Something funny happens to my tastebuds in January. I crave fresh, slightly citrussy, sharp yet sweet crunchiness! I think it is the overload of roasted meat and potatoes in December, and the need to shed a few pounds maybe, and to feel healthy and invigorated. So bizarrely, when it is still cold and often rather gloomy outside I want to eat salad! Not lightasafeather, just a whisp of cucumber thankyou salads: nope, I want hearty, tasty, superfresh ones, substantial enough to get me through the afternoon type of salads. I think they also charm me this time of year because of the marathon of cooking that the Christmas holidays involves, which I love at the time, but come January I love the no-cook, or hardly-cook nature of salads, and I am all about maximum taste for minimum flapping about with complicated ingredients and gadgets. Simple, quality ingredients are usually ruined by my kitchen foofstering at the best of times, so I am always of the lookout for no-fuss recipes.
My default choice is the rocket with roasted squash/sweetpotato with chili flakes, crumbled feta, and fresh coriander that I have raved about before on this blog, but I am ringing the changes at the moment with all sorts of delicious combinations and thought I might share a few here now and again incase you are having similar cravings for zing on your plate!
Earlier this week I ate this one for lunch.
Red endive leaves, ripe pears, walnuts and gorganzola with the herbage and dressing of your choice. I went for basil and balsamic vinegar dressing, but classic French dressing with grainy mustard and fresh mint would be good. I love the sharpness of the dressing and endive with the sweetness of the pears with the saltiness of the tangy cheese and the earthy crunch of the walnuts. Might work as a side salad with chicken? It is based on a recipe I saw in the Saturday Times. I am also partial to romaine leaves with pears, walnuts and feta with mint and French dressing. Nigella does a good take on these combinations using romaine leaves, peas, feta and mint which makes a fabulous side salad for fish or chicken. Oh Yum. If salads feel a bit chilly time of year, you can always team them up with a warm crusty roll or hot chicken/fish/meat after all. I wouldn't want to eat salad with every meal any time of year, but for healthy, flavourful zing to perk up the jaded palate of January I find they are unbeatable.
How do you make your classic French dressing? Mine is a fairly slap-dash affair - roughly a third white wine or balsamic vinager, to two thirds mild olive oil, with a good hefty pinch of crushed seasalt, a generous twist or five of black pepper and a heaped teaspoon of grainy mustard. Sometimes a pinch of sugar. I cannot stand creamy sauces with salads, so I stick with this one, sometimes adding a little lemon juice (or lime if the salad has Thai/Chinese/Indian flavours) and leaving out the mustard.
Anyhoo, more of these to come, I'm off to finish off some jewellery orders before, oh joy, the weekend arrives! Have a lovely one. xxx
My default choice is the rocket with roasted squash/sweetpotato with chili flakes, crumbled feta, and fresh coriander that I have raved about before on this blog, but I am ringing the changes at the moment with all sorts of delicious combinations and thought I might share a few here now and again incase you are having similar cravings for zing on your plate!
Earlier this week I ate this one for lunch.
Red endive leaves, ripe pears, walnuts and gorganzola with the herbage and dressing of your choice. I went for basil and balsamic vinegar dressing, but classic French dressing with grainy mustard and fresh mint would be good. I love the sharpness of the dressing and endive with the sweetness of the pears with the saltiness of the tangy cheese and the earthy crunch of the walnuts. Might work as a side salad with chicken? It is based on a recipe I saw in the Saturday Times. I am also partial to romaine leaves with pears, walnuts and feta with mint and French dressing. Nigella does a good take on these combinations using romaine leaves, peas, feta and mint which makes a fabulous side salad for fish or chicken. Oh Yum. If salads feel a bit chilly time of year, you can always team them up with a warm crusty roll or hot chicken/fish/meat after all. I wouldn't want to eat salad with every meal any time of year, but for healthy, flavourful zing to perk up the jaded palate of January I find they are unbeatable.
How do you make your classic French dressing? Mine is a fairly slap-dash affair - roughly a third white wine or balsamic vinager, to two thirds mild olive oil, with a good hefty pinch of crushed seasalt, a generous twist or five of black pepper and a heaped teaspoon of grainy mustard. Sometimes a pinch of sugar. I cannot stand creamy sauces with salads, so I stick with this one, sometimes adding a little lemon juice (or lime if the salad has Thai/Chinese/Indian flavours) and leaving out the mustard.
Anyhoo, more of these to come, I'm off to finish off some jewellery orders before, oh joy, the weekend arrives! Have a lovely one. xxx
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