featuring an easy healthy recipe by cook Adie McClelland

Autumn Salads

We know that vegetables are good for us and we know that fresh crisp raw vegetables, in a salad, are the very best for us in healthy food.

Salads range from the common garden variety, Garden Salad, which can mean a salad with anything tasty that is in the garden (or fridge) to the smart sounding salads we see in restaurants, such as Salad Nicoise, Waldorf Salad, Caesar Salad.

While mankind has eaten raw vegetable since the dawn of time, the term 'salad' comes (as do many culinary terms) from the French, 'salade' which is from the Latin 'salata'. Salata means salty. In early days salads were seasoned with a brine (salty) solution. The salty brine solution has been replaced by vinaigrette salad dressings (see live life Sept 2009)

Salads can comprise of any ingredients, we have fruit salads, meat salads and even breakfast salads, pasta salads, potato salads, plus hot or cold salads. Coleslaw is also a salad, from the Dutch, using shredded cabbage.

The common salad theme is, salad uses fresh vegetables & fruits, is usually served as a side dish and will have a dressing or sauce to go with it.

Below are some of my favourite and easy salads, using many of the ingredients that are used by Burger Wisconsin when they create your best burgers;

Mixed Lettuce Leaves w Green Herb Dressing

Leaf Salad

I usually use the lettuces, Buttercrunch, Cos, Frilly, and a little rocket for that peppery bite. Play around and get a combination that you like, of course there is nothing wrong with the good old iceberg lettuce. Any combination of leaves will do, as this is a very easy & quickly assembled salad.

Buttercrunch / Butterhead - have small round loosely formed heads. The leaves are buttery textured and have a sweet succulent flavour. Butterhead is the most popular fancy lettuce variety, and available in green and red colour.

Cos / Romaine - The lettuce used in the Caesar Salad originated from the Aegean island of Cos, and has a long leaf with a crunchy rib.

Frilly / Green Frill - Have attractive crinkly leaves that will stand up on the plate, and have a slightly bitter flavour.

Rocket / Arugula - While not strictly a lettuce, Rocket is a wonderful addition to a leaf salad. Rocket has strong rich peppery taste.

Click here for information on NZ lettuce available

Other salad leaves can be added to your salad to create your own best salad, such as Baby Spinach, Mizuna, Cress, Mustard leaves. Click here for information on these

All lettuce leaves should be washed and dried before using, a salad spinner is a valuable addition to any kitchen. If your leaves are looking a little wilted a wash in cold water and spin-dry then place in the fridge for a couple of hours will revive them.

Green Herb Dressing

This dressing makes a beautiful salad as well as a visual treat. This dressing is sufficient for 1kg salad leaves.

6 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs (such as dill, parsley, chives, chervil and tarragon)
3 hard boiled eggs, shelled and roughly chopped
150 ml sunflower or olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A little sugar
A little mustard

Method

1. Process herbs and eggs in food processor to a fairly smooth paste.
2. Gradually beat in the oil, like you do when making mayonnaise.
3. Then mix in the vinegar, seasoning, sugar and mustard to taste.

Assemble the leaves in a serving bowl, or on the plate and drizzle over the Green Herb dressing

Coban Salad

This is a variation on a Turkish type shepherds salad with flavours that meld beautifully. Serve alongside a lamb or chicken roast, its simple freshness is what makes it stand out. Add the dressing up to an hour before serving to allow the juices to flow and the flavours to develop.

Salad

3 large tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and diced
½ large cucumber, peeled and diced
4 red radishes, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 red onion, chopped
3 mild long green chillies, finely chopped
Bunch Italian parsley chopped
10 green olives, pips removed, chopped

The dressing

½ cup olive oil
½ cup lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Add all the dressing ingredient together and whisk to mix. Pour over the salad up to an hour before for best flavour.

Mushroom Salad

This recipe uses flat mushrooms which are grilled first and then marinated for 4-5 hours, in fact over night is even better. You could use the cultivated button mushrooms, however if you do this sear them in a hot pan, rather than grilling, before pouring over the marinade.

Salad

450g mushrooms
1 lemon
Large handful of Italian flat leaf parsley

The Marinade

1 lemon
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
150ml extra virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves
Sprig of thyme
4 hot chillies
10 black peppercorns
Salt

Method

1. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth, remove the stems, brush some oil over the mushrooms and grill, tops down, until water fills the inside of the cap - about 5-6 minutes. Turn over and grill for a further minute. Remove, dry a little with paper towel and place on a glass or china serving dish.
2. Put the olive oil in a saucepan with 3 of the garlic cloves, the zest and juice of one lemon, the bay leaves, thyme, chillies and peppercorns. Heat gently for 5 minutes at a bare simmer.
3. While still very hot, strain through a fine sieve over the mushrooms, discarding the aromatics (bay leaves, thyme, chili, peppercorns). When cool, refrigerate.
4. Turn mushrooms in the marinade a few times, sprinkle with salt.
5. Before serving zest the second lemon, finely chop the remaining clove of garlic, chop the parsley and scatter over the mushrooms.