Festival Salad

This is a salad to enjoy as a light, healthy meal utilising ingredients remaining from a roast or festive meal.

As the name suggests, this is the salad of ‘abundance’…otherwise known as the salad of leftovers!

In our enthusiasm for a happy time we so often over-cater. How to use cold, cooked vegetables can be a dilemma because they do not freeze well. A ‘fry up’, classic British ‘bubble and squeak’, is the usually suggestion. But my recommendation is a lighter meal, a more suitable choice after what may have been over-indulgence, a bright and colourful mix which should appeal to even the most jaded palate.

Be creative – there is no set recipe – and combine the ingredients you have at hand. A careful selection will make this salad suitable for any dietary requirements.

For colour, texture and flavour include:

roasted vegetables, especially those with a sweeter flavour such as parsnips;

crisp raw vegetables;

cold meat, eggs or nuts to add protein and make it a complete meal;

fresh herbs for flavour;

a dressing of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar to enliven the flavours. (An oil-based dressing is not recommended with roasted vegetables included in the salad.)

Diets for which Festive Salad is suitable:

Diabetic, Diary Free, Fodmap, Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Nut Free, Vegetarian and Vegan.

Ingredients

Preparation: 10 mins |Serves: variable

Cooked ingredients
roasted vegetables: potato, pumpkin, carrot, parsnip, celeriac, onions etc
other vegetables: broccoli, brussels sprouts etc
cold red meat, turkey, chicken and/or egg

Uncooked Ingredients
for freshness: tomato, celery, radish, pepper, spring onion, watercress or other greens
for protein: cheese – ricotta for a sweet taste, feta for a salty flavour, a blue or strong cheddar (not Dairy Free)*
for festive colour: pomegranate
for texture: nuts (not Nut Free)*

Dressing
lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
herbs, eg basil, parsley, chives
preserved lemon
cracked black pepper and salt

Method

PREPARE the salad ingredients:

Cut cooked vegetables into the size of your choice;

Dice cold meat and egg and break apart cold turkey or chicken;

Wash and slice raw vegetables;

Cut cubes of cheese or break into small portions.

MIX ingredients. (Toss the cooked and cold salad ingredients together or, alternatively, layer the ingredients, eg line the bowl or platter with green leaves, add a layer of roast vegetables, then salad ingredients and then top with cold meat or egg.)
SPRINKLE the salad with chopped herbs, nuts and pomegranate seeds.
POUR a couple of tsp of lemon juice or balsamic immediately before serving.

Serve

– A tasty salad or a complete meal with the addition of meat, eggs, cheese or nuts when suitable for the diet.

Notes

* The suitability of this salad for diets is dependent on your selection: Dairy Free no cheese; Egg Free no egg; Fodmap no broccoli, Brussels sprouts or onion; Low Fat a small proportion of roast vegetables and cheese and select lean meat and chicken; Nut Free no nuts; Vegetarian no red meat, turkey or chicken; Vegan no red meat, turkey, chicken, eggs or cheese.

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