Tag Archives: Cherry tomato

Salad therapy – rocket, apple and cheese

Our local TESCO supermarket had some amazing regional cheeses on offer and the salad we had the other night featured a cheddar and garlic/mixed herb soft cheese whirl.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 bag of rocket leaves
  • 1/2 gala apple cored and sliced
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 3 tbsp red pickled jalapenos
  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • 1/4 large cucumber de-seeded and chopped
  • 100 gms of cheese whirl cubed
  • 3-4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1-2 tbsp apple balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 2 main portions or 4 side salads

How do I make it?

Place all ingredients in a large salad bowl.   Sprinkle the salt  and pepper before before drizzling the olive oil and apple cider balsamic vinegar.   Toss gently with your hands and portion into serving bowls.  Enjoy.

Salad therapy – figs & honey

I absolutely love figs both the fresh and dried variety and this is my humble tribute to the wonderful fruit.  There are some combinations that seem to be made for one another and figs and honey is one of them.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 bag of salad leaves
  • 2 figs quartered
  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 baby cucumber
  • 100 gms feta cheese

For the vinaigrette

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp Greek honey
  • 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp English mustard (adds a bit of heat to the vinaigrette)
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side salad

How do I make it?

For the vinaigrette – mix the mustard and honey first and then add the oil.  Whisk with lemon juice, salt & pepper till you get a nice creamy vinaigrette.  Place the remaining ingredients in a large salad bowl – dress with vinaigrette and toss gently.   Transfer into serving dishes and enjoy.

Salad therapy – Mediterranean flavours

Had a lovely salad tonight using the last of our garden cherry tomatoes and an Apache chillie in the vinaigrette.   The vinaigrette was a bit of an experiment but I think the flavours work really well together.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 bag of mixed salad leaves
  • 12 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 baby cucumber deseeded and chopped into bite size pieces
  • 100 gms of feta cheese cubed

For the vinaigrette

  • 1/2 red onion finely chopped
  • 1 green chillie de-seeded and chopped
  • 2 tsp of capers chopped
  • Lemon rind and juice of half the lemon
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • Handful pomegranate seeds
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 2 big portions or 4 side salads

How do I make it?

Prepare the vinaigrette by add the oil to the chopped ingredients and then whisking in the lemon juice.  Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl and dress the salad with the vinaigrette.   Transfer into salad bowls and enjoy.

Garden fresh salad

Wanted to share with you a wonderfully simple salad we had the other night with leaves from our garden.  The salad was a mix of mizuna leaves, mustard leaves and tender carrot leaves.  The leaves were washed and chopped into bite size pieces and mixed with cherry tomatoes.  The dressing was a blend of walnut oil, lemon zest and  juice, grated parmesan cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Nothing to beat a fresh salad from the garden.

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Salad therapy – Italian nirvana

One of my key challenges on the trip away from home is my ability to stay true to the Paleo lifestyle.  Admittedly it has been tough and I have wavered and cheated a bit.  I enjoyed pulling together a mushroom and tomato sauce pasta accompanied with my all time favourite Italian salad – tricolore with a twist.  Traditionally tricolore is made with beef tomato and fresh mozzarella slices – I used cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls instead (I know cheese is not Paleo but then again my sister and family are not on the same journey are they!).   The pasta we had was gluten free (rice and maize flour) and every time I have it I feel it is lighter than traditional pasta – so even if you are not on a gluten free diet I urge you to give it a try – what’s the worst that could happen.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
  • 10-12 mozzarella balls
  • 2 ripe avacados skinned and chopped into bite size cubes
  • Sprig of fresh basil chopped
  • 1/2 lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (buy some good salad oil tastes better)
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 4 as a side salad

How do I make it?

Place all ingredients in a salad bowl.  Sprinkle salt and pepper and the drizzle olive oil and lemon juice.   Mix together gently (don’t want guacamole) and serve.

Footnote:  

Anna and I are not Paleo purists and we make a conscious decision on the non Paleo foods we eat.  We are strict on gluten and wheat but fairly relaxed on other ingredients in moderation.  We have cut back on our rice consumption and as stated in previous blogs we do incorporate rice and maize flour in our diets once a week at best.