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 (also called garbanzo beans) 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, bow ties 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.
I used an ash-dusted soft goat’s cheese from Kaikoura Artisan Cheese Company.
Croutons
| 4 slices | Ciabatta bread, 3cm thick each |
| 2 cloves | Garlic, crushed |
| ¼ cup | Extra virgin olive oil |
Salad
| 5 medium | Tomatoes (Main) |
| 1 small | Fennel bulb, shaved or thinly sliced |
| 150 g | Soft goat's cheese, cubed |
| 1 cup | Wild rocket |
| 6 | Basil leaves, sliced |
Dressing
| 3 Tbsp | Lemon juice |
| ¼ cup | Extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 clove | Garlic, crushed |
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 190C.
- Trim the crusts from the bread. Cut the bread into 3cm cubes. Place in a plastic bag. Combine the garlic and oil and add to the bread cubes. Shake until they are evenly coated. Place in a roasting dish and bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Stir often. Remove and cool. Alternatively, toast in a non-stick frying pan on low heat, stirring often.
- Halve the tomatoes and squeeze out the seeds. Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Combine in a salad bowl with the fennel. Season. Dot with the goat's cheese, rocket, basil and croutons.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients. Drizzle over the salad just before serving.
