Summer salads

Lots to try here

When you grow most of your own veg, winter salads tend to have more cabbage in them, carrots, onions, apple, red cabbage, leeks, kale, spinach beet, anything that stores well, and it's often grated. Summer salads with all the baby leaves feel lighter. I know you can buy them out of season but either they have been grown in huge polytunnels and are tasteless (tomatoes are like water in the winter), or they have been flown from thousands of miles away and are quite elderly. When you have grown a cucumber and have stored it for almost a month, and you buy one and it goes off before the week is up, it tends to put you off buying supermarket veg.

All these great ideas are a far cry from the days of my childhood when a salad was a few lettuce leaves with tomatoes and, if you were being adventurous, a slice or two of cucumber! I will take on board some of the recipes you've all contributed here - especially Mamie - as long as there's no beetroot (hate it) or avocado (hates me) involved.

By the way, I did not know there was such a thing as summer salads, as you can buy most ingredients all year round now.

Had the first radishes grown by my grandson yesterday. Next weekend there should be some red lettuce leaves as well.
My grandchildren love salads, as many different vegetables as I can get with added nuts and pulses. They can put their own dressing on as the youngest does not like anything but mayonnaise and my grandson does not like that but he likes olive oil.
We go round the plants and decide which herbs we are going to have every day.
Those who do not like salads, would you have liked them more if you had grown your own?

I've seen them in supermarkets but had no idea what they were for or whether you ate the whole thing or what

I buy them in a jar loopy.

There are true food artists on this thread, beautifully descriptive and innovative, thank you.
Puts me to shame , it's all too easy to stick to the safe, mundane salads but I'm going to be trying out lots of these suggestions!

I had never thought of salting down lemons, I'll definitely try that too.

Salads are lovely if they are interesting and have a good dressing Classic French Dressing is always a winner. Sometimes I like a simple salad of rocket or Italian leaves with Parmesan shavings and a pesto dressing. I also like more involved salads such as Nicoise, I think the green beans, olives and hard boiled eggs make it very appealing colour wise. I had a salad for lunch today comprising of salad leaves, baby tomatoes, cucumber, onions, avocado, crumbled blue cheese with a balsamic dressing. I like tabbouleh and cous cous type salads, love home made potato salad, especially now Jersey Royals are in season mixed with chives, I do put a bit of mayonnaise with that, but otherwise mayonnaise is something I prefer to avoid although I do like garlicky Aioli as a dip with crusty bread. Also like cold roasted peppers in salad particularly if they have been blackened a bit on a grill.

I love tabbouleh, I salt down lemons every year too, quartered, then scrape off the lemon and slice the peel very thinly to add to salads. It might be a bit of an acquired taste, though. I don't really do sweet salads. I like sharp and refreshing.

Tabbouleh and salmon tonight, my favourite 'big bowl' salad, yummy!

Thanks Mamie, I'll try that!

No I chop them up, whole would be a bit too sharp. Lovely with the green pistachio nuts.
I love dried fruit in salads, but I think the thing is to add in or take out as you please. I hate radishes but my French neighbours all love them.

I love beetroot with black pepper and feta, hate fruit in salads (sorry!)

My current favourite salad is courgetti, tossed in a little olive oil and lemon juice lightly stir fried for a few minutes then add olives (black or green), feta cheese or grated Parmesan, salt & pepper. Delicious hot or cold.

You can add pretty much anything you fancy, sun dried tomatoes and chopped chorizo is nice too

I haven't tried preserved lemons Mamie, do you eat them whole or....?

Trisher's thinly sliced cucumber one is nice with thinly sliced (red) onion as well.

Meant to add - some apples go brown, I find Granny Smith the best for this

I was going to mention Waldorf salad too - it's very refreshing if you use orange juice instead of lemon or mayonnaise.

Tonight with our cold chicken we are having a salad of pearled spelt, preserved lemons, pistachio nuts and yesterday's left-over roasted veg (aubergines, courgettes, onion, carrots and pepper) in olive oil (love it) and balsamic vinegar.
As part of our low-carb régime we have salads pretty much every day for lunch (soup in winter).
Staples from the garden / fridge / store cupboard are salad leaves, avocado, cucumber, toms, beetroot, a variety of nuts, olives and dried fruit.
I do a paté one with leaves, walnuts, prunes and toms; a Waldorf with apple, celery, walnuts and a yoghurt /mayo dressing; a Spanish inspired one with peppers, spices, almonds and dried apricots; a sort of Nicoise with eggs, mayo, tuna, olives and anchovies, a Middle Eastern inspired version with cumin /ras al hanout, dates, feta, leaves and cucumber and a smoked salmon salad with avocados and mayo.
Popping to the shops is not an option here so I keep a lot of stuff in stock and try out different combinations.
Hope this helps!

I was introduced to Jollof rice by a Ghanaian friend of mine. It is lovely with a barbecue and you can eat it either warm or cold. It is tomato rice with spices peppers onion and shredded chicken. I often leave out the chicken and add nuts and more vegetables.
If you Google it, there are loads of different recipes online. Go on, make it, Enjoy!

janerowena that beetroot one sounds good. Wouldn't have thought of mint and chives. I usually put in horseradish which is a bit over the top but really like your idea and will try it. Sorry Teetime and I do agree that plain beetroot, cooked, is not good even when roasted trendily. Pickled beetroot horrible too but raw I like.
Pea shoots or rocket (or both) with token lettuce leaf for me as at least they taste of something.

I make a salad with couscous. I use one sachet, cook it briefly, then when still hot add to a mixture of a little nut oil, vinegar, mustard and honey.
Fork it up while it's cooling then add bits and pieces eg raisins, nuts, pinenuts, small tin of corn etc.Sounds like Kitty Lester's rice salad.
Another one is TCP salad ie tomato cucumber and peppers, chopped very small.
My favourite is just thinly sliced cucumber mixed with a little vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar. My friend does sliced cucumber with yoghurt.
I think lettuce in salad is over-rated.

Thank you for all the suggestions it wouldn't have occurred to me to use packet rice - so I will certainly give that a try. Someone said beetroot when we all know this is the DEVIL'S VEGETABLE!!!!

I wish restaurants and pubs round here served salad/veg they seem to think pork pie is a garnish!!

I was brought up to eat salad with pretty much everything. It was always there - I suppose because my father grew it. Yes I do have some with my fish and chips if available, I like having changes of texture and taste and am more likely to have only three or four chips and then pass them to someone else.

Teetime I don't like oily or mayonnaise either, I either have balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice, or even some orange juice. Or a salsa with a squeeze of lime, but lemon is fine. Try this

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/rawsalsa_81423

You can add chopped pepper in place of chilli if you don't like heat, or just reduce the amount of chilli. And use lemon instead of lime. Use masses of parsley if you don't like fresh coriander. I grow it so have to find ways to use it up!

Another lovely one is grated fresh beetroot, with loads and loads of finely chopped mint, a few chopped chives, add just a little oil and loads of lemon juice, salt and pepper. I grow beetroots just to make it. It's hard to find uncooked beetroots for some weird reason.

I like salad, but I do agree about pub grub Greyduster. Fish and chips with salad? Really? For heaven's sake!!

I HATE salad! To me, 'lovely salad' is a contradiction in terms. No matter what I put in them - pea shoots, sprouting grains, different kinds of beetroots and peppers, even fruit - I end up looking at all this stuff, thinking "God, life is too short to munch your way through this" and pushing it round the plate! And what is it with restaurants and pubs these days that everything you order has to be accompanied by a mountain of salad? Trouble is, DH loves them and demands that we eat more, so it's usually a 'lovely salad' for him and a nice piece of fish and some plain new potatoes for me! Sorry, bit of a rant.