Jan Bilton: The sweet salad days of summer (+recipes)

Christmas Bean Tree

Salad "freshens without enfeebling and fortifies without irritating", said lawyer and gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826).

Salad days are summer days. Crunchy vegetable salads are delicious topped with lashings of good mayo, but they are even healthier when sprinkled with lemon juice, verjuice or a fruit vinegar.

Salads are a great way to use up leftover roast meats, baked ham, turkey or chicken. However, you can also add protein by opening a can of beans such as cannellini, kidney, chick peas or black beans. Or try roasted nuts, such as cashews, Brazils, almonds or pine nuts. Add carbohydrate to a salad with cooked pasta such as macaroni, spirals or orzo.

Refresh salad greens before use. Carefully wash in cold water, then shake or pat dry gently with a paper towel. Place loosely in a plastic bag. Do not pack tightly or squash. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Six of my quick-to-make favourite salads include:

-Frozen peas blanched and drained combined with diced watermelon, mint leaves and drizzled with warmed mint jelly.

-Baby potatoes boiled and tossed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, then when cool, combined with mint leaves and pomegranate seeds.

-Gluten-free pasta spirals cooked, drained and combined with diced red onion, one or two cups of diced chicken, chopped parsley then tossed with lite honey-mustard salad dressing.

-Quarters or eighths of iceberg lettuce, topped with crumbled blue cheese and drizzled with ranch dressing.

-Pan-fried asparagus, cooled and sprinkled with crumbled goat's cheese, seasoned and drizzled with lemon juice.

-Cooked prawns, blanched snow peas and diced avocado tossed with sweet chilli sauce and lemon juice.

RECIPES

CHRISTMAS BEAN TREE

500g green beans
1 small red capsicum
1 radish
1/4 cup good vinaigrette or thin white salad dressing

Trim beans, if necessary. Steam until crisp-tender then refresh in icy water. Drain and pat dry.

Starting at the top, arrange beans in a tree shape on a flat dish or tray.

Halve and seed capsicum. Cut a triangle to form tree base. Using an aspic cutter, cut a small star for top of tree. Cut remaining capsicum into 5mm cubes.

Peel radish and cut into similar-sized cubes. Decorate bean tree with cubes.

Just before serving, drizzle the tree with vinaigrette or salad dressing. - Serves 6.

ROAST KUMARA & HERB SALAD

Gold kumara holds its shape well in salads. Excellent served with roasts or grills.
750g gold kumara
4-5 tbsp olive oil
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 large spring onions, diced
1 cup each: basil leaves, mint leaves, thickly sliced
1/2 cup coriander leaves
4-6 cloves black garlic
Dressing: 5 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp each: extra virgin olive oil, creamed honey

Preheat oven to 200C. Peel and cut kumara into 2-3 chunks. Place in a plastic bag and add the olive oil, salt and pepper. Move around until well coated. Spread on to a baking dish.

Bake for about 20 minutes until tender and golden. Cool to room temperature. Place in a serving dish with spring onions and herbs. Season to taste. Toss gently, taking care not to break kumara. Halve garlic cloves lengthwise and dot on top.

Whisk dressing ingredients. Drizzle over the salad just before serving. - Serves 6.

TOMATO & GOAT'S CHEESE SALAD WITH GARLIC CROUTONS

I used an ash-dusted soft goat's cheese from Kaikoura Artisan Cheese Company.

Croutons: 3-4 x 3cm-thick slices ciabatta
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salad: 5 ripe medium tomatoes
1 small fennel bulb, shaved or thinly sliced
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
150g soft goat's cheese, cubed
1 cup wild rocket leaves
6 basil leaves, sliced
Dressing: 3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed

Preheat oven to 190C. Trim crusts from bread. Cut bread into 3cm cubes. Place in a plastic bag. Combine garlic and oil and add to bread cubes. Shake until evenly coated.
Place in a roasting dish and bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Stir often. Remove and cool. Alternatively, toast on low heat in a non-stick frying pan.

Halve tomatoes and squeeze out seeds. Cut tomatoes into quarters. Combine in a salad bowl with fennel. Season. Dot with goat's cheese, rocket, basil and croutons. Whisk dressing ingredients. Drizzle over salad just before serving. - Serves 4.

BALINESE VEGETABLE SALAD

Sambal: 6 shallots
1 tsp salt
2 tsp each: grated root ginger, chopped lemon grass
2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
4-8 small chillies, seeded and chopped
1 tsp fish sauce
1-2 tbsp canola oil
Salad: 4 shallots
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 small cabbage
1 carrot, julienned
250g fresh or frozen beans
120g baby spinach leaves
100g bean sprouts
2 tbsp long-thread coconut

To prepare the sambal, finely slice shallots. Combine well with salt then squeeze. Wash and pat dry.

Place in a food processor with ginger, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies and fish sauce. Process until fairly smooth adding oil to bind.

To prepare the salad, thinly slice shallots or onion and fry in oil, until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels.

Cut cabbage into 2.5cm x 1cm pieces. Quickly blanch in boiling water, then refresh in ice cold water. Drain well and pat dry. Blanch carrot and trimmed beans, until crisp-tender.
Stack vegetables, including spinach, on a platter and top with sprouts and coconut. Sprinkle with fried shallots.

Serve at room temperature. Take servings of salad and combine with a little sambal. Add a squeeze of lime juice, if desired. - Serves 4-6.