blue cheese coleslaw with prawns and bacon

If you are like me, and you have a phobia of certain types of coleslaw (too gloopy coleslaw, wobbly with excess mayo, glistening in the sun, maybe even with raisins, or a sweet dressing!) then this is for you. It’s tangy from apple cider and blue cheese, smoky from bacon and paprika and fresh from lots of bright parsley. It’s also hearty enough to be a meal on its own, with prawns, bacon and cheese. Or it can be a side dish, even with fried chicken, for an extra indulgent meal. It’s a perfect therapy for your coleslaw phobia.

adapted from Williams Sonoma

apple cider dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup buttermilk

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 2 garlic cloves

• Salt and pepper to taste

Blitz all ingredients in a food processor, or with an immersion blender, until smooth and creamy.

coleslaw

• 1 pound prawns peeled and deveined

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/4 pound bacon

• 1 head green cabbage finely shredded

• 5 celery stalks, thinly sliced (chop in some celery leaves too if you have them)

• 6 green onions, white and light green

• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Toss prawns in paprika and fry in olive oil on medium heat until opaque and bright pink. Cook bacon on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven until crispy. Toss together all remaining remaining ingredients and serve drizzled with apple cider dressing.

sorrel potato salad

Sorrel is a great, but kind of uncommon vegetable. It’s tricky to find at the grocery store, you might find it at a farmers’ market. It’s got a great, tart lemony flavour that is lovely finely sliced into a green salad or over grilled fish. It’s also a super easy green to grow and it produces a ton of pretty, lemony leaves without much trouble. It’s worth making space for growing some sorrel to keep yourself in these slightly ruffled, sour leaves all year round.

I turned my sorrel into a fresh, non mayo-gloopy dressing for a summery new potato salad. Perfect to take to a barbecue or picnic. Also, if you are bringing this to share, it’s gluten-free and vegan, so it should be an easy crowd pleaser.

Sorrel potato salad:

• 3 pounds new potatoes
• 2 cups sorrel leaves
• 1 ½   cups parsley
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 3 tbs almonds
• 1 tbs capers
• ½ cup almonds

Place potatoes in a large pot. Cover with water. Cook on high until the potatoes are very tender, but falling apart. Drain water.

While the potatoes cook, toast the almonds in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until golden brown. Let cool and roughly chop.

Blitz all remaining ingredients in a food processor until they form a paste. Toss the dressing with the hot potatoes. Serve warm or cold, sprinkled with almonds.

grilled haloumi & pearl couscous salad

It is time for the big summer salad. What you need in your life right now is a big, herby, hearty salad that can sit in the fridge and get better with time. You can cook once and eat this for the better part of a week. It’s worth doubling to really get you set up for the next few days’ meals without having to turn on the stove. Adding some grilled chicken or fish would make a heartier dish, but just this salad is plenty for quick summer dinner.

Halloumi is a delightfully squeaky, salty cheese. It has the fantastic property of not melting when roasted or grilled, so you can pan fry or BBQ it to get a lovely crispy-shattery crust with a very chewy almost meaty-hearty interior. I know it sounds weird, but try it if you haven’t already - it’s fantastic. You can find it often in Greek or Mediterranean specialty groceries, but if you can’t find it, feta will work here too.

halloumi & pearl couscous salad:

Adapted from Bon appetit

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup pearl or Israeli couscous
• 2 cups corn kernels, frozen is fine
• 2 tablespoons plus ¼ cup olive oil
• 8 ounces Halloumi cheese, sliced lengthwise ¾-inch thick
• 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Toast walnuts in a dry pan over medium-low heat stirring frequently. When fragrant and golden, remove from heat and roughly chop. Set aside to cool.

In a medium pot of salted water, cook couscous according to package directions, until just tender.

Grill halloumi in a tablespoon of olive oil in a grill pan (or a frying pan) over medium heat. Let the cheese get a good caramelization before flipping, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from heat, cube and set aside.

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl, taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

herby parmesan salad dressing

I first made this salad dressing sort of by accident. I was on holiday, and not in my own kitchen and I didn't quite have the ingredients I wanted on hand. I wanted to make a creamy-herby dressing but I realized at the last minute that I didn't have any yogurt or tahini or anything else to use for a thick, creamy dressing.

So I made the herby part of the salad dressing and rummaged around in the fridge to see what else I could add to it for a bit of richness. I almost didn’t add the parmesan, because I wasn’t sure I would like it with the cilantro. But I threw it in there, and it worked really well. Kind of pesto-ish but thinner and lighter and brighter. I would urge even the cilantro-averse to include a little bit here. It’s pretty mild and really rounds everything out.

parmesan herb salad dressing:

• ½ cup olive oil

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar

• 3 tbs lemon juice

• 2 cups parsley

• ½ cup cilantro

• 3 cloves peeled garlic

• large pinch chili flakes

• ⅓ cup grated parmesan

• generous salt and pepper

Blend everything together in a food processor until well combined. Serve over a big green salad, with a few shavings of extra parmesan if you really want to send it over the top.

best ever tahini dressing

I always loved tahini dressings I tried when other people make them, and I always thought they were kind of bland and disappointing when I made them. But I discovered that the answer is to just throw all the bright, salty, umami, herby flavours I can think of into the dressing: nutritional yeast, miso, herbs, jalepenos and garlic. It was the tahini dressing of my dreams. It brightens up winter roast vegetables, but it's light and perfect for summery salads. It's also a great dip for raw vegetables or falafel. I sometimes just eat a whole sliced cucumber dipped in this sauce for my dinner. After all the energy you put into making elaborate holiday dinners, you deserve something easy and healthy. Or you can really go for it and actually put together a salad, if you feel ambitious.  

You can double or triple it and make a big batch. Use it to motivate yourself to eat vegetables all week long. 

best ever tahini dressing:

• 1/3 cup tahini

• big handful each parsley and cilantro

• 3 tbs flaked nutritional yeast

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 tbs miso paste

• 2-3 cloves garlic

• 4-5 sliced pickled jalepenos

• 4 tbs lemon juice

• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp cumin

• salt and pepper

• a few tbs water, thin to your desired consistency

Combine all ingredients a food processor and blend until totally combined. Serve over a big green salad roast vegetables, cucumber sliced or whatever you like.