Top Summer Salads…

For some, being healthy means one thing – eating lots of salad!

Although this is so far from the truth, salads can be very healthy (as well as very unhealthy!); they are also delicious, varied, colourful and work well as a whole meal or as part of a meal such as a side salad or in a sandwich.

Most people get stuck on the definition of salad as being – onion, lettuce, tomato and cucumber, but it really doesn’t have to be like that.

Yes, salads can be simple:

A handful of rocket

6-10 chopped cherry tomatoes

A few squirts of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar – and…done!

Easy. Simple. Healthy.

They can also be so much more than simple. Here are a few of my favourite salad dishes, just in time for summer!

Keeping it simple – Tricolore Salad

Ingredients: (serves one to two)

½ an avocado

½ a large beef tomato

A few slices of buffalo mozzarella

Olive oil

Fresh basil (optional)

Method:

• Slice the avocado half into long, thin slices and lay them out separately on a plate (you could add a few squeezes of lemon to them if you wanted)
• Slice your beef tomato into fairly thick slices and put them on the plate between the avocado slices
• Cut off a few slices of mozerella cheese (as required) and add them to the plate, between or at either end of the other slices
• Drizzle less than a teaspoon of olive oil over the top of the salad and add a small sprig of fresh basil

(Other options: you could add some pesto instead of the olive oil and, if you don’t eat much in the way of processed foods, a tiny pinch of salt can be added too.)

The Healthy One – Fresh Kale Salad

Ingredients: (serves four)

1 bunch of fresh curly kale (washed)

100g pine nuts

60g grated parmesan

Juice from one lemon

50ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

• Wash and dry kale and remove stems/ stalks.
• Chop kale very finely
• Put the lemon juice and the olive oil into a small jam jar. With the lid on, shake jar vigorously.
• Add whole pine nuts and dressing to kale and mix well
• Add grated cheese and mix
• Season with pepper and a little salt (to taste) and serve

The naughty (er) one – Caesar Salad

Ingredients: (serves four to six)

2 Little Gem Lettuce

1 large Cos lettuce

50g (2 oz) Wholemeal bread (cut into small square chunks)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese

1 clove of garlic

Dressing:

1 egg

1 clove garlic

juice of one lime

1 teaspoon mustard powder

100mls extra virgin olive oil

40 grams parmesan cheese

Method:

• Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius
• Place the squares of bread, the crushed garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of parmesan into a bowl and mix well
• Place in the oven and bake for just under 10 minutes
• Meanwhile use a food processor to blend together the ingredients for the dressing (minus the parmesan)
• Tear the lettuce leaves and add to a bowl, when it’s ready, add the dressing and mix it well with the leaves
• Sprinkle the parmesan over the top of the dressing
• Scatter the crutons on the salad and serve
• Of course you can add grilled chicken and or anchovies to suit