The L-Plate Vegetarian

Salads

The chilled cabinets in the fruit and veg section of supermarkets now sell lots of ready made lettuce based salads – you just open the packet and add your favourite dressing. Look out for individual salads that come with a fork. They’re usually in the takeaway section and make a nice change from sandwiches at lunchtime or when you’re out and about. But these are very expensive, especially when it is much cheaper to make your own and not exactly difficult! Just choose the lettuces you like (Iceberg, Cos, Little Gem and traditional Round lettuces are all a good basis). Or, instead of lettuce, try baby spinach leaves – delicious! Rinse them well, then add any chopped up veg you like: cucumbers, tomatoes, grated carrot, radishes, celery, watercress, mustard and cress, spring onions, raw mushrooms, red or green peppers, sliced avocados etc. If you can, buy organic veg. Try Waitrose as they have a good range.

To make fresh salads more exciting try adding garlic croutons (find them in the crisps section of supermarkets), Bacos bacon flavour soya chips (don’t worry these have never even seen a pig! They’re like small, crunchy bacon pieces and are sold in plastic bottles – again from supermarkets), Crispy topping onions (little bits of crispy fried onion – delicious! Most supermarkets sell them), peanuts or any other nuts, sunflower seeds or raisins etc and of course any salad dressings you like.

Olives can add colour and flavour to any salad and they are now widely available at the deli counter of most supermarkets. We particularly liked the range offered by Waitrose. There are 15 to choose from and they’re all vegetarian (olives can sometimes be stuffed with ham and such so beware). Their range includes Large Black Olives with Sundried Tomatoes and Garlic and ‘Giant Green Olives stuffed with Pimento’.

There are also lots of ready made salads like coleslaw (fruity, spicy or cheesy!), three bean salad (very nutritious!), potato salad and pasta salad etc, in tubs. These are all in the deli section/chilled and often takeaway cabinets of all supermarkets. Try serving them with a fresh salad above or add to a packed lunch. Some nice ones are Tesco Mediterranean pasta salad, Florida salad (with pineapple and mandarins) and Waldorf salad (apple, walnut, sultana, white cabbage and celery). Asda do a huge range including: Egg & New Potato, Mixed Pepper or Garden Salad. The Waitrose range is pretty impressive too; try their Tabbouleh Style, Tuscan Bean or Mediterranean variations. There are far too many different ones to list so it’s wise to check out your local supermarket to find your favourites.

Most recipe books give loads of ideas for interesting salads which are easy to make yourself as you don’t have to cook anything!

Next Section: Pasta