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In those long lost days as a fresh-faced, scruffy and scrawny wee cherub of those distant childhood years, I recall that any time that salad was served on the table it was prepared in such enormous proportions as to almost compete with the main meal. My grandmother would select the choicest of tomatoes from a mound of equally appealing, tender and firm-skinned fruits, slice one quarter for me to sample (and be sure it was of my approval) and use the remainder for the salad. To this day, I believe she guards some divinely inspired method for preparing fresh produce and some secret number of stores she visits to gather only the cream of the crop. Today? It’s a sad truth that I can no longer revel in those same wonderful flavours from yesteryear, but at least this recipe can stand as an ode to that basic regime and perhaps inspire me to evolve the side dish for the tastes of the next generation of family.
In keeping with the traditions of good style and edibility, I believe a salad should follow a few simple tenets to ensure the hungry visitors came back for seconds: always mix up an eclectic medley of colour, don’t be sparing with the olive oil and vinegar and never subject the tastebuds to old ingredients. Forget those horrific visions of heads of lettuce at the supermarket, which look as though they have been submerged in several months of cryogenic preservation. Be sure to give this salad a stir only when you have the finest of fresh ingredients on hand, or else leave it lingering upon your curiosity.
In keeping with that tradition of “self-sustaining living”, this recipe is an ode to the vivacity and youth in each of its ingredients, literally plucked from the earth moments before being washed and prepared for the table. Unfortunately, we don’t all have the luxury of making a salad from vegetables so young and sweet as they were happy in the earth moments before. Nevertheless, propagating the image of healthy and fresh eating upon that tightrope of a shoestring budget, this recipe aspires to give its readers a taste of wholesome but simple and well-balanced eating without needing a visit to the Vegetable Patch of Eden.
Give this salad a stir and a whirl and surprise yourself — you choose the fresh and palatable ingredients with a light and tantalising dressing to follow, and the dish itself will make sure it converts any non-salad lovers into a diehard fan with the first bite. All this, and you can assure your guests or family with a 7 day money back guarantee if they did not feel positively revitalised by this healthy, unique spin on the outdated notions of salad as ‘boring’ and ‘tasteless’.
INGREDIENTS
Dressing -
Salad dressing is very much so a matter of personal preference, as we have all grown up in different environments and been exposed to a variety of differing tastes and scents that we are more familiar and comfortable. My favourite dressing style is a stir of malt vinegar, garlic and salt with a splash of olive oil and rosemary — here, the balance of sweet barley are complimented by the savoury aspects of salt and rosemary and the garlic adds extra palatability. Balsamic is very common and fine to use, though it can be difficult to find authentic imported barrel-aged Modena vinegar. Red wine vinegar also works a treat when complimenting stingy and starchy ingredients, such as warm green beans and potato, but easily overpowers more subtle flavours. Brown, white and apple cider vinegars are usually off-limits when it comes to salad, though when diluted with olive oil, apple cider vinegar can make for very appealing, crisp-flavoured Caesar salads.
head of cos or quality iceberg lettuce; washed, torn and tossed
1 mid-sized Lebanese cucumber, diced or sliced (as per preference)
1 large carrot, sliced
1 garlic clove, diced
teaspoon eggplant relish
3 firm, ripe truss tomatoes (or green-red Roma if more seasonable)
sprinke of thyme, oregano, rosemary
small bunch sweet basil leaves, roughly ripped
sprinkle of salt to taste
(Optional) sprinkle of grated Parmesan
Posted 1 month, 22 days ago. in Recipes, Special Starters.
