Happy Sunshiney Wednesday!
What a beautiful day.
I am feeling very grateful this morning. I am acknowledging my privileged position during this pandemic. My heart goes out to those who are grieving, having lost loved ones or colleagues, to those who are facing hardships, redundancies or for the people who have not been able to receive any government help and have fallen through the gaps of their schemes.
I say this out of a place which has a real urge & a real need for change. Our mission has always been positioned as a socially and environmentally focused business. And now we are seeing our focus shift even more than before, as our business plans to move into becoming a social enterprise.
...but for now I am here to talk about salad.
For all of us, the effects we have felt to this situation is starkly different. For us lucky ones; we are able to work from home , some still on full pay,or it may mean being furloughed and staying at home. So for those in these situations - we have this time to be at home, perhaps that is a good thing for you, to be at home, maybe with family. Perhaps with some extra time to cook.
I am finding in my house that our favourite way to eat is sharing salads feasts. We have big bowls of lovely things in the centre of the table and share and eat. It marks the occasion of dinner during these groundhog days and we connect over food.
I'm not going to share any salad recipes, but I am sharing a few thoughts and structures of how I like to build my salad feasts.
If you live at home alone, you could try prepping these selections and having a little salad bar in your fridge for a few days.
Sharing Salads Feast.
*My general rules:
-1 bowl of exciting veg.
-1 bowl or something green leafy & simple.
- 1 bowl of something carby - grainy/ potato/ or bread.
- toppings such as dips, dressings, pickles & seeds.
*I usually would add a protein source to one of the bowls such as chickpeas, lentils, nuts.
*Think about the overall taste profile. Where do you want to lend your spice profiles from? Perhaps some Middle Eastern spices, Asian, Mediterranean. Having an overall theme or taste profile can help bring your salad feast all together!
*When choosing your veggies it's nice to be able to eat what's in season & that's something that we advocate in the cafe. But this isn't an option for everyone. People's purchasing choices are different; one person's priority may be what is best for the environment where as another persons could be based on budget. That's OK! There is no perfect way to eat. By choosing to eat a vegan salad feast you're already choosing a low impact meal. Don't beat yourself up if you can't get your veggies organic and locally sourced. x
Exciting veg ideas:
This is usually the most exciting part of your feast. Filling & full of flavour
-Harissa roasted cauliflower with pomegranate seeds
-Tahini cabbage & carrot slaw with toasted sesame
-Saltet Malfouf ( Lebanese Red Cabbage Salad)
-Veg fritters - such as beetroot, apple & fennel seed, Spinach & potato & polenta cakes,
Sweetcorn, paprika & coriander fritters, onion bhaji
-Shredded veggie "noodles" with peanut sauce (Raw Pad Thai)
-Thoran- cabbage & coconut dry curry
-Veg kofte
Green leafy & simple ideas:
You can have your greens raw as a salad, charred or seared.
Mix in fruit & nuts for extra flavour.
-A selection of salad leaves, it's nice to have a variety for extra flavour.
Dressed simply with extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon & black pepper
or orange dressing with toasted sesame.
-Massaged kale with toasted almond flakes and dried apricots/ dates.
-Cavolo nero with pear & walnut.
-Charred chicory with watercress.
Something carby ideas
-Masala Roasted Potatoes with spring onion & coriander
-Quinoa with salsa verde & cumin roasted carrots
-Herby wild rice with toasted walnuts
-Tabouleh
-Miso roasted potatoes with green lentils (this recipe is everything!)
-Pasta with wastefree pesto & roasted spiced chickpeas
-Sambhar quinoa cakes
-Sea salt & Samphire potatoes
-Bread/sourdough/flatbread
Toppings ideas
Pickled red onion
Pickled red cabbage
Sauerkraut
Kim-chi
Toasted seeds or blended for a seed crumb.
Dukkah
Micro-herbs
Turmeric yogurt dip
Tahini dressing
Kombucha vinaigrette
Aioli
Borani
Labneh
Here's some lovely photos of some of my home salad feasts.
Happy feasting everyone!
As always, share any pictures with us on Instagram!
Love to all. x