When I first spotted these gorgeous candy-striped beetroot at Woolworths last week, I almost squealed. I’m not sure when I became the person who squealed over vegetables but she’s here now and I don’t actually mind because honestly, how beautiful are they? I cooked a few of the pretty globes and was disappointed to see that once cooked, the perky pink and white stripes turn into a funny yellow and the stripes are less noticeable. I then decided to make a salad topped with everything delicious and I can tell you that I have stumbled upon a real winner here. The sweet, earthiness of the beetroot is perfectly complimented by…
Simply Delicious
A general food and cooking blog. I like to experiment and try all different types of cuisine and I have a passion for food photography and styling.
Posts Tagged ‘salad recipes’
With the Festive Season right around the corner, I find myself thinking about easy, quick and delicious side dishes to serve with the abundance of grilled meats we usually have in this time. As we celebrate Christmas in a country that is hotter than hot in December, it makes sense that most of the celebrating will happen around a fire ready to braai lamb chops, steaks and boerewors. And even though the meats might be the main attraction, a braai just isn’t a braai without good side dishes. The average braai always has a mixed salad and a potato bake of some kind but I’m trying to venture further and…
I am not ashamed to say that I am a Guacamole freak. I adore it and could have it everyday. The only thing I don’t like about guacamole is that traditionally, chopped tomato is added. I don’t know why this is but it gives me the heebie-jeebies and I can’t handle the texture. However, when it’s left plain with a little bit of chilli, lemon, salt & pepper, I could gobble it up by the bowl full (and often do). Recently I had avocados in the house and wanted to create a side salad for dinner and without lettuce or cucumber, I decided to make this guacamole salad. Even…
Summer is in full force in Pretoria at the moment. The sky is brilliant blue, the Jacaranda trees are sporting brand new purple blooms and it is already ridiculously hot. When the season changes, people swarm to the gym and healthy food is a priority once more. And this glorious weather also inspires me to eat lighter, healthier food. This salad is one of my staples at the moment. I eat it for lunch on its own or as an accessory to grilled meat for dinner. I like to marinate the tomatoes and bocconcini (mozzarella) while the broccoli is steaming to really allow the flavours to mingle and…
So often after a lovely Sunday roast, I am left with left-overs and no inspiration. This isn’t usually a problem as I love a good left-over roast sandwich but sometimes, I am in the mood for something that required more thought than just slathering fresh bread with butter and stuffing some roast meat in between the slices before eating. When I had some left-over chicken a while ago I decided to use it in a salad and paired it with little bits and pieces I found lying in the fridge/pantry. The end result was a salad with serious substance, flavour and oomph. As the base I used a packet of…
Isn’t it funny how the simplest of foods can sometimes be the most calming and comforting? I’ve been on a bit of a roller coaster of emotions the last couple of weeks with the knowledge that my book will be hitting the shelves in a month’s time. I’ve asked my team from Penguin to involve me as much as they possibly can and so, I’m doing a lot of the behind the scenes stuff which I’m enjoying but of course, with extra work comes extra stress. And when I’m stressed, I eat. Not good, wholesome foods…no, I like sugary, carb-loaded foods that make me feel good all of one second…
Up until a few years ago, I wasn’t a fan of cooking with fruit. I would even turn my nose up at a simple fruit salad. I was under the impression that fruit was only good for one thing, eating them as is. How very wrong I was. When adding (the right) fruits to savoury dishes, you add flavours that just can’t be mimicked by other ingredients. Subtle sweetness and slight tartness (in some cases) are just two of the flavours that can’t be achieved by using an alternative. Think of when you add a squeeze of lemon juice to garlicky mushrooms. Nothing else can give you the zesty ‘lift’…
Last week I posted the recipe for Chicken Escalopes and mentioned that I served it with a Watermelon, Feta and Rocket (Arugula) salad. And before you turn your nose up, let me try to convince you that this is a FABULOUS idea! When I first paired Watermelon with Feta, I was about 19 and trying to be all “Fantastic Foodie” with my family, they didn’t completely hate the idea but I could see they didn’t love it either. I just served up wedges of Watermelon with crumbled Feta and some black pepper. Bless them for eating it with a smile while their eyes were saying “this is kind of wierd”….
Ok, now before you turn your nose up at the idea of having strawberries with avocado, blue cheese and shaved chicken, hear me out. I know this is a strange combination and the first time I saw fruit in salad, I was disgusted. I was very much a sweet with sweet, salty with salty kind of teenager and only recently did I really start enjoying mixing salty and sweet. Just the thought of bacon with syrup on french toast was enough for me to turn green around the gills. But this salad is magical. If you take a bite full of every ingredient, it’s like a little flavour explosion happens…
I always find it quite amusing how people start acting at the beginning of Spring. All of a sudden the gym’s are packed, the lines at the drive-thru’s are shorter and people are buying a whole truck load more fresh veg and fruit. Ok, the latter might be because the fruit and veg this time of year are just sublime. Fresh, crisp and green vegetables like sugar snap peas, asparagus and courgettes make it so easy to want to be healthy. That’s why I took full advantage of the seasonality of these vegetables (except for the Asparagus as I couldn’t find any..go figure), and use them in a wonderful warm…
