Middle Eastern-style spring salad
Middle Eastern-style spring salad
There's a game I play every month called fridge bingo. Its heaps of fun and is best played the day before pay day. Have you played? The rules are simple. Open your fridge door, stare at all the things you've bought throughout the week for about an hour, and then try to decide what delicious dishes you can come up with. The prize for playing is a cracking dinner. This month was a winner.
Waste is a big issue in our country, particularly food waste. We have become so used to throwing away scraps, ends, bones and things that look a tiny bit limp or discoloured. It's abhorrent, in my opinion. Of course we all want the freshest food we can possibly get but I think it would help the environment and our purse strings if we gave some of the less sexy food a bit of a go.
Green vegetables and herbs can usually be revived with a fresh, cold water bath. Other foods will last an age if they are stored correctly. A well-aired dark space with a few dried sticks of rosemary will delay potatoes from sprouting, for example.
Here is my green Middle Eastern salad made with leftovers from my fridge, freezer and spice cupboard at the end of a week. It was delicious. I did buy the witlof fresh, though, because not too many people have witlof lying around, but make sure you play fridge bingo.
Middle Eastern-style spring salad
Serves 2, easily doubled
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Dressing
- ¼ teaspoon each ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
- 8-10 dates, finely chopped
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
First make the dressing. Add all of the ingredients to a small screw-top jar and shake vigorously. Set aside.
Boil 2 litres of water in a large pan. Have a large bowl of iced water next to this. Cook the vegetables separately in the boiled water. Each vegetable will take different times. For instance, asparagus will take about a minute, broccoli a little longer. I didn't bother cooking my broad beans but if you want to they will take mere seconds. There is no need to cook the witlof. Once each batch of vegetables has had its time in the water, remove with tongs and plunge directly into the iced water. This stops the cooking process immediately. Once all done, drain.
In a large salad bowl, throw all your cooked vegies in and add the witlof leaves. Pour over the dressing and mix well. Season with salt and serve.
