Puy Lentil, Red Onion and Sundried Tomato Salad
Make this salad a little while before you need it so that all the flavours have time to soak into the lentils. Puy lentils have a greeny, slate-grey colour and definitely the best flavour. If your local supermarket doesn’t have any, you should have more luck in a health food shop. Or, if all else fails and you’re in a hurry, use tinned green lentils, which require no cooking.
Serves 8
225 g (8 oz) Puy lentils, picked over for stones
1 fresh bay leaf
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
pinch of caster sugar
1 large red onion, finely chopped
50 g (2 oz) sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
1–2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (depending on your taste)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
100 g (4 oz) goats’ cheese or feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the lentils into a pan with the bay leaf, vinegar, 1 whole garlic clove, sugar and a little salt and pepper. Cover with 1.2 litres (2 pints) of cold water, bring to the boil and leave to simmer for about 25 minutes until just tender but still holding their shape.
Drain the lentils well, discarding the bay leaf and whole garlic clove. Tip them into a salad bowl and leave to go cold.
Finely chop the remaining garlic clove and stir it into the lentils with the rest of the ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper and chill for 2 hours before serving.
Creamy Crisp Green Salad with Guacamole Dressing
This makes a nice change from the usual leafy salads. It is essential that you use very crisp, robust lettuce leaves for this so that they can hold up under the weight of the rich, creamy dressing.
Serves 8
2 Cos, Romaine or Webbs lettuce (or a mixture)
75 g (3 oz) prepared watercress, broken into sprigs
4 slices medium-sliced white bread
sunflower oil for deep-frying
For the guacamole dressing
1 ripe avocado
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
a good dash of Tabasco sauce
65 ml (2½ fl oz) sunflower oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Break the lettuce into small pieces and toss in a large salad bowl with the watercress sprigs. Set aside in the fridge to chill while you make the croûtons and the dressing.
Heat 2.5 cm (1 in) of oil in a large pan to 190°C (375°F). Remove the crusts from the slices of bread, then cut the slices into 1 cm (½ in) cubes.
Deep-fry the cubes of bread for 1 minute until golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon on to kitchen paper and leave to drain and cool.
For the dressing, halve the avocado, remove the stone and scoop the flesh into a food processor. Add the mustard, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce and some salt and pepper and blend until smooth.
With the motor still running, gradually pour in the oil in a slow, steady stream. It will gradually become thick and creamy.
Just before serving, spoon the dressing over the chilled salad leaves, sprinkle with the croûtons and some seasoning and toss together lightly.
VARIATION
For an alternative Creamy Garlic Dressing, whisk 1 crushed garlic clove, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1 medium egg yolk and plenty of salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in 150 ml (5 fl oz) of olive oil. Toss with the salad leaves and sprinkle with some Parmesan shavings if you wish.
New Potato Salad with Gherkins, Chives and Soured Cream
A barbecue wouldn’t be complete without a potato salad, and although there are a hundred and one things you can add to the potatoes, I still like the taste of soured cream and chives the best. It’s classically cool ...
Serves 8
900 g (2 lb) waxy new potatoes such as Jersey Royals, scrubbed
3 tablespoons Best Ever Mustard French Dressing (see here)
175 g (6 oz) small pickled cucumbers, sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
65 ml (2½ fl oz) soured cream
65 ml (2½ fl oz) mayonnaise
4 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 15–20 minutes until just tender. Drain them well and then cut in half or into quarters if quite large.
Tip the potatoes into a serving bowl, stir in the mustard French dressing and set aside until cold. Chill in the fridge until just before you are ready to serve.
Add the pickled cucumbers and chopped onion to the potatoes and gently mix together. Mix the soured cream, mayonnaise and chives together, stir into the potatoes and season to taste with plenty of salt and pepper.
Fire-roasted Red Pepper and Nectarine Salad
Another simple salad that has the beautiful taste of chargrilled pepper, combined with nectarines infused with sweet-sharp balsamic vinegar, oil and pepper. There, now isn’t that simple!
Serves 8
8 large red peppers
4 ripe but firm nectarines
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
Cook the peppers on the barbecue or under the grill for about 20 minutes, turning them regularly, until the skins are completely blackened and blistered.
Drop them into a large plastic bag, seal in some air and leave until cool enough to handle. The captured steam helps to loosen the skins, making them easier to peel.
Cut the peppers in half, remove the skin and seeds and cut the flesh into long thin strips.
Place the peppers into a shallow dish with any juices. Halve the nectarines, remove the stones and thinly slice them into the dish with the peppers. Toss together gently.
Drizzle over the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and season with plenty of black pepper. Serve straight away.
‘Out of all the places in the world you come to my barbecue.’ This can either be served warm as a side dish or cold as a salad. Either way it is a delicious accompaniment to any grilled fish or meats. I’m sure Humphrey Bogart would have agreed.
Serves 6–8
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
350 ml (12 fl oz) chicken or vegetable stock
good pinch of saffron strands
6 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
225 g (8 oz) couscous
2 red chillies, seeded and very finely chopped
50 g (2 oz) pinenuts, toasted
coarsely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1½ tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
1½ tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1½ tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and paprika and fry for 1 minute, stirring.
Add the stock and saffron and bring to the boil. Add the spring onions and then pour in the couscous in a steady steam and stir once.
Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the grains to swell and absorb all the liquid.
If you are serving this warm, fork in the rest of the oil and the remaining ingredients now. Otherwise, leave the couscous to cool and chill in the fridge for 1 hour before adding all the other ingredients.