Tell me about your salad

[MyKingdomForACaramel]

So thanks to the sweltering heat it’s been salad for dinner every night since Saturday.

However, despite having “different” salads - it feels a bit samey and I’m running out of ideas (we’ve had goats cheese salad, Cesar salad and smoked mackerel and salad so far). I always tend to do the same variations on dressings too- so would love some new ideas.

Have been browsing bbc good food but not being inspired so far

I had curried chicken (roasted dry with spices) salad last night. I also like chicken liver pate. What veg are you putting in your salad? This matters. I don't always put everything in but the following may appear: gherkins, capers, green or black olives, pickled onions, beetroot, grated carrot, celeriac or kohlrabi, beef tomatoes, plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, celery, tinned artichokes, any kind of tinned beans, sweetcorn, watercress, romaine lettuce, red and yellow capsicum or the long red type of pepper, radishes of any kind including mooli, shredded white cabbage, cold ratatouille and in fact any kind of cold cooked vegetables with French dressing, walnuts, flaked almonds . . . the one thing I've given up on is cucumber, I've really taken a dislike to it.

Oh crumbs I'm feeling really boring - salad in this house is lettuce tomato cucumber peppers and carrot then help yourself to cheese / pate / cooked meat / pasta salad / potato salad / couscous / beetroot / quiche or whatever else got grabbed from the chilled aisle of Tesco along with French bread and some form of crisps

Does this make me a bad mum that I'm not conjuring up more exciting salads?

I made this yesterday, went down well:
Lettuce obv
Cucumber
Radish
Beetroot
Avocado
Chicken (plain grilled, ready to eat pieces)
Mixed seeds
Natural yoghurt with garlic and mint as dressing

broccoli salad with bacon
www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/creamy-broccoli-salad-with-bacon-cheddar-almonds.html

And tonight
Carrot and Chick pea
www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/moroccan-carrot-chickpea-salad-citrus-mint-almonds.html

I bloody love a salad.

We love this salad, usually with tuna steak, then leftovers with cold meats

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/691641/big-egg-bacon-and-bean-salad?utm_source=app

I've been lazy this week though, cooked a chicken, then a basic salad along with a few 'salads' from M&S (bean, cous cous type things), I don't know who these people are who can eat proper hot food in this weather, it's definitely a salad week!

Roast duck cooled and shredded. A mixed salad - a bag of bistro style salad and some rocket, toasted pine nuts, croutons, orange segments, and a dressing of hoisin sauce, orange juice, soy sauce and a bit of rice wine vinegar - I had it at a hotel and have recreated it at home and it is gorgeous.

I think it would work with shredded cold chicken too.

I bloody love a salad.

Me too. I’m excited for all tonight’s leftovers for lunch tomorrow! I made enough hummus to last the week.

I'm pregnant and am now craving a salad. It 10pm too late for a second dinner?

When you’re pregnant you can eat whenever the hell you like.

With all of these ideas think I may be eating salad until Christmas!

@ScruffGin agree- it’s not just eating hot food it’s the making of it too... and with the forecast telling me it’s going to be 27 on Thursday I cannot see my salad eating ways changing too soon.

but the minute the weather breaks I’m having a burger and chips

Haven’t RTFT so apologies if I repeat. Recent favourites include spinach, strawberries, caramelised pecans & crumbled goats cheese with a balsamic dressing; grated carrot, pepper and tomato salad with a white wine vinegar & Dijon mustard dressing and oven roasted cauliflower (pre chopped, no oil, sprinkled with za’atar) mixed with pomegranate seeds & parsley and dressed with tahini and date syrup.
Off to read the full thread now

We’ve just opened a cafe with 3 different salads a day! Here’s an example!

I had a bog standard salad this evening , lettuce tomatoes , cucumber , spring onions .
I have recently discovered I love roast chicken thighs with lime pickle ( the stuff you get in Indian restaurants in the pickle tray) . mix a bit of that with a teaspoon or two of water and bung it under the chicken skin and roast .
The chicken is normally eaten with rice but the day after separate the fat and the juices off the chicken and the juices make a great salad dressing , it really livens it up.

My repertoire is more or less limited to:

• baby leaves with balsamic and olive oil
• grated carrots with red wine vinegar and olive oil (I have a lemon-flavoured oil that works really well)

and

• sliced tomatoes and mozzarella with basil, olive oil and balsamic

Ridiculously super cheap dinner we had tonight - cooked & cooled rice, flake in two tins of sardines in tomato sauce, add a tin of kidney beans, some tomatoes, a few squirts of mayonnaise and lemon juice, bung it in the fridge. Made it up on the hoof because I couldn't be arsed to walk down to the shop.

It cost less than £2 & will feed us for at least three meals (mainly because I cooked too much rice, so had to add extra bits)

Look up Korean barbecue. Spicy gridfked or barbecued meat and crunchy, spicy tangy salads.

Sooo many good ideas here!

I tend to just chop whatever and hope for the best, but actual recipes;

Chicory leaves, a honey/mustard dressing and pastrami beef

Rocket, smoked sundried tomatoes (if you can get them they are heaven on earth!) & shaved parmesan

Nice salad ingredients to ring the changes;

Olives
Gherkins
Sundried tomatoes (smoked even better ;) )
Summer pickles (Google for a recipe, very quick & easy)
Flavoured tofu (chilled aisle of waitrose)
Toasted nuts or seeds

I usually make up several salads and keep in fridge.

Julienne veg salad with carrot, courgette, pepper, cauliflower florets and red onion in a French dressing.
Curried mushroom and peach
Waldorf slaw so sweetheart cabbage, carrot, apple, walnut and celery
Homemade guacamole
Tabbouleh with mint
Beetroot and orange in balsamic.
Maybe a potato salad of some sort or roasted root veg salad.

Those sort of things used to make up a salad bowl with leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, mange tout or runner beans from the garden, grated carrot,

Some sort of protein such as prawns, smoked salmon, eggs, cured meats or bucatini, feta, quiche, chicken, sliced sausages.

Cobb salad - from wiki: The Cobb salad is a main-dish American garden salad typically made with chopped salad greens, tomato, crisp bacon, boiled, grilled or roasted chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, chives, Roquefort cheese, and red-wine vinaigrette

Taco salad : www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a48351/beef-taco-salad-recipe/

Today I made a chilled beetroot soup with 8 beetroots, fresh dill weed, pickled and fresh cucumber, carrot, paprika and red pepper, liquidised it all up and swirled Greek yogurt in it, then served it with cold poached salmon. Yummy!
Another good chilled soup for hot weather is Chinese leaf, peas and fresh mint leaves, cooked in veg stock and a little butter, then liquidised.
It’s a refreshing way of getting lots of healthy veg in hot weather if you’re bored with salads, and the soup keeps for several days in the fridge if you make a batch.

These all sound amazing!

Made curry tonight for some utterly bizarre reason. Nearly died of hot. Nice though, eventually.