Nowadays, new varieties of designer salads can be found all over, which means that we no longer have to put up with the usual plain salad of lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes on our menu. There are also a huge variety of herbs to be found which means that we can add interesting flavors to our salads and other dishes.
Easy Garden Salad
Pick a handful of rocket and trim down any overly long stems. Choose a handful of lamb's lettuce and mizuna and tear some leaves of frisee into tiny pieces. Wash the concoction and then make sure that they are dried out.
Put the salad leaves into a bowl and add a variety of herbs, i.e. chervil, parsley and lemon thyme. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of lemon juice and toss to cover the leaves. add a dash of salt and pepper, toss again and serve. This should feed up to 4 people.
Tomato Salad
Slice up 2 beefsteak tomatoes horizontally and cut 4 plum tomatoes into quarters. Cut 12 red cherry tomatoes in half and do the same for gold cherry tomatoes. Arrange the tomatoes in a dish and add half a teaspoon of sea salt and half a teaspoon of caster sugar, then pour over 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Scatter with a handful of shredded basil and leave it standing for half an hour before serving to allow the flavors to mix. This serves up to four.
Tasty Potato Salad
Clean 1 lb 12 oz of small potatoes, i.e. jersey royals and cook in boiling water for about 20 minutes until they are tender. Drain and slice the potatoes in two whilst they are still warm. Put into a serving dish and add 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs, i.e. parsley, basil and chives.
Add 6 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of white wine, then season well with salt and pepper and mix the contents of the dish together. This is best served whilst still warm and should serve four people.
Delicious Coleslaw
Finely shred halve of a white cabbage. Grate and core 2 carrots and slice up 2 green apples. Chop up 2 celery sticks and 3 spring onions and place all the ingredients into a large bowl. In another bowl, mix together 5 fl oz of mayonnaise and the same amount of yogurt, and add 1 teaspoon of french mustard and a tablespoon of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Add the dressing to the salad vegetables and mix the dish up well. The coleslaw should be served garnished with a little chopped herbs. This should serve up to four people.