Summer salads

[gardener]

What is your best one?

I was just thinking about what we always called Granny's Salad. It is made with chopped lettuce and spring onions, awash in a very dilute mint sauce. Sort of like a soup almost, lots of water, bit of sugar and vinegar, and finely chopped mint. We used to eat it new potatoes and what ever else was the meal of the day, breadcrumbed fish would be my choice but cold ham is good too. Bread and butter to soak up the liquid afterwards.

Anyone recognise it?


One of my favourites now is a carrot and peanut one from Nigella's summer recipe book. Didn't care for it much first time round but it becomes addictive!

[expat66]

gardener,
I've never come across your 'Granny's salad' but it sounds really good!
We always had lettuce, spring onions and tomatoes with salt and vinegar on them as a dressing ( I guess those were the days before we had salad dressings as such?!)...maybe some sliced boiled eggs... oh and loads of salad cream!
We also had pickled cucumber slices and my Nan's pickled onions, which were amazing!

Our tastes are a bit more diverse these days... I currently really like Greek salad with feta cheese and olives in it
... and I recently got into Quinoa in a big way ( really useful grain... if you buy it prewashed you just have to boil it for 10-15 minutes then when it is cool you can mix in all manner of chopped salad stuff... cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, raisins, nuts.. whatever you like... and I add a bit of salad dressing...usually Italian..... use it like you would a rice salad really)

Now I'm hungry.... lunchtime here!
Expat

[Annie]

What is your best one?

I was just thinking about what we always called Granny's Salad. It is made with chopped lettuce and spring onions, awash in a very dilute mint sauce. Sort of like a soup almost, lots of water, bit of sugar and vinegar, and finely chopped mint. We used to eat it new potatoes and what ever else was the meal of the day, breadcrumbed fish would be my choice but cold ham is good too. Bread and butter to soak up the liquid afterwards.

Anyone recognise it?

Yes I recognise it Gardner, my mam used to make it that way and I have myself a few times and it is quite nice, I also like a plain salad with lettuce, spring & red onions, cherry vine plum totmatoes, peppers cucumber all chopped up and mixed together with cress sprinkled on top new potatoes salmon, ham or chicken , still use sprinkle it with vinegar & salt don't like salad cream.

Annie


One of my favourites now is a carrot and peanut one from Nigella's summer recipe book. Didn't care for it much first time round but it becomes addictive!

[Jimmy]

In the 60s, my aunty always done a vinegar salad, which I used to enjoy.

[Rob]

I know the ones you mean Jimmy Whizz!!
Tomatoes,spanish onions,cucumber in vinegar.
Me Nan from Blackheath used to do it every sunday tea time .Bread and butter slices and salmon on the table with a cup of tea.
Then we'd all(aunts and uncles) go up The Kings Arms Rowley Village. The kids room vimto and crisps sometimes dandelion and burdock.
Oh sorry we're on about salads.
I love cold pasta in my salads. Lettuce,tomato,spring onions,shredded radish,boiled egg and pasta.With an olive oil based dressing on top.Hmmm lekker!!

[snoopysue]

I'm off salads at the moment, there are some tomatoes cucumber and lettuce from north germany and cucumbers from spain that are infected with a nasty e-coli bacteria that has the potential to give you kidney failure. It's not enough to wash the stuff, it needs to be cooked to kille the bacteria.
Luckily we buy mainly local produce

That being said one of my favorites is brocoli (blanched) with tomatoes, bacon, feta cheese, pine nuts and red onion with a vinegrette dressing

[SRD]

Hmm, too many to mention, (so I'm going to ) Greek salad certainly, Caesar salad (especially with shreds of smoked chicken), we have a Waitrose recipe card for a vegetarian moussaka that is accompanied by a sliced cucumber and rocket salad dressed with balsamic vinegar that is rather good, Delia does a superb puy lentil, goats cheese and walnut salad in one of her cookery books that's one of our favourites. I don't know if it counts as a salad but we take one of those camembert (the English ones are Ok too) that come in the wooden boxes, unwrap it and put it back into the box (actually we've got a pottery dish that is exactly the same size that we use), put a few gashes in the top and stuff with a couple of slivers of garlic and rosemary, pour a tablespoon of white wine over the top and bake in a moderate oven for ten minutes or so. We then cut lots of crudites, carrots, celery, cucumber, bread sticks, raw courgette etc. and scoop the hot melted cheese out with them. You can do it with honey rather than white wine and use sweet biscuits if your tastes lie that way but best not to use a strong camembert for that.

[gardener]

I think rocket is the most disgusting salad leaf ever, and I can't wit for it to go out of fashion!
The first time I ate it I had to force myself to swallow it. After that I picked it out of everything for a while. Then I decided to "educate" my tastebuds and eat a little of it, trying to get used to it. Still ahte the ****** stuff

I was going to do that bakedd camembert thing last night but forgot about it. I saw a recipe once with mango chutney and pine-nuts on top of it. Wonder how that would be?

[Northern Lass]

I think rocket is the most disgusting salad leaf ever, and I can't wit for it to go out of fashion!
The first time I ate it I had to force myself to swallow it. After that I picked it out of everything for a while. Then I decided to "educate" my tastebuds and eat a little of it, trying to get used to it. Still ahte the ****** stuff

I was going to do that bakedd camembert thing last night but forgot about it. I saw a recipe once with mango chutney and pine-nuts on top of it. Wonder how that would be?

I love rocket salad I eat loads of it
love the peppery taste

I love Greek Salad with the feta cheese

[snoopysue]

I love rocket too, but if it's gone to stock then I avoid it, as it's really bitter then! We have something here that's called field salad - a small plant with open oval leaves - really good staright out of the garden, but a bugger to wash as it always seems to be covered in soil!

[mikleed]

Snoopysue........It's all English produce here at this time of year.....not foreign crap !

[grangers14]

It sounds a bit like miners salad to go with a Beef diner?

Apart from it has onions and done in vinegar not scallions and mint sauce.
Sounds nice though.
I love any salad. Love watercress too.
Jo

[snoopysue]

Snoopysue........It's all English produce here at this time of year.....not foreign crap !

Trouble is we live to close to the border, and being slightly cooler than the rest of continental europe....and we were in Hamburg last weekend.
They have tested danish cucumbers as well, as some have been exported the other way too.

I don't know if it's psychsomatic but I'm feeling under the weather today, with a bit of nausea and a little too many trips to the toilet! Apparently the incubation period is up to 10 days, which fits in - and you don't have to have full blown d&v. Just hope that if it is the vtec e-coli a) that I'm not contagious and b) that if the other symptoms are equally mild!

[dianel]

Look after yourself, Snoops. And get medical attention if you think it might be serious. People who work in the field are often the last to take care of themselves.

[grangers14]

I hope you soon feel better! I hope its not the e-coli bug too!
Jo