Tag Archives: salad

Hot and Chilled Melon

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Hot and Chilled Melon-0564

This is a spicy, fruity dish. Can be enjoyed as a starter or side dish (excellent with fish). It is fun to use cookie cutters for creating melon stars, circles etc.

You need some different types of melon (Water melon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew…) cut in thin slices and then cut into shapes. I use cookie cutters for this.

Dressing:
Zest from ½ lime
Juice from 1 lime
4 tablespoons olive oil
10 chopped mint leaves
¼ tsp sumac
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
Dash of salt

1. Whisk the dressing
2. Pour over small pieces of melon.
3. Let marinate 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator

Halloumi Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

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180509 Halloumi Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette-9340

Really just a simple salad but the raspberry vinaigrette makes it into something extra special with its sweet and sour taste. The sweetness of the raspberries goes really well with the saltiness of the Halloumi. Don’t forget to add some black pepper for som nice heat.

I have no quantities on the salad or the Halloumi but the dressing should be enough to serve 5-6 people.

Vinaigrette:
150 ml raspberries
2 lime, juice of
1 red chili, chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
salt and black pepper
3 table spoons olive oil

Halloumi, sliced

Salad:
Rocket salad leaves
Spinach
Red pepper, cut into thin strips
Small fennel, cut into thin strips
Cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
Spring onion, chopped
Basil, chopped
Coriander, chopped

Some extra raspberries for decoration

1. Process vinaigrette ingredients in blender adding the oil last. If you want to get rid of the small raspberry seeds, please strain the dressing (best before adding the oil).
2. Slice and pan fry the Halloumi cheese until golden
3. Mix the salad components in a bowl.
4. Spoon the dressing on a plate, pile the salad up high, place the cheese on the side and decorate with raspberries

Crunchy Veggie Salad. Jerusalem Artichoke. Avocado & Herbs Dressing

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Crunchy Veggie Salad-0045

For this salad, you really need a mandolin and a sharp knife. It may seem like a lot of cutting but it is all well worth it. The result will be a stunning salad where all the flavours blend nicely. The fried Jerusalem Artichokes both adds a nice crunch to the salad and a fun, extra flavour. Don’t forget to pile the salad up high when serving – makes for such a pretty dish!

Ingredients:
Snow pea pods – slice each lengthwise in 2-3 slices
Red cabbage – thinly sliced on mandolin
Zucchini – spiralized
Carrot – spiralized
Radishes – thinly sliced on mandolin
Bell peppers in several colours – cut into quarters (lengthwise). Press down flat on cutting board, skin side down. With a sharp knife held horizontally to the board, cut of top layer of the white(-ish) flesh so that you are left with darker coloured flesh and skin. Then cut into thin long strips.
Fennel – cut in very thin slices (lengthwise, from tip to root) on mandolin
Pomegranate – if ripe enough, just squeeze it well before opening (in 2 halves) and then squeeze out the seeds (they should fall right out). If not as ripe, you will have to cut them out.

A couple of Jerusalem Artichokes
Neutral oil for frying.
Salt

Dressing:
4 tablespoons almond milk
1 avocado
200 ml fresh coriander/cilantro
200 ml fresh basil
200 ml fresh mint
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
75 ml olive oil
Salt and pepper as needed

1. Fill a very large bowl with ice water. Place the fennel and bell pepper strips in the water for 1-2 hours. They will come out curly and crisp.
2. Peel and then slice the Jerusalem Artichoke thinly on a mandolin.
3. Fill a heavy duty pan up to maximum a third full of a neutral oil (no more than that as the oil will splatter when frying). Heat the oil, test for readiness by dropping a slice of the artichoke into the oil, if the oil bubbles around it then it is ready for the frying. Add a handful of artichoke slices, let fry until a bit curled and golden in colour. Take out with a sieve and let dry a bit on paper towels. Put the next batch in and repeat the procedure. Salt and store in a dry jar.
4. Combine all ingredients (except the oil) in a blender. Process until smooth. Slowly add the oil – do not over process. Refrigerate until use.
5. Place all the prepared vegetables (except the Jerusalem Artichoke) in a bowl. Toss them to combine. On a plate, drizzle, pipe or spoon the dressing and then pile the salad high on top. Lastly, add the fried artichoke.

Fennel Salad with Pistachio Dressing

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180321 Fennel Salad with Pistachio Dressing-9391

Crunchy all green salad with a wonderful dressing. The pistachio dressing is a must try!!

Pistachio dressing:
3 tablespoons pistachios, toasted
100 ml olive oil
salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1. Run in blender until smooth. If too thick dilute with some water.

Curly fennel:
1 fennel bulb.

1. Cut through the middle and through the root then slice very thin using a mandolin.
2. Place in ice water for 30 minutes so the fennel curls up.

Salad:
Roasted kale (in oven, 100 C, 30 minutes)
Rocket Salad
Broccoli rice (made in many ways, one is to just cut of the very ends with a sharp knife)
Sprigs from fennel
Basil, shredded
Thin lime wegdes

Extra pistachios for decoration

Superfood Salad with Walnut Gremolata

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180220 Kale Blueberries Superfood Salad Nutty Gremolata-9166

This is truly a superfood salad. Delicious, healthy and pretty! Inspired by the best vegan chef – Matthew Kenney. Quick to make but some items (kale and bell pepper) must be prepared in advance.

Oh, and the Kale is great to eat just as Kale Crisps. Don’t have to go in the salad.

Ingredients

Salad:
1 large bunch of kale (to be dried into crisps)
1 carrot
1 yellow bell pepper
1 turnip
1 avocado
Tender spinach leaves

Lemon juice
Olive oil and salt

Walnut gremolata:
200 ml walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Some red pepper flakes
1 red bell pepper (to be dehydrated or roasted first to dry out a bit)
Salt to taste
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
¼ minced garlic clove (optional)

Decorations:
Fresh oregano leaves
Blueberries
Black Hawaiian salt
Sprigs from carrot or fennel

Salad:
1. Wash and dry the kale. Tear into smaller pieces. Massage olive oil and salt into the leaves and either dry in oven on 80-100 C for about 30-40 minutes or dehydrate on 45 C for 12 hours. Until crisp.
2. Spiralize the carrot, and turnip. Soften with olive oil/salt marinade.
3. Cut the yellow bell pepper into fine strips.
4. Halve the avocado, insert a knife in the flesh and cut in a cirkel but do not move the tip of the knife. This will give you small cone shaped pieces.
5. Massage some olive oil and lemon juice into the spinach leaves.

Gremolata:
1. Cut the pepper into large pieces. Roast (200 C for 30-40 minutes) or dehydrate (overnight) to dry the pepper out.You don’t want a too wet gremolata.
2. Cut the walnuts into fine pieces.
3. Pulse all Gremolata ingredients in a food processor into small chunks.

Decorations:
1. Roll the blueberries in some olive oil so they look pretty.
2. Separate the small leaves of oregano.

Assembly:
1. Place the spinach at the bottom. Continue with the other salad ingredients.
2. Pile the gremolata on top
3. Sprinkle with blueberries, sprigs, oregano leaves and black salt.

Avocado Strawberry Salad

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171129 Avocado Strawberry Salad-8432

A beautiful, slightly sweet and spicy, starter.

Serves 4

2 avocado, ripe but firm, chopped into small pieces
100 ml finely chopped strawberries
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt
Chili flakes

1. On a plate, make a pile of the avocado, add some salt and chili flakes
2. Place the strawberries on top, mix in some salt and chili flakes
3. Drizzle with oil and vinegar

171129 Avocado Strawberry Salad-8451

Vegetable Medley with Apple and Fennel

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Vegetable Medley w Quinoa-8496

The fennel, black pepper and apple really makes this dish. Sweet and spicy. Great as a side dish (halloumi makes for a perfect combo) or as a starter.

Serves 4

2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
1 fennel bulb (keep the sprigs/fronds for decorations)
1 zucchini/courgette
2 apples
Olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Generous amount of black pepper
Dash of salt

200 ml quinoa
400 ml water
Dash of salt

Decoration:
Radish cut into thin strips
Fennel sprigs
Lingonberries

1. Rinse the quinoa and simmer with water until done (10-15 minutes). Season
2. Cut the vegetables and apple into small even pieces
3. Sauté in olive oil until done
4. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice
5. In a mold, place the quinoa on the bottom, then add an equal layer of vegetables on top. Remove the mold.
6. Decorate with sprigs/fronds of fennel, radish sticks and lingonberries.

Summery Citrus Salad

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Summery Citrus Salad-5654

Just a simple salad – but, oh, how lovely! Refreshing, tasty and with a crunch to each bite. Complements anything from the BBQ – how about serving with some grilled halloumi cheese?

100 g mixed lettuce leaves
1 grapefruit, peel and white pith cut out
2 oranges, peel and white pith cut off
1 large avocado, sliced
50 ml toasted sunflower seeds
50 ml toasted pine nuts
50 ml toasted pumpkin seeds
1 red onion, cut in 2 halves and thinly sliced
100 ml olives

Dressing:
1 tablespoon fig balsamic dressing
1 tsp Dijon mustard
50 ml olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Combine the salad in a bowl
2. Shake/whisk the dressing well and toss with the salad.
3. Serve

Balsamic Bean Salad

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Balsamic Bean Salad-5678

A great dish to go with your BBQ dinner, or just on its own for lunch.
So easy – so delicious!

100g cooked kidney beans
100 g cooked white beans
100 g cooked chickpeas
50 g fresh spinach
1 sliced red onion

1 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil

1. Rinse the beans under running water.
2. Place in bowl together with the onion and spinach.
3. Mix mustard, oil and vinegar.
4. Pour mixture on beans.
5. Let sit for a few hours in the fridge for extra flavour.

Spicy Salad with Balsamic Pearls

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170412 Spicy Salad with Pearl Dressing-5240

This is a way to jazz up the serving of a tasty, but ordinary looking, salad.
The ingredients aside, you will need a pipette and a slotted spoon (or a fine strainer) for this recipe. Looks really professional and is so easy to make!

Ingredients:
3 medium sized tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed and chopped
½ cucumber, seeds and skin removed, chopped
¼ chopped leek
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red chili, seeds removed, chopped
50 ml dry toasted sunflower seeds, salted
1/2 lemon, zest

Dressing:
30 ml olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper

1. In a bowl, combine the salad ingredients.
2. Whisk together the dressing and pour on top.
3. Refrigerate.

Pearls:
90 ml balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of honey
1 tsp of lemon juice
½ tsp agar agar

Vegetable oil as below for the freezer

1. In a freezer, for minimum of 30 minutes, chill enough oil to measure 15 cm tall in a glass.
2. In a small pan, bring the mix for the pearls to a boil and then take it off the heat.
3. Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Using a pipette, drop the dressing mix into the glass containing the cold oil. Let sit for 2-3 minutes.
5. Remove the pearls from the oil using a slotted spoon or pour the oil with the pearls through a fine strainer.

Serve the pearls with the spicy salad.

This technique can be used with many other sauces apart from balsamic dressing. Just play with it and be sure to (in the comments below) let me know what you did and how it turned out!

170412 Spicy Salad with Pearl Dressing-5244

Marinated Haricots Verts in a Salad

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160810 Marinated Haricots Verts-1580

Sometimes cooking is all about letting the ingredients speak for itself without too many alterations. Pure, simple and delicious! This is a classic green bean salad.

350 g haricots verts
80 g parmesan shavings
Chopped walnuts
1 small pear, sliced
Rocket salad (or fresh baby spinach leaves)

Vinaigrette:
3 tbsp olive oil
1,5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Dash of salt
Black pepper

1. Whisk/shake the vinaigrette.
2. Blanch the haricot verts 1-2 minutes in boiling water (with some salt added to it).
3. Marinate the beans in the vinaigrette for 20 minutes.
4. Distribute the salad items on a large plate. Add the haricots verts and drizzle any remaining vinaigrette on top.

Crushed Potatoes with Greens and Beans

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160706 Crushed Potatoes w Greens and Beans-1527

A delicious way of preparing potato. Use yellow tomatoes for the dressing, the taste will be the same with red tomatoes but the colour so much more beautiful when it is all just yellow.

Serves 4

12 boiled new potatoes
Fresh thyme
Coarse salt
Olive oil

100 g fresh spinach
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced (best to use a mandolin)
Mixed beans (kidney-, butter-, chickpeas…)

Dressing:
2 large, yellow tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
A dash of salt

1. Set the oven at 215C
2. Take each boiled potato and, with a spoon, slightly press down the middle crushing the potato slightly. Put some thyme and salt on top.
3. Drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil and place the potatoes on top. Pour some additional oil over the potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Cut up the avocado and fennel and place in a bowl together with the beans and the spinach.
5. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a blender. Save some dressing for decorating the plate with and toss the rest with the greens in the bowl.

Preppy Salad (Avocado Puree, Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad)

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160419 Preppy Salad-2700

A “Preppy Salad” in pink and green – beautiful, fresh and tasty. Perfect for lunch or as a starter. Of course, the Serrano ham can be exchanged for something else, preferably something a bit salty.

Raspberry vinaigrette:
150 ml fresh raspberries
50 ml red wine vinegar
50 ml water
Salt and black pepper
100 ml olive oil

In a blender, combine all ingredients except for the olive oil. When the mix is smooth, slowly pour in the oil while mixing. This will make sure that the oil blends well into the dressing.

Salad:
Selected green leaves, shredded
Radishes, finely sliced or spiraled (using a spiralizer)
Cucumber, sliced or spiraled
Serrano ham
Red onion, finely chopped
Whole toasted walnuts and a few raspberries for decoration

Toss the mixed salad leaves with some of the vinaigrette.

Avocado Puree:
½ a large avocado PER PERSON
1 tbsp lemon juice per avocado
Salt and pepper

In a mixer, process the avocado with the juice

Assembly
1. On a serving plate, splash some vinaigrette
2. Place a large spoonful of puree on the plate and spread it out with the back of a spoon until about 0.5 cm thick
3. Place the salad leaves on top of the puree and then the remaining salad ingredients. Decorate with raspberries and the toasted walnuts.

Scallops Citrus Salad

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160224 Scallop Citrus Salad-1541

A wonderful salad where everything, except the scallops, may be prepared in advance. Great as a starter or a main course.

1-3 large scallops per person (depending if starter or main course)
Butter for frying

1 grapefruit
Baby gem lettuce
Cherry tomatoes, halved
½ avocado per person
Crab meat, canned, 40-50 g per person

Dressing:
Any preserved grapefruit juice from the cutting
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Cut away the grapefruit peel and then “segment” the fruit. That is, cut away the thin, white membranes separating each wedge. Preserve any juice that seeps out.
2. Combine the ingredients for the dressing and whisk/shake together.
3. Prepare the salad, including the crabmeat, and place on serving plates.
4. Drizzle with dressing.
5. Keep the scallops refrigerated until you need them. Wash and dry them thoroughly.
6. Heat a frying pan with some butter. When hot, add the scallops. Place them a bit apart in the pan. Leave them for 2-3 minutes (depending on size) before turning. Add some cold butter when you turn. Fry another 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately on top of the salad.

Asian Lamb with Lime Quinoa and Salad

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151223 Asian Lamb-0916

Great lamb dish, full of flavour. Low fodmap recipe.

Serves 6

900g Lamb leg steaks, trimmed

Marinade:
4 tbsp tamari soya sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp sunflower oil

Sesame seeds for adding towards end of frying.

Quinoa dressing:
1 tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp sesame oil
50 ml Tamari soy sauce
½ tbsp brown sugar
Zest from 1 lime (take care only using the green part of the peel)
1 tbsp limejuice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

400 ml Quinoa
1 orange, cut in segments, then smaller pieces
1 red chili, chopped (seeds removed)
100g water chestnuts, sliced
100 g baby leaf spinach

Salad:

1 cucumber, cut in thin slices lengthwise (a mandolin will give the best result)
3 carrots, cut in thin slices lengthwise
A small piece of white cabbage, cut in thin slices
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
Chili flakes
Salt, pepper

 

  1. Combine the marinade and pour over the lamb. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
  2. Prepare the quinoa dressing and set aside.
  3. Prepare the salad. Season and add the lemon juice. Set aside a minimum of 20 minutes.
  4. Rinse the quinoa and boil according to the instructions on the package.
  5. Prepare the orange by cutting off the peel (all the white membrane too), then, using a sharp knife, cut each segment just inside the thin white membrane, thus fully removing the membrane. Cut the remaining flesh into smaller pieces.
  6. Heat oil in a sauté pan. Fry the lamb steaks a few minutes on each side (depending on thickness of the cut). Remove from pan, roll in sesame seeds and then fry on a lower heat another minute. Leave the meat to rest 4-5 minutes.
  7. Drain the cooked quinoa, stir in the spinach, water chestnuts, the orange and chopped chili. Pour the dressing on top.