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Menu
summer
salads
In Australia Summer means outside entertaining and very often, especially if you have a beach or holiday house it can mean unexpected entertaining. There can be many hands to help, and absolutely none so planning is important, because who wants to spend hours shopping when the sun is out, and the surf is up?
So, some vacced nuts not from the supermarket in the freezer is a good start, plus some Aussie walnuts in the shell. Nuts from the freezer, will of course, need to be refreshed in a 160°C oven and chopped so they are evenly distributed through a salad.
I suggest shelled pistachios from The Food Forest, almonds [preferrably from the Riverland Almond Co.] found in good fruit and veg shops, and some unsalted cashews and peanuts. Add a couple of bunches of lemon grass, ginger and galang to the freezer.
You also need decent EVO and some quality sesame oil and of course Leonardi Sweet Balsamic and if you’re willing their red wine vinegar and balsamic..really good quality and not that expensive. Megachef soy and fish sauce and ABC Ketyap Manis …Nigella Seeds and some other basic dried whole spices and a bit of dried fruit like dried currants and apricots, Australian, of course. The other most important pantry staples are conserva; Ortiz anchovies, Sirena tuna and the like. A large block of Reggiano and some Bulgarian feta just about does it. Remember to change the water on the feta and add a couple of generous pinches of salt each time you do. It is important to keep the feta submerged.
Then buy a couple of large pots of herbs from your local plant shop…chervil, parsley, basil, Thai basil, mint and stick them on your windowsill. The rest of the ingredients would be best from your local farmers’ market, but can mainly be purchased from a quality supermarket….and can be purchased as need requires. However, a whole watermelon and some good tomatoes don’t need fridge space; the same goes with basics like red onions and shallots.
Leaf salads on a hot summer’s day are just silly and best avoided unless you’re entertaining inside with the aircon cranked.
Many of these recipes are classics, open for interpretation and just basic, you can take them in any direction you like, determined by the ingredients you have at hand. Just remember a well-equipped pantry makes Summer entertaining easy and most importantly, the fun it should be!
6 December 2024 AO
WATERMELON FETA
SALAD
I’VE SEEN THIS SALAD IN SO MANY AWFUL INCARNATIONS, JUST MISSING THE ENTIRE POINT OF A LESS COMMON COMBINATION PERFECTED WITH SESAME OIL…CLICK ON THE IMAGE
waldorf and
variations
OUR VERSION PICTURED LEFT CLICK ON THE IMAGE
INSPIRED BY
SAM LEONG
AN ABSOLUTE WINNER WHENEVER WE SERVE THIS DISH, AND ALTHOUGH IT DOES LOOK RATHER FANCY IT’S VERY EASY TO MAKE…CLICK ON THE IMAGE
try a little spicy thai salad
You can take this in any direction you like no rules part from the dressing. If you don’t have Thai basil use Italian basil…you might have a pineapple, a mango or two, a couple of chokos…whatever! You can chuck in a few cellophane noodles…more whatever!
BASIC THAI SALAD DRESSING
30g palm sugar, finely grated
1 lime, finely grated rind and strained juice
4 Thai chillies, very finely chopped
30g Mega Chef fish sauce
50g Ann’s chilli sambal with peanuts or Lao Gan Ma with peanuts
1 bunch coriander, roots only, washed and very finely chopped..leaves reserved for garnish
50g p/w shallots, finely chopped
for the salad ingredients…go hard
2 ripe mangoes OR a pineapple OR a couple of chokoes OR/and cherry tomatoes OR/and whatever you have to hand
spring onions, chopped OR shallots chopped
80g rice vermicelli, soaked in hot water, drained and chopped
3 stems of lemon grass, peeled back to the soft inner white and very finely chopped
1 bunch Thai basil, leafed
reserved coriander leaves from dressing, roughly chopped
50g peanuts, dry roasted in a 160°C oven and coarsely crushed
crispy shallots if you can be fussed
HERE’S ANOTHER OPTION, SEAFOOD, BUT WITH GRAPEFRUIT SEGMENTS AND JULIENNED CHOKO…DEAD EASY..DEAD DELICIOUS!
Here’s an idea, try some lovely South australian prawns, chop up a pinapple and whatever else you have to hand plus the dressing…image copyright © wheel & barrow, recipe, stylist and photographer Ann Oliver…the gorgeous glass stand Wheel & Barrow
GET THE BOYS ON THE
BARBY!!!
This is just the best…the simplest marinade to make, in the fridge for twenty-four hours…then on the barby… preferably charcoal.
This is one of the most delicious grilled beef recipes I have been lucky enough to be given. The wonderful Michael Voumard, a chef friend of so many years…now in New Zealand with his partner Liz Brown, also ex-Adelaide at Little Owl Farm..they do have accommodation and it is a very beautiful part of New Zealand.
Click on the image left to go to the recipe
go a bit
middle eastern
Baba Ganoush or Hummus on the bottom…salad shredded cabbage, shaved carrot, onion, Lebanese cucumber, loads of chopped parsley, and a few currants if you like. Dress with salt, white pepper, EVO and lemon juice. You might like to use the Roman Dressing or the Tahina Dressing, both are best kept stored in the fridge.
Serve with grilled Greg Malouf’s Pide Bread
Tahina Dressing… we make out own Tahina so much better than most commercial brands.
100g tahina
200g EVO
100g strained fresh lemon juice
Weigh everything into your baby blender and blitz until emulsified. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
roman dressing
salad dressing for 6
100g honey
100g Dijon wholegrain mustard
300g extra virgin olive oil
black pepper freshly ground
5g sea salt
100g lemon juice fresh and strained
25g roasted garlic
Weigh everything into a jug and using a stick mixer pulse until emulsified. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. This dressing is particularly good with a mix of bitter and sweet leaves.
take a few tomatoes
The homegrown tomato is an endless source of culinary joy and just how easy. The large buffalo Mozzarella balls are quite widely available these days. The must is, bring the Mozzarella up to room temperature so they get that lovely milky squishy texture.
Then all you need is salt, pepper and your best EVO. I always think tomatoes are acidic enough and do not add vinegar to this salad mix.
On the other hand; there is the old Australian tomato, onion and cucumber salad [pictured bottom right] with no oil and just vinegar with a little bit of sugar, salt and pepper. We always make this with apple cucumbers but although they are now more readily available, Lebanese cucumbers are also good. As kids, this was a ritual accompaniment with the leftover Christmas ham fresh white bread loaded with butter. It’s not to everyone’s taste, but we still love it.
Jim Lahey’s fabulous no-knead bread takes twenty-four hours notice, but it is terrific and so easy and cheap to make.
YOU’LL GET NO COMPLAINTS SERVING THIS SIMPLE SET AS A LUNCH ENTREE AND WATCH EVERYONE MOP THE LAST OF THE JUICES WITH THE BREAD
CLASSIC ITALIAN…MOZZARELLA, TOMATO, BASIL GARNISHED WITH SOME TORN PUMPKIN FLOWERS
AUSSIE TO THE CORE, TOMATO, ONION, CUCUMBER VNEGAR, SALT AND PEPPER
and don't forget the endless salad
permutations of figs
an entrée in a bowl, just add bread ….. type fig into the search and off you go!
last, but definitely
not least,
potato salad
In my late teens I became friends with a marvellous cook of Polish Herman heritage and to this day I faithfuly adhere to Elizabetta’s recipe.
The only tweaks might be a change of herbs or th e addition of blanched diced carrot, chopped cornichons, capers, sieved egg yolk, then the classic Russian salad herbs, chervil, chives, parsley and tarragon. Best never put in the fridge at the worst out of the fridge for at least an hour before you serve.
Many know I can’t boil and egg, and faced with the prospect of needing many perfectly boiled eggs for canapés, a friend suggested an egg cooker. Take eggs straight from the fridge, cook on the soft setting, when the buzzer goes immediately dump into cold water with lots of ice. Perfect every time.
Hallelujah!
pictured right base potato salad, with soft-boiled eggs…and entrée or an accompaniment click on the image to go to the recipe
the beauty of
bread
Having a couple of baguettes in the freezer, make this type of snack a breeze.
Slicing the baguette before freezing it makes something like pictured right extra extra quick. Either splash the bread slices with EVO and in a 200° oven for about 10 minutes or on the chargill. Cool to room temp, a dab of mayonnaise and any sort of easy topping, and you’re done.
Not pictured a favourite with everyone toasted ciabatta, Ortiz anchovy, finely chopped shallot marinated in Leonardi White Balsamic, sieved egg yolk. We only use Ortiz and always save the oil.
pictured right a dab of avocado mayonnaise, white anchovy, marinated red onion, a little sprig of wild fennel
pictured left, more conserva, sliced shallot, egg yolk on buttered molasses rye bread [also freezes well] with a dab of beerenberg Handorf hot mustard
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