Three hearty salads to try this winter

Posted on 21 July, 2021

Delicious, healthy and satisfying, these salads will rock your winter’s day.

They’re full of in-season veggies and flavoursome herbs that can be sourced fresh from your veggie patch or local markets in Canberra’s wintertime.

Enjoy!

Roast Cauliflower Salad

Ingredients

• ½ cauliflower
• 2 carrots
• 1 ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 cup mint leaves
• 1 cup of cooked chickpeas
• Juice from one lemon
• Extra virgin olive oil (¼ cup for the dressing and extra for roasting the vegetables)
• Salt and pepper

Method

Set your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Chop your cauliflower into florets, leaving small florets whole and cutting larger florets in half. Chop the carrots into 1 cm thick round slices.

Combine chopped cauliflower and carrots in a large baking tray. Sprinkle on the fennel seeds. Generously drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the veggies. Season with a few grinds of salt and pepper.

Combine ingredients on the roasting tray, evenly spreading the cauliflower and carrots across the tray. Roast for 30–40 minutes, until the vegetables start to caramelise.

While the vegetables are roasting, make your dressing by combining the freshly squeezed lemon juice with ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste.

After the vegetables are finished roasting, let them cool for 5 minutes. Then, combine the roast vegetables with the chickpeas and mint leaves in a salad bowl.

Immediately before serving, pour over your dressing.

Serves 2 people as a main meal for lunch, or four people as a side salad.

Crunchy Cabbage and Jalapeno Slaw

Ingredients

• 2 cups of roughly shredded red cabbage
• 1 ½ cups of chopped celery
• 1 ½ cups of coarsely grated carrot (about one large carrot)
• 1 cup of torn rocket leaves
• 1 cup of coriander leaves
• 1/3 cup of flaked almonds
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Locally-sourced jalapeno sauce

Method

Place red cabbage, celery, carrot, rocket and coriander leaves in a mixing bowl. Combine gently, using large spoons or your (recently washed) hands.

Arrange combined ingredients on a serving platter, then top with flaked almonds, a light drizzle of olive oil and a generous drizzle of jalapeno sauce.

Serves 2 people as a main meal for lunch, or four people as a side salad.

Chickpea and Lentil Salad

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas
• 2 ½ cups of cooked, blue lentils
• 1 ½ cups of herbs from your winter veggie patch
• 3 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts
• ¼ cup toasted seeds (pepitas, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds all work well)
• 1 ½ tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Make the dressing by combining the white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper in a small jar. Shake your jar to combine the dressing ingredients. Test to check that the seasoning is right for you.

Combine all remaining ingredients in a large salad bowl. Drizzle on the dressing, just moments before you’re ready to eat.