If the word "salad" makes you feel a little bit sad and unenthused – or, indeed, if you think salads simply shouldn't be eaten when there's an R in the month – let's see what we can do to put thatright. For salad is, or should be, an elastic concept, a word that can be applied to all manner of fabulous assemblies: sometimes on the light and nibblish side, but often decidedly hearty.
So forget tired combinations of wan lettuce and wet cucumber. Kickthat crappy deli-counter coleslaw into the long grass. Instead, roast some roots or squashes until their corners go toffeeish. Toss themwith some fleshy, peppery winter leaves. Scatter over some seeds, maybe toasted, or some lentils, al dente. Crumble or shave on some salty, tangy cheese. And dress with a gutsy vinaigrette.
Such dishes are liberating: you don't need to follow recipes slavishly. Make the most of what you've got; replace carrots with parsnips or jerusalem artichokes, red cabbage with green, one nut with another. It's the spirit of the dish that's important: think generous, think vibrant, think big flavours and lots of textures.
As with any meal, a loose adherence to the basic trinity of starch, protein and fresh, seasonal veg tends to lead to maximum satisfaction. What makes a salad truly hearty is often a carb or pulsey element. This might be bread: never overlook the crunchy potential of the wholemeal or sourdough crouton. It could be winter potatoes, which, roasted in small chunks, are as good in a salad as their waxy summer brethren. Often, for me, it means a plump grain such as bulgur or barley, spelt or brown rice – best when they are an element in the salad, not the bulk of it.
Chickpeas or lentils are fabulous in a serious salad, ably bridging the gap between carbs and protein, and having the added benefit, if you tumble them in while still warm, ofabsorbing a dressing, thusholdingflavour all the way through the dish. Nuts have asimilar appeal, especially if toasted until lightlycharred.
Cheese is the obvious contribution from the dairy, but big dots of thick yoghurt are also good; and eggs, soft-hardboiled or in omelette strips, give a good proteinaceous boost. You can throw in some crisped-up shards of leftover meat or flakes of cooked fish (especially smoked), but, as this week's recipes demonstrate, a vegetarian salad can have just asmuch muscle as a meaty one.
Remember that a good salad looks good. Your eyes will tell you whether you've mustered up a winner, or need to dip back into the fridge in pursuit of one more thing to get that hunger-sating harmony, and keep the "al" in your salad.
Warm salad of roast squash and fried mushrooms
A wonderful, earthy-sweet combination. I like to use blue cheese, but you could use pretty much any well-flavoured cheese. Serves four.
About 1kg small squash (butternut, crown prince, harlequin etc), peeled, deseeded and cut into 2-3cm chunks
12 sage leaves, bruised
4 garlic cloves, peeld and thicklysliced
4 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
Large knob of butter
300g open-cap mushrooms, thicklysliced
1 small bunch rocket or flat-leaf parsley
150g blue cheese such as harbourne blue or stilton, crumbled
For the dressing
3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 tbsp apple balsamic vinegar
Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Put the squash in a roasting tin with the sage, garlic and three tablespoons of oil, and season well. Roast for about 40 minutes, stirring once, until the squash is soft and coloured round the edges.
Put the remaining tablespoon of oil with the butter into a frying pan over a medium heat. Throw in the mushrooms and a little salt and pepper, and fry for four or five minutes, until any liquid they release has evaporated, and set aside.
In a bowl, combine the squash and the just-warm mushrooms with the rocket and cheese. Whisk together the dressing ingredients, add enough to the salad todress it lightly, toss and serve.
Roast beetroot and bulgur wheat salad
With a whiff of the Baltic about it, this is perfect winter fare, combining the sweetness of beetroot, the lushness of sour cream and the nuttybite of bulgur. Serves two.
500g beetroot
4 garlic cloves, skin on, bashed
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
2 tbsp olive oil
50g bulgur wheat
½ tsp vegetable bouillon powder or ¼ of a veg stock cube (optional)
About 75g watercress
For the dressing
2 tbsp plain, full-fat yoghurt
1 tbsp sour cream
¼ garlic clove, peeled
First, roast the beetroot. Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Peel the beetroot, then cut into slim wedges (1-2cm thick at the outside edge). Place in a baking tin, scatter with the garlic, thyme and bay, season and trickle over the olive oil. Toss together, then cover with foil and roast for 30 minutes. Take off the foil, give the beetroot a stir, and roast for afurther 20 minutes. Make sure the beetroot is completely tender, then leave to cool.
Meanwhile, put the bulgur in a saucepan with the vegetable bouillon or stock cube (if using) and cover with plenty of water (around four times as much water as bulgur). Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Drain, toss with a trickle of olive oil and some seasoning, and leave to cool.
Combine the yoghurt and sour cream. Crush the little bit of garlic with a good pinch of salt and stir into the yoghurt mix, along with some pepper. Add the cooled beetroot and turn over once or twice, so the beetroot is partly covered and the creamy dressing marbled with pink.
Arrange the watercress on two plates. Scatter over the cooled bulgur. Arrange the dressed beetroot over the top, trickling over any dressing that remains in the bowl. Give the plates a trickle of extra-virgin olive oil and a grinding of pepper, and serve.
Red cabbage slaw with marinated tofu
You don't have to include dairy products to make a salad hearty. This vegan combo is rammed with flavour, and bursting with colour and texture. Serves two.
250g firm tofu
75g cashew nuts
A trickle of sunflower oil
¼ red cabbage (about 250g)
1 large or 2 medium carrots (about200g in all)
1 small bunch spring onions (about 100gor so)
Coriander leaves, to finish
For the marinade/dressing
1 small clove garlic, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp finely grated ginger
½ lime, juiced
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp rice wine
A shake of cayenne pepper
Mix together the marinade/dressing ingredients. Drain the tofu, pat it dry with kitchen paper and cut into 2-3cm cubes. Put it in abowl with four tablespoons of marinade, stir, cover and set aside for an houror so.
Heat a nonstick frying pan over amedium heat. Add the cashew nuts and toast lightly for a few minutes, until patched with golden brown. Set aside in a dish.
Add a trickle of sunflower oil to the pan. Add the tofu and its marinade, and cook, stirring, until all the liquid has evaporated. Add to the cashews and leave to cool.
Remove any tough core and damaged outer leaves from the cabbage, then shred it as finely as you can, working across the quarter so you get relatively short lengths (much easier to eat). Put the cabbage in a bowl. Peel the carrots and grate coarsely into the bowl. Trim and slice the spring onions and add these, too, along with the remaining dressing. Toss, cover and leave for an hour or so.
Give the slaw another good stir, taste and add more lime juice or soy sauce if necessary. Arrange on serving plates. Top with the tofu and cashews, add a generous scattering of coriander, and serve.
