Summer salads • 01.14.09
Summer is officially upon us here in Sydney. Remember back a few months ago when I thought that warm weather was never going to get here? Oh man, I was so wrong. We don’t have air conditioning, so our days are spent with the windows open and the fan on. Needless to say, I’m not baking much.
This type of weather really makes me crave a few specific heat-beaters. First on that list is a cold beer, especially if you can stick a lime in the top of it. Second on the list is a swim in Mock Springs, the teeth-chatteringly cold swimming hole near the town where I grew up. And third on the list of cool-me-downers is a salad.
I love salads all year round, but in the summer I find I eat salad all day. Literally. I had cold lentil salad with feta and walnuts for breakfast last Wednesday. So here are a few of my new favourite salad recipes, along with the links to some salads I’ve written about on this site previously.
And don’t worry if you live somewhere above the Equator where it’s cold right now. You can make one of these salads and let the bright flavours remind you of the summer that’s to come.
Noodles with peanut sauce and summer veggies
Serves 4 as a side or 3 for lunch
Dressing:
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs peanut oil or other light oil
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs spicy sweet chilli sauce
2 tbs lime juice
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
Salad:
1 1/2 cups snow peas, cut into bite sized pieces
1 red capsicum (bell pepper), cut into bite sized strips
1 carrot, cut into thick strips with a vegetable peeler
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 lb pack of prepare egg noodles or Hokkien noodles
fresh coriander (cilantro) and chopped chilli to garnish
Put all the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and whisk with a fork. It will take a few minutes, but eventually the dressing will become smooth and liquid. It will still be really thick, but that’s ok.
Prepare the noodles according to the package. I had to pour boiling water over mine for 2 mins, then drain.
Put the noodles, snow peas, capsicum, carrot and spring onions into a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and toss. This will take a minute, but keep tossing until everything is coated.
Eat immediately, topped with coriander and chilli. Or, you can keep this in the fridge for a few days. It is excellent nice and cold for lunch.
Corn and cumin salad
Serves 2
2 ears of fresh corn
1 red capsicum (bell pepper), chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno chilli, finely chopped
1 handful coriand (cilantr0), finely chopped
1 heaping tsp ground cumin
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the corn. It would be even better if you grilled it, but we don’t have a barbie anymore, so I just cooked it in foil in the oven for 30 mins. Easy.
Remove the corn from the cob by placing the flat end on a cutting board and running a sharp knife down the cob. The kernels will come right off.
Combine the corn, capsicum, zucchini, spring onions and chilli and mix well. This will help break the kernels up.
Whisk together cumin, vinegar and oil and pour over the veggie mixture. Mix well. Top with coriander and serve.
Other salads from the archives:
Beetroot and apple salad
Quinoa and cauliflower salad
Asparagus and goat’s cheese salad
