A delightful summery salad to make whilst in tomato season is made all the better if you can get some heritage purple potatoes, don’t worry if you can’t, any good quality small potatoes will suffice. Old Bay seasoning is a classic American seasoning which believe it or not has only just arrived on sale in the UK. Omit the bacon if you want to go vegan and replace with some smoked tofu and make the dressing clearly without the bacon oil.
Purple potato, tomato and bacon salad with Old Bay and mustard dressing
Roast celeriac and king oyster mushroom salad with halloumi and walnut pesto
Salads aren’t just for lazy summer days, enjoy this hearty bold autumnal salad either as a small starter, side or indeed as a stunning vegetarian main. The idea for this ensemble is from dirt candy, a vegetarian cookbook from a vegetarian restaurant in New York. There are a number of elements to building this salad so preparation is key to pulling it all together at the end and you need to be very good at multi tasking so read the instructions first.
Turkish pepper, black-eyed bean and quails egg salad with za’atar
Summer isn’t over until the salad days end. This is a very simple salad to make no longer than the time it takes to boil and egg or two, a classic from Turkish Cuisine, can be a simple side salad or a main on it’s own. I’ve used quails eggs here but you can use regular chicken eggs and if you can’t get Turkish peppers, regular peppers are absolutely fine.
Roasted carrot, courgette and chickpea salad, rose harissa, lime and mint
This middle eastern inspired salad came about after a glut of courgettes were delivered to us from a neighbour and we had some carrots that needed using in the fridge. Rose Harissa is an amazing chilli paste that can be used in many ways, once you start using it you’ll never stop.
Brussel sprout coleslaw with mustard, maple and horseradish dressing
Coleslaw is so easy to make and you get so much more for your money making it from scratch at home and it tastes far better. Use your food processor to do all the work for you and it’s made in minutes. This seasonal slaw uses sprouts amongst it’s more usual ingredients, mustard and horseradish give it a slight heated kick and the maple and clementine give the seasonal Christmas edge, all of the dressing ingredients are lifted by the juice of a lemon giving you a fresh, crunchy, tasty slaw that you’ll never get in a supermarket.
Raw asparagus, avocado and mint salad with parmesan, lemon and olive oil.
Asparagus is a very seasonal vegetable and we are always looking for new ways to use it when the season comes around. Having never used it uncooked before we thought we would try it shaved thinly with a vegetable peeler. It worked beautifully tossed with the avocado and mint, delicately flavoured with a hint of lemon and olive oil. This salad is a great accompaniment to simple fish or chicken dishes or can easily be eaten on its own.
Black badger pea, bacon, sundried tomato and quinoa salad
Black badger peas are very northern and yet go amazingly well with Peruvian quinoa.
Roast beef salad with roasted baby turnips,red onions and green beans with a truffle honey, shallot and mustard dressing
Roast beef is just as delicious in a salad as it is on a Sunday lunch, no yorkies required.
Leek, potato and soya bean salad with mint and mustard dressing
Leek and potato are a classic combination, so is mint and mustard. Put them together and you get an excellent salad. Soya beans are an excellent vegetable that should be used more.