Summer Salads

The ever reliable British summer is on its way and we saying goodbye to the slow cooker and soups for the next few months and hello to colourful salad bowls using the best of British produce.

I, personally, bloody love a salad. Not the bland, leafy kind, but the colourful, bursting with flavour kind. The kind that can be paired with a gin and tonic in the garden at the weekend or substantial enough to have for a work-lunch without heading to the vending machine an hour later for a sad looking pot of instant noodles.

If you also bloody love a salad but get stuck on how to change it up or include loads of your 5 a day, then this is the blog for you! We’ve rounded up all our faves for some major inspo.

Buddha Bowls

The original bowl of soul food although you no longer have to be on a beach in Bali to get your hands on all of its goodness. It’s a really simple and versatile way of getting all your veg in. This recipe uses carrots, cabbage, chickpeas, sweet potato and radishes but it’s all interchangeable with whatever you have available really! You can change up the carbs by switching to quinoa, freekeh or orzo, you can add extra protein like beans, smoked salmon or roasted chicken and you can switch up the veg to anything that needs using - avocado is always a great addition to these bowls.

Then all you need to do is add some dressing or dip like hummus/tzatziki or use those aubergines to whip up some baba ganoush!

This link will give you enough ideas to get you through a whole months worth!

Insalata Caprese

The perfect addition to any BBQ or fantastic on it’s own. Sliced heritage tomatoes, sliced mozzarella, torn basil leaves, a healthy sprinkling of salt to really bring out the flavour in the toms and a big glug of a decent balsamic vinegar - an absolute winner in our books!

Candy Beetroot and Quinoa salad

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Melissa Hemsley is the GODDESS of nourishing dishes. This salad is our ultimate fave and we’ll share it forever.

Cut some carrots up into coin sized pieces, roughly chop red onion and drizzle with oil and bang in the oven for 30 mins. Add a can of chickpeas, give the tray a jiggle and roast for another 20 minutes.

In the mean time, get some quinoa on the go - I add a veg stock cube to the water to give it a bit more flavour.

Everything else just needs chopping! So slice up some cherry toms, little gem and candy beetroot. Toss in some rocket and the rest of the ingredients once cooled plus the dressing of your choice (simple olive oil/balsamic for us!).

Banger.

Watermelon, Feta & Mint

This is a beaut one for those days where the temperatures soar into the high twenties and you want something ultra refreshing and light. I hear ya - fruit in a salad, gross. But do not knock it until you try it, I wasted too many years NOT putting fruit in my salads!

The core basics of this one are cubed watermelon, crumbled feta and torn mint leaves. I usually raid the fridge for anything else I can add… this could be radishes, red onion, cucumber, tomatoes or whatever takes your fancy!

For the dressing, I mix together a glug of olive oil, cider vinegar, lime juice and salt & pepper to taste.

Best served straight out of the fridge.