and lemon juices.

[StokeySue]

I’ve been making what I call rustic tabbouleh, a method rather than a recipe, as described to me by a Lebanese colleague. It has more bulgar wheat than the restaurant meze version but not as much as the kind you sometimes see which is a variant on rice or couscous salad

So, put some rinsed and drained fine bulgar in the bottom of a (preferably glass) bowl. Put on a layer of finely diced tomatoes with all their juice an a pinch of salt. The tomato layer should be about 3 or 4 times the thickness of the wheat layer. Leave for a couple of hours by which time the two layers will be roughly the same thickness, as the tomato juice will have softened the wheat, which also firms the tomato dice. add a layer the same thickness of chopped flat leaf parsley (and mint , optional) and optionally a scattering of finely diced onion. Dress with olive oil, lemon and a little more salt if needed, mix well, and serve.

[Herbidacious]

That sounds good, Sue.

I have just been googling succotash recipes. Some seem to be simply sweetcorn, beans and cream. That's not quite what I had in mind.

I have one large courgette, 2 small cucumbers and a handful of cherry tomatoes from the garden. Perhaps I should make them the focus of whatever I make tonight. Not feeling inspired though.

[KC2]

[Prettykiwicrazy]

[earthmaiden]

Herbi, I think any veg which tastes nice raw and will chop into small dice works when added to grains, beans, seeds etc. A nice mix of textures and tastes (acidic, sweet, strong, mildetc) makes a delicious salad - maybe dressed with oil and lemon or similar?

[Herbidacious]

I think I am not entirely convinced by raw vegetables, tbh, so I need a bit of persuading/inspiration. You are absolutely right though. A good dressing can transform.

Smitten Kitchen's succotash looks a bit hard work for a mid week meal, so I am consulting books. May try it at the weekend. (Would be good to prep the sweetcorn on a barbecue...)

Anna Jones had some tomato recipes in the guardian at the weekend. I am not convinced by tomatoes with tahini, but willing to give it a try. Will definitely be trying her (salad on bread?) tomatoes on toast with garlic, chilli and fennel seeds. If all goes well I will be able to get most of the ingredients for it from the garden in due course. (Fennel seems to be springing up unbidden all over the place, but I have an official plant too.) Everything but the bread, olive oil (I don't think my olive tree will supply...!) and red wine vinegar.