Salute the Salad : Grilled Carrots, Manchego, Orange, Agave, Pecans and Sultanas

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from “Savour : Salads for all seasons” by Peter Gordon.

This relatively simple salad will seem all the more fabulous if you use a few different colours of carrots. I found the combination of just two colours worked well and decided against using purple ones. I’ve also made this using baby carrots, which looks and works a treat. Manchego is a fantastic ewes’ milk cheese from La Mancha, near Madrid, in Spain. If you prefer, you can use British Wigmore or Berkswell, Italian Pecorino, or some other firm ewes’ milk cheese – something you can shave or slice over the top. Agave syrup is a fabulous, earthy, sweet syrup, which complements the pecans – replace it with maple syrup if you can’t find it.

Serves 4 as a starter

Serve warm or at room temperature

Ingredients:
600g carrots, peeled, halved lengthways
3 tblsp olive oil
2 oranges, segmented
3 tblsp agave syrup (or use maple syrup)
50g sultanas (or golden raisins)
100g pecans, toasted and chopped
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
handful salad leaves (perhaps rocket)
60g manchego

Step One : Steam or boil the carrots in salted water for 6 minutes. If using baby carrots, cook for 4 minutes. Tip into a colander and leave to drain. Brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt and pepper, then cook in a heavy based pan until coloured on both sides and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes depending on their size. Leave to cool.

Step Two : Mix the orange segments with any of their juice you can squeeze from the ‘core’. Add the agave syrup, sultanas and pecans. Leave for 10 minutes, then mix in the remaining oil. Leave for at least 20 minutes to allow the sultanas to soak up some of the liquid, tossing from time to time. Just before serving, mix in the spring onion.

Step Three : To serve, lay the carrots on a platter or individual plates. Scatter on the salad leaves, then spoon on the orange, sultana and pecan mixture. Thinly shave the manchego on top just before you serve it.

Book Ideas : Outdoor Feasts

Cookbooks to bring fresh crunch to your meals (ideas from Psychologies Magazine – August 2019):-

A Perfect Day for a Picnic by Tori Finch

2. Every Day Is Saturday by Sarah Copeland

3. The Salad Bowl by Nicola Graimes

4. Andalusia by Jose Pizarro

Honey-Roasted Pear, Crispy Parma Ham and Dolcelatte Salad

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (August 2019) and taken from Summer Every Day by Acland Geddes and Pedro Da Silva.

Serves : 4

Ingredients :
4 pears (any type will do, but make sure they are fairly firm)
2 tblsp clear honey
50g butter, melted
6 slices Parma ham
150g Dolcelatte cheese
150g wild rocket

Step One : Preheat the oven to 200oC, gas mark 6. Core the pears and cut them lengthwise into eight wedges. Toss them with the honey and melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Bake them on a non-stock baking tray for about 15 minutes : you want them to have begun to turn golden and caramelised, but not to have lost their bite. This is why medium-to-firm pears are essential; if they are too ripe they will fall apart in the oven.

Step Two : Place the Parma ham slices on a wire rack and roast in the oven for eight to 10 minutes. Keep a vigilant watch over them, as they can go from pink to black faster than you think. They should be rigid and deeply coloured, but not burned. Allow to cool on the rack.

Step Three : Mix together the rocket, roasted pears and crispy ham. Scatter the Dolcelatte cheese over the salad as best you can – it’s a sticky cheese, so it will resist being broken up. If you’ve had a bad day and can’t be bothered with wrestling with an uncooperative dairy product, you can always opt for the more accommodating Roquefort or Stilton – the results are just as good.

Grilled Courgettes with Basil, Mint and Lemon

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from Summer Every Day by Acland Geddes and Pedro Da Silva.

Grilled courgettes

Serves : 4

Ingredients:
4 courgettes, sliced lengthwise
Olive oil, for brushing
1 garlic clove, crushed
Grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
2-3 sprigs fresh mint leaves, chopped
Small bunch of fresh basil, chopped
A handful of roasted hazelnuts

Step One : Warm a ridged grill pan or barbecue until it’s smoking hot. Brush the courgette slices with olive oil and cook on both sides until nicely charred. Remove from the pan.

Step Two : Mix together the crushed garlic, lemon juice, mint, half the basil and a good glug of olive oil. Pour over the grilled courgettes. Scatter with the remaining basil, roasted hazelnuts and the lemon zest. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Smoked Trout with Chicory, Apple and Almond Slaw

Flavours and textures that work together in the same way as Waldorf salad. Crunchy apple and leaves, toasted almonds and fresh dill, all delicious with the trout. If you want to make the slaw in advance, fold the sliced apple in some lemon juice before combining with the other ingredients to prevent browning, and reserve the toasted almonds until you are ready to serve.

Serves : 4

The Dressing Ingredients:
2 tblsp dill, roughly chopped
125ml (4 fl oz) soured cream or crème fraiche
A good squeeze of lemon juice
Seasoning, to taste

The Salad Ingredients:
200g (7oz) smoked trout fillet, torn into slivers
2 sweet apples, cored, halved and sliced into fine batons
2 medium heads of chicory, separated into leaves and finely sliced lengthways
2 heaped tblsp flaked almonds, lightly tasted in a hot, dry frying pan

Step One : Beat together the dressing ingredients and fold into the salad ingredients (reserve a few flaked almonds).

Step Two : Arrange a small pile of slaw on each plate, top with slivers of trout and dress with remaining almonds.

Beetroot Salad and Grilled Goat’s Cheese

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (June 2014) and taken from Fresh and Light by Donna Hay.

For a nourishing lunch, this vibrant salad is full of energising ingredients to avoid an afternoon lull.

Serves : 4

Ingredients:
4 large beetroots, peeled and trimmed
1 carrot, peeled and trimmed
100g baby or small beetroot leaves
300g firm goat’s cheese, cut into 8 rounds
Vegetable oil, for brushing

For the horseradish dressing:
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp freshly grated horseradish
Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Method:

To make the horseradish dressing, place the white wine vinegar, olive oil, horseradish, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Thinly slice the beetroot and carrot, and place in a bowl with the beetroot leaves. Add the dressing and toss gently to coat. Divide the salad between serving plates.
Brush the goat’s cheese with a little oil and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Cook under a preheated hot grill for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Serve the goat’s cheese with the salad.

Tastes of Ghana – Ghana-Fied Caesar Salad

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (June 2017) and taken from Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen by Zoe Adjonyoh.

How about putting a little extra bang into everyone’s favourite dish, the classic Caesar salad, with some tasty Ghanaian ingredients?

Serves : 4

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips, 1 heaped tablespoon Jollof Dry Spice Mix,
1 tbsp rapeseed oil, 5-6 dried smoked herring, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, or 1 can of anchovies, 1 large Cos (Romaine) lettuce, leaves separated and roughly chopped or torn into large pieces
1 tbsp sustainable palm oil or carotene oil, for drizzling

For the croutons:
4 thick slices of hard dough bread (butter bread), or crusty white bread, 4 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil

For the dressing:
50g (1 ¾ oz) Parmesan, shaved, 5 tbsp Shito Mayo, 1 garlic clove, finely chopped, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp rapeseed oil and olive oil

Method:

Make the croutons. Preheat the oven to 180^oC / 356^oF. Cut the bread into 2-3 cm cubes and spread on a tray. Sprinkle over the oil and some sea salt, then toss together. Bake for 7-8 minutes, turning halfway so that they brown evenly. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Season the chicken with the Spice Mix in a bowl, then add the oil and toss
Heat a frying pan, add the chicken and fry for about 4 minutes on each side. Set aside. Drain the fish and break up into smaller pieces.
For the dressing, mix half the cheese with the Shito Mayo, garlic and vinegar in a bowl. Loosen with the oil and season to taste with sea salt.
Put the lettuce in a large bowl and scatter over the chicken with half the croutons. Add half the dressing and toss together lightly. Top with the remaining chicken, croutons and fish, then drizzle with the dressing. Sprinkle the cheese on top and, or a dash of Ghanaian flavour, drizzle over the palm oil. Serve.

Aubergine Fetteh (Fetteh Beitinjaan)

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (August 2017) and taken from Syria: Recipes from Home by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi.

Layering food on toasted bread with a yogurt sauce is a Syrian speciality. Bread is considered a sacred gift in the Arab world, and it’s a sin to waste it even after it has gone stale. That’s why ‘fetteh’ – literally ‘breadcrumbs’ – is so popular and it can be made with chickpeas, aubergines, chicken or lamb.

Serves 4, as part of Mezze

Ingredients:
3 aubergines
Olive oil, for roasting and drizzling
2 flatbreads or pittas
500g plain yogurt
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
2 tblsp lemon juice
Handful of parsley, roughly chopped, to serve
Handful of pomegranate seeds, to serve
50g pine nuts, toasted, to serve

Step One : Heat the oven to 180oC / 350oF / Gas Mark 4. Cut the aubergines into quarters lengthways, then slice them into 1cm chunks and place in a baking tray. Pour over a generous helping of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, then roast in the oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until the aubergines are soft.

Step Two : Brush the bread with olive oil and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, until nice and crispy. Then break it up into pieces. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic and lemon juice.

Step Three : When the aubergines are ready, take them out of the oven and allow to cool. Place them in a shallow bowl, then pour the yogurt mix on top. When ready to serve, sprinkle with the crispy bread, parsley, pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts.

Herby Chickpea Tabbouleh with Oven-dried Tomatoes

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (September 2015) taken from In the Mood for Healthy Food by Jo Pratt

Tabbouleh, a Middle-Eastern parsley salad, contains very little bulgar wheat and is served as part of a mezze platter. However, the increased amount of bulgur wheat and added chickpeas and feta, make this a more filling salad. This can be made a day or so ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Serves : 4

Ingredients:
12 smallish (golf ball size) ripe tomatoes, halved
25g bulgur wheat
400g tin chickpeas, drained
1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 bunch of fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
Seeds from 1 pomegranate, or 100g ready-prepared pomegranate seeds
3 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
200g feta cheese, broken into small pieces
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Step One : Preheat the oven to 120oC. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthways, sit on a baking sheet cut side up, and bake for 1-2 hours. This is just enough time for the tomatoes to start to dry out and begin to shrivel around the edges, which will intensify their flavour, making them wonderfully sweet and juicy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Step Two : Cook the bulgur wheat according to the packet instructions, then rinse under the cold tap to cool it down. Drain really well, shaking the sieve to separate all the grains, then tip into a large mixing bowl.

Step Three : Add the chickpeas, herbs, spring onions, pomegranate seeds, olive oil, lemon zest and juice to the bulguar wheat and season with salt and pepper. Gently stir in the feta, spoon onto plates, and serve with the tomatoes.

The Scarlet Salad

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from Dirty Vegan by Matt Pritchard.

Serves: 4

For the marinade:
2 oranges, segmented and juice collected, 2 fennel bulbs, cut into wafer-thin slices, 1 tsp paprika

For the dressing:
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp wholegrain mustard, 1 small garlic clove, crushed, 1 tsp maple syrup

For the salad:
3 tbsp sunflower seeds, 3 tbsp pine nuts, 150g Russian or regular kale, 100g mixed salad leaves, ½ a cucumber, 300g rocket, 10 cherry tomatoes, halved, Handful of edible flowers

Method:

Start with the marinade. Put the orange segments and juice into a bowl with the fennel slices as soon as you cut them (to stop them browning), then add the paprika and stir. Leave to stand, ideally overnight, or as long as possible.
Put the sunflower seeds and pine nuts into a heavy-based pan and toast them over a low heat for 5 minutes, until they take on a rich brown colour – be careful not to char them.
To make the dressing, put all the ingredients into a bowl, season to taste and mix thoroughly. The mustard should emulsify the mixture to make a smooth dressing.
Next, prepare the Russian kale. This leaf is good raw, but the stems can be tough. Remove the stems and slice the leaves into bite-sized sections. Put the salad leaves, the cucumber, kale, rocket and tomatoes into a serving bowl. Pour half the dressing into the bowl and toss the salad by hand. Drain the fennel from the marinade, reserving a few orange slices for decoration, and add it to the bowl. Sprinkle over the sunflower seeds and pine nuts, arrange the orange slices on top, then drizzle the remaining dressing over the salad. Garnish with edible flowers and serve immediately.