Summer salad with peas and goats cheese!
Posted on November 5, 2013 by in salads, vegetarian
A summer salad to me has to have three vital elements, color, flavor and texture! especially a salad in summer. I want summer on my plate!
A summer salad can be as simple as a few hand-picked lettuce leaves with a light vinaigrette or something a little more complicated like this Moroccan barley and Roasted Vegetable Salad! A summer salad should be just that…. summer on a plate, it should be seasonal, full of vibrant colors and drop-dead gorgeous to eat! I love combining fruit and vegetables in my summer salad! In this Goats Cheese and Gooseberry salad, the balance between sweet, sour and salty are just perfect!
At the moment we have beautiful young peas in season, not only are they sweet and healthy to eat, but the pea shoots make the most beautiful photos. It was also fun sitting with my children, shelling peas and talk about stuff…… anyone one who has teenagers in the house should know there is a lot of “stuff” to talk about!! I am not sure how many parents talk to their children about “stuff” around a bowl full of garden peas, but nevertheless it was memorable!
Peas and goat cheese are a match made in summer salad heaven. Pureed peas brings this creamy risotto to life and the salty goats cheese seasons it beautifully….. all that is needed for perfection is a few grindings of black pepper!
Back to summer salads! I think we can sometimes get stuck in a rut and to easily fall back on the old traditional potato salad, grated carrots, 4 bean salad and an ordinary mixed salad of iceberg lettuce, tomato, feta and a few olives for good measure. It is time for some adventure in the salad department, here are a few pointers to make easy delicious salad.
– experiment with different kinds of lettuce – butter, cos, rocket even baby spinach can be used in salads
– try using smaller tomatoes in different colors, rather than cutting up big tomatoes. Slices or cut tomatoes tend to make your salads watery
– incorporate fruit in your salads – berries, grapes, sliced apples, peaches, plums and my personal favorite…… figs
– use a variety of nuts in your salads – it bulks up a salad and add a delicious crunch to your salad
– experiment with different kinds of cheese – goats cheese, danish feta, parmesan shavings, edam or feta but with different flavor combinations
– homemade salad dressings are fun to make and you are sure that it has no harmful additives! Try these
So there you have the basics, now start to play!
Summer Salad with Peas and goats cheese
serves 4
Ingredients
1 x 100 g Woolworths pillow bag Sweet and Tangy Salad
125 ml shelled garden peas
4 courgettes
100 g Fairview Chevin
1 green apple
For the dressing
30 ml white wine vinaigrette
90 ml lemon – infused olive oil
15 ml chopped mint
15 ml honey
10 ml whole grain mustard
salt and pepper
Method
Share the salad leaves amongst the four plates. Slice the courgettes with a vegetable peeler lengthwise to form ribbons and add to the salad. Slice the apples thinly and add. Share the peas amongst the plates. Crumble goats cheese on all the salads. Simply whisk all the dressing ingredients together to form an emulsion and pour over the salad.
* for added crunch, you can add bits of fried bacon or salted cashews
