Christmas salad recipes from Kem Ormond’s vegetable garden

Lamb rump salad is a firm favourite on my Christmas table. Photo / Kem Ormond

Kem Ormond is a features writer for NZME community newspapers and The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she’s discussing what is in her vegetable garden leading up to Christmas, and has a couple of festive recipes to try.

OPINION

At this time of the year, you can almost see the vegetables growing before your eyes.

My raspberries are producing well and luckily there is so much other food available for the birds, that they are leaving the raspberries alone.

Whether they will be still producing come Christmas, time will tell.

I will also have broccoli and cauliflower that will be ready in time to grace the Christmas table.

Broccoli makes an ideal green raw salad with the addition of cranberries, finely chopped red onion, and crispy bacon pieces.

Just add your favourite dressing and boom, there’s a lovely salad for your guests to enjoy.

I have plenty of fresh herbs and kaffir lime leaves for my chicken stuffing, oranges and lemons that can be used in my summer punch, and I now have the swinging cane chair to relax in.

It won’t be long before the sunflowers are poking their heads over the wall, tomatoes will be appearing, the grapes will turn a gorgeous purple, the peppers will start showing and the beetroot will be ready for thinning which means I can have some lovely roasted baby beets.

The onions are all growing well and I have plenty of leeks to pick, the beans are climbing higher every day and their bright orange flowers are becoming prolific.

I should have carrots ready to eat before long and in another month or so my Luisa plums will turn a gorgeous blush red.

I am going to fight the birds for my persimmons this year and I am looking forward to drying the apples from my Monty Surprise apple tree to enjoy eating in the months to come.

Remember not to forget your vegetable garden over summer, make sure it is kept well-watered and mulched, and you will be rewarded with the most wonderful fresh produce.

Recipe: Potato Salad

This is a great summer salad and it is so nice to use small new potatoes and keep them whole.

I have almost finished my early potatoes, and my main crop will be ready for Christmas.

New potatoes are delicious on their own with a good dollop of butter and some freshly ground pepper, but they are equally as nice in a fresh potato salad.

This is my go-to potato salad recipe that I always make at Christmas and is a firm favourite with my family.

Ingredients

1kg potatoes

3 spring onions finely diced

2 Tbsp whole capers

5 small gherkins finely chopped

1/3 cup chopped parsley

6 slices prosciutto fried until crispy and broken into pieces

Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise (either your own or use a good quality bought one)

½ cup sour cream (Don’t use light)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

Salt and pepper

Method

Cook potatoes but don’t overcook! Drain and refresh under cold water so they don’t keep on cooking.

Using your hands (I love this bit) gently combine potatoes, spring onions, capers, gherkins, and parsley in a bowl. Whisk up the dressing ingredients until smooth. Add dressing to bowl and turn the potatoes gently to coat.

Serve topped with the prosciutto.

Recipe: Lamb rump salad

I will have an abundance of spring onions, basil, and green salad leaves that I will make into a nice fresh salad, with the addition of the last of my snow peas.

If you have a good crop of rocket ready at Christmas, this is great to bulk out any green salad and I often use it at the base of my lamp rump salad.

The lamb rumps are smothered in lemon zest and finely chopped up rosemary and this dish is always a winner.

By adding white feta, red cherry tomatoes and green Spanish olives this looks very festive on the table.

Ingredients

Lamb rumps (I work on 1 lamb rump per 3 people)

Chopped rosemary

Zest of lemons

Rocket and lettuce leaves

Cherry tomatoes

Pitted green Spanish olives

Thinly sliced red onion

Creamy feta

Method

Finely chop the rosemary and zest the lemons, S & P combine.

Pat the rumps on each side with this mixture.

Using a hot pan cook for 3 minutes on both sides.

Do this to all your rumps then place in a baking dish that has baking paper on the bottom.

Place in a 200-degree oven (I use fan bake). Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

Take out and immediately wrap tightly in a good covering of foil paper.

Leave in fridge overnight and then slice when ready to plate up.

Cover the serving plate with rocket and lettuce.

Place sliced lamb.

Add cherry tomatoes, green Spanish olives, sliced red onion and finish off with crumbled feta.

Serve with your favourite dressing.