Before you think I'm crazy for putting salad recipes up when the clocks have gone back, the sun starts taking a bow around 4:30pm, there's an extra quilt on the bed and Tom has asked me to check our supplies of de-icer for the car.....I'm just clinging on to salads for as long as I can! These kinds of meals always satisfy but in such a wholesome, delicious and refreshing way.
These have been two of my recent favourites:
These have been two of my recent favourites:
"Rainbow salad" sounds so much nicer than "cleaning out the fridge" doesn't it?
I had some beetroot, watercress, radishes and dressing from last night's delicious salad (made to go with butternut squash pasta bake), so I put all that together with some other things I found lying around. The aim was to soak up the late autumn sunshine and make my plate as colourful as possible. This was the combination:
- Two cooked beetroot (not in vinegar), diced
- Watercress
- Red and orange pepper, diced
- 4-5 radishes, sliced
- Green and black olives
- Leftover quinoa and buckwheat mix
- Dressing made from organic olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, smoked sea salt, black pepper and a little lemon juice and zest
Toss it all together, either in a separate bowl or in the bowl you're going to eat from to save washing up. Either eat as it is or do as I did today and top with a veggie burger and some hummus.
Oh quinoa, what did I ever do without you?
The second salad that's rocked my world recently - and Tom loved it too - is:
This is a bit more of a recipe. After seeing a market-bought version on a friend's instagram feed, I knew I had to give it a try and it's absolutely divine. If your perception of raw food tends to feature the images "lawn in a bowl" or "kindergarten paste", give this a whirl. And if you've not yet bought yourself some coconut oil, I must urge you to most certainly get some right now. Even the Tesco in my town stocks it - no excuses! The coconut oil is a non-negotiable part of this raw pad thai and you'll find yourself using it for all sorts of things, it's worth the investment.
You could add some lemongrass to the dressing - I would have if I had some - and some chilli too, but as I was being a nice wife I thought I'd leave the chilli out this time....Tom isn't as big a fan as I am!
Raw pad thai
Makes 4 average servings (with something else, like tofu, veggie burgers, etc) or 2 "this is all we're having" servings
2 medium courgettes (zucchini), julienned or spiraled
2 large carrots, julienned
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 a medium-small red cabbage, thinly sliced
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 handfuls basil, shredded
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
For the dressing:
1 garlic clove
1 inch fresh ginger
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cashew butter
Fresh juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons raw coconut oil
1 teaspoon basil oil (or other oil that will complement the flavours of the salad, I just used basil because I had it - not olive oil)
Prepare the vegetables - I use a blade on my food processor that turns the veggies into long strips - and then place the courgette, carrots, pepper, spring onions, basil and cabbage into a large bowl. Toss with your hands to combine.
Prepare the dressing by processing all the ingredients in a food processor (or just whisk it by hand). You can add more water if you want a thinner dressing, but it will thicken as it stands.
Divide the shredded vegetables between bowls, top with sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Pour on the dressing. Devour!
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