Here’s a bunch of tasty salads, with many more to come. They all make a nice change from the usual mound of lettuce and tomatoes. All these salads are linked to within recipe posts.
Apple slaw
¼ white/savoy cabbage, shredded (3 cups)
¼ red cabbage, shredded (3 cups)
1 large stick celery, halved lengthwise, sliced
1 large carrot, grated
1 large red apple, peeled, grated
1–2 small red birdseye chillis, de-seeded, sliced
½ cup (6 tablespoons) egg mayonnaise
3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Toss the cabbage, celery, carrot, apple and chilli together in a bowl. Place the mayonnaise and vinegar in a small bowl and mix well. Add to the cabbage mixture. Stir gently. Season. Serves 6.
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Chilli slaw with crispy noodles
½ white/savoy cabbage, shredded (6 cups)
1 large stick celery, halved lengthwise, sliced
2 spring onions (scallions), sliced
2 large carrots, grated
½ cup (6 tablespoons) egg mayonnaise
5 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
100g packet Chang’s Original Fried Noodles
Salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Toss the cabbage, celery, spring onions and carrot together in a large bowl. Place the mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce in a small bowl and mix well until combined. Add to the cabbage mixture with the fried noodles. Season. Stir gently. Serves 6.
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5-minute lentil and tomato salad
½ small red onion, finely diced
1 tomato, diced
400g (15 oz) can lentils, drained, rinsed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Toss the onion, tomato and lentils together. Place the lemon juice, oil and cumin in a screw-top jar and shake until combined. Add to the lentil mixture with the parsley. Stir lightly, and season.
Makes 2 large serves, or 4 small side serves.
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Mixed leaf Asian salad
1 cup (75g) whole sugar snap peas, trimmed
3 cups (60g) rocket (arugula) leaves
3 cups (60g) baby spinach leaves
2 cups (50g) snowpea sprouts (or beanshoots)
2 small red chillies, de-seeded, very finely sliced
1 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves
1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced into spears
2 tablespoons (30ml) lime juice (from 1 lime)
2 tablespoons (30ml) mirin
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Pickled ginger, roughly chopped, to serve
Combine all salad greens in a large bowl. Place lime juice, mirin and sesame oil in a screw-top jar and shake until combined. Add to the salad. Toss, and scatter with pickled ginger. Serves 4–6.
- This salad can be transformed into a main meal by adding cooked prawns (shrimp). You’ll need 500g (1 lb) green (raw) king prawns for 4–6 people. Peel and de-vein the prawns, leaving tails intact. Cook in a wok (or BBQ) until opaque. Drain on kitchen paper. Divide salad amongst individual serving bowls, and top with prawns.
Tomato, Persian fetta and mint salad
3 large Roma or vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
½ red (purple/Spanish) onion, finely sliced
½ continental cucumber, sliced
50g (1¾oz) Persian fetta, drained (reserve 1 tablespoon oil)
12 mint leaves, shredded
½ teaspoon Za’atar
Arrange tomato slices on a plate. Scatter with onion, cucumber, fetta and mint leaves. Drizzle with reserved oil and sprinkle with Za’atar. Serves 4.
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Russian potato salad
650g (1⅓ lb) potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1cm (½ in) cubes
350g (¾ lb) carrots, peeled and chopped into 5mm (¼ in) cubes
1 cup frozen peas
1 pickled onion, finely chopped
½ cup good-quality egg mayonnaise
½ cup light sour cream
⅓ cup chopped fresh dill, plus extra to serve
Salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Place potatoes and carrots into a saucepan. Cover with water, bring to the boil, and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the peas and simmer for a further 2 minutes, until vegetables are very tender. Drain, and allow to cool to room temperature for half an hour. Mix together mayonnaise, sour cream and dill. Pour over the cooked vegetables, add the pickled onion, and stir through gently. Season. Refrigerate until required. Scatter with extra dill. Serves 4.
- You can buy one pickled onion from your fish n’ chip shop if you don’t think you’ll get through a whole jar!
