It's National Vegetarian Week and we're going bright and shiny with two beautifully colourful salad recipes from our friends at Abel & Cole.
* Offer: The Simple Things readers get a free Abel & Cole grow-your-own-garden - a box of mini plants all ready to plant out in the garden, with an RRP £35 - and 4th veg box free when signing up to a delivery. Use the code TST15 on sign up. *
Piñata Salad
Grab your salad spoons and whack away at this zesty (thank you, limes) spring number. Blindfold optional of course.
It’ll take
15 mins (prep)
1-2 mins (cook)
It’ll feed
2 people
Ingredients
1 beetroot
2 carrots
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 lime
A punnet of alfalfa sprouts
A handful of coriander
1 avocado
Step by step
Peel and coarsely grate your beetroot and carrots.
Set a dry frying pan over high heat. Add your cumin seeds. Lower heat. Toast for 1-2 mins till just fragrant*. Scatter all (hang onto a pinch for later) in with your grated veg.
Grate the zest of your lime into the salad mix. Add a good squeeze of juice. Gloss with a little oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to mix.
Rinse and drain your alfalfa sprouts. Roughly chop your coriander. Set aside a pinch of coriander. Gently mix the sprouts and remaining coriander through the salad.
Halve, stone and peel your avocado. Divide the salad between two large bowls or plates. Pop the avocado halves in the centre. Season well. Add a good squeeze of lime juice and a gloss of oil. Finish with the reserved cumin seeds and chopped coriander.
* Going raw? Skip toasting your seeds. If you do toast them it’ll bring out the oils to make them more fragrant and tasty.
Golden Sunshine Salad
It takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds for light to travel from the sun to us. It takes just a few minutes more to whip up this organic sunshine salad.
It’ll take
15 mins (prep)
2 mins (cooking)
It’ll feed
2-4 people
Ingredients
1 lettuce
½ pineapple or 1 ripe mango*
A thumb of turmeric
A few pinches of sea salt
A drop of honey (optional)
100g mixed bean sprouts
1 carrot
1 lime
A handful of fresh coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
A gloss of oil
2 garlic cloves
1 chilli
Step by Step
Slice the base from your lettuce. Tumble the leaves into a large bowl. Gently tear any larger leaves. Rinse well. Drain. Pat dry.
Slice the mango or pineapple into chunks. Cut the skin off. Place all the flesh from your fruit into a food processor or blender. Peel a 2cm chunk of peeled turmeric. Add it with a pinch of salt. Blend till smooth. Taste. Add a drop of honey or more turmeric, if needed, till it’s just right for you.
Gently mix your dressing through the leaves. Arrange the dressed leaves on a large platter or on individual plates.
Rinse your sprouts and carrot. Tumble the sprouts into the bowl you used for the lettuce (let them lap up any leftover dressing). Peel the carrot into thin ribbons using a veg peeler. Add them to the sprouts.
Add the lime zest and juice. Season with a pinch of salt. Rinse, shake dry, roughly chop and add your coriander to the carrot/sprout mix.
Set a frying pan over medium heat. Add your cumin seeds. Toast till just fragrant. Scatter them over the sprout mix. Arrange this over your dressed leaves.
Pour enough oil into your pan to coat the bottom. Peel and thinly slice your garlic. Thinly slice your chilli. Fold them through the hot oil with a pinch of salt. Sizzle till just golden. Remove with a slotted spoon. Scatter over the salad. Drizzle a hint of the warm, spiced oil over and serve.
*Mango a little firm? Pop it in a paper bag with a banana and it should ripen in day or two.
These recipes are from Abel & Cole's new Super Salad Box - available weekly for £19.50.