It’s a myth that eating salads will help
you to lose weight. A salad can be more fattening than a big Mac and chips if
the vegies are swimming in a gluggy sea of greasy mayonnaise or oily
vinaigrette. A small splash will do. Then a salad can really be health in a
bowl.
We’ve been surviving on salads for much of
the summer. On our skinniest days a crisp wedge of iceberg lettuce, some ripe
red tomatoes and sliced cucumber taste good by themselves. Here are some of our
other favourites: dressed barely with oil or not at all.
Tzatziki
:
To make tzatziki peel a telegraph cucumber.
Scoop the seeds out and discard. Grate the cucumber coarsely into a
strainer.Salt lightly and leave for
half an hour to let the liquid drain out. Squeeze it by hand to dry it out
further. Then stir it into a cup or so of thick greek yoghurt . Add a pinch of salt,
a teaspoon of olive oil, a crushed garlic clove and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Finally stir through some chopped mint.
Tzatziki can be a light lunch scooped up
with triangles of pita bread which have been brushed with oil and baked briefly
in a moderate oven until crisp.
Tomato
salad:
For this thickly slice ripe tomatoes,
season with salt, grind over black pepper, drizzle with a splash of balsamic
vinegar and little olive oil and sprinkle with torn basil leaves.
Beetroot, mint and pomegranate salad:
This ruby red salad is delicious. Peel and
grate a couple of large beetroots. Stir in about two tablespoons of pomegranate
molasses. You may like to add more but add small amounts at a time as its
sweetness can overwhelm the salad. Stir in plenty of chopped mint.
Alongsideserve some slices of grilled haloumi and some toasted sourdough bread.
This makes either a starter or a light meal
Couscous
salad
Many of my salads just evolve as I rummage
through fridge and pantry. I use whatever there is to hand, adding a little of
this and that and tasting as I go. If anyone happens to be in the kitchen they
are welcome join in. This is how Nick’s couscous salad took shape .
Although it looks more like breadcrumbs,
couscous is actually a pasta which comes from North Africa. There it may still
be made from scratch, a time consuming process which involves much rubbing and
rolling but here the instant version is readily available. I like the wholemeal
organic.
Couscous is incredibly versatile. As the
mood takes me I soak it in water, chicken or vegetable stock, add different
herbs, spices and vegetables, olive oil and citrus juice.
For the carnivorous this salad goes well
with some barbecued chicken. For the vegetarians, falafel patties (made with a
tub of falafel mix from the supermarket) will satisfy them
Leftovers will last in the fridge for a few
days.
Nick’s
Couscous Salad
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of couscous
1 1/2 cups of boiling water
Olivani /butter 1 teaspoon
½ cup of craisins
1 packet of sliced almonds (lightly
toasted)
2-3 spring onions
½ cup of chopped herbs (choose from
parsley, mint, coriander or a mixture)
2 cups of roasted pumpkin ( cubed)
Juice of one orange
2
tablespoons of olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper and salt to
taste.
Method:
1. Pour boiling water over couscous. Stir in 1
teaspoon of olivani/butter.
2. Cover and leave for a few minutes until the
couscous has absorbed the water.
3. Stir it lightly with a fork until fluffy.
4. Stir
in the remaining ingredients and season to taste.