Manor Farm Herbs: Herb Salads

Recipes: Herb Salads

Autumn Coleslaw with crunchy seeds

3 tbsp mixed seeds
4 heaped tbsp crème fraiche
3 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp French mustard
4 tbsp french or italian parsley – finely chopped
1 small celeriac – peeled and grated
2 large carrots – peeled and grated
½ small red cabbage – very finely sliced
2 apples – quartered, cored and finely sliced

Method:

First prepare the seeds. Toast them lightly in a dry pan over a medium heat until they start to become golden brown. Reserve in a small bowl.
In a large bowl mix together the crème fraiche, mayonnaise, mustard and parsley. Season with some salt and plenty of black pepper.
Add each of the vegetables as they are prepared, tossing them in the dressing as you go.
Finally stir through half of the seeds and reserve the rest to top the coleslaw as you serve it.
Chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve. I think this salad improves if made in advance, as it allows the ingredients to soften slightly and the flavours to infuse.

Golden Cauliflower Salad with Winter Savory and Chickpeas

This serves 4 people and can also be part of a Boxing Day buffet.

A brilliant way to cook cauliflower, crunchy and concentrated in flavour — a far cry from boiled and watery offerings!

Use either tinned chickpeas — drained and rinsed, or soak and cook some dried ones.

For the cauliflower:

A large cauliflower
3 tsp ground coriander
2 tbs olive oil
1 clove of garlic chopped

For the chickpeas:

1 tbs olive oil
1 clove of garlic chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbs winter savory leaves — finely chopped
250 g chickpeas
Seasoning to taste

To serve:

Lemon juice
Greek yoghurt
Shredded crisp lettuce
Anchovy fillets – optional
Chopped coriander, chervil or parsley — whatever you have to hand.

Preheat your oven to 200°C / 400°F / gas mark 6.

Cut the cauliflower florets from the main stem so that they are each no larger than 2cm,
any bigger ones can be halved. In a baking tray toss them with the oil, coriander and garlic.
Spread out and cook for 30 minutes until golden.

To prepare the chickpeas – sauté the garlic, cumin seeds, paprika and winter savory for a few moments
before stirring in the chickpeas. Just cover the chick peas with water and cook uncovered until
the water has nearly evaporated, this should take 10 – 20 minutes. Season to taste.

To serve: Make a bed of shredded lettuce and spread the roasted cauliflower on top.
Sprinkle the chickpeas with lemon juice and spoon over the cauliflower.

Top with tablespoons of thick Greek yoghurt, and anchovy fillets if you wish, then sprinkle over
your chosen green herb.

Quick couscous salad

You can use a mix of mushrooms or common ones from your fridge:

Sauté about 250g of mushrooms and 2 cloves of chopped garlic in a little olive oil and butter until soft.
Add the mushrooms to 200g cooked couscous and stir through the juice of a lemon and 2 tbs of olive oil.

Finely chop some fresh herbs, parsley and garlic chives are good, but any leafy soft herb such as mint, oregano or basil will give good flavours. Stir these into the couscous with some freshly ground black pepper and serve as a light lunch or side dish to your main meal.

Thai Quinoa Salad with a spicy dressing

Serves 4

Quinoa is now a readily available grain in all major supermarkets and a good source of protein. Once cooked it can be cooled and mixed with fresh herbs and salad ingredients for a healthy and filling meal.

175g quinoa
1 cucumber
1 red or yellow pepper
3 spring onions
1 large carrot
4 heaped tbs finely chopped Thai mint
plus extra leaves for garnish

For the dressing:

4 tbs lime juice
3 tsp fish sauce
2 tbs unflavoured oil such as vegetable or sunflower oil
2 tbs caster sugar
½ tsp red pepper flakes

Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions. Drain well and leave to cool in a sieve whilst you prepare the salad vegetables.

Halve the cucumber lengthways and scrape out the seeds, cut into bite sized dice.

Remove the seeds from the pepper and cut into small strips.

Finely slice the spring onion, using as much of the green part as possible.

Peel the carrot and grate coarsely.

Add the prepared vegetables to a serving bowl, mix in the quinoa and the chopped Thai mint.

Put all of the dressing ingredients into a small jar, screw on the lid tightly and shake until the sugar is dissolved.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and combine all the ingredients.

Garnish with a few whole mint leaves before serving.

If you want to prepare the salad in advance, leave the dressing in the jar and mix in as you serve.

Herby salad with an avocado dressing

(Serves 6 to accompany a main course or 2 – 3 as a light lunch)

The leaves and flowers of our annual herbs are a refreshing and interesting addition to any salad bowl. Combine as many types as you wish, mixed with a base of lettuce, the flavours remain distinct in each bite and as the summer progresses use some of the edible flowers, like pot marigold petals, as a garnish.

The addition of the beans and almonds makes this a substantial salad that can be served as a light lunch as well as an accompaniment to the main meal.

The quantities and varieties of the herbs are infinitely variable, it depends what you have available.

2 little gem lettuces — finely shredded
100g fine green beans
70g flaked almonds
1 small red onion — thinly sliced
Salad herbs to choose from: Chives, Coriander, French Parsley, Dill, Rocket, Mint, Basil, salad Burnet — mix as many as you like.

For the dressing:

2 cloves of garlic — finely chopped
100ml greek yoghurt
1 ripe avocado
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp each salt and black pepper
½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

To prepare:

Toast the almonds on a tray in the oven at a low heat until golden — watch them carefully as they quickly burn! — or you can buy them ready toasted in some supermarkets
Top and tail the beans and cut in two.
Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes until just tender, then
Cool under a running tap and drain on kitchen paper.
Mix the shredded lettuce, beans, almonds and red onion in a bowl.
Pick the leaves of your chosen herbs from their stems, until you have a mound roughly the same size as the lettuce mixture.
Combine the herb leaves with the lettuce mix ready for serving.

The dressing is most easily made in a mini food processor, or smoothie maker:

Chop the avocado roughly and mix with all of the other dressing ingredients in the processor.
Taste for seasoning and add a little more if required.

If you prefer you can do this by hand by mashing the avocado well with a fork and beating in all of the other ingredients.

Try not to make the dressing too far in advance as the avocado can darken if left to stand for too long.

Breakfast Orange Fruit Salad

A refreshing breakfast orange fruit salad is an excellent start to the day and a variety of herbs can be incorporated depending on what you have available.

Peel and segment 4 oranges, removing as much pith as possible.
Put in a bowl with any escaping juice.
Add 6 soft dried apricots cut into quarters.
Sprinkle over 1 tbsp rose water with a couple of tbsp finely chopped soft herbs to taste.

Mint is great if you have some pots growing in a sheltered place or greenhouse, small sorrel leaves or some lemon balm will give a lovely lemony tang, or try just 1 tbsp of finely chopped fennel for an aniseed twist.

This should serve 2 – 3 people.

Fattoush

Great made with day-old flatbread, pitta
or even a slice from a stale crusty loaf!

This will serve 2 – 3 for lunch, or more as part of a mixed mezze.

1 day old flatbread or pitta, or slice of good bread
Olive oil and sumac
300 g ripe tomatoes — cut into bite sized chunks
A double handful of basil leaves — torn into pieces
150 g cucumber — cut into bite sized chunks
1 long red pepper — finely sliced into rings
1 red onion — finely sliced
Leaves from 6 sprigs of garden mint — coarsely chopped or sliced
Seasoning, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice to dress

Drizzle the bread with a little oil and sprinkle with a few pinches of sumac, or black pepper
which makes a great substitute. Put under a low grill until it crisps up, but watch it carefully as it can easily burn. Break into bite sized pieces and put into your salad bowl.

Add the salad vegetables and the herbs, with a couple of glugs of olive oil and the juice of about ½ a lemon.

Toss all the ingredients together, then season to taste with salt and black pepper. Taste to see if you need more lemon juice, this depends on the acidity of the tomatoes, and add a little extra oil if the salad is not well coated.

Serve immediately before the bread softens.

Pasta Salad

Pasta can sometimes be a bit bland, the addition of fresh herbs and a spicy mustard dressing lifts it to another level.

Serves 4 or as part of a spread of cold salads.

For the dressing:

1 tbs caster sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp french mustard
2 cloves of garlic — crushed and then finely chopped
2 tbs lemon juice
6 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
50 g grated parmesan cheese
Hot pepper sauce to taste

For the salad:

225 g pasta shapes
60 g fresh basil leaves
50 g fresh oregano – Hot and Spicy is nice
50 g fresh garlic chives
3 large plum tomatoes – chopped
50 g sliced black olives
15 sugar snap or mange-tout peas — sliced diagonally

To garnish:

A handful of baby red veined sorrel leaves
1 ball of mozzarella cheese — finely shredded

Cook the pasta according to the packet instruction in lots of boiling salted water, do not over cook, leave it slightly al dente. Drain and refresh with cold water then leave to drain well in a colander.

Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl, add the hot pepper sauce 1 teaspoon at a time, as everyone's taste for chilli is different.

Snip the garlic chives into the dressing and add the chopped oregano and basil leaves — torn into pieces if they are large. Add the tomatoes, olives and sliced peas and mix well.

Add the cold pasta and turn gently to incorporate all of the ingredients

This salad tastes best is refrigerated for an hour before serving for the flavours to mingle.

Turn into a serving bowl and garnish with the leaves and cheese before serving.

Celery and Parsley Salad

Serves 3 – 4 as a side salad

1 head of celery
3 handfuls of wild rocket leaves (about 50 - 60 g)
6 heaped tbs Giant Italian parsley leaves

For the dressing:

3 tbls lemon juice
3 tbls olive oil
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp salt

To garnish:

Pare a block of parmesan cheese with a cheese slicer (a potato peeler works just as well!) to make about 30 g of curly shavings of cheese
Remove the outer 2 or 3 sticks from the celery as these tend to be a bit stringy. You can add them to soups and stews.
Break the remaining celery stalks apart and reserve the leaves. Slice them thinly on the diagonal.
Add them to your salad bowl along with the rocket, parsley leaves and the chopped celery leaves. If the parsley and rocket are very large then tear the leaves into smaller pieces.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl with a fork or shake in a small jar.
Just before serving drizzle the dressing over the salad and top with the parmesan shavings.

Marinated tomatoes with fragrant herbs

A mix of tomatoes is good for this recipe and, as they do need to be peeled, then larger fruits rather then cherry tomatoes are easiest.

600 g tomatoes
250 ml white or rose wine
50 ml wine vinegar
30 ml lemon juice
2 tbs golden caster sugar
3 tbs finely chopped mixed herbs
(choose from mint, rosemary, lemon thyme, greek basil and oregano)

Blanch and skin the tomatoes. Pouring boiling water onto them in a bowl, leave for 30 seconds, then cool in cold water until cool enough to handle. Slip off the skins and cut the tomatoes in half or quarters depending on their size.
Combine the rest of the ingredients, except for the herbs, and add the tomatoes. Leave to marinate for several hours, but not in the fridge, as this will impair the flavour.

Drain the tomato pieces and arrange on a serving plate, sprinkle over the herbs. Season with salt and ground pepper and drizzle with good olive oil before serving.

Chicken and Strawberry Salad

As well as lots of 'sweet' recipes, strawberries have a particular affinity with chicken.

Prepare a salad of cubed, cooked chicken breast, sliced avocado, shredded crisp lettuce and french parsley with quantities to suit your taste.

Dress the salad with a strawberry dressing:

Puree 200 g of alpine strawberries in a food processor and then add 75 ml of olive oil slowly to the puree whilst the processor is still running. Season to taste with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar and approximately 2 tsp orange juice.

Dress the salad, just before serving.

Chicory and Tomato Salad with Herbs

Chicory leaves have a bitter astringent taste and mix well with other salad leaves. They also pair well with 'sweet' salad ingredients such as tomato and grapes.

Mix halved cherry tomatoes and halved seedless white grapes with chicory leaves which have been shredded finely. Finish the salad with a french dressing and a sprinkling of chopped sweet herbs such as marjoram or oregano.

Green Rice Salad

150 g basmati rice
1 tbs lemon juice
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs each of chives, parsley and tarragon
75 g cooked french beans (cut into 2cm lengths)
half a green pepper (seeded and diced)
seasoning to taste.

Cook the rice in plenty of boiling water until tender, drain and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the oil and lemon juice and then the herbs and vegetables and season to taste.

Serve cold, but not chilled, garnished with nasturtium flowers or pot marigold petals.

Warm Thai salad

1 tbs sesame oil
2 red chillies – seeded and chopped
500 g white cabbage – finely shredded
200 g baby sweet corn – sliced into rings
50 g garlic chives – snipped
1 tbs soy sauce
juice of a lime
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a wok or large sauté pan and stir fry the chillies for a few seconds. Add the cabbage and sweetcorn and stir fry on a high heat for 2 minutes more.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the garlic chives, soy sauce and the lime juice.

Season to taste and serve warm with pork or chicken dishes or on its own as a light lunch.

Thai Quinoa Salad with a spicy dressing

175g quinoa
1 cucumber
1 red or yellow pepper
3 spring onions
1 large carrot
4 heaped tbs finely chopped Thai mint
plus extra leaves for garnish

For the dressing:

4 tbs lime juice
3 tsp fish sauce
2 tbs unflavoured oil such as vegetable or sunflower oil
2 tbs caster sugar
½ tsp red pepper flakes

Crunchy Coleslaw Salad with Hyssop

1 small white cabbage – finely shredded
1 small cauliflower – divided into tiny florets
2 red onions – halved and thinly sliced
125 g cooked broad beans
4 tbs young hyssop leaves - chopped
6 tbs mayonnaise
salt and fresh ground black pepper
hyssop flowers to decorate

Mix together all the salad ingredients and serve in an attractive bowl garnished with sprigs of hyssop flowers.

Tangy Spring Salad

1 little gem lettuce – shredded
a handful of rocket leaves
3 tomatoes – seeded and chopped.
4 tbs chopped lovage leaves
1 small red onion
8 'ready to eat' dried apricots - halved
1 red pepper - seeded and cut into 2 cm dice
olive oil

Toss the pepper in a little olive oil and roast in the oven at Gas Mark 6, 200C, 400F until starting to brown, about 7 – 10 minutes.

Add the pepper pieces to the other salad ingredients in a serving bowl and mix well.

Serve with a dressing made from 4 tbs olive oil, 2 tbs orange juice, 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and freshly ground black pepper.

Greek Salad

This salad is traditionally served layered onto individual plates but there is no reason why one large salad cannot be made for the table.

12 large crisp lettuce leaves - shredded into strips
6 large tomatoes – sliced thinly into rings
10 cm piece of cucumber – peeled and thinly sliced
1 red onion – halved and thinly sliced
small handful of garden mint - leaves chopped
2 tbs fresh (or 2 tsp dried) marjoram or Oregano
200 g feta cheese - diced
20 large olives
5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
salt and fresh black pepper

Spread the shredded lettuce over the serving plate and top with the cucumber and tomatoes in layers, adding seasoning at this point. Sprinkle over the onion and herbs, and dress the salad with the oil and lemon juice beaten together. Top the salad with the cheese and olives and serve immediately.

Red Rice Salad

350 g red rice
2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
1 cup of chopped basil mint
3 tbs olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper.
sliced olives and mint sprigs to garnish.

Simmer the rice in plenty of boiling water for 25 minutes then leave to stand for a further 15 minutes.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a small pan and add the garlic and fry gently but do not allow to brown, stir in the mint and leave to infuse off the heat.

Drain the rice and stir in the herb mixture and season to taste.

Serve warm or cold, garnished with the olives and mint leaves. This is a good accompaniment to grilled chicken, kebabs or grilled halloumi cheese, the recipe for which can be found within Main Courses.

New Potato and Nut Salad

500 g baby new potatoes
1 celery heart
4 tbs chopped welsh onion
50 g hazelnuts – chopped
1 bag watercress
150 ml mayonnaise mixed with 1tsp paprika

Cook the potatoes until tender, drain and cool. Chop the celery, with its leaves, and add to the potatoes with the mayonnaise mixture, nuts and welsh onions. Season to taste.

Chill the salad, and just before serving transfer to a serving bowl lined with the watercress.

Grilled Potato Salad

8 medium size red potatoes
2 large red onions
2 tbs chopped oregano 'hot and spicy'
a little olive oil

Dressing:

175 ml olive oil
50 ml balsamic vinegar
2 tbs french mustard
salt and pepper

Cut the potatoes into quarters and parboil or microwave until they are half cooked. Cut the onions in half and then lengthways into wedges. Drizzle the potatoes and onions with a little olive oil and cook under a medium grill until tender and browned.

Meanwhile to prepare the dressing, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Cut the grilled potatoes and onions into bite sized pieces and place in a serving bowl, sprinkle over the oregano and add the dressing and mix gently.

Serve warm or at room temperature with a barbecue or grilled meat.

Rocket and Melon Salad

2 handfuls of wild rocket
1 tbs flaked almonds
1 ripe melon of choice
100 ml greek yoghurt or crème fraiche
2 thin skinned oranges
salt and black pepper

Wash the rocket if necessary and dry well. Cut the melon into cubes or use a melon baller. Peel the oranges and slice them thinly on a plate. Toast the almonds in a moderate oven until gold.

Season the yoghurt if desired.

Arrange the rocket around the edge of a pretty serving dish and pile the melon and orange slices in the middle. Pour over the crème fraiche / yoghurt and decorate with the almonds.

Summer Salad

All the flavours of summer together in a fresh tasting salad.

400 g baby new potatoes
2 tbs chopped lovage
a crispy lettuce – shredded
1 cup of silver sorrel leaves
1 apple – cored, sliced
and tossed in a little lemon juice
mustard vinaigrette dressing

Cook the new potatoes, either by steaming or in boiling water, until just tender, with a few sprigs of mint
if available.

Toss in the dressing whilst still warm.
When the potatoes are cool, prepare the lettuce and apple and add to the potatoes along with the herbs.

Serve immediately with extra dressing to hand if desired.

Thyme, Lovage and Potato Salad.

350 g baby new potatoes
a good handful of chicory leaves
10 cherry tomatoes
(watercress maybe substituted)
2 tbs each of lovage & broad-leaved thyme
1 small yellow pepper

Dressing:

3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, crushed then finely chopped
seasoning.

Mix together the ingredients for the dressing first and set aside.

Boil or steam the potatoes until tender. Allow them to cool slightly then halve them and toss them in the dressing.

When the potatoes are cooled, add the halved tomatoes, diced pepper and the finely chopped herbs. Mix well and serve on a bed of shredded chicory leaves.

The potato salad mixture may be stored in the fridge until required. Do not add to the chicory until just before serving, as the dressing will make the leaves wilt.

Middle Eastern Diced Salad

A favourite finely diced salad, which needs to be served with a spoon!

It can be served with kebabs and crusty bread to mop up the juices. Alternatively, it can be served as part of a mixed meze or as a dip with toasted sliced pitta bread.

2 large tomatoes - seeded
1 red pepper
1 jalapeno chilli
8cm cucumber - peeled
1 small onion or a shallot – peeled
2 tbs each of finely chopped french parsley and spearmint

For the dressing:

1 tsp harissa or any hot pepper paste
1 tbs pomegranate molasses – available from ethnic grocers and delis
1 tsp red wine vinegar
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
ground black pepper

Dice all the salad vegetables individually and leave on some kitchen paper to drain. Then put them all together on a large chopping board. Using a large heavy knife or a rocking herb chopper chop all the ingredients together until they are really finely diced.

Scrape all the chopped ingredients onto a shallow serving plate. Mix together the dressing, reserving 1 tbs oil. Pour the dressing over the salad vegetables, stir well and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.

Just before serving drain off any excess liquid which may have collected and drizzle over the remaining oil.

Turkish Herby Dressing

100 ml water
1 tbs wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tbs pomegranate molasses – available from Eastern grocers or online
1 small onion, 1 garlic clove and 1 hot chilli pepper – all very finely diced together.

If you cannot get the pomegranate molasses then the dressing will be perfectly fine without it, just use a little more honey.

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients and warm gently until the honey dissolves then bring to a simmer for just one minute. Put aside to cool in a bowl.

1 ripe tomato – deseeded and very finely diced
2 tbs finely chopped french parsley
2 tbs finely chopped oregano – Hot and Spicy is a good variety to choose.
2 tbs finely chopped chives
½ tsp each of salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbs lemon juice
100 ml olive oil

Add all the ingredients to the cooled mixture in the bowl and whisk together. Adjust the seasonings if necessary and add more lemon juice to taste. This makes quite a lot of dressing but will keep well in the fridge for up to a week in sealed container.

This dressing is lovely with salad leaves and also try it with warm beans as a side salad or with seafood.

Crunchy vegetable and herb salad

Serves 4 – 6

4 tomatoes
Half a cucumber
Small red onion
6 'ready to eat' dried apricots
5 new little carrots
1 pepper - any colour but green
6 - 8 radishes

For the dressing:

150ml Greek style plain yoghurt
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp cumin seed - ground
2 pulverised cloves of garlic
4 heaped tbs chopped mixed salad herbs
(Try a mix of mint, garlic chives and basil
- but the choice is yours)
Freshly ground black pepper and salt - to taste

Dice up all of the salad ingredients into bite sized pieces and put into your serving bowl.
Put the yoghurt into another bowl and stir in all of the other dressing ingredients to mix well.
Pour over the diced vegetables and turn them in the dressing until they are well coated.
Chill for an hour or so before serving, but no longer or the vegetables will start to lose their crunch.