Lettuce see some new Salad Recipes
I'm off uni on my summer holidays, so I've been cooking for my family and trying new recipe's. I'm glad my family has taught me that salad isn't just leaves or 'rabbit food' and that salad's like any other dish can be a super tasty and nutritious way to accompany your meal. Here are two recipes that I've recently tried. I hope they can be just as tasty of an accompaniment to your meal as they were to mine.
Recipe 1: Sweet Potato, chickpea and sun-dried tomato salad.
Serves 3:
Salad:
- 120g mixed salad leaves (good for getting a mixture of light, nutty, peppery flavours, as opposed to plain lettuce)
- 100g sun dried tomatoes
- 400g (a can) of chickpeas
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablesppon cumin
- Juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Give the salad leaves a good wash, pop them in a salad spinner and give the a wee spin (100 spins). Chuck the salad in a bowl and place it in the fridge to keep it fresh.
2. Pierce your sweet potatoes with a fork and wrap in some paper towel. Place them on a microwavable plate and chuck them in the microwave for 3 minutes (this should soften them up). Chop the sweet potatoes in to bite size chunks, and place them in a baking tray to cook for 15-20 minutes, or until they are soft and crispy, NOT mushy.
*(whilst doing step 2, you may want to do step 3 too)*
3. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a baking tray. Season the chickpeas with olive oil, a sprinkle of paprika, salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes or until they are firm. Let them cool for 5 minutes (optional).
4. Pour the chickpeas over your salad leaves, along with the sun-dried tomatoes and sweet potatoes and the dressing. Give it all a good toss (with salad tongs, or your hands) and season with pepper to finish!
Recipe 2: A Kalerful salad! - Baby Kale, Quinoa, Tomato, Cherry and lettuce salad.
Serves 3:
Salad:
- 120g baby kale
- 50g cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 50g cherries (chopped up)
- 1 cup quinoa
Dressing:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons pesto
- 1 quarter of a cup of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Wash the baby kale, cherry tomatoes, cherries. Drain, dry and place in salad bowl in the fridge for freshness
2. Wash and drain the quinoa
3. In a pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil, place the quinoa in, and lightly 'toast' it for 1-2 minutes. add in 2 cups of boiling water.
4. Keep stirring the quinoa, until it is soft and fluffy, then drain.
5. Pour the cooked quinoa in the salad bowl and mix all ingredients together with the dressing. Season with pepper and serve with your other dishes!