All Salads

SMOKED QUINOA HALOUMI SALAD

This baby was created last week. Born into the Foliage salad world after a delightful lunch with my sister.

We were trying out a new cafe (Raw Sugar Cafe) and we shared the smashed avo and the quinoa salad. The food was great, but the lasting impression was definitely the smoked quinoa which left me with a prolonged after thought of “how do they get the quinoa so smoky and delicious” this inspired me to go home and do some research around how to get that amazing flavour in my salads!After doing a fair bit of research, online, books, magazines, it became apparent that there were several “smoky “methods, I decided to go for the healthier, and fuss-free approach, which included items that I thought most people would have in their pantry. Who would have thought that honey, cumin, lemon and smoked paprika could do so much! I then added my favourite salad ingredients, which you will see below in a pretty neat picture I took in my friend, Jamie’s amazing kitchen that I asked if I could use for this post- thanks Jam. Perfect excuse to spend time with an amazing friend, use her beautiful kitchen for photography, feed her and her mama lunch, maybe or maybe not have a glass of wine, and play with this ridiculously cute kitten. What a great day it was.I love food, what I love most about it, is that it brings people together, it is a reason to “be” with people, whether it is over a meal or preparing food with someone, it is an experience, you talk, laugh, cry, whatever. Spending the day mucking around in the kitchen with my friend today, was food for the soul, and sharing my little passion with her, with her being as equally enthusiastic, made me feel so blessed to have a friend like her. I found this smoked paprika (how great is the tin) at countdown, any brand will do, if you are struggling to locate it, you can easily get hold of it at the mediterranean food warehouse.This salad came out really well, better than I expected, and I will definitely be making it again, and again, and I hope you do too! Please a comment below to let me know what you thought of this salad, I would love to hear from you!

SMOKED QUINOA HALOUMI SALAD

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

45 mins

Author: Foliage

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Salad:
2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
½ pumpkin, skin removed and cut into 2cm pieces
¼ cup lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
180 grams Haloumi, cut into 1cm rectangles
2 cups of organic chicken stock (or vegetable)
½ cup baby tomatoes, washed and halved lengthways
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 cup of organic quinoa
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
Good pinch of salt and pepper
For the Dressing:
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
½ tablespoon cumin
Sea salt and cracked pepper- generous

Method

Set oven to 200ºC and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cut skin from pumpkin and dice into 2cm cubes, toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin and lots of salt and pepper.
Pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
In a saucepan, add 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup of rinsed quinoa, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes, or until most of the stock has evaporated.
Combine dressing ingredients and mix well.
In a frying pan over high heat, add a dash of olive oil and fry haloumi for about 1 minute per side or until golden, set aside on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Add the pumpkin seeds to the same pan and toast until golden around 2 -5 minutes.
Cut tomatoes, dice avocado and cut haloumi into thirds.
Add the dressing to the quinoa and mix through. Add the remaining ingredients and serve warm.

CRISPY BRUSSELS SPROUT SALAD WITH BACON CRUMBS & CRANBERRIES

As a child, I had a fear of brussels sprouts appearing on my plate at dinner time. It was the height of dinner-time disappointment.

What resembled a tiny cabbage, that tasted bitter and totally unappealing as a small child, it nearly brought tears to my eyes when I got the “no dessert unless you eat all your dinner bribe”

Damn you Brussels sprouts.

As I matured, and my love for vegetables grew, the mini cabbage came back into my life, often covered in parmesan cheese or bathing in a warm creamy white sauce of god-damn deliciousness. Not particularly good for the health conscious.

The Brussels Sprout originated in Brussels, hence it’s name, and are commonly misspelled, did you know the correct spelling/pronunciation is actually BRUSSELS Sprouts not Brussel Sprouts?!? You learn something new everyday! Brussels Sprouts are also little power houses FULL of nutrients, particularly Vitamin C and K, powerful antioxidants.

Below is a cute little pot of cooked lentils.

Did you know that lentils were the first pulse crops in the world, with carbonised remains of little lentil bodies found alongside grecian human habitations dating back to 11,000 BCE- thanks, Wikipedia!

Cooking the Brussels Sprout until it’s within an inch of its life is.not.okay, overcooking Brussels Sprouts can reap disastrous results, when overcooked, they release a compound that leaves them with a sulphuric/bitter like taste, probably a memory that sticks in a lot of our taste-memory banks! I think the general “trend” was to cook those mini cabbages in a bubbling cauldron of water for FAR too long. Who ever implemented that cooking strategy anyway?!?

I was tossing up between using pancetta or bacon for this recipe, but my love for bacon and it’s smoky hue won me over. It just has a bit more depth, and who doesn’t love bacon, he is a standout in this salad.

CRISPY BRUSSELS SPROUT SALAD WITH BACON CRUMBS & CRANBERRIES

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Foliage

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the salad:
1 cup of De Puy Lentils, brown or green lentils (the non mushy type)
2 cups of brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and halved lengthways
1 handful of roughly chopped walnuts
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley
1 cup mixed leaf mesculin
¼ cup dried cranberries
4 rashers of free-range bacon
Olive oil
For the Dressing:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons himalayan salt & cracked pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Rinse and cut the the bottom of each brussels sprout off (about ¼" ) and slice in half lengthwise. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and a good grind of himalayan salt and cracked pepper and roast for 25 minutes or until brussels sprouts are slightly browned and tender.
Rinse your lentils under running water in a sieve to remove any debris, combine 2 cups water and 1 cup lentils to a large saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, so gentle that you only see a few bubbles and cook uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Lentils are cooked when they are no longer crunchy, and most if the water has evaporated, if there is some water remaining, simply drain this off, add ¼ teaspoon of salt once cooked and stir.
Whilst your sprouts and lentils are doing their thing, heat a fry pan over medium heat and cook your bacon rashers for 3-5 minutes per side until nice and crispy, place on a paper towel lined plate. Once cool, break or cut into bacon crumbs or “bits”
Throw your walnuts into the pan and give these a quick 2 minute fry in the bacon oil to give them a bit more flavour.
Make your dressing by combining honey, balsamic, oil & salt and pepper, whisk with a fork and set aside.
Combine lentils, bacon crumbs, cranberries, walnuts, sprouts, parsley, mesculin and toss with your honey balsamic dressing, serve warm as a side or as a main!

THAI CARAMEL BEEF SALAD

Thai beef salad is one of my all time favourite salads; it is light and fresh and doesn’t leave you feeling like a stuffed potato.

I have tried a number of thai beef salads in my life, and there are a few key factors that I feel are so important to nailing this salad….

The first is the dressing, getting that balance between salty, sweet and sour is crucial, this balance can be difficult to achieve, and have found so many to be either too sweet or too salty.

I try to eat organic, grass fed beef, not only are you then supporting animal rights, you are often supporting small, local businesses and the quality and taste of the meat will far supersede anything else. Cooking the beef correctly is also an important element; there is nothing worse than over- cooked, chewy bits of beef amongst your crisp vegetables, you want it rare-medium rare with a texture that will melt in your mouth.

Cutting the beef correctly can also make your salad standout, to ensure you get the most tender slices, cut the beef against the grain. The easiest way to do this is to turn the steak so it is facing you, and the fibres in the meat should be running left to right, cut across the fibres (90 degrees perpendicular).

Thai herbs, in my opinion are a necessity, if you can’t find them, don’t make this salad until you do! The dressing is my favourite part, it is sweet, salty and tangy, it is a little complex, but worth the extra 5 minutes to caramelise it. Remember to not over thicken the syrup as it tends to thicken further once cool, so take it off the stove a few minutes before you think the consistency might be right- similar to runny honey, or a little more liquid. You can always put it back on the stove to thicken further!I have created this salad based on the basics of the age old thai beef salad, but have caramelised my dressing to make it a little more special. I have also omitted the noodles, I personally, dislike noodles in my thai beef salad, they feel like such a separate entity to the other salad ingredients, the don’t combine well and I feel they are just a hassle to eat and are not required! But of course, if you are a noodle fan then you could add these to the salad! This is a really light meal, so I would suggest if you are feeding a hungry human, to pop some noodles in here to make it more of a “meal”.As part of my salad design process, I have implemented a “If you eat the salad, you need to critique the salad” policy from whom ever is devouring it, which is usually my 6’5” other half, who has a love affair with potatoes, bread, and anything sweet. His comments were as follows: “I really like it, but if I had to critique it, it’s a bit green” and on further investigation, when I advised that no, potatoes would not go in this salad, we settled with the addition of noodles making it more of a man-friendly meal. So.. for those of you that are feeding men, add the noodles to satisfy big appetites. However, the dressing got the big thumbs up 👍🏼This salad has A LOT of flavour, its sweet, sour, salty and yum yum yum. P.S. I totally forgot the tomatoes if you are wondering where they are in my photos!!

THAI CARAMEL BEEF SALAD

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Foliage

Serves: 2

Ingredients

½ red onion finely sliced
¼ lebanese cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
1 bok choy, leaves finely sliced
¼ punnet of cherry tomatoes washed and cut into halves
2 stalks of celery cut into matchsticks
¼ cup salted and roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon of peanut oil
300 grams of grass-fed beef scotch fillet
½ cup lightly packed thai herbs (Vietnamese mint, coriander, thai basil)
Marinade for the beef:
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 knob of fresh ginger finely chopped
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
Himalayan salt and cracked pepper
For the dressing:
½ cup brown sugar
2cm knob of fresh ginger finely diced
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 kaffir lime leave de veined and finely sliced (optional)
Juice and zest of 1 lime

Method

Pat beef dry with paper towels and place into a dish with beef marinade and a good grind of salt and pepper, place in the fridge to marinate for 20-60 minutes.
Pull the leaves of the thai herbs from the stalks, ensuring you keep some of the stalks of the coriander to finely chop and reserve for the dressing.
Rinse and dice/chop/peel your vegetables, set aside.
Make your caramel dressing by adding red wine vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, lime zest & kaffir lime (if using) to a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar, once dissolved, add chicken stock and lime juice and simmer until the dressing has reduced by half, remove from heat.
Heat a drizzle of peanut oil in a medium fry-pan on high heat. Cook steak for about 2-3 minutes each side for medium rare (depending on thickness), or until cooked to your liking. Remove from the heat and rest covered in foil for 5-10 minutes.
When you are ready to serve, thinly slice the beef against the grain. Toss all ingredients with the dressing, place beef on top and serve!

PUMPKIN, BACON & SUN-DRIED TOMATO CAESAR SALAD

Who doesn’t love the good old classic caesar salad! This is definitely a bit of a twisted caesar salad, with the addition of pumpkin, and sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes. I am not a huge fan of fresh tomatoes in a caesar salad, I don’t know why, because I love tomatoes, but always find when I am eating a caesar salad, I leave the tomatoes! So I opted to try it out with sun-dried version and I was very pleased with the results! I also used rocket instead of cos lettuce, so really one could argue that it isn’t really a caesar salad at all, but the dressing definitely has the qualities of a caesar salad!This Pumpkin, Bacon & Sun-Dried Tomato Caesar Salad is seasonally versatile, and pretty hearty with the chicken, croutons and pumpkin. It will quite easily feed 4 hungry tummy’s. I opt for free-range chicken and bacon where ever I can, although it is a little more expensive, the reassurance that the animal was bred as close as it can be to it’s natural environment, and was (hopefully) well cared for and lived a happy life is totally worth it for me. It also has a lot more flavour, and is a lot better for you without the added hormones and preservatives.I have chosen to create crunchy crouton’s from wholegrain rolls, you could easily make this salad gluten-free by choosing a gluten-free bread to toast, but make sure you add in some form of crouton as it really pulls this salad together! I have made this countless times for group barbecues or events and it almost always gets devoured. Make sure you toss the dressing through the salad before adding in the croutons and egg to avoid mushy croutons and crushed egg. Place your egg quarters, or halves on top of the salad when ready to serve, which look beautiful.While I am here I just need to talk about mayonnaise. Kewpie mayonnaise is a MUST. I cannot give this mayo enough credit, it is honestly the best thing since sliced bread. The point of difference Kewpie mayo has, is that it is made from egg yolk, compared to whole egg, giving it a really creamy rich flavour. Kewpie brands itself upon using only the highest quality ingredients (eggs, vinegar, vegetable oil & spices). Fun fact: During World War II, when high quality ingredients were hard to come by, the founder of Kewpie Mayonnaise decided to cease the production until he could get hold of excellent quality ingredients suitable for Kewpie Mayonnaise. Kudos to them, the quality of this mayo definitely reflects fine ingredients.

Enjoy this delicious, creamy, warming, moorish salad, don’t forget the Kewpie mayo!

PUMPKIN BACON, SUN-DRIED TOMATO CAESER SALAD

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Foliage

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Serves: 4
For the salad:
500 grams of free-range chicken
2 tablespoons of cajun seasoning
1 med butternut pumpkin, skin removed and diced into 2cm cubes
2 wholegrain bread rolls, cut into 2cm pieces
1 red onion quartered
1 avocado, diced
2-3 free-range eggs
6 rashers of free-range bacon cut into 1cm pieces
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
6-8 sun-dried tomatoes, halved lengthways
2 cups of rocket foliage (arugula)
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper
For the dressing:
2 heaped tablespoons of kewpie mayonnaise
Juice & zest of 1 large lemon
Sea salt & cracked pepper

Method

Start by preparing dressing,combine mayonnaise, lemon juice & zest and whisk well to combine.
Preheat oven to 200°C and line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Dice pumpkin and onion and drizzle over 1-2 tablespoons of oil and season with 2 tablespoons of cajun seasoning and salt and pepper, bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden, turn halfway.
When the pumpkin & onion have 5 minutes remaining, toss the cut bread rolls in 2 tablespoons of oil and season generously with sea salt. Bake for 3-5 minutes or until crunchy, remove and set aside.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil, place, shell and all into the water and reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and douse with cool water to stop the eggs from over cooking, peel and cut into quarters just prior to serving.
Heat a drizzle of oil in frying pan and cook bacon until browning (2-3 minutes), remove and set aside of paper towels to absorb oil.
Pat chicken thighs with a paper towel, season well with salt and pepper and a generous sprinkling of Cajun seasoning, set aside.
In the same pan place chicken thighs (I cut mine in half as otherwise they will be too thick) and cook for 2-5 minutes per side or until cooked through, set aside on a plate and cover with foil to rest. Once cool slice thinly.
Prepare the remaining salad ingredients, slice sun dried tomatoes, grate parmesan, combine bacon, rocket, pumpkin, avocado, onion, parmesan, tomatoes and chicken. Toss with the dressing and place into serving bowls, place desired amount of egg quarters and crunchy bread on top to serve.

BAKED NECTARINE, FETA & BACON SALAD

Stone fruit is one of my favourite things about summer, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, cherries. Such a delicious treat and I really do not eat them enough over the summer months. There is something special about roasting or baking stone fruit, particularly peaches, apricots and nectarines, they are so warming and comforting, and baking really draws out the sweetness making them even more delectable! This salad was so much fun to make, it is so easy, looks incredible and the flavours are on point.

The balsamic reduction works really well with this baked nectarine, feta & bacon salad, super easy to make by simply reducing balsamic and maple syrup (or honey) over a low heat, this takes about 10 minutes with regular stirring and a watchful eye. TIP: Try to avoid over-reducing , as once the dressing cools, it hardens, which is annoying but can easily be resurrected by gently heating in the microwave or in a saucepan over a low heat.

You could use cow or goats feta, whatever works for you, just chop it up into little cubes to dot all over your salad towards the end. There is something magical that happens when you combine salty cheese with the sweetness of a baked nectarine!

Brushing these pretty little yellow ray’s of sunshine with butter and baking them gives a sweet/creamy flavour and encourages the fruit to golden. You could also use peaches if you are unable to source nectarines, the texture of the peach skin is a little fuzzier, and I personally prefer the smoothness of the nectarine.

This baked nectarine salad is perfect as a side dish to chicken, I devoured this with some easy peasy baked chicken and it was very satisfying. If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes!

BAKED NECTARINE, FETA & BACON SALAD

Author: Foliage

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the salad:
4 medium sized nectarines, stones removed and cut into halves
1 tablespoon of organic butter
2 cups of rocket foliage (arugula)
4 rashers of free-range bacon
1 ripe avocado, diced
½ block (100 grams) of feta cheese
¼ cup roughly chopped almonds
For the dressing:
½ cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons organic maple syrup or honey
Himayalan salt & cracked pepper

Method

For the dressing:
In a medium sized saucepan, add balsamic vinegar and maple syrup or honey.
Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, once simmering, reduce heat and continue to simmer on low to reduce, this will take about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on it as it can burn easily! Once it has thickened to your preference (you want it reasonably sticky) remove from heat. It does thicken further on cooling so be careful to not over thicken or burn the dressing. If you have gone over-board with the thickening, you can re-heat it in the microwave or on the stove- crisis everted!
For the salad:
Wash and put rocket leaves through a salad spinner to remove excess water or set aside to drip dry in a colander.
Pre-heat oven to 180ºC and line a shallow baking dish with baking paper.
Rinse, de-stone and cut nectarines into halves, melt butter in the microwave or in a saucepan and brush over the flesh side of the cut nectarines. Place into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the nectarines start to golden and bubble on the surface. Once cooked remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Bring frying pan to medium heat on the stove top, place bacon rashers into the pan and fry until cooked (approximately 5 minutes) once cooked, place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
In the same pan add slivered almonds and cook until golden in the bacon fat. Remove from heat and set aside on a paper towel with the bacon.
Dice feta and avocado into cubes- be sure to wipe down the chopping board between the feta and avocado, or it will look messy!
Now that the nectarines have cooled, slice into quarters, and chop cooked bacon rashers into 1cm pieces.
To serve, arrange rocket onto each serving plate, top with bacon, quartered nectarines, almonds and feta cheese. Drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Serve!

COCONUT CRUSTED PRAWN SALAD WITH RED CURRY DRESSING

I haven’t ever really embraced prawns into my cooking life, I am not sure why, because I love them, and every time I eat them it reminds me how healthy, delicious and versatile they are!

So I sat down with the intention to create a salad dish that featured the prawn.cook more prawn. This subsequently took me down memory lane to my most consequential prawn experience. This experience was one that took me back to Vietnam, on a scooter-led street food tour (which at the time I was terrified about) for the reasons being:

a. riding on a scooter in the chaos of Vietnam, driven by a stranger that speaks minimal english

b. eating street food, in questionable cooking environments, and varying “food safety and hygiene practices”

After considering the worst and best case scenario of this situation, I decided that life is far too short to pass up on such a “real” vietnamese food experience, and prayed to god that I wasn’t going to get sick and spend the rest of my holiday in the fetal position.

It was during this excursion, that I met the delightful coconut prawn. They were served on their own, with a peanut dipping sauce on a knee-height plastic table that required some skilful squatting. After an entree of deep fried frog leg, which I politely declined, needless to say I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the familiar prawn on my plate wrapped in a crunchy coconut blanket. It was divine, and I wanted a whole bowl to myself. This is where the inspiration for my coconut crusted prawn salad with red curry dressing was drawn from, and now my wishes have come true, I can now have a whole bowl to myself!

I love asian cuisine, particularly asian-fusion, the abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables, complexity of flavours, colours, the sweet-sour punch your in the face tastes that leave you wanting more. This coconut crusted prawn salad with red curry dressing ticks all my boxes for a fulfilling, healthy and tasty dish.

This salad has a real crunch factor to it, I have incorporated the delicious coconut prawn with a medley of crunch-based vegetables such as red cabbage, bok choy, bean sprouts and green beans. The addition of brown rice pulls the salad together and soaks up the delightful red curry dressing. Topped with coconut chips and fresh coriander, your tastebuds and your tummy will feel satisfied with this healthy asian inspired salad.

A few pointers:

The prawns cook very quickly, If you accidentally burn or overcook the coconut on the prawns, be sure to change the oil as it tints the oil, and can affect the nice golden colour you are trying to achieve with the prawns.
Depending on how spicy you like your dressing, feel free to add extra red curry paste, I put 2 tablespoons in mine and it was a mild/medium heat. The dish can look a little less attractive once the dressing has been drizzled over it, so feel free to serve it looking pretty, and let your salad eaters help themselves to the dressing!
For shallow-frying, I tend to use rice bran oil, peanut oil or olive oil, depending on what I have in the pantry. Peanut oil is fantastic for asian-styled dishes and Pic’s do a great peanut oil you can find at New World supermarkets. These oils have a high smoke point- which means they can be heated to high temperatures without burning, and do not lose their antioxidants and good fats.

COCONUT CRUSTED PRAWN SALAD WITH RED CURRY DRESSING

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

Author: Foliage

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the dressing:
150mls coconut milk
2 tablespoons red curry paste (1 if you prefer it less spicy)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon of organic maple syrup
For the prawns:
16 raw prawns, de-veined
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
½ cup long thread coconut
1 egg
½ cup flour
Himalayan salt & cracked pepper
For the salad:
1 cup of brown rice- I cheated and used Uncle Ben’s 90-second packets!
1 small bokchoy bulb washed and thinly sliced
½ cup finely sliced red cabbage
1 good handful of baby spinach leaves
1 small shallot finely sliced
½ punnet of washed bean sprouts, cut into halves
A good handful of raw green beans, washed, ends trimmed and cut into halves
Handful of washed coriander
4 tablespoons of coconut chips

Method

Start by preparing the dressing, combine all ingredients and shake or whisk well to emulsify, set aside out of the fridge or the coconut will harden.
Prepare all vegetables by washing, remove the fibrous ends of the beans and cut into halves, and finely slice red cabbage and bok choy. Cut the beansprouts into halves and remove the coriander leaves from the stalk, discard stalk.
Prepare your coating station for the prawns, set up a shallow bowl with flour, and a good few grinds of Himalayan salt and cracked pepper. Fill the second bowl with ½ cup long coconut thread, and ½ cup panko breadcrumbs and a third small bowl with one whisked egg. Dip your prawns into a shallow bowl of flour to coat, then the egg, followed by a good dousing in the coconut panko mixture, shake to remove excess and place on a plate.
In a frying pan, pour enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the base of the pan and provide enough coverage to shallow fry. Cook your prawns in manageable batches, for about 1 minute per side or until golden brown and the tails turn orange, watch them carefully as they do tend to cook quickly and it is easy to burn them. As the cook, place them on a paper towel lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
Prepare each of your plates with the salad ingredients, rice on the base, followed by your fresh ingredients and coconut chips. Drizzle over some of the red curry dressing and place 4 prawns on top of each salad. Drizzle another good measure of dressing over the prawns, top with fresh coriander, season with Himalayan salt & pepper and serve!

CITRUS ROAST CARROT, PARSNIP SALAD WITH SEEDS & YOGURT

This Citrus Roast Carrot, Parsnip Salad with Seeds & Yogurt was inspired by what seems to be a bit of a theme for me at the moment – wastage avoidance. I always seem to get a little carried away when I visit the market, most probably because I become overwhelmed by all of the incredible fresh produce, the colours, the smells, the good pricing, and supporting local growers. This salad probably suits the “winter salad category” as it’s hearty, warming, and comforting, but was still met with a series of “yums and delicious” during dinner on a warm, summers evening.

I served this up with a butterflied lamb leg and some home made potato wedges courtesy of my fabulous sister and it was a killer dinner.

This salad is loaded with fresh organic carrots, parsnip (carrot and parsnip go so well together, have you tried carrot and parsnip mash? it is soo good). Mixed mesculin, toasted seeds and nuts, avocado, and crunchy ciabatta pieces. The added crunch from the toasted ciabatta really works wonders with the texture of the roast vegetables, and really who doesn’t like salty, crunchy croutons!

You might see that for the dressing I bake the orange and lemon, please make sure you do this, it brings out so much more of the citrus flavours, and you get a lot more of the juice from the fruit. I love this dressing and it is pretty versatile too, it has a real freshness to it, and works well with roasted vegetables of any kind.

An absolute must to this salad is the big dollops of creamy greek yogurt applied just prior to serving, sometimes I dollop it all over, and serve in the baking tray like I did for my sister and her boyfriend and the million mosquito’s that joined us that evening, or you could pop it into a cute ceramic dish and your guests can help themselves. In hindsight I think I would pop it into a cute dish because I found myself selfishly scooping all the bits off that had the most yogurt because its so-damn-good.

Puhoi Valley have nailed it with this yogurt. It is magic.

This salad is great for the next day, or even making a big batch for the weeks lunches. If you plan on eating it the subsequent days, make sure you leave some croutons out to pop on when you are ready to eat, as if you leave them in the salad they will lose their crunch! The citrus dressing seems to keep the avocado in it’s prime too which is a bonus. This salad is fun to make and really delicious, I hope you enjoy it, don’t forgot the yogurt!

CITRUS ROAST CARROT, PARSNIP SALAD WITH SEEDS & YOGURT

Author: FOLIAGE

Ingredients

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Serves 4-6
For the salad:
4 carrots washed and cut into thirds
3 parsnip washed and cut into thirds
4 golden or purple baby beetroot halved or quartered
2 handfuls of mixed mesculin, washed
2 avocado halved, stoned and sliced
¼ cup lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
¼ cup lightly toasted sunflower seeds
2 ciabatta loaves cut into 2cm slices and baked
200 grams puhoi valley natural greek yogurt
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon chilli flakes
1 knob of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan salt and cracked pepper
for the dressing:
Extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan salt and cracked pepper
Red wine vinegar
1 orange
1 lemon

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200°C and line a large baking dish and baking tray with paper.
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, rinse carrots, parsnip and beetroot, cut carrots and parsnip lengthways, then into thirds, cut beetroot into quarters.
Place vegetables into boiling water and let cook for 10 minutes to soften vegetables.
Whilst cooking, in a mortar and pestle crush cumin seeds, turmeric, chilli, garlic, ¼ cup olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper until it forms a paste, add a good splash of red wine vinegar.
Cut the orange and lemon into halves and place into the baking tray flesh side down. Remove vegetables from the pot, drain and place into a baking dish with the orange and lemon halves, massage paste into the vegetables and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked, but with a bit of crunch.
When there is 10-15 minutes cooking time remaining, drizzle olive oil onto your ciabatta slices and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt. Bake until crunchy.
Lightly toast sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in a dry pan until golden, set aside.
Remove vegetables and ciabatta from the oven, using tongs as they will be hot, squeeze the juice from the lemon and orange into a dressing bow, season, and add ¼ cup olive oil and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, whisk to combine.
Prepare avocado, cut into slices and add to vegetables, pour dressing over the cooked vegetables, add toasted seeds and mesculin, toss well.
Add toasted ciabatta and roughly toss through, dollop Puhoi valley greek yogurt over the salad,or pop t into a bowl on the side, and serve!

WILD RICE & POMEGRANATE

This wild rice & pomegranate salad is yum and oh so pretty.

I am really channeling “meal salads at the moment” possibly because I cook for a man that is used to eating carb-loaded meals, and I have taken it upon myself to make him love salads as much as I do, and moving away from the ” unfulfilling green leaf salad stigma” and creating salads that can fuel and satisfy the incredible hulk.

I was in the supermarket the other day and was overwhelmed by the huge mountain of pomegranate’s presenting themselves to me in the vegetable aisle, this huge display worked a treat to get me to buy 2, regardless of the fact that I didn’t know what I was going to do with them. But never-the-less, I enjoy a challenge and decided to design a salad featuring the pom in its fruit form, with the addition of a molasses dressing to really kick up the pomegranate flavours.

Pomegranate molasses is a tarty, sweet version of maple syrup, it is pretty much thickened, pomegranate juice, with the addition of sugar, that’s why it taste so damn good. You can quite easily make this yourself , however I chose the easy option and purchased a ready to go version which I found in the international section of the supermarket, all the way from Lebanon

I hate wastage with a passion, so if I am being completely honest this salad was definitely a “what needs to be used up in the fridge” kind of recipe, bar a few items that I did 2 separate trips to the supermarket for in my frenzy of excitement to try the ingredient and see if it worked, welcome feta and pine nuts.

The saltiness of the feta works well with the sweetness of the pomegranate, which both compliment the roast carrot. The mint adds some freshness, the rocket an earthy bitterness, and the pine nuts bring a creamy nutty (no pun intended) component to the salad. I found adding ground ginger to the carrots gave them a bit of a zing without being overbearing. I love adding ginger to things where I can for it’s medicinal properties.

The pomegranate seems to be somewhat of a rubik’s cube to open, after researching several methods of removing the pips without getting juice everywhere, taking half the pulp with you or missing half of the seeds, I finally found the perfect, easy and effective method that I have listed in the recipe instructions below.

This salad has a bit of a Mediterranean feel, it’s great on its own, or as an accompaniment to a meat dish such as lamb or chicken, tonight I am cooking it with some chicken kebabs. Enjoy!

WILD RICE & POMEGRANATE

Ingredients

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Serves: 4
For the salad:
1 cup of wild grain mixed rice
¼ cup crispy onion shallots- I use the handy pre-roastd packets found in the herb section of most supermarkets
2 cups of rocket, washed and dried
3 carrots peeled & cut into quarters, lengthways
1 tablespoon ground ginger
Olive oil
180 grams of feta cheese, roughly chopped
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Handful of mint, roughly chopped
For the dressing:
1 small garlic clove
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
5 tablespoons of extra virgn olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper

Method

Start by pre-heating the oven to 180°C and lining a baking tray with baking paper.
Prepare dressing by finely chopping 1 garlic clove and combine with lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and sea salt and cracked pepper to taste, shake or whisk to mix.
Rinse rocket and mint and set aside to dry, wash and peel carrots, cut into quarters, lengthways and place onto the lined baking tray. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of ground ginger, season with salt and pepper, bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked, but with crunch!
Whilst the carrots are cooking , wash 1 cup of wild grain mixed rice under running water, bring 2 cups of water to the boil in a medium saucepan, add rice, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for approximately 25-30 minutes.
Remove pan from heat, add a tablespoon of butter, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Lightly toast your pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden.
Roughly crumble feta, chop mint, and measure your crispy onion shallots.
Now to remove the pomegranate seeds from your pomegranate! Fill a medium sized bowl with water, using a sharp knife, carefully cut through the skin only of the pomegranate, along the 6 vertical ridges. Break the pomegranate in half by pulling open the middle cut sections, the pomegranate should now be in two halves. You can now remove the seeds from each section as you break them off, and work the seeds out into the water. The seeds sink and the pulp rises, drain pulp and water and pop the seeds into a colander to drip dry for 5 minutes.
Combine rice, carrots, rocket, pine nuts, feta, mint, pomegranate seeds and pour over dressing. toss well to combine, serve with your crispy onion shallots on top!

QUINOA, CURRANT & HALOUMI SALAD

The Middle East consists of a group of countries from North Africa through to Asia. Many of these regions label their dishes the same, but may have a completely different list of ingredients! The stand out ingredients in this cuisine include grains and pulses like lentils and chickpeas, olives, vegetables, grilled meats, herbs, cheese and yogurt condiments.

Flat breads are the most common form of bread and are often used to scoop food up with, yum yum. I personally, have not ventured to the Middle East, one day, I would love to go and experience what it has to offer, particularly Morocco, but the political unrest I do find somewhat unnerving. So, I turn my kitchen into a middle eastern cooking den instead!

I LOVE Haloumi, for those of you who know me, or have been reading some of my recipe blogs, you may have noticed the frequent occurrence of the cheese gifted by the gods- Haloumi. It’s salty, its creamy, it’s buttery and god-damn delicious and if I could put it in every meal, I would. When choosing Haloumi, I go for Mainland, it has less sodium than most other brands at the supermarket, has great taste and holds its shape when cooked! The classic grain-based middle eastern salad usually comprises of wheat based grains such as couscous, today I had my beautiful gluten-free friend over for dinner, so I decided to use quinoa and buckwheat to add in a bit of nutty texture (buckwheat isn’t actually wheat its a grain, contrary to it’s name) Alas, the quinoa, currant, haloumi salad was created, and it’s delicious.

The creaminess of the haloumi, the sweetness of the currants, the citrus in the dressing and the nutty, protein packed mother-grain, quinoa. I served this with butterflied lamb shoulder, and was pretty pleased with the outcome!

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Serves 4-6

QUINOA, CURRANT & HALOUMI SALAD

This Quinoa, Currant & Haloumi Salad is the perfect Mediterranean crowd pleaser! Healthy and so many flavours!

Author: Foliage

Ingredients

For the salad:
1 cup of quinoa
¼ cup organic vegetable stock
200 grams mainland haloumi, sliced into 1-2cm thick rectangles
½ onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons fresh chilli
1 Tablespoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoons garam masala
1 can organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¼ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup currants
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
5 dried apricots chopped into quarters
½ cup flat leaf parsley- roughly chopped
2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
optional: ½ cup buckwheat
for the dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
A good pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper

Method

For the dressing:
Start by making the dressing, mix the juice of 1 lemon, with ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper, pop into a jam jar and shake well to emulsify dressing.
Heat the oil, chopped garlic, onion, chilli, cumin and garam masala over medium high heat in a pan, cook until fragrant, around 2 minutes add the drained and rinsed chickpeas and pan fry for a further 5 minutes, remove from the pan and set aside.
For the quinoa:
Rinse quinoa to remove some of the bitterness, bring quinoa, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 cups of vegetable stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for around 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Return the pot to low heat and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. If using buckwheat, bring 1¾ cups of water to the boil, add a tablespoon of butter, add buckwheat, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook with the saucepan lid on for approximately 10 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
For the haloumi:
Add the haloumi to a dry frying pan, you don't need to use any oil in your pan if you are using a non-stick, if not, pop a dash of oil in the pan.Cook the first side of the haloumi. After a minute or two, the haloumi will begin to release some liquid, flip the haloumi, set aside on a paper-towel to absorb excess oil, once cool cut into thirds.
To assemble:
Combine quinoa, spiced chickpea mix, baby spinach, parsley, almonds, currants, apricots, cranberries and haloumi. Toss well with your basic lemon dressing, great as a main meal, feel free to substitute the haloumi for grilled chicken. Delicious the next day as well!

MEXICAN SALAD BOWL

Mexico- a vibrant colourful city with mexican cuisine as the heart and soul of its’ culture, social structure and tradition. Mexican cuisine incorporates mesoamerican, european and spanish elements, but is based on age old techniques and cooking methods incorporating the mexican staples, such as corn and chilli peppers, avocado, tomato, pumpkin, and spices such as cocoa and vanilla.

This is a bit of a twist on your traditional mexican salad bowl, using spice toasted Owairaka Red Kumara, which has a creamy white flesh. With your basic mexican dish elements (corn, beans, chilli, avocado and a few other tasty ingredients) brought together through a creamy chipotle dressing. Easy, colourful, healthy, with a bit of a smokey, firy zing to get your taste buds going!

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 2

MEXICAN CHIPOTLE SALAD BOWL

Ingredients

For the salad:
2 medium kumara scrubbed and peeled
1 corn cob hulled and cooked
1 can of organic black beans drained and rinsed
¼ red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 handfuls of baby spinach
½ large ripe avocado diced
Handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 spring onion finely chopped
6 green pickled peppers ( I use The Olive Lady)
For the kumara:
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp mild chilli flakes
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp organic maple syrup
Rock salt & cracked pepper
For the dressing:
150 grams Puhoi Valley natural greek yogurt
2 Tbsp Culley's smoked chipotle sauce

Method

Turn oven to 200ºC and line a baking dish with baking paper.
Prepare the dressing by combining yogurt and chipotle sauce, mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.
Put together the seasoning for the kumara by combining melted coconut oil, cumin, chilli flakes, nutmeg, maple syrup and salt and pepper. Mix well with a fork and set aside.
Scrub, peel and dice kumara into 3cm cube, place into the lined baking tray, pour ver seasoning and toss well to coat. Add another good grind of salt prior to popping the kumara in to the oven.Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
Finely chop red cabbage and spring onion and set aside, rinse baby spinach and coriander, separate the coriander from the stalk, discard stalk.
Bring a pot of water to the boil, husk the corn ( or you can buy pre-cooked corn or frozen corn kernals) cut corn cob in half and place in the boiling water for 2 minutes, remove from the heat, drain water and cool, once cool enough to touch, carefully cut the kernals off the corn.
Drain and rinse organic black beans, remove desired amount of green peppers from the jar and dice your avocado.
Place spinach into the base of each bowl, and decorate the edges of the bowl with your ingredients, once you are happy with your presentation, whisk your salad dressing with a fork to combine and drizzle over your salad! Top with avocado, serve immediately!

WARM ROAST TOMATO,GOATS CHEESE & BASIL

WARM ROAST TOMATO, FETA & BASIL

This is a great warm salad dish, perfect for a cold winter's evening as a side to chicken or fish. It can be difficult to find sweet, juicy tomatoes in the winter, roasting really enhances flavour, so this salad is perfect when you have a bunch of taste-deficit toms lying around!

Ingredients

For the salad:
10-12 small to medium tomatoes in a variety of colours if you can find them
200 grams of feta cheese
2 medium courgettes washed and cut into .5cm wedges
2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves
1 handful of kalamata olives
2Tbsp pine nuts
For the tomatoes:
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 tsp maple syrup
Himalayan salt & cracked pepper
For the dressing:
¼ cup balsamic
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan salt & cracked pepper

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180°C and line 2 baking tray with cooking paper (1 for the tomatoes, 1 for the feta)
Wash basil and remove leaves, wash courgette and cut into .5cm rounds
Rinse tomatoes and cut in half- lengthways and place cut side up onto the baking tray.
Combine olive oil, balsamic, garlic and maple syrup and mix well. Pour over tomatoes ensuring you are concentrating the mixture to the centre of the tomatoes, season with cracked pepper and himalayan salt. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until tomato skin has started to curl and slightly brown.
Once the tomatoes are cooked, remove from the oven and cover with foil to keep warm, turn the oven over to grill for the feta.
Cut feta into 2cm slices- if you can find feta in a log roll, that looks even better! place on the second lined baking tray and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and grill until the cheese starts to brown, this should only take around 5 minutes so watch closely. Remove from oven and set aside with foil to cover.
Prepare dressing.
Pan fry courgette rounds in 1Tbsp olive oil until browned.
Combine roast tomatoes, grilled feta, pan seared courgettes, fresh basil leaves, olives and pine nuts. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. The feta will start to break apart but don't be alarmed! Delicious warm but also lovely room temperature.

FATTOUSH SALAD

Fattoush Salad- a salad derived from the Middle East that comprises of fresh, crunchy summer vegetables- tomatoes, cucumber, onion, fresh herbs, toasted flat bread, brought together through a tangy, citrus dressing that reminds you of summer.

This is a summer go-to of mine as it seems to be a crowd pleaser, the crunch of the toasted bread, the complexity and “zing” of flavours in the dressing and the fresh crisp vegetables.

This recipe was inspired by my mum, and the abundance of tomatoes I have in my garden at present, a salad she has been making for some years that we would keenly offer to “assist” with, and by assist, I mean eagerly hovering by the oven waiting for the delicious garlicky, finger-lickingly good chips from the oven to be pinched, before they even entered the salad.

I have played around with this recipe to include a little more complexity through the dressing and have added a few extra fresh herbs to replace the spice mix, and added a little more foliage, Enjoy!

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