A spread of spring salads

Salad With Feta And Pine Nuts


Serves 4-6

250ml pearl barley

80ml pine nuts, toasted

125ml black olives, halved

250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

75g wild rocket

100g feta, crumbled

Dressing

1 garlic clove, crushed

30ml white wine vinegar

30ml lemon juice

'ml olive oil

80ml finely sliced basil leaves

Place barley in a saucepan with 1.5 litres of boiling water. Simmer for 25 minutes or until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Place pine nuts, olives, tomatoes and rocket in a large bowl with barley.

Add dressing, toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with feta and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Dressing: place all ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake well.



Chickpea And Pita Bread Salad

Serves 4-6

3 pita bread, split

olive oil

45ml dukkah or Moroccan spice

1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

250g punnets baby tomatoes, halved

2 Mediterranean cucumbers, halved lengthways and sliced

2 small red peppers, deseeded, coarsely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

125ml chopped fresh Italian parsley

125ml mint leaves, chopped

Dressing

100ml olive oil

45ml lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

salt and pepper

Place the pita breads on a baking tray and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with dukkah and bake at 190176C for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove and cool. Break into bite-sized pieces.

Combine the chickpeas, tomato, cucumber, capsicum, onion, parsley and mint. Add the dressing to the salad and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bread and toss to combine. Serve.

Dressing: combine all the ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake well.



White Bean And Tuna Salad

Serves 4-6

400g can cannellini beans, drained

300g green beans, trimmed and blanched

2 baby fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

1 red onion, chopped

bunch of flat leaf parsley

15ml olive oil

400g fresh tuna fillets

salt and pepper

grated rind of 1 lemon

80ml lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1-2 red chillies seeded and chopped

10ml sugar

125ml olive oil

packet mixed lettuce

Combine the beans, green beans, fennel and onion in a bowl, add parsley and mix.

Heat oil and fry the tuna steaks for about 2 minutes on each side, make sure they are still pink in the middle. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool. Cut into 3cm chunks.

Add to bean mixture. Combine the lemon rind, juice, garlic, chilli, sugar and olive oil with salt and pepper and mix well.

Pour over the tuna and beans and mix gently so as not to break up the tuna. Line a serving platter with lettuce leaves and pile the mixture on top.


Beetroot And Butternut Salad

Serves 4-6

300g cooked baby beetroot

300g butternut, cubed

2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges

45ml olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

15ml balsamic vinegar

10ml soft brown sugar

30ml lemon juice

30ml extra olive oil

handful of shredded basil leaves

150g baby spinach leaves

150g feta cheese, crumbled

Cut the beetroot into wedges and combine with butternut, onion, olive oil and garlic and season well.

Put onto a roasting tray. and roast at 176°C for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Return to oven for about 15 minutes until vegetables are tender and slightly caramelised.

Remove from oven and cool.

Combine the lemon juice, olive oil and basil leaves. Pour over the vegetables.

Arrange spinach leaves on a serving platter and spoon over the vegetables.

Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve at room temperature.


Bean And Chorizo Salad


Serves 4

250g large cherry tomatoes, halved

30ml olive oil

salt and pepper

1 packet chorizo or Spanish sausage sliced

400g can cannellini beans, drained

1 red onion, thinly sliced

30ml white wine vinegar

60ml olive oil

15ml honey

5ml wholegrain mustard

pillow packet of rocket leaves

Place the tomatoes into a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and season well. Roast at 176°C for 20-30 minutes until tomatoes are soft but not mushy. Remove and cool.

Fry the chorizo slices for 5 minutes. Add to tomatoes, along with the oil that comes out from cooking.

Add the beans and onion and toss to combine.

Mix the vinegar, oil, honey and mustard together and season well. Pour over the bean mixture and add the rocket leaves.

Toss and spoon into a serving dish.

• This article was originally published on page 12 of The Star on October 12, 2009

Source : http://www.iol.co.za