Review: A Salad For All Seasons by Harry Eastwood

madnad

Harry Eastwood was raised in France, and currently lives in Paris, but UK viewers may remember her from Channel 4’s 2007 show, Cook Yourself Thin.

I have a lot of recipe books, but of them all, none are dedicated to salads. It’s not that I avoid salads as such, it’s just that I don’t make them frequently.

When you pick up a book that has the word ‘salad’ in the title, you would be forgiven for picturing a sad pile of wilted and pathetic looking lettuce leaves. You will be delighted to hear then, that the recipes within A Salad For All Seasons are bright, colourful and a far cry from the drab rabbit food we imagine.

The weather lately, while now officially summer, has definitely been wintery in nature so there has been a fair amount of wintery dishes consumed in Chez Mutherfudger’s lately. I need to break from this cycle of stodge, and this book could be just the thing to help me do that.

After the introduction, there is a page of the author’s favourite seasonal leaves and how best to use them. This book introduces over 100 recipes broke down into four main seasonal chapters, then listed alphabetically. There is also an alphabetical index at the back.

I love books that encourage us to eat seasonally. The variety of dishes included in this book has inspired me to try and make salad more of an everyday item, and not just an accompaniment. A further treat at the back is a section of recipes for useful dressings and flavoured vinegars.

As one would imagine, the recipes are largely savoury, but Eastwood has managed to sneak in a few desserts, such as Bananas with Rum Butterscotch, and Strawberry Salad with White Chocolate Mousse.

We all know that it’s our eyes that we choose our meals with first, so each recipe is accompanied by a vibrant picture that is beautifully staged and highlights the striking colours of the ingredients within.

While a lot of the recipes are vegetarian, not all are. There is a wide selection of ingredients used – some I confess I had not heard of! This is not to say that the recipes are not accessible to the average household. The majority of the recipes use ingredients that are probably in your fridge or store cupboard, or easily available from your supermarket.

The recipes themselves have clear instructions. Each one indicates the number of calories per portion, and how many of your ‘five-a-day’ it meets. Those with a little clock symbol are the quickest and easiest to prepare, so perfect for a mid-week supper. My favourite recipes were Goats Cheese and Honey Parcels, Whopping Potato Salad and the Classic Cobb Salad.

If you fancy a change to your usual fare that is quick, simple, yet delicious and nutritious, then salad is where it is at baby.

A Salad For All Seasons is available now from Bantam Press.

Classic Cobb Salad

Serves 6
From book A Salad For All Seasons

Ingredients

  • Juice of ½ Lemon
  • 1 Medium Avocado (cut into squares)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 2 Onions (thinly sliced)
  • 2 tablespoons Plain Flour
  • 3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
  • 8 Medium Tomatoes (ripe on the vine)
  • 6 handfuls Romaine Lettuce (washed and roughly torn)
  • 6 handfuls Watercress Leaves
  • 200g Roasted Chicken (roughly torn)
  • 100g Mature Cheddar (shaved with potato peeler)
  • 3 Large Free-range Eggs (hard boiled)
  • 200g Streaky Bacon

Dressing

  • 4 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 heaped teaspoons Lemon Juice
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
  • 2 Small Garlic Cloves (minced)
  • 4 tablespoons Walnut Oil
  • Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jam jar and give a good shake. Taste and season if needed.
2. Squeeze the ½ lemon over the avocado chunks and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Peel the eggs and roughly chop them
4. Fry the bacon in a large dry frying pan. Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Wipe the excess oil away, but don't wash it
5. Next, toss the onion slices in the flour. Heat the vegetable oil in the pan and fry the onion slices over a high heat until golden and crisps all over. Set aside
6. Cut the tomatoes across the waist and scoop out the seeds and middle with a teaspoon. Roughly chop the flesh and discard the seeds
7. Toss the leaves in half the salad dressong and arrange at the bottom of your serving platter. Next, add the seasoned avocado, followed by the tomatoes, chicken, bacon, chopped eggs, fried onions and cheese.
8. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over and serve.


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