tell me about your favourite salads please

[thereistheball]

I am going to be eating a lot of salads this summer - please inspire me with your favourites to stop me getting bored.

Jamie Oliver's Mexican Street Salad. I'm on my phone and not sure how to do links but just google it. Also a less healthy one with frisée or other bitter leaves topped with bacon lardons, croutons and a poached egg. Will be watching this one as planning on eating a lot of salads myself this Spring.

I find that having lots of tasty little things like olives, capers, sundried tomatoes, Peppadews, diced pancetta or chorizo , etc in the fridge makes it easier to get inspired.

I like a rice salad (sweetcorn, red pepper, palm hearts, herb of yur choice, tuna or mixed beans, and a red wine vinaigrette)

Lentils with feta and tomato

lentils with boiled egg and beetroot and parsley

A tabbouleh is always refreshing

I like my salads with vinaigrettes so we have plenty of olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic, cider vinegar and some of the fruity ones

forgot to add red onion, tomato and cucumber in the rice salad! Cornichon too if you are so inclined! Also, put the vinaigrette in with the rice before it cools

I also love a potato salad with salad onions and a seedy mustard vinaigrette. Lovely warm

DH makes a lovely jumbled salad - ie any leftover salad veg, cheese cubes (mozz or jarlsberg), walnuts and a balsamic and honey vinaigrette

Bacon, avocado and goats cheese. Mmmmm, salivating just thinking about it!

Beef tomato, feta, olives and artichoke hearts.

Roast vegetables and goats cheese.

Boiled egg, bacon lardons and roast red pepper.

Baby greens, sliced apple, crumbled blue cheese, walnuts (caramelize if you have time) with champagne vinaigrette (google a recipe).

Butter or Boston lettuce with grilled salmon, hardboiled egg, artichoke hearts, blanched green beans, radishes and corn. Maple-mustard dressing.

There are endless combos! I think it's really important to have a few good home-made dressing recipes up your sleeve (there are lots online). Make a batch on a Sunday and store it in a mason jar and you can use it throughout the week. When you buy lettuce or other greens, wash, spin and store in Ziploc bags with a sheet of kitchen paper to make them last longer.

Have fun!

Endive with a dijon mustard dressing is nice as a side

grated celeriac (with or without grated carrot) with a dijon vinaigrette is god too

My favourite came from this book or the follow-up More Low Fat Feasts. It's puy lentils, broccoli, edamame beans, lots of chilli, garlic, soy sauce, honey and sesame oil. The only problem is I eat too much of it...

rocket and parmesan with a balsamic dressing is my all time favourite.

I like couscous mixed with harissa, then add which ever veg I have (red onion, peppers (either fresh or grilled/roasted), cucumber, tomato, sweetcorn, spring onions) and then either feta and a balsamic dressing or tuna mayo on top.

I love salad, I keep baby leaves and cucumber as a staple then add things like olives, goats cheese, chicken, prawns, avocado, beetroot etc. I like pizza express house dressing.

Watercress, avocado, radish tomato and garlic prawns! May be tempted to a few garlic croutons on top too!

beets, olives, rocket, walnuts and orange vinagrette.

either leaves with roast pancetta and a poached egg with croutons or leaves with avocado, roast pancetta, chicken, croutons and tomato. All with balsamic dressing. YUM

tin of mixed beans
spinach leaves
cucumber
tomato
olive oil
cider vinigar

BLT Salad.

Yes, really.

Ingredients
4 slices bread cut into 1 cm cubes and cooked on low til toasty
6 slices bacon, cooked, chopped
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
olive oil, for searing
2 cups halved yellow tomatoes
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chiffonade mint
1 tablespoon chiffonade basil

Directions
Sear the halved cherry tomatoes in oil, cut side down, until caramelized about 5 minutes, set aside.

Combine red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl, slowly whisk in olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.

Combine all tomatoes, bread, bacon, and lettuce and dress with vinaigrette, toss well, garnish with mint and basil and serve.

You can mess around with the tomatoes pretty easily, doing them half seared and half raw gives some nice texture and flavour mixes though.

Baby spinach leaves, pine nuts, cubes of butternut squash (cooked, obv) and haloumi (pan-fried).

Our default Saturday dinner is:
Baby spinach leaves, shredded chicken fillets or leftover roast chicken, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, avocado, bocconcini, croutons.

Both work well with a basic balsamic/olive oil dressing.

similar to ninedragons squash salad

roasted butternut squash cut into small cubes, soft goats cheese (or blue cheese), walnuts, baby spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes served with a balsamic dressing

mixed leaves, cucumber, celery, avocado, toasted almond slithers, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries, grilled chicken, balsamic dressing

I love beetroot as well, so anything with beetroot would be a hit.

Cooked pearl barley makes a lush base for salads - dress, then mix through whatever raw, fresh veg u have to hand... baby beetroot it lovely, peppery rocket, i always have half a carrot and an apple chopped up into it.

Dried figs add a lovely burst of sweetness chopped up small, and pumpkin seeds add lovely creamyness.

Do you grow ur own of anything? Cut and come again salad leaves are brill, plus radish, beetroot, rocket are perfect and easy to grow :)

Anyone got any decent recipes for cucumber in salads? I know it's still a bit cold at the mo, but it really seems offputting....

I've just made a spinach, egg, and bacon salad with a red wine vinegar & Dijon mustard vinegrette. Delicious!

I often do this, or a variation of, avocado, broad bean and quinoa salad, depending what veg I have in the house.

Tastes yum, and high in protein, so you don't feel hungry straight after eating it! :)

This JO squash, prosciutto and pecorino

Also smoked mackerel or poached salmon will lots of dill, lambs lettuce, yoghurt dill dressing and cucumber, a few thinly sliced red onions

Potato salad with new pots, sherry vinegar, ex v oo, chives, dill and lots of salt and pepper

These all sound gorgeous, thanks.

I like a smoked mackerel salad with blanched steamed broccoli and beetroot, with leaves, tomatoes and red onion, and a horseradish / creme fraiche dressing.

Also the classic spinach, bacon, avocado, with Parmesan shavings and tomatoes.

Classic nicoise salad is my all time fave

cucumber with dill and a white wine vinaigrette is quite refreshing

Tabouleh is my favourite. Cooked couscous, mixed with half a chopped onion, half a chopped cucumber, one green pepper & four tomatoes, add 2 tbsp mint, 4 tbsp parsley, juice of two lemons, 4 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tsp salt. Leave in fridge for a bit. Is time-consuming doing all that chopping but is well worth it. Mmmmmm.

Also yogurt/cucumber/garlic/mint/salt mixed. Dead easy. Eat with anything spicy.

Moroccan style couscous with sultanas, chick peas etc, beetroot salad, Greek salad...mm love salad but it hates me :(