Salad days are summer days. Crunchy vegetable salads are delicious topped with lashings of good mayo, but they are even healthier when sprinkled with lemon juice, verjuice or a fruit vinegar.
Salads are a great way to use up leftover roast meats, baked ham, turkey or chicken. However, you can also add protein by opening a can of beans such as cannellini, kidney, chick peas (also called garbanzo beans) or black beans. Or try roasted nuts, such as cashews, Brazils, almonds or pine nuts. Add carbohydrate to a salad with cooked pasta such as macaroni, spirals, bow ties or orzo.
Refresh salad greens before use. Carefully wash in cold water, then shake or pat dry gently with a paper towel. Place loosely in a plastic bag. Do not pack tightly or squash. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Ingredients
| 500 g | Green beans (Main) |
| 1 small | Red pepper |
| 1 | Radish |
| ¼ cup | Vinaigrette, good quality, or thin white salad dressing |
Directions
- Trim the beans, if necessary. Steam until crisp-tender then refresh in icy water. Drain and pat dry.
- Starting at the top, arrange the beans in a tree-shape on a flat dish or tray.
- Halve and seed the pepper. Cut a triangle to form the tree base. Using an aspic cutter or similar, cut a small star for the top of the tree. Cut the remaining pepper into 5mm cubes.
- Peel the radish and cut into similar sized cubes. Decorate the bean tree with the cubes.
- Just before serving, drizzle the tree in a zig-zag fashion with the vinaigrette or salad dressing.