Fresh & fancy salads

A well assembled salad can make a delicious one bowl meal, especially as a fuss free, throw-together dinner. Salads are the ultimate way to use up leftovers from the night before, and with a bit of love, can become an interesting meal full of flavour and textures.

A perfect salad has variety, and includes protein, grains, leaves, veggies or fruit, nuts, herbs, and a dressing. This insures it is filling and substantial, tasty, has different textures, and isn’t dry.

Start with your protein and build your salad around that. Leftover roast chicken or lamb are delicious. Lentils, chickpeas, tofu, eggs or cheese are good vegetarian options, and of course tuna and salmon work great too.

Adding a grain is a great way to add more sustenance to a salad. Quinoa, bulgur, farro or couscous are some of the many grains that help to bulk up a salad.
Once you have your protein and grain sorted, it’s time to get creative. Having a leafy green adds nutrients and bulk, this could be spinach, kale or mesclun. Other veggie ideas are leftover roast kumara or pumpkin, avocado or pickled onions.

The final step brings it all together. Toast some nuts and seeds to add a nice crunchy texture, chop up herbs for fragrance and freshness, and decide on a dressing, which is crucial to any salad for much needed moisture. A lemon or vinegar-based dressing, yoghurt dressing, honey mustard dressing, the options are endless and delicious.