Couscous Salad
The lemon and chilli vinaigrette really makes this salad pop, while the couscous makes it hearty enough to be considered a meal on its own. The figs add a perfect dash of sweetness, while the orange keeps it light and fresh without being overwhelming.
Ingredients
100 gm couscous, steamed
2 fresh figs cut into wedges
10 orange fillets
15 gm pomegranate seeds
5 gm toasted pine nuts
10 gm feta, crumbled
7 gm raisins, soaked
10 gm apricots, soaked and halved
10 gm rocket lettuce
3 gm fresh red chilli, finely chopped
30 ml olive oil
7 ml lemon juice
Salt to taste
2 gm crushed black pepper
Method
In a pan, boil 120 ml water with salt and 10 ml olive oil. Add this to the couscous and cover the container with cling wrap and leave it for 15 minutes.
Mix the steamed couscous with a fork to remove all the lumps and leave to cool.
In a mixing bowl, add couscous, figs, orange fillets, pomegranate, feta, raisins, apricots, rocket lettuce and chilli.
Make a dressing using the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and add to the salad.
Mix well and check seasoning. Garnish with toasted pine nuts.
Roasted Beetroot Salad
Beets are sweet, mellow and earthy, like the dampness of a garden after a thunderstorm. That earthy sweetness is delicious paired with sharper flavours like orange or goat’s cheese, and also full of anti-oxidants and vitamin C. This salad works equally well in summer or winter.
Ingredients
250 gm baby beetroot, roasted
15 gm feta cheese
20 gm goat’s cheese
20 gm panko crumbs
10 orange fillets
15 gm celery, shaved
15 gm fennel, shaved
10 gm walnuts, caramelised
30 gm red and green apple, sliced finely
5 gm beetroot cress
10 gm arugula
Salt to taste
2 gm crushed black pepper
20 ml olive oil
10 ml lemon juice
Orange Dressing
200 ml orange juice, fresh
30 ml olive oil
20 ml lemon juice
3 gm coriander seeds, roasted and crushed
Salt to taste
1 gm crushed black pepper
3 gm coriander, freshly chopped
Method
Place the whole baby beetroot in an aluminium foil and roast it with a little bit of olive oil at 170 C for about an hour or until they are soft.
Peel half of them and cut them in half and marinate with salt, pepper and the olive oil poured in the aluminium foil when roasting.
Peel the other half and puree them fine in a blender. Cook them in a pan to remove the liquid to concentrate the flavours. Keep aside to cool. Once cooled, add feta cheese, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and blend once again. Transfer to a piping bag.
Make the orange dressing by reducing fresh orange juice by a third and adding the rest of the ingredients to it and mixing well. The dressing should be properly balanced.
Take the goat’s cheese and form it into a small patty and crumb it with panko.
Assemble all the roasted beetroot, orange fillets, shaved fennel and celery and apple on a plate and pipe the beetroot mousse between the components. Drizzle the orange dressing over the salad.
Cook the goat’s cheese on a non-stick pan until it is soft and golden brown in colour. Place it on one side of the salad.
Garnish with caramelised walnuts, arugula and beetroot cress.
Asparagus and Mango Salad
The asparagus salad is perfect for summer: light, bright and full of flavour. Low in saturated fat, dairy-free and gluten-free, this is clean eating at its finest. The dressing is clean and sparkling and the mango makes it very satisfying. This salad is also rich in fibre and anti-oxidants.
Ingredients
200 gm asparagus, blanched
200 gm mango
80 gm snow peas, blanched
50 gm scallions, white part cut in half lengthwise
10 slices of shaved carrot
30 gm hazelnuts, toasted
20 gm Arugula
3 gm basil seeds, soaked
Salt to Taste
2 gm crushed black pepper
Passion Fruit Dressing
80 gm passion fruit pulp
30 gm sugar
5 gm salt
150 ml olive oil
Method
Blanch the asparagus and snow peas in boiling water and refresh in ice and keep aside.
Peel the mangoes and cut them into batons and also shave the carrots very thin.
Make the passion fruit dressing using all the ingredients above by mixing them in a blender.
Assemble the salad on a plate and spoon the dressing on top of the salad.
Garnish with toasted hazelnuts and basil seeds and arugula.
Confit pumpkin salad with ricotta and hazelnuts
Pumpkin is an extremely nutrient-dense food, meaning it is full of vitamins and minerals but low on calories. It has great satiety value and you feel much fuller without the extra calories. I love ricotta, the fresh neutral taste lends itself to so many different flavour applications and it’s a joy to play with. The lemon cuts through the rich pumpkin and ricotta, the arugula gives the peppery taste to the salad and the hazelnuts give it a crunchy texture.
Ingredients
30gm hazelnuts, toasted
50 gm salt, plus extra for seasoning
50 gm sugar
250 ml olive oil
500 gm pumpkin
Juice of 3 lemons
50 gm chives, finely chopped
100 gm ricotta
Method
Heat an oven to 160 C and toast the hazelnuts until golden brown. Remove hazelnuts from oven and transfer to a large bag. Lay the bag flat on a work surface and smooth it so that nuts spread out. Roll a rolling pin over the bag, repeating until hazelnuts are crushed into a crumble.
Combine salt and sugar in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Slice pumpkin into thin slices and transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle salt-and-sugar mixture over the pieces and let rest for 30 minutes.
Rinse pumpkin and cut into uniform-sized cubes. Transfer to a microwave-safe container. Pour enough olive oil over the pumpkin to cover it completely.
Place pumpkin in the microwave and cook, uncovered, on power setting until tender.
Remove the pumpkin and strain.
Season the pumpkin with salt and lemon juice. Transfer it to a serving dish and garnish with chives, hazelnut crumble, and ricotta.
