Carrot, Sprout and Radish Salad

2 carrots - peeled and finely sliced using vegetable peeler

1 cup of finely sliced radishes

200g of snow pea sprouts

1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped

2 rashers of bacon, diced

2 tbsp of pine nuts

2 tpsb of orange juice

1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 tbsp of maple syrup

1 tbsp of wholegrain mustard

salt and pepper

1. Heat up 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a fry pan. Fry off bacon. Add pine nuts just as bacon getting crispy. Toss until pine nuts a little brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Mix together juice, remaining oil, syrup, mustard and seasoning. Adjust to taste.

3. Toss all ingredients together. Serve.

Grilled Vegetable and Proscuitto Salad

This is a nice variation on this salad I published a few months back which doesn't require an oven.

• 4 cups of rocket, rinsed and dried
• 1 medium eggplant, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1/4 cup of shaved parmesan
• 100g finely sliced proscuitto, shredded
• 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

1. Salt the eggplant and zucchini and sit in a sieve over a bowl for 30 minutes or more. Once the bitter liquid has come out of them, rinse the salt off and pat them dry with paper towel.
2. Heat up 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a fry pan. Fry the eggplant and zucchini until cooked through and browned on the edges. Set aside.
3. Toss together, rocket, parmesan and prosciutto. Top with cooked vegetables.
4. Mix together remaining oil, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Pour on salad. Toss and serve.

Alternative: you could leave out the proscuitto to make this vegetarian. If I did this I think I would stir some pesto in to the dressing or add a couple of finely sliced sun dried tomatoes to give it a bit more zing.

Fattoush

• 1 cucumber, finely sliced with a mandolin
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 125g greek style fetta, crumbled
• 2 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup herbs (mind, coriander, continental parsley)
• 1 colve garlic
• 2 large slices of FF oat bread
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1tsp sumac
• 2 cups, butter lettuce
• 1 tbsp olive oil

1. Sprinkle salt on cucumber slices and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Rinse salt off cucumber in a mesh strainer and squeeze as much water as you can out of it.
3. Add vinegar, stir. Sit for 15 minutes.
4. Add fetta, tomato and sumac to cucumber and set aside.
5. Brush bread with olive oil and grill. Rub with garlic.
6. Mix herbs, lettuce and tomato/cucumber mix with lemon juice.
7. Rib up bread and add to top of salad just before serving so still crunchy.

Thai Beef Salad

Serves 1

• 200g beef sirloin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• handful of baby spinach
• 1/2 red capsicum, sliced finely
• handful or bean sprouts
• 1 tbsp, finely chopped chives
• 1 tbsp, coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp, mint, roughly chopped

Dressing:

• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 birdseye chilli diced finely

1.   Heat BBQ or heavy based fry pan.
2. Brush meat with oil and season. Cook for 3-4 minutes each side.
3. Transfer to a plate to rest for 10-15 minutes.
4. Mix together dressing ingredients and set aside.
5. Mix remaining ingredients in a serving bowl. Thinly slice beef and place on top of salad. Pour dressing over. Serve.

Pumpkin, Fetta and Pine Nut Salad

• 500g pumpkin, diced
• 1 tbsp, olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 4 handfuls of baby spinach
• 200g fetta cheese, crumbled
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Brush oven tray with olive oil and put on pumpkin and drizzle with a little extra oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until soft.
2. On another tray spread pine nuts. Toast in oven until golden (~5mins).
3. Cool pine nuts and pumpkin. Mix all ingredients together. Serve

Suggestion: Use balsamic vinegar and oil or balsamic glaze as a dressing instead of the lemon and oregano.

Light Potato Salad

Serves 4

• 16 baby potatoes
• Handful dill, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp finely chopped chives
• 2 tbsp Sour cream
• 2 tbsp Egg Mayonnaise
• Lime, juiced
• Salt and pepper

1. Boil potatoes until just tender. Drain.
2. Add mayonnaise, lime, sour cream and salt and pepper while still warm.
3. Refridgerate until cold and add herbs.

Prosciutto, Green Bean and Roasted Tomato Salad

This salad is a great one for those BBQs when you are asked to bring something. It looks very impressive, tastes great and the best bit is you can have it ready in 20 minutes.

• 4 cups of rocket/baby spinach 
• 1 cup of green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 50g of proscuitto slices
• 1 cup of mini-roma tomato or grape tomato (you can also do this with 4 regular romas), cut in halves
• 1/4 cup of shaved parmesan
• 1/4 cup of shredded basil
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. On trays lined with baking paper place the prosciutto slices and the tomatoes (cut side face up). Season the tomatoes and drizzle with a little olive oil. Put in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked and the prosciutto is crispy. Crumble the prosciutto up into little pieces.
3. Blanch the green beans in boiling water for five minutes. Drain and place in a bowl with some iced water. Drain after five minutes.
4. Mix the remaining olive oil and vinegar to taste.
5. Layer the ingredients in a large flat bowl. Begin with the salad greens followed by the beans, tomatoes, parmesan and prosciutto. Drizzle with dressing.