With the weather warming up, the comfort foods of winter can be replaced by healthy summer salads. But this doesn’t mean you have to stick to lettuce, tomato and cucumber.
Peach salad
Peaches are a great way to sweeten a salad. Use a mix of leaves, nuts, seeds and then griddle some peaches.
Cut fresh peaches in half and remove the stone. Then, brush lightly with a flavourless oil and place on the griddle. Leave for a few minutes until you start to see griddle marks and rotate to make crisscross patterns.
Take a block of feta and crumble over the leaves, seeds and nuts and then place the peaches on top. A simple drizzle of balsamic vinegar, the thick syrup kind, will mix everything in and lift the flavour.
Pasta salad
Salads don’t have to feature lettuce at all. Pasta makes a great salad base.
Cook your favourite pasta until cooked, rinse and add to a large bowl. Then, take some cooked prawns and chop into bite sized pieces. Add chopped pineapple, (fresh or tinned). Sweetcorn can also be added for a pop of colour and crunch.
To make a dressing, add some mayonnaise to a bowl and add lemon juice and a good sprinkle of black pepper. Add the prawns, pineapple and sweetcorn to the pasta and add the dressing.
A sweet satisfying salad that’s great for lunchboxes.
Roasted chickpea salad
Chickpeas are amazing roasted. Drain and rinse tinned chickpeas, then pat dry. Sprinkle with a little olive oil and a mix of spices – paprika, cumin and curry powder make a great mix.
Roast in the oven in the middle shelf until crisp. Add to a mix of avocado, tomato, rocket and cucumber for a crunchy spicy mix.
Fruit salad
Salads can also be for dessert and what’s better than a fruit salad?
Take any mix of fruit the kids enjoy and add to a large bowl. In order to keep the fruit from browning, squeeze over the juice of a lemon, orange and lime to add some zip. Toss and serve with softly whipped cream, crème fraiche or ice cream. Yum!
