Three salads and three dressings. Photo / Babiche Martens
Three salads and three dressings. Photo / Babiche Martens
The thought of summer and warm sun on the skin is a cheery one. Time to get excited about a change of season and the new ingredients that will start to appear on the shelves.
Summer brings visions of fresh and colourful food to mind, flavours that are often lighteron the palate - not to mention one's bikini-clad hips.
So today I thought it would be a good idea to get started with three salads making the most of such ingredients, plus three recipes for dressings which can be kept in the fridge and are perfect to bring out for the first barbecues and picnics of the season.
Rice noodles make a lovely base for a salad and if you find the freshly made variety at an Asian foodstore, all the better. Very little cooking is needed, just a quick plunge in boiling water if fresh, longer if dried. Delicious paired with pawpaw or mango, fresh coconut and shellfish or shredded chicken or duck.
Look out for new potatoes, freshly dug and sweet. It's hard to beat a potato salad when it's dressed with creamy mayo, herbs and lemon. Pairing it with grilled chicken, olives and spinach leaves makes for a tasty salad that becomes a substantial meal.
The third salad uses lamb rump - or substitute with a fillet - quickly cooked in the pan or on the barbecue then left to rest before slicing and serving on brown rice with plenty of avocado and seedless green grapes. A delicious vinaigrette made with capers, garlic, brown sugar and a dose of wholegrain mustard finishes it off nicely.
Chef's tip
These dressings can be refrigerated in screw-top jars for one week, any longer and the fresh herbs and garlic will start to taste stale.
