Salads

1. Tomato-Cucumber Salad
2. Apple, Bacon and Blue Cheese Lettuce Salad
3. Orange-Pecan-Onion Lettuce Salad
4. Mandarin Orange Lettuce Salad
5. Spinach Salad with Mango dressing
6. Tangy Chicken Salad
7. Healthy Chicken Caesar
8. Basic Broccoli Salad
9. Asian Broccoli Salad
10. Roasted Broccoli - Quinoa Salad
11. Peanutty Carrot Salad
12. Margaret’s Potato Salad
13. Nugget Potato Salad with Chive and Bacon Ranch Dressing

Tomato-Cucumber Salad

• 1 large cucumber
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into wedges
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon white sugar, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons chopped peanuts(optional)

1. Peel the cucumber in stripes lengthwise with a vegetable peeler, alternating skinned stripes with peel for a decorative effect.
2. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise, and then thinly slice. Place the cucumber in a salad bowl with the tomato and red onion, and mix together.
3. Pour the rice vinegar and lime juice into a separate bowl, and stir in the sugar until dissolved.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad;mix, cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.
5. Before serving, stir in the cilantro and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

Apple, Bacon and Blue Cheese Lettuce Salad

Dijon Vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Pinch salt and pepper, to taste

Apple, Bacon and Blue Cheese Lettuce Salad

• 6 cups greens (leafy or romaine lettuce, baby spinach or mixed greens)
• 1 large tart red apple, halved, cored and thinly sliced (pink lady or honey crisp)
• 2 ounces blue cheese or Gorgonzola, crumbled; or aged white cheddar, grated
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (candied?)
• 4 slices crispy cooked thick cut bacon, chopped

Orange-Pecan-Onion Lettuce Salad

• salad greens
• orange chunks
• pecans
• thinly-sliced red onions

OPTIONS

• tomatoe chunks
• gorgonzola or blue cheese
• avocado slices

Mandarin Orange Lettuce Salad

• 1 head romaine lettuce - rinsed, dried and chopped
• 2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ground black pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, oranges and green onions.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons sugar with the almonds in saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir while sugar starts to melt and coat almonds. Stir constantly until almonds are light brown. Turn onto a plate, and cool for 10 minutes.
3. Combine red wine vinegar, olive oil, one tablespoon sugar, red pepper flakes and black pepper in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously until sugar is dissolved.
4. Before serving, toss lettuce with salad dressing until coated. Transfer to a decorative serving bowl, and sprinkle with sugared almonds.

Options

• Add Dijon mustard and/or mayo to dressing to thicken
• Use snow peas instead of/as well as green onion
• Add diced cucumber
• Add chow mein noodles
• Toast almonds in microwave with some sugar and butter (use 30 sec intervals until golden)

Spinach Salad with Mango dressing

• Spinach leaves
• Coconut threads or flakes
• Apple chunks
• mango slices?

DRESSING

• mayonnaise
• mango chutney

Tangy Chicken Salad

• 1 Whole-Roasted Chicken (Your Favorite Recipe Or A Store-Bought Chicken)
• White Wine (or Apple Cider?) Vinegar To Taste
• 3/4 Cup Red Or Green Grapes, Halved
• 1/2 Cup Cashews, Halved
• 1/2 Cup Red Onion, Finely Diced
• 3/4 Cup Mayonnaise Or Plain Yogurt
• Juice And Zest Of 1 Lemon

1. Pull all the meat off of the chicken and shred it. Place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add 1/2 cup of mayo to the chicken and reserve the rest.
3. Add all other ingredients and mix well. (If the mixture is a bit dry, add the extra mayo.)
4. Add white wine vinegar, one teaspoon at a time.
5. Serve as sandwiches or on top of crostinis.

Healthy Chicken Caesar

• 1 lemon
• 15 g Parmesan cheese
• 2 anchovy fillets in oil
• 4 heaped tablespoons natural yoghurt
• ½ teaspoon English mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• white wine vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion
• ½ a small cauliflower (300g)
• 1 romaine lettuce
• olive oil
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
• 2 x 120 g free-range skinless chicken breasts
• 1 thick slice of wholemeal bread

1. Finely grate the lemon zest and Parmesan into a large bowl. Slice and add the anchovies, along with the yoghurt, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Squeeze in half the lemon juice, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and mix to make your dressing.
3. Now you’re going to turn regular salad into a thing of beauty by either taking your time with good knife skills, or ideally, investing in a mandolin for ease, elegance and accuracy (use the guard!). Start by peeling and very finely slicing the red onion, then stir it through the dressing.
4. Click off and discard any tatty outer leaves from the cauliflower, then very finely slice it. Finely slice the lettuce by hand and pile both on top of the dressed onion, tossing together only moments before serving.
5. Put 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Pick the rosemary leaves over the chicken and lightly season it on both sides, flattening it slightly with the heel of your hand. Cook for 4 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through.
6. Cube the bread and toast alongside the chicken, moving regularly until evenly golden and gnarly, removing only when super-crispy.
7. Toss the salad together and season to perfection, slice up the chicken and serve with a sprinkling of croutons and lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Basic Broccoli Salad

• broccoli chopped into small florets
• red onion, finely chopped
• dried cranberries
• chopped nuts - tamari almonds, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds
• OPTION: bacon bits
• dressing (see below)

1. Mix broccoli, onion and cranberries with dressing. Let sit in fridge for 2 hr to overnight?
2. Mix in nuts before serving

Dressing Ideas

• sesame
• Jamaica mistake
• peanut sauce (see Asian Broccoli Salad)
• creamy poppyseed
• simple slaw dressing with mayo (option: add olive oil?), cider vinegar, sugar or maple syrup, pepper; option: Dijon mustard

Asian Broccoli Salad

BROCCOLI SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large head broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 cup shelled cooked edamame
• 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1 batch peanut sauce (recipe below)
• sesame seeds, for garnish

PEANUT SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (if you are gluten-free, use GF soy sauce or tamari)
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1-2 tablespoons hot water, as needed to thin the sauce

TO MAKE THE BROCCOLI SALAD: Heat a large pot of water until it is boiling. Add in the broccoli florets and boil for 30 seconds. Use a strainer to transfer them into a bowl of ice water, which will immediately halt the cooking process. Drain. Then add the remaining ingredients and toss until combined. Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds if desired.

TO MAKE THE PEANUT SAUCE: Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If the dressing is too thick, whisk in hot water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Roasted Broccoli - Quinoa Salad

A light and healthy salad, ideally served with pan-fried or barbecued mackerel or stuffed into a container for lunch on the go.

• 100g quinoa
• 1 bunch of coriander
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 250g roast broccoli
• A handful of freshly podded young peas (or frozen petit pois)
• A handful of toasted flaked almonds
• Zest of 1 lemon

Dressing

• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 4 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• Salt and black pepper
• A generous pinch of sugar

1. Whisk all the dressing ingredients well until thick and creamy in consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
2. Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the packet (or buy a 250g pouch of ready-to-eat grains).
3. Roughly chop the coriander and parsley. Place in a mixing bowl with the quinoa and roast broccoli. Fold through the dressing and carefully pile into a serving bowl.
4. Sprinkle the peas, flaked almonds and lemon zest over and serve. If you have some pea shoots to hand, use these to garnish.

Peanutty Carrot Salad

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise (or 1/3 cup salad dressing)
• 2 tbsps peanut butter
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/3 cup raisins
• OPT: diced apple

1. Combine mayonnaise and peanut butter in large bowl, stirring until blended.
2. Stir in carrots and raisins to coat.
3. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
4. Stir in apple. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Margaret’s Potato Salad

• Potatoes (Warbas are best)
• grean onion (chopped)
• carror (grated)
• diced cooked back (optional)
• mayonnaise
• lemon juice OR Dijon mustard
• pepper (to taste)

1. Either dice potatoes and cook briefly, or cook, cool and dice
2. Add vegetables (and bacon)
3. Add dressing ingredients and mix

Nugget Potato Salad with Chive and Bacon Ranch Dressing

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: about 10 minutes Makes: six servings

• 2 lb. nugget potatoes, rinsed
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus some to taste
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 slices bacon, diced, cooked crispy and drained well
• 1 Tbsp snipped fresh chives
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 ribs of celery, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, coarsely grated

1. Cut potatoes into quarters or halves and place in a pot. Cover with cold water and sprinkle in the 1/2 tsp salt. Boil the potatoes until just tender, about 8 to 10 minutes, and then drain well, spread out on a baking sheet and cool to room temperature.
2. Place the mayonnaise, buttermilk, sugar and vinegar in a salad bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Stir in the bacon and chives; season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. When the potatoes have cooled to room temperature, add them and the celery and carrot to the salad and toss to combine.
5. Cover the salad and chill well in the refrigerator before serving.