What We Love About Summer . . . Salads !

The Summer of the Salad Bar (No #Recipe Needed!).

Simply Start With a Basketful of Fresh Salads and Vegetables…

…and you can create the summer salad bar. We love it. And it doesn’t have to be restricted to summer! It can be as simple or as complicated as you like. And it can be different every time you do it.

The idea is that you choose 8 – 10 items to put in small bowls on the table. You shake up a jar of your favourite salad dressing to serve alongside.

Here are some of our favourites, and we’d love to hear yours as well. The vegetables are served raw unless specifically indicated. It’s great to cut/slice/shred/shave/chop/dice things rather than cutting everything the same way. If you have a mandoline, great. If you have a fabulous food processor (we are addicted to the Breville Wizz Pro* which slices and shreds like…well….like a machine!), fantastic. If you have a really sharp knife, it will take you a bit longer!

• iceberg lettuce, cut into small wedges
• rocket leaves (arugula)
• radicchio, roughly chopped
• red cabbage, shredded
• flat leaf parsley, chopped
• red (Spanish) onion and/or shallots, sliced finely and steeped in red wine vinegar/olive oil for 1 hour before serving
• fennel, shaved then dressed immediately with lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt flakes.
• radish, sliced paper thin
• beetroot (beet), finely sliced (paper thin) OR
• beetroot (beet), peeled, cut into 1/8s, drizzled with red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt, and roasted (no cover) in a moderate oven for 45 minutes or until tender, tossing from time to time
• cauliflower, cut into tiny florets
• avocado, halved and drizzled with lemon juice and sea salt flakes
• brussels sprouts, peeled and finely shredded
• cherry tomatoes, quartered
• carrots, peeled and sliced lengthways, paper thin

…and some other interesting things to add, things that are most probably always in the fridge or pantry:

• sourdough bread, sliced or crumbled, gently fried in olive oil until golden (it’s a great idea to tear up any leftover or stale bread and store in the freezer until needed)
• dry toasted (or olive oil roasted) walnuts or hazelnuts
• canned tuna
• steamed brown rice
• boiled eggs, quartered
• feta cheese, crumbled
• olives
• capers

Our favourite mustard vinaigrette dressing:
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
(or hazelnut oil for a lovely change)
100 ml grape seed oil
100 ml red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Shake all ingredients together in a jar. Taste for salt and pepper.

*Slight disclaimer re Breville. At the end of 2012, my food processor (of many years!) broke. So sad! I was in a hurry for a replacement and I looked online and came across the Breville Wizz Pro. I loved the look of it (and it was on sale through Appliances Online) and it arrived 2 days later. Yes, I was VERY excited. I used it all summer and really fell in love, particularly with the slicing blade. No need for a mandoline at my place any more! So we raved and raved about it and ended up chatting to Breville about some other appliances in their range. Next thing we knew, we were doing a cooking demonstration for Breville for Mothers’ day  (in conjunction with Appliances Online) to showcase a smaller machine called an ‘All-in-one’. We were SO thrilled when Breville kindly gave us each an ‘All-in-one’, and it is great little machine for someone who wants one appliance to do the job of a food processor, stick blender, potato masher etc etc. I use it now for small quantities of salad/veggie shredding as it has the same (but smaller) brilliant slicing blade as the Wizz Pro.