Salad isn’t just for summer
“Salads don’t win scrums”, but they can still be scrumptious!
Summer bodies are made in winter…and here we are again, winter is almost over, and no summer body transformation in sight.
Well, So What!?
We LOOOOOOOVE our homemakers, whether they are part of the tiny house movement or the maximalist “too much is never enough” trend.
That is why, this year, our late winter/pre-spring foodie inspiration weekly fix will cater for both. Yes, it’s a salad. No, it’s NOT just rabbit food. Salads have evolved and the newest fully loaded salads are more like and ode to the luxury of fantastic produce than a way to trick you into eating celery.
You can scale them up to feed a whole rugby team, or keep them for your own salatude.
1. Quick Bulgar Wheat, cheat chicken and Greek(ish) salad bowl.
Bulgar wheat is such a buzz word, but if you are not into it, you can use couscous, quinoa, brown rice, or simply plain white Tastic rice.
You’ll need:
- 1 Part cooked grain of your choice
- 1 Part cooked rotisserie chicken (cut up the meat but don’t shred it.)
- 1 Part sliced cherry tomatoes, red onion and cucumber.
- South African Feta.
Salt, pepper, salad dressing of your choice or simply olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Three cups, one bowl.
This salad is all about ratios, (thirds, to be precise).
Take one cup of grains, one cup of veggies, one cup of chicken and some Feta for fun. Throw it all together in your bowl, shake, stir or jiggle, drizzle and ENJOY!
This is a high protein, high fibre salad hitting the mark on your antioxidants, some good fats and a massive dose of feel-good hormones with each bite. Will you lose weight? Probably not. Will you love lunch? Absolutely!
2. La Dolce Vita (Burrata, stone fruit and tomato salad)
This is the most decadent salad we have ever made…to understand this you need to understand what a Burrata is.
Burrata: A fresh, handmade Italian cheese consisting of a ball of fior di latte mozzarella, filled with stracciatella (double cream with slivers of mozzarella).
Yes. It is cheese, filled with cream, and more cheese.
You’ll need:
- Burrata (because it is such a rich cheese, three people can eat from one burrata, so make up your own mind on amounts)
- Seasonal stone fruits like plums, nectarines and cherries
- Bright yellow and green cocktail tomatoes
- Salad basics like rocket or basil and thinly sliced red onion.
- Seeds and nuts
- Good olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Balsamic reduction
This is one of those “scatter-salads”. So, get a large platter, scatter the leafy bits, sliced tomatoes and onions, place your Burrata on top but keep it whole, add freshly cut stone fruits, seeds and nuts and season with lashings of olive oil and enough balsamic reduction.
Serve this salad with piles of toasted ciabatta slices lathered in real butter and only tear open the Burrata once you are ready to eat. Eat with your hands, dunk the bread in the olive oil and cream, grab a fresh slice of plum with black pepper…This is La Dolce Vita!
(Checkers carries a great locally made burrata as part of their Forage and Feast cheese range.)
Love Fits all sizes
Instead of having summer body shame this spring season, live your best life and nourish yourself with real, nutritious salads that leave you feeling full and fulfilled. Its not about the size of the house, its about the people living in it…
Also read our article on Macros versus Micros nutrients.
