Quick and Simple Salads - Stick To Your Healthy Resolutions

Whether you are already a fruit, vegetable and earth-loving nutrition guru or you're working on improving the amount of fibre, vitamin and macronutrient rich foods in your daily meals, I've got you covered. The 5-Minute Salad Lunchbox has a whole bunch of kickass ideas around combinations of flavours and colours to make your lunch delicious, satiating and balanced. Far from bland or insubstantial, as sometimes salad can be, these recipes have a protein, fibre-rich vegetables or pulses, and flavour rich seasoning that will keep you satiated for hours. Eating healthily is not about compromising what you actually enjoy and want for something you feel you should have. This is about discovering meals and foods you DO enjoy and that you DO want, recognising that foods that are good for you are also freakin' delicious once you start experimenting and realising you can have so many things you hadn't factored into a healthy diet and really enjoy them. Sometimes, exchanging full fat butter for nut butters, or using roast vegetables and crunchy roasted chickpeas in place of chips and starchy, processed burger patties can be a revelation.

Without further ado, the recipes. What are you going to make this week? Let me know on Facebook.

LEFT-OVER ROAST VEGETABLE SALAD

Substitute toasted pine nuts or almonds if you don’t have cashew nuts.

200 g (7 oz) left-over roast vegetables, such as carrot, pumpkin (winter squash), parsnip, potato, sweet potato and beetroot (beets), sliced or cut into bite-sized pieces

2 large handfuls of baby English spinach leaves

small handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

30 g (1 oz) cashew nuts, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons sumac

               

TAHINI DRESSING

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons tahini

juice of ½ lemon

1 tablespoon water

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1.       Toss the salad ingredients together, then tip into your lunchbox.

2.       Combine the dressing ingredients in a small jar or container with a tight-fitting lid.

3.       Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving and toss well.

LENTIL, HALOUMI & HERB SALAD

Cat's Note: as a vegan, I substitute vegan haloumi or chickpea tofu for the halouomi in this recipe. There's also nut-based vegan "cheese" or you could fry some tofu or add tempeh instead.

  

50 g (1¾ oz) slice of haloumi, fried in hot oil for 3 minutes, cubed * vegan halloumi recipe

150 g (5½ oz/⅔ cup) drained tinned brown lentils

1 tomato, diced

handful each of mint, parsley and coriander (cilantro), chopped

LEMON & CUMIN DRESSING

juice of ½ lemon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1.       Toss the salad ingredients together, then tip into your lunchbox.

2.       Combine the dressing ingredients in a small jar or container with a tightfitting lid.

3.       Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving and toss well.

RAW BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH PEAR, HAZELNUTS & PECORINO

The sweetness from the pear and cranberries (also known as craisins) are the perfect foil for the peppery bite of the raw brussels sprouts. Apple will work just as well as pear and, while the hazelnuts bring something really special to this salad, walnuts are great here, too.

Cat's Note: as a vegan, I don't add pecorino but if you want an alternative, there's a cashew based vegan cheese alternative below.

150 g (5½ oz) brussels sprouts, shredded

1 pear, thinly sliced

30 g (1 oz) roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

30 g (1 oz/⅓ cup) grated pecorino

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

small handful of parsley, roughly chopped

CIDER VINEGAR DRESSING

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1.       Toss the salad ingredients together, then tip into your lunchbox.

2.       Combine the dressing ingredients in a small jar or container with a tightfitting lid.

3.       Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving and toss well.

Vegan parmesan cheese

ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted cashews (150 g)*
• 4 tbsp brewer’s or nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder

instructions

1. Grind all the ingredients in a grinder or food processor until well mixed.

Extracted from THE 5-MINUTE SALAD LUNCHBOX by Alexander Hart, published by Smith Street Books, RRP AU$24.99 or NZ$28.99 Photography © Chris Middleton / Food styling © Deborah Kaloper. 

Deliciously Ella Plant Based Recipes

I don't know about you, but I am a total sucker for cookbooks. Sure, blogs and websites and instagram are all awesome inspiration and I regularly end up recreating dishes or even just condiments and seasonings I've seen online, but nothing beats the loveliness of a solid, old-fashioned cookbook.

My new kitchen helper is Deliciously Ella The Plant-Based Cookbook by Ella Mills (Woodward), published by Hachette Australia (RRP $32.99). All photographs by Nassima Rothacker.

The following recipes are my favourites from the book. I'd love you to tag me if you make them and want to share a photo to instagram! I'm at @cat13gram.

HERBED LENTIL BALLS
WITH TOMATO RELISH
AND GARLIC CREAM

I know these may sound a little strange, but they taste amazing – especially

sitting in a bed of tomato relish and dressed with garlic cream. They’re

full of flavour thanks to the thyme, rosemary, parsley, garlic and onion.

I love them served simply with some brown rice and salad.

MAKES 10

150g dried green lentils

1 large onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 tablespoons buckwheat flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

handful of parsley, roughly

chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

salt and pepper

for the tomato relish

6 tablespoons tomato purée

3 garlic cloves, peeled

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup

100ml water

handful of parsley

pinch of ground cumin

pinch of chilli powder

pinch of smoked paprika

for the garlic cream

100g cashews, soaked for at least

3 hours then drained

10 tablespoons almond milk

3 garlic cloves, roasted (see

page 35)

splash of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 200.C (fan 180.C).

Start by placing the lentils in a pan of boiling water. Cook for

20–25 minutes until tender but still with a slight bite. Once cooked,

drain and leave to cool to room temperature.

While the lentils are cooking, place the onion and garlic in a pan

over a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and cook

for 5–10 minutes, until soft. Then leave to cool to room temperature.

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until

it forms a thick paste. Scoop balls of the mixture out of the food

processor using an ice-cream scoop, smooth them a little by rolling

them in your hands if you like, then place them on a baking tray

and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes. Check the lentil balls are

cooked through by inserting a knife into the middle of one ball –

if it comes out clean they’re ready, if not bake for a little longer.

While the balls are in the oven, prepare the tomato relish and garlic

cream. Simply place all of the ingredients for the relish in a food

processor and some salt and pulse until smooth. Then do the same

for the garlic cream, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve the

lentil balls piled high with the relish and garlic cream.

TIP

These are delicious served warm straight out the oven – if you’re

doing that then gently warm the tomato relish too.

YELLOW THAI CURRY

Aubergines are one of my favourite ingredients to use in a curry as they

soak up all of the flavours like a sponge. I’ve lost count of how many

bowls of this curry I’ve eaten in the last few years; when I’m having a

busy week I pop into the deli and devour a bowl with brown rice – it’s

warming, hearty and always keeps me going for hours. This one also

happens to be one of Matt’s favourites too.

SERVES 4

for the curry paste

1/2 large onion, roughly chopped

1 red chilli, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger,

peeled and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 lemongrass stalk, bashed and

roughly chopped

1 lime leaf

31/2 tablespoons coconut oil

for the curry

2 red peppers, deseeded and cut

into bite-sized chunks

1 large aubergine, cut into bitesize

pieces

100g button mushrooms

100g baby corn, cut in half

olive oil

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 x 400g tins of coconut milk

(see tip on page 174)

1 tablespoon tamari

handful of Thai basil,

roughly chopped

salt

Preheat the oven to 240.C (fan 220.C).

Place all of the paste ingredients in a food processor and blitz

until smooth.

Place the peppers, aubergine, mushrooms and baby corn in a baking

tray with a little olive oil and salt. Roast in the oven for 10–15 minutes,

so that they take on a bit of colour, then remove and leave to one side.

Next, place the coconut oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium

heat. Once hot, add the curry paste and cook for 5 minutes until

soft. Add the coconut milk and tamari and bring to the boil – then

lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and

blitz using a hand blender, then pass through a sieve to remove any

unwanted bits (if needed). Place back on to a medium heat and

add the roasted vegetables, then cook for a final 5 minutes. Try not

to overcook this curry – the sauce only needs this short cooking time

and there is a chance it could form a layer of oil on top if you cook

it for longer and reduce it too much.

Once everything is cooked through, sprinkle with a handful of chopped

Thai basil.

TIP

You could make a double batch of this curry and freeze half for

another day. It freezes so well and is really easy to cook straight

from the freezer – just place it into an oven set at 200C (fan 180C)

for 20–25 minutes until cooked through.

SPICY MISO AUBERGINE AND BROCCOLI SALAD

This salad was a real hit in the deli, and it’s one of my go-tos as well.

We used to serve it cool, but have recently discovered a new love of

serving it warm, straight out the oven and couldn’t recommend that

more. The dressing is partly what makes this so good and I use it a lot

in other dishes – the ginger, miso, sesame and lime mix is a real winner.

SERVES 2

AS A MAIN DISH,

4 AS A SIDE

2 medium aubergines, chopped

into bite-sized chunks

1 large head of broccoli, chopped

into florets

pinch of chilli flakes

handful of coriander, chopped

handful of sesame seeds

salt and pepper

for the miso dressing

4 tablespoons miso paste

juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger,

peeled and grated

Preheat the oven to 240ºC (fan 220ºC).

For the dressing, blitz the miso, lime juice, vinegar, sesame oil,

ginger and some salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. If

you don’t have a blender, dissolve the miso paste in a tablespoon

of boiling water then stir through the other dressing ingredients.

In a large baking tray, mix the aubergine with the dressing and

roast for 30–35 minutes. At this point, remove the tray from the

oven and switch the oven over to the grill setting. Mix the broccoli

florets with the aubergine, then place the tray back in the oven for

another 10 minutes until the broccoli is lightly charred on top and

the aubergine is soft and golden.

Once cooked, remove from the oven, place in a serving bowl

and sprinkle with the chilli flakes, coriander and sesame seeds

before serving.

Nourish - Two Superfood Salads to Love

From my new cookbook of choice, Nourish by Amber Locke (published by Mitchell Beazley, $24.99), two recipes that you can add to your lunch or dinner repertoire. Excellent for a solo meal or make it for family, friends or the workmate who has the same, boring ham and cheese sanga every day. 

Edamame beans are young soya beans that are picked before they start to harden so they’re tender and fresh – a bit like young broad beans. They’re a great source of protein and are a general all-round nutritional super-food, and are particularly beneficial in a vegan diet.

They’re combined here with poppy seed-specked avocado and served on a bed of matchstick carrots (I’ve used purple, orange and yellow carrots).

Any citrus or creamy dressing, or the spicy Rose Harissa Dressing would work well with this salad.

• 3–4 large carrots, scrubbed or peeled
• 1–2 ripe avocados
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 300g (10½oz) shelled edamame beans
• dressing of choice

Cut the carrots into fine matchsticks (there’s no need to peel them if they are organic) using a mandolin or julienne peeler, or coarsely grate them – they’ll taste just as good. Place them in a serving bowl.

Halve, peel and remove the stones of the avocados, then cut the flesh into large chunks. Put the avocado chunks in a bowl and lightly coat in the poppy seeds.

Place the edamame and avocado on top of the carrots, pour over the dressing of your choice and mix well to combine.

Protein boost...

Seared, poached or barbecued salmon goes well with this salad. Cooked, shredded tofu also an option.

For this salad you can either chop the kale finely or break it into pieces and massage it in the mango dressing. It can get a bit messy, but tastes delicious! I’ve cut the yellow beetroot and pink watermelon radishes into decorative shapes for the photograph, but slice, grate or shave them as you prefer. If you’d like to serve a dressing with this salad then I recommend the Orange Vinaigrette (see page 127).

• 2 large bunches of kale
• 2 teaspoons cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 3 ripe mangoes
• 1 large raw yellow beetroot, scrubbed or peeled
• 1 large watermelon radish or 5–6 regular radishes, trimmed
• Orange Vinaigrette (optional)

Tear the leafy parts of the kale away from the stems (save these for juicing) and remove any tough veins in the leaves. Tear the leaves into 2.5–5cm (1–2in) pieces and place in a large bowl.

Anoint the kale leaves in the olive oil and start to massage and scrunch them with your fingers. It will take a while for the leaves to yield but they will gradually start to soften and become more pliable and tender. They’re done when they feel silky soft.

Peel and stone the mangoes. If the mangoes are really ripe it’s a good idea to massage them into the kale as they may be difficult to cut up neatly. Simply mush them up with your hands and get going.

Slice, grate or shave the beetroot and watermelon radish, or cut into decorative shapes and scatter them over the salad just before serving.

Pour over the orange vinaigrette, if using.