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Ideas for salads please

(66 Posts)
Dizza25 Sun 03-Jul-22 13:02:50

Hi everyone, not very innovative when it comes to salads. Tend to just use leaves/lettuce, cucumber, radish, tomato and spring onion chopped or sliced up. Any ideas for more interesting salads? As a side dish or as a main. They can’t include grains - rice couscous etc as DH is allergic but can handle lentils. TIA.

vintageclassics Mon 04-Jul-22 13:25:48

I use tinned sweetcorn, diced cucumber (with the middle seeds bit hollowed out) grated carrot, red pepper chopped up lettuce mixed with some light mayonnaise - it's yum

I also do small chopped up florets of raw cauliflower & broccoli with diced cheddar again mixed with light mayo

pce612 Mon 04-Jul-22 13:18:05

Crispy bacon, avocado, spinach, lambs lettuce in a walnut oil dressing.

Riggie Mon 04-Jul-22 13:10:45

Pack of brown or green cooked lentils is very versatile. Last week I added some chopped garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and a splash of extra vjtgin olive oil. Salt and pepper. I just guess quantities!!

Butbin the last Ive added chopped up spring onion, tomato, cucumber or different herbs. Anything really!!!

Are chickpeas OK??
Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, put in a bowl and smash them up a bit with a potato masher. You are aiming for broken up pieces of chickpea with some still in halves or even whole.
Add in finely diced celery, cucumber, red onion, herbs of choice. I then chop up some pieces of sundries tomato in oil and add those and then tip in some of the oil tonjelp bind it together. It's great as a salady type thing or in a sandwich. (Its what vegans often call mock tuna. Not st all fishy though).

Otherbfavourites here are salad nicoise or a panzanella.

schnackie Mon 04-Jul-22 13:04:13

Wonderful ideas! I've taken lot's of notes! grin

Brigidsdaughter Mon 04-Jul-22 12:45:50

I'm new to salads - very grateful for this thread. From a friend:
Grated carrots, apple, sultanas/raisins, Baharat, chopped walnuts/any nuts.
I'm avoiding calories so barely any mayo, usually v little oil

ninamoore Mon 04-Jul-22 12:42:52

Definitely add some herbs, parsley, basil etc maybe Gresham’s ginger grated over the salad. Croutons.

Growing0ldDisgracefully Mon 04-Jul-22 12:37:33

Ours vary according to what's in the salad drawer but a quick way of adding a bit of extra taste is to add some shredded fresh herbs - I added basil, coriander and mint to ours this week and enjoyed them. Quick to do if you don't want to be cooking and cooling things in advance and are trying to avoid dressings on them.

Theoddbird Mon 04-Jul-22 12:26:52

Peppers and sweetcorn go in my very colourful salads.

kircubbin2000 Mon 04-Jul-22 12:26:29

Dr Amir has a nice one if you like beans. Chop cucumber, tomatoes,red onion and chillie.Add tin of chickpeas and whatever beans you like. Add lime juice and 5 tbsp tamarind sauce.

hollysteers Mon 04-Jul-22 09:33:49

My favourite is large prawns, fresh pineapple slices with the usual tomatoes, greenery, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar.

Jane43 Mon 04-Jul-22 09:08:02

Waldorf salad is a favourite of ours - mix together celery, walnuts and apple with mayonnaise and we sometimes add raisins or pieces of chicken.

grandMattie Mon 04-Jul-22 09:06:29

I occasionally make a salad of shredded fennel, oranges and red onion. With salt and pepper, good oil and balsamic…. Delicious!

TillyTrotter Mon 04-Jul-22 08:59:02

Greek salad drizzled in balsamic glaze is a favourite in my house. Crumbly Feta cheese, mixed olives, and some torn coriander give it the essentially Greek flavours.

25Avalon Mon 04-Jul-22 08:56:16

If you like vinaigrette there are loads of different flavoured oils you can experiment with. I mix walnut oil with cider vinegar for a nutty taste. There are also different vinegars like raspberry you can mix with plain olive oil. Have a go.

teabagwoman Mon 04-Jul-22 07:36:05

Grateful for all the good ideas here, I’ve got rather tired of basic salads too. Have found that strawberries and blueberries work well in salads as do toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. I’m experimenting with mixing various flavours into the dressing.

Patsy70 Sun 03-Jul-22 22:29:05

Thank you for this Dizza25. I was thinking of asking the same question. I found a really good avocado salad recently when I googled.

Skydancer Sun 03-Jul-22 22:28:27

Honestly my mouth is watering. Some delicious-sounding ideas on here.

Dizza25 Sun 03-Jul-22 22:11:43

Absolutely brilliant, thank you all so much for the ideas.

25Avalon Sun 03-Jul-22 19:55:39

Pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, chopped walnuts are also good additions to any salad. Also use chive heads and pansy flowers for colour. Onions heads going to seed can also be sprinkled on.

Dinahmo Sun 03-Jul-22 19:48:25

mayisay

One of my favourites is a courgette salad. Slice thickly, and fry gently with some crushed garlic until softened. Take off the heat, and add chopped mint, sultanas, and some crumbled feta cheese, salt and pepper. This salad is very tasty warm, or cold.

With the courgettes finely sliced I have this
with pasta

Dinahmo Sun 03-Jul-22 19:46:57

Nicoise

Jaxjacky Sun 03-Jul-22 19:43:59

I like adding grated celeriac into coleslaw.

mayisay Sun 03-Jul-22 19:26:47

One of my favourites is a courgette salad. Slice thickly, and fry gently with some crushed garlic until softened. Take off the heat, and add chopped mint, sultanas, and some crumbled feta cheese, salt and pepper. This salad is very tasty warm, or cold.

Caleo Sun 03-Jul-22 19:09:41

Chopped dessert apples with cheddar chopped into small pieces. Add mayonnaise to taste or not. Pepper.

Chopped cucumber and mint in yoghourt. Mint makes yog a lot more interesting.

MrsKen33 Sun 03-Jul-22 19:06:32

DH’s favourite. Cooked, cooled tender stem broccoli, uncooked spinach, lettuce, asparagus. Toasted pine nuts and almonds. Thin slices of cucumber. Other nuts and seeds and grilled halloumi.
Lovely