Making Salads more Interesting

Making Salads more interesting

At this time of year, it is difficult to know what to talk about first:

 – the difficult weather conditions? But, then again the weather conditions can always be difficult, depending on how you choose to look at it.

-the gluts of some vegetables – well! There are always gluts, if we are lucky and plan our crops well – even in the springtime -the ‘Lean months’. (Our planning can be for nothing in a particularly cold bitter winter. Since I’ve started on my plot, only four and a half years ago, I have had one year when I was able to get through the winter into the next productive season without buying anything but mushrooms( which I don’t grow) and potatoes and onions which I just couldn’t grow enough of).

- the crops that are really good and seasonal right now  - salads, courgettes, beans, herbs.

- what has worked well this year and what has not? – planning for next year.

For this Blog I think I will talk about the crops that are seasonal right now –particularly salad vegetables. There has been just enough rain to ensure an excellent crop of a range of colourful lettuces or salad greens. Of course, there is not a huge amount of nutritional value in lettuces but, they provide a colourful, and variously textured base for the other ingredients. My preference in lettuce is for the chunkier/crispier types and I am still harvesting very early crops of Winter Gem which was excellent early in the year and is still going strong. Winter Gem is a variety of Cos (Romaine) lettuce which also has the advantage of being cookable.

I have a range of ‘pick-and-come-again’ salads which I bought from Marshalls Seeds (Italian Mix) last year. I sowed these in a raised bed on 24^th April. Now, they are way ahead of my ability to use them. Lettuce seed will keep for several years so don’t feel you have to use the whole packet at once.

I am sure that the crisp varieties like Webb’s Wonderful are excellent and when I am forced to buy lettuce from the shops I will go for the, as I am attracted by their crispness and that they will keep for a week in my fridge.  But, I do find them tasteless. I will go for Romaine every time.

The advantage of some of the softer lettuce is the range of shapes and colours –from green, purple and speckled oak leaf, vibrant green butterhead and the outstandingly rich colour of Really Red Deer’s Tongue. Now that is a beauty. If it were crispier, it would be perfect but, that is my taste.

When I was a little girl my mother served up salad four or five times a week as the main dinner in summer. How I hated it. This was a while ago in Northern Ireland, which was some years behind the culinary initiative of England. My mother was keen to serve fresh and wholesome food to her family and thought this was one way to do it. Of course, she was right, but, I was a growing girl and was looking for something more filling than lettuce.

This table does not give a comprehensive list of possible ingredients. But, it provides a range of ingredients and ideas to make an interesting salad-based meal on several days each week.

Making it tangy	Herbs for salads	Fruit	Adding crunch	The Protein
Chopped shallots Or scallions Chilli peanuts Potato salad Good dressing Pickled beetroot	Chervil sprigs Chopped mint Flat-leaved parsley Sliced sorrel leaves Coriander leaves Basil leaves Chives Watercress Rocket	Sliced oranges Cubes of apple Slices of kiwi Lemon wedges Strawberries Sliced pineapple Tomatoes – red, spriped, yellow.	Grated carrot Walnut pieces Celery Red apple slices Pumpkin seeds Radishes - sliced Fresh young peas Baby sweetcorn Sliced peppers Sliced summer cabbage hearts	-Boiled eggs -Grated cheese -chunky slices of -home-cooked gammon or ham - Falafel - Samosas - cold kidney beans - Slice of quiche - smoked salmon -grilled salmon or trout - any grilled meat - baked Camembert or Brie

The appearance of the salad is very important. Am I stating the obvious here? While there have been times when I really wanted a green salad with a squeeze of lemon (especially after travelling in a country where there are no fresh vegetables on offer), mostly I want to look at the salad nicely arranged or tossed with a good mixture of colour. The wide range of lettuces and salad leaves help to provide an appetising base.

Try this Potato Salad ( Irish Style)  - a favourite from my childhood and the saviour of many boring teatimes:

Ingredients

1 kg(2lb) potatoes – preferably not too waxy as you will need to mash them( leftover boiled potatoes are fine)

A bunch of scallions (spring onions) Or  1 – 2 medium red onions

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 – 6 Tblsp vinegar ( a sharp vinegar is better so I use malt vinegar and add to my taste which is for a fairly sharp taste)

Small bunch parsley – finely chopped

Method

·         Allow the potatoes to cool or use leftover, cold boiled potatoes. Then mash them well.

·         Add salt and pepper to taste.

·         Chop the scallions or red onion finely and stir into the potatoes.

·         Chop the parsley finely and add to the mixture.

·         Add vinegar to give the level of sharpness you like.

·         Arrange in a suitable serving dish and garnish with herb – chervil, mint, basil.

Note: - although I Iike parsley in this dish, I also enjoy chopped chervil, mint, coriander or basil. You might also like to try replacing the malt vinegar with balsamic vinegar, lime juice or lemon juice.
(Of course, in Ireland the default potato would almost always be a floury variety. You can make this dish with the more waxy potatoes like Charlotte but, the texture is so much better with floury potatoes)

I’m not a big fan of mayonnaise and even less of the old fashioned salad cream but I find French Dressing and even vinaigrette a bit too oily. So, I’ve developed my own which is much sharper and has less fat in it for the figure conscious people who also want some dressing on their salad. I haven’t given it a name so I’ll call it Marge’s Dressing. Do try it.

Marge’s Dressing for salad

2 Tblsp wine vinegar or cider vinegar

2 Tblsp good balsamic vinegar

2 Tblsp olive oil (of your choice) - I like Cretan when I can get hold of it.

¾ tsp whole-grain mustard

¾ tsp honey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put all the ingredients into a small secure-lidded jar (I use an old relish jar). Give it a really good shake and serve in a small jug with the salad or use to toss through the salad.