A fresh, green, go-with-anything garden salad is the simplest, most convenient way to add a shot of nutrients and colour to any meal. And one of my favourites! Endlessly interchangeable ingredients mean you can have a different combination every day or stick to whatever you like best. This one contains lots of leaves, peppery radish, crunchy cucumber, sweet shallots, creamy avocado and a crunchy nut and seed sprinkle.
For a salad that’s more than a bit on the side, Israeli salad with lemon garlic tahini dressing is bursting with fresh ingredients and bonus protein in the form of chickpeas. Or pasta salad with basil vinaigrette, is carb-high but guilt-free.
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Simple side salad
I probably eat a salad every day. I really crave the nutritional balance it brings to a meal, and they are ready in two minutes flat! If you’re trying to squeeze more plants into your diet, this is the way to do it.
Think of putting a side salad together as playing a one-armed bandit slot machine. Start with some leaves, that’s the credit. Then pull the arm for your vegetable trio: spring onions, bell peppers, olives, sweetcorn, celery, beetroot, even apple.
What are you going to get? In this case, a combination of three, rather than matching, is the jackpot!
Mixing it up will add even more nutrients to your plate and make use of wilting vegetables in the salad drawer. Winning all round!
Finally, add a little bonus to the bowl with a glorious dressing. It can be super simple; just olive oil and vinegar or a unique poppyseed vinaigrette recipe; a creamy or yoghurt-based lip smacker; or lusciously dairy-free.
Recipe tips and notes
- Salad leaves deliver so much flavour and goodness, I will always use two or three different ones. My faves are arugula (rocket)- peppery and lemony; spinach- dark and robust; and romaine for crunch factor.
- There are at least 10 varieties of lettuce in my local supermarket so it’s easy to test out which ones you prefer.
- Honestly, I steer clear of iceberg in a salad- it’s a bit watery and bland here. I blame it entirely for the misconception that salad is boring and arbitrary!
- Common long cucumbers have a lot to answer for too! For the best crunch and most flavour seek out Kirby, or Persian, cucumbers. They are the short, stubby ones used for pickling and are the crunchiest by far.
- I like to cut my cucumber, radish and shallot using a mandolin. It’s a very sharp kitchen tool that delivers paper-thin slices. However you cut yours is up to you!
- A handful of nuts and seeds tossed over your salad after dressing does wonders. It adds texture, nutrients, and a bit of pow!
- A salad should be dressed just before serving (to avoid soggy leaves). 2 tablespoons are enough- so don’t drench the veg.
- Then get your kitchen gloves on and get your hands in there! That’s how the professionals toss their salads.
- If you find your dressing is a little sweet, season the salad with a pinch of salt. That balance is everything.
- You might have a faithful store-bought dressing that you know and love, but I always make my own. It takes minutes, uses common kitchen staple ingredients, and I know it has no additives, preservatives, excess sugar or salt.
- Need a little inspo? Creamy dill, Green Goddess, lemon yoghurt or balsamic vinaigrette all dress this garden salad to kill.
Serving suggestions
Search any one of my recipes and in the ‘serving suggestions’ section you will read the words: “I like mine with a fresh green salad.” It is true of almost any dish, in particular not-too-saucy pasta dishes like quick and easy crab pasta or spicy sausage pasta with ricotta.
And, obviously, any barbecue fare or grilled meat; summer party mojito grilled chicken thighs or rib eye steak for example.
It can stretch a lunchtime sandwich, either hot; croque madame, or cold; egg salad.
Fish, tacos, eggs, baked potatoes… I could go on. There are virtually no rules when it comes to serving a garden salad. But I would say the only stipulation I have is the main shouldn’t be a hot saucy one like beef stroganoff or easy chicken stew. Cooked vegetables go best with those, fyi!
Storage and leftovers
I’ll level with you; a garden salad will not keep well. First off, if you’ve already dressed it, the lettuce leaves will go limp and wet in the fridge. Second, the cut radishes and cucumber will dry out. Third, the avocado will brown. Lastly, the onion will taint everything with an oniony tang.
The message here is prepare precisely the right amount of salad for your meal or finish it up! And that can’t hurt, can it?
More salad recipes to try
- Tuscan Panzanella Salad
- Middle Eastern Salad Bowl
- Spinach Pesto Potato Salad with Bacon
- Walnut Beet Salad with Garlic Mayonnaise Dressing
Garden Salad
Ingredients
- 200g/4 cups salad greens (variety of lettuce, spinach, arugula, etc)
- 2 radished sliced
- 1 baby cucumber sliced
- ½ shallot sliced
- 1 avocado sliced
- 2 tbsp nut and seed mix or nuts of your choice I used sunflower, pumpkin seeds and poppyseeds as well as cashews.
- 2 tbsp dressing of your choice or our herb vinaigrette dressing
Instructions
- To a large salad bowl add your salad greens, topped with thinly sliced radishes, cucumbers and shallot. Then add sliced or cubed avocado and nuts and seeds with a pinch of salt.
- Drizzle the dressing of your choice all over and gently toss to combine.
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