New salads give summer variety

Press, 27 September 1982, Page 16

New salads give summer variety

With the ever-increasing popularity of serving salad as an accompaniment to a hot main dish, more and different salads have become necessary. As we approach summer this need will certainly increase when families turn to all-salad meals.

I hope these four suggested recipes will provide some variety.

Pasta salad

For accompaniment salads, . ingredients should complement the main course without over-powering them. This salad is good for serving with chicken or fish. It is also a good choice for outdoor meals because it can be made ahead of time and won’t wilt if left standing for a while. For four to six servings you heed:

2 cups cooked baby shell pasta, chilled 2 cups blanched, chopped broccoli 1 carrot, finely sliced and blanched 125 g snow peas or snap green peas, blanched ‘/a cup thinly sliced red pepper 3 sweet oranges, peeled and divided into segments

DRESSING: 4 teaspoons white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon mixed mustard; 1 egg yolk ’/< teaspoon dill; 1 clove garlic */» teaspoon each of salt and tabasco Vs cup olive oil

Method: Blanch broccoli, sliced carrot, sliced peas or beans in boiling water for one minute; drain thoroughly and combine with pasta and sliced red pepper. Combine vinegar, mustard, egg yolk, dill, crushed garlic, salt and tabasco and with a wire whisk or fork, quickly blend in olive oil until mixture is smooth. Toss vegetable and pasta mixture well in the dressing and chill. Slice one orange crosswise and arrange the rounds on serving dish; section remaining two oranges, carefully removing any pith and toss with the pasta mixture. Spoon on top of orange slices.

Curried potato

nut salad

The old favourite with a new taste and extra crunch with chopped apple, nuts and sunflower seeds. This should be kept refrigerated until

ready to serve. For six servings you need:

3-4 medium size potatoes (3 cups cubed) th cup hot water; 1 chicken stock cube 2 teaspoons curry powder 6 spring onions 1 teaspoon salt % cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 cup sliced celery 1 red skinned apple IZ 2 cup pine nuts

% cup sunflower seeds

Method: Combine water, stock cube and curry powder in a saucepan. Simmer for two minutes; cool. Peel and cube potatoes to make three cupfuls and steam over fast boiling water until just tender. While still warm, toss potato cubes gently in a bowl with the finely chopped onions and pour over chicken broth and curry. Leave to stand until most of the broth is absorbed. Combine salt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, cored and diced apple and add to potato mixture, tossing gently but well. Cover and chill for two hours then stir in nuts and sunflower seeds just before serving. Greek salad

Containing black olives

and fetta cheese, this salad is well-flavoured with onion, tomatoes, cucumber, and green pepper. It makes a good accompaniment for meat dishes, especially barbecued lamb and beef. For six servings you need:

12 black olives 3 tomatoes, skinned and coarsely chopped 1 cucumber 2 onions 2 small green peppers 350 g cheese, preferably fetta DRESSING:

t2 cup salad oil 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar teaspoon salt teaspoon oregano Freshly ground pepper Method: Combine olives with chopped tomatoes, seeded and cubed cucumber, chopped onion and coarsely chopped green peppers. Combine all ingredients for dressing, beating well with whisk or fork and pour on vegetables, tossing lightly. Leave to marinate for at least an hour. Stir in the cubed cheese just before serving. Grapefruit Florentine salad Contains grapefruit, • spin-

ach, onion and tasty blue vein cheese. Other cheese may be substituted if preferred, but it needs to be one that will crumble. A good accompaniment to chicken, fish or cold meats. For six servings you need:

% cup salad oil cup wine vinegar 2 teaspoons fresh grated grapefruit rind Li teaspoon garlic salt '/» teaspoon dried tarragon leaves, crushed 2 grapefruit, peeled and sliced in rounds 1 bunch fresh spinach 1 onion

50g blue cheese, crumbled

Method: Wash spinach thoroughly and remove stalks; tear ’ into bite size pieces. Peel and slice onion and separate into rings. Grate 2 teaspoons grapefruit rind. Peel and slice grapefruit into rounds, then cut rounds in halves. In a jar with a lid, combine salad oil, vinegar, grapefruit peel, garlic salt and crushed tarragon; chill. In a large bowl com-

COOKING with

Celia Timms

bine sliced grapefruit, spinach, onion rings and crumbled cheese; chill. To serve, shake dressing well, pour over salad mixture and toss lightly but well.