Salads

Bob

Well-Known Forumite
I tend to rotate the same 10 or so items constantly when it comes to tea time, it's force of habit, it's easy and I know how everyone likes it. In the summer we live pretty much of salads but it's usually with a piece of meat or fish plonked on top and a few carbs shoved on the side though a tuna nicoise is my all time favourite!

Last night I managed to throw together a pulled beef and pesto salad and it turned out rather well so I am now on the hunt for salad inspiration.

This gorgeous looking concoction is on the menu for this evening - primarily because I have a pack of mince with todays date on it. http://myfoodbook.com.au/recipes/show/summer-meatball-salad

I'm hoping some of you lovely folk will have a creation I haven't yet thought of.
 

Bob

Well-Known Forumite
I searched for salad and didn't find that thread!

My salad is coming together quite nicely now, I've opted for spinach, spring onion, cherry tomatoes and mozerella cheese, keeping it simple but I have concocted a dressing of sorts, just a few splodges of a very potent balsamic based liquid.

Tried and tested meatball recipe:
Large (750g) pack of Lidl low fat steak mince -though any shop brand or fat content will do though the more fat the more shrinkage.
A good handful of breadcrumbs.
3 sprigs of fresh basil and oregano finely chopped.
2 eggs.
Tablespoon ish of tomato purée.
Garlic, salt and pepper as required, I probably go overboard on all 3!

Mix it up and roll into balls, if you don't want to get your hands in, a potato masher and ice cream scoop works okish, fry to seal and cook in the oven at 200c for 20-30 mins on a raised grill tray.
 

Trumpet

Well-Known Forumite
A handful of diced ciabatta bread tossed around in a very hot frying pan with a drizzle of garlicky olive oil until just lightly browned adds a nice texture contrast to a tossed salad.
 

Jade-clothing

Well-Known Forumite
Fry some garlic and shallots in olive oil. Make up some couscous adding a veggie stock cube to the boiling water. Grill some bacon until crisp.
Cut up the bacon into bite sized pieces. Mix it all together. Add a handful of pine nuts and a tablespoon of pesto. mix in some cherry tomatoes, grapes and cubed brie. chuck it into a bowl. Yummy.
 
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Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Simple things -

1) pretty sure it has a name but can't remember it - tomato, mozzarella, basil

Cut (a) mozzarella ball(s) into thinish slices (1/2cmish?), cut tomato(s) into equally sized slices, get a round plate (luckily most of them are already) put slice mozzarella/slice tomato/leaf basil and keep going, layering over the last, until you have the whole thing going round and round - double up/treble up/quad-well you get the picture - just so it looks nice, it's not really that important*.

Salt (good salt), pepper (ground, freshly) EV olive oil 'drizzled' (for which read 'drenched') over all.

Set up the way mentioned *above simply so's you get in each forkful one of each - mozzarella/tomato/basil/ev olive oil/salt/pepper - yes.

2) Greek Salad - there'll be about 5 million recipes for this should you look...

But, simply - feta, tomato, cucumber, black olives

Make everything more or less the same size as the olives, more or less, don't get overly exercised about it, with a knife. Personally i'd deseed the cucumber, but am in two minds about peeling the fecker. I also understand the rational of deseeding the tomatoes, but then again...

Absolutely no more than half a lemon, ev olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano (if you don't already know how much is too much then not too much, if you know how much is too much, then not too much).

Mix that shit together and treat it like a marinade - day before kind of thing if you've time, couple of hours if pushed.
 

Bob

Well-Known Forumite
2) Greek Salad - there'll be about 5 million recipes for this should you look...

But, simply - feta, tomato, cucumber, black olives

Make everything more or less the same size as the olives, more or less, don't get overly exercised about it, with a knife. Personally i'd deseed the cucumber, but am in two minds about peeling the fecker. I also understand the rational of deseeding the tomatoes, but then again...

Absolutely no more than half a lemon, ev olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano (if you don't already know how much is too much then not too much, if you know how much is too much, then not too much).

Mix that shit together and treat it like a marinade - day before kind of thing if you've time, couple of hours if pushed.

I LOVE a Greek salad!

I do it very similar to you but I chuck some red onion into mine, for the dressing, the tiniest amount of garlic purée.
 

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

Well-Known Forumite
The other day we had:

Fried halloumi (nice and crunchy)
Charred pepper & tomatoes
Spinach

With a dressing made with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper

YUM!
 
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