Tag Archives: from season to season sophie dahl

  • Two Spring Salads

    It was a balmy 27 degrees Celsius yesterday morning. Then in the late afternoon a storm blew up and heavy rain and winds lashed the windows as we ate dinner. But that’s Spring for you – inconstant, unpredictable and flighty.

    Nonetheless, as someone who is always the coldest person in the room, I’m happy the warmer weather is going to be more of a regular thing. So to celebrate, I’ve come up with these two salads using fantastic Spring produce found recently at the markets.

    The first salad — Radishes and Mint with a Truffle Dressing — is inspired by a recipe I found in Sophie Dahl’s From Season to Season, which I borrowed recently from the library.

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    Sophie’s recipe combines sliced radishes and mint with truffle salt and olive oil. Having no truffle salt but some lovely truffle paste from The Mushroom Man, I made a dressing with truffle sauce, olive oil and a hint of honey. While the pungent truffle sauce holds its own against the peppery, sharp radishes I do feel a drop or two of honey helps to round out the flavours nicely. A sprinkle of sea salt flakes is essential, too.

    I made the second salad — Beetroot, Ruby Grapefruit, Avocado and Hazelnuts — when my oldest friend, G, came around for dinner recently. G has been living overseas for a few years so it was lovely to catch up for a feast of food, red wine and 30 Rock.

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    I made a version of this salad last Spring and kept meaning to blog it but never got around to it. So here it is now. I love the sweet, mellow flavour of roasted beetroot and avocado – they act as a great counterpoint to the tanginess and sharpness of the grapefruit. Add some roasted hazelnuts for crunch and texture and some baby spinach leaves as a base and you have a gorgeous salad that would work equally well as a main course or side dish.

    A word on citrus in salads. I quite like the look of whole peeled citrus segments but more often than not, I end up destroying the segments in my impatience. So I’ve come up with a better way to present them – I peel the citrus, remove as much of the pith as possible and then cut the whole orange in half, before slicing each half into half-moons. It still looks pretty and I don’t have the palaver, mess or uncertain outcome that I have when trying to create  peeled segments. Do be sure to use your sharpest knife though.

    I hope you enjoy these salads as much as I hope the warm weather returns.

    Christina xx

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    Radishes and Mint with Truffle Dressing

    INGREDIENTS

    • 1 bunch radishes, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced
    • 5 springs mint, leaves picked off, washed and thinly sliced
    • 2/3rds teaspoon truffle paste
    • 1 teaspoon olive oil
    • 1/4 teaspoon honey
    • Pinch salt flakes

    METHOD

    1. Combine radishes and mint in a bowl.
    2. Make dressing by whisking truffle paste, olive oil and honey in a small glass.
    3. Pour over radishes, add a pinch of salt flakes and mix well to combine.

    Serves 4 as a side salad. Gluten, dairy and nut free. 

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    Beetroot, Ruby Grapefruit, Avocado and Hazelnut Salad

    INGREDIENTS

    • 1 bunch beetroot, trimmed of stalks but with skin on
    • 120 grams baby spinach, washed and spun dry
    • 1 ruby grapefruit, cut into half moons as described above
    • 1 avocado
    • 1/4 Spanish (red) onion
    • 30 grams roasted hazelnuts
    • Few springs mint, leaves removed and shredded
    • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1/2 teaspoon honey
    • 1/2 teaspoon french or grainy mustard
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    METHOD

    • Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
    • Wash beetroot, wrap tightly in alfoil (tin wrap) and then bake in oven for 45 minutes (small) or up to 60 minutes (large). Prick with a skewer to ensure it’s cooked. Remove and cool. Rub the skin off with your fingers and then slice each beetroot into half.
    • To assemble salad, find a large platter and make a bed with the spinach.
    • Arrange beetroot and grapefruit on top of the spinach and then use a teaspoon to scoop out the avocado flesh and place it on top.
    • Garnish with red onions, hazelnuts and mint.
    • Make dressing by whisking vinegar, olive oil, honey and mustard in a small cup and dribble over salad.
    • Sprinkle some crushed sea salt flakes over, add a good grind of pepper and then serve. You’ll want people to ooh and ahh over how pretty it is before you mix it up at the table.

    Serves 4-6 as a side salad or 2 as a main. Gluten and dairy  free. 

    More Salads

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