Stunning Summer Salads

One of the things we love most about about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit and veggies just begging to be eaten.

Summer salads don’t ever have to be boring, and we know that they have changed dramatically over the past few decades. There’s a lot more to salads than just the usual lettuce leaves, tomato, onion, cucumber and feta.

There are so many interesting, flavourful ingredients that are available to us to make for an extra nutritious, tasty meal, whether your salad is a side dish to accompany a braai, or with an oven cooked meat dish as a main meal in the upcoming hot months.

With the weather getting hotter, why stand in a sweltering kitchen in front of a hot stove, when a summer salad is always delicious and doesn’t require masses of skills or effort to create a masterpiece.

The team of culinary artists at Granny Mouse Country House & Spa constantly create extra tasty masterpieces, with healthy ingredients to super boost your salad idea. Below are some ideas to make you a master chef in your kitchen and will certainly impress your guests and family alike.

GRILLED LOCAL TROUT AND QUINOA SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients: Grilled Local Trout and Quinoa Salad

• 50g local trout fillet, skin off
• 50g avocado, cubed
• 30g cucumber, ribbons
• 30g julienne carrots
• 30g cabbage finely shredded (green leaves only)
• 1 radish, thinly sliced raw
• 2g black sesame seeds
• 2g white sesame seeds
• 30g quinoa cooked, preferably red quinoa
• 10ml rice wine vinegar
• 5ml soya sauce
• 10g baby spinach leaves or lettuce of your choice
• Sugar to taste

Method: Grilled Local Trout and Quinoa Salad

1. Season and fry trout on medium heat until cooked; set aside to cool.
2. Mix the soya sauce and rice wine vinegar together and add sugar to taste.
3. Pour over cabbage and allow to marinate for at least half an hour.
4. Mix in the cooked quinoa and combine with cabbage.
5. Place this at the bottom of the bowl and build the rest of the salad ingredients around or on top of it.
6. Garnish with the trout with toasted sesame seeds

ASIAN STYLED BEEF MISO SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients: Asian Styled Beef Miso Salad

• 12g baby corn
• 40g beef fillet marinated in Teriyaki dressing (recipe attached), then pan seared
• 40g baby spinach
• 30g slow roasted tomato (roasted in an oven at 130°C until cooked)
• 30g Miso roasted aubergine – marinate in Miso dressing (recipe attached) and roast in the oven at 160°C for 15 minutes… turning half way through
• 20g Parmesan, Granda Padana freshly grated
• 12ml Thai dressing (recipe attached)
• Salt and lemon juice to taste

Method: Asian Styled Beef Miso Salad

1. Make sure leaves of spinach are properly rinsed.
2. Cut baby corn into halves.
3. Add the slow roasted tomato with the Aubergine and toss with spinach leaves.
4. Lightly dress the salad with Thai dressing.
5. Season with salt and lemon juice to taste.
6. Finish with grated Granda Padana

Ingredients: Thai Dressing

• 40ml Lemon Juice
• 60ml Soy Sauce
• 60ml Mirin
• 15g Lemon Grass
• 15g Garlic
• 36g Ginger
• 175ml Sesame Oil
• 50ml Peanut Oil
• 60g Granulated Sugar
• 12g Red Chilli
• 10g Salt
• 120ml Honey

Method: Thai Dressing

1. Finely chop all solid ingredients.
2. Add liquid to all finely chopped ingredients.
3. Do not blend these ingredients, whisk only.
4. Mix well before placing in a squeeze bottle.
5. Dressing should be citrus, salty with a little sweet.

Ingredients: Miso Yaki

• 1/3 cup Sake
• 1/3 cup Mirin
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup White Miso

Method: Miso Yaki

1. Add sake and mirin to pan and cook off alcohol.
2. Turn down heat and add miso and sugar.
3. Cook until it turns a pale caramel colour.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Ingredients: Teriyaki Sauce

• 500ml Mirin
• 500ml Sake
• 250ml Light Soy Sauce
• 400ml Water
• 250g Sugar
• 100g Peeled Ginger Root
• 1 Sweet Potato
• 1 bunch Baby Leeks grilled almost burnt
• 1 tsp Cornflour

Method: Teriyaki Sauce

1. Boil slowly until light syrup.
2. Check saltiness and thicken very slightly with cornflour.
3. Should be oil consistency.

Ingredients: Miso dressing

• 100g miso paste
• 150ml ponzu (which is a classic Japanese condiment, and is a citrus based sauce with tart tangy flavour similar to vinaigrette) can be found at the newly opened Chinese market in Broadway Durban North
• 300ml olive oil
• 100ml canola oil
• 20ml lemon juice

Method: Miso dressing

1. Blend adding the oil slowly

WHIPPED BRIE WITH CARAMELIZED PEAR AND APPLE SALAD WITH STRAWBERRY CONSOMMÉ

Ingredients: Whipped Brie with caramelized pear and apple salad

• 125g brie cheese, rind cut off
• 125ml fresh cream
• ½ a pear, peeled and de-seeded
• 1 x apple, diced fresh
• 50g granulated white sugar
• 50g butter (must be butter)
• 1x punnet strawberries, sliced
• 40g castor sugar
• 20g rocket or hand torn butter lettuce

Method: For the consommé

1. Place a pot on the stove filled half way with water and bring to a boil.
2. Place strawberry slices with castor sugar into a pan that will be large enough to fit comfortably onto the pot, wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap to form a tight seal.
3. Place on top of boiled pot and allow steaming until the colour has left the strawberries and a bright red liquid has formed.
4. Remove from heat and set aside and allow to cool.
5. Once cooled strain through a fine sieve and keep the liquid – do not squeeze the strawberries
6. The liquid should be clear and bright red.
7. You can also use frozen strawberries.

Method: For the whipped brie cheese

1. Chop up brie into small pieces.
2. Add the cream.
3. Using a paddle attachment on a mixer whip on medium speed until combined – don’t worry if there are lumps.
4. Push mixture through a fine mesh sieve so that the mixture will be smooth.
5. Season to taste, cover and set aside.

Method: For the caramelized pears

1. Melt butter in a pan on low heat – do not allow the butter to change colour.
2. Add the sugar and combine with butter.
3. Add the pear wedges and toss to coat evenly.
4. Increase the heat to medium.
5. Pay very close attention as the sugar turns to caramel, DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED.
6. Once caramelized remove from heat and remove pears immediately.
7. Set aside and allow to cool.

For serving:  Whipped Brie with caramelized pear and apple salad

1. Pour the consommé onto the plate first and plate everything else on top as desired.
2. Finish with the freshly diced apple.

With salad recipes like this, provided by the Granny Mouse Country House & Spa Culinary Artists, why would you want to go and dine, or stay anywhere else! To book your seat at one of their two stunning restaurants, or for a stay over, visit www.grannymouse.co.za