Summer Salads
Summer salad days are here! We have selected some alternative salads for you to try from around the world. Enjoy them as a side to your barbecue or as a main course light lunch with fresh bread.
Lebanese Fattoush Salad
Ingredients:
1 large head of romaine lettuce chopped
1 large vine-ripe tomato diced
2-3 cucumbers quartered
½ large green pepper chopped
5 radishes diced
2 green onions chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 large double-ply pitta bread cut into pieces, 3 tablespoons olive oil, Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing:
3 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 garlic cloves pressed or grated, 1 teaspoon sumac, 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses, ½ teaspoon dried mint, ½ teaspoon salt, fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Method
Fry the Pita Bread: In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the pita bread and season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring frequently until the pita bread becomes crispy and golden in colour, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
Tibetan Smacked Cucumber
Ingredients:
2 large cucumber , about 450g, ends trimmed
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinese black or regular rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp chilli oil
Method:
Take a rolling pin or cleaver and smack the cucumbers so that they split, then chop into 2.5cm pieces. Put in a bowl with all the remaining ingredients and 1 tsp salt, and toss together. Serve and enjoy!
South American Corn & Lima Bean Salad
Ingredients:
380g dried/tinned lima beans
4 corn cobs, husks removed
80ml olive oil
4 red chillies, cut into long thin slices
4 mangoes, cut into 2cm cubes
1 cup coriander leaves
For the Mojo criollo:
5 garlic cloves, 3 oranges, juiced
1 lime, juiced, 1 white onion, finely chopped
60ml olive oil
Method
Soak the lima beans in water overnight.
To make mojo criollo, using a mortar and pestle, pound garlic and 1 tsp salt into a paste. Combine with orange and lime juices and onion in a bowl. Stand at room temperature for 1 hour or overnight to let flavours develop.
Meanwhile, drain lima beans and rinse in cold water. Place in a pan of boiling water and cook for 20 minutes or until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool.
Place corn in a pan of boiling water and cook for 10 minutes or until almost tender. Drain. Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue over high heat. Rub corn with oil and season. Cook, turning occasionally, for 6 minutes or until slightly charred. When cool enough to handle, using a knife, cut kernels from the cobs into large pieces. Place in a bowl with lima beans, chilli and mango.
To finish mojo, heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Warm through onion mixture for 2 minutes, then pour over salad and toss gently to combine. Season. Toss through coriander leaves before serving salad.
Tunisian Mechouia Salad
Ingredients:
4 Medium Tomatoes
2 Red Bell Peppers
2 Large Jalapeno Peppers
2 Small Onions, the outer paper leaves removed
1 Teaspoon Caraway Seeds
½ Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
2 Cloves Garlic, finely minced
¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Sherry Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Fresh Parsley or coriander
One Hard Boiled Egg, peeled and cut into to quarters
A few ounces of cooked tuna
A small handful of olives
Method
Using either a grill or your oven’s broiler, char the outsides of the tomato, peppers, and onions until they’re completely blackened and blistered, turning frequently to char all sides. Pay particular attention to charring the onions black (the onions are dense and solid and take longer to cook). Place the vegetables in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to allow them to steam in their own heat for 15 minutes.
Peel the char off of the vegetables, coarsely chop them and place them in a bowl.
Toast the caraway and coriander seeds in a dry skillet for a few minutes until they become fragrant. Grind them into a powder in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. Add the spices with the olive oil and vinegar to the chopped vegetables and stir well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in shallow plates garnished as you wish.