My Easy Green salad

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Saturday Tortilla (11)

It’s so handy to be able to throw a salad together at short notice – I try to keep some baby gems and a cucumber as a permanent feature of my vegetable drawer – that way you’ve got the basics, and then you add whatever else if lying around.

I love salads that are (mostly) made up of all the same colours, so I’ll give you my basic version here, and my list of possible additions in the NOTES section

EQUIPMENT:

  • a large bowl
  • a whisk, if you have one, if not, a fork will do the job.

INGREDIENTS:

  • tablespoon or so of really good oil – I use my posh Olive Oil for this.
  • a sprinkle of Garlic salt (I always have garlic salt for sprinkling on tomato sandwiches, just like my Dad used to do  :)  )
  • freshly ground  black pepper
  •  juice of half a lime, or a small lemon
  • Teaspoon of dried herbs of your choice ( I like Italian herbs in this) Or fresh ones if you’ve got them, obviously.
basil

Hmm.. fresh basil..

  • 1-2 little Gem lettuces sliced up
  • 10cm piece of cucumber, skin removed, and sliced into quarters
  • stick of celery, finely chopped
  • Any suitable fruit that’s available – apple (thinly sliced into matchsticks) Avocado, in chunks; nectarine or peach, in season, chopped.

avocados

METHOD:

  • Put the oil, lime juice, herbs, Garlic salt and pepper into the bottom of the bowl
  • Whisk together until they become emulsified – the mixture will change colour
  • Add the vegetables in this order: celery, cucumber, fruit, leaves
  • You can now leave the bowl like this until you’re ready to serve, then all you have to do is mix it all together thoroughly – you’ll know it’s done when all the contents have a light sheen of the dressing.
  • Taste a bit and adjust the seasoning if you need it.
  • Once it’s mixed, serve as soon as possible.

NOTES:

  • The great thing about this salad is that if you put the ingredients into the bowl in the right order, it will sit happily for up to an hour before mixing and serving. All you have to remember is to put the leaves in last.
  • In the summer time, I love to add peaches or nectarines. Consider grapes, orange segments too..
  • Radishes, finely julienned carrots, spring onions, beetroot etc. are all excellent additions.
  • If you’re adding tomatoes, little baby ones cut in half are probably best, otherwise remove the seeds from larger tomatoes, unless they’re very firm.
  • A really large bowl is ideal for this, but remember, even if you don’t have a huge bowl – try thinking outside the box – what about your mixing bowl? Or the bowl from your Kenwood? Or the cover of a cake box? Once the salad if fully mixed you can transfer it into a lasagne dish or similar for serving
Saturday Tortilla (12)

You can see the dressing on this little bit of salad..

About

I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx

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