There are some days in the heights of summer where the last thing you want to do is turn on the oven. You want to eat something that is fresh, light, and quick to prepare. Salads really fit the bill for an easy summer meal, using fresh, seasonal ingredients with bright flavours.

Salads often get a bad wrap for being boring. I think we’ve all experienced a dull, limp garden salad with a sad generic dressing. To prevent an unappetising pile of food, I like to follow a bit of a formula when putting a salad together. You want something fresh, something acidic, something crunchy, some protein, and finished off with a dressing or sauce for moisture.

I have given you the recipes for my favourite salads to try. Like I always say, it is YOUR meal and you can add or subtract, divide or multiply to suit your tastes. I would love to hear if you try these, so please leave me a comment with any feedback, recommendations or the salads that you love to make in summer.

You can find these recipes, as well as a whole lot of others on my Recipes page.

chicken and mango salad

For the longest time, I couldn’t stomach the thought of mango in a salad. Don’t get me wrong, mangoes are my favourite fruit, and that’s how I wanted it to stay. But then I had a prawn and mango salad at a fancy restaurant and I was instantly a convert.

With this variation, I have used a roasted chicken breast for the protein. The mouth feel is a little bit better if you serve the protein cold, rather than straight off the grill/often. I have also included cos lettuce, cucumber, and chopped cashews. Because the mango is quite wet, it brings some moisture to the salad and it doesn’t really need a dressing, but I really like to make a honey mustard dressing to bring another element of flavour.

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast, roasted
• 1/2 mango, diced
• A good handful of cos lettuce, chopped
• 3 baby cucumbers, diced
• 1/4 cup cashews, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Make the honey mustard dressing by combining the dijon mustard, honey, cider vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a jar and shake until emulsified.
2. Arrange all of the ingredients on the plate and pour the dressing over.
3. Serve and enjoy

lamb salad

I love lamb, regardless of the time of year. In the summer, incorporating lamb into a salad is my favourite way to eat it. Just recently I have been having a lot of lamb salads in restaurants and the below recipe is a culmination of my favourite elements of those salads. This has a lot of Mediterranean flavours with the marinated lamb, feta, couscous and hummus. I like to use a leafy green with a lower moisture content, like rocket, as it keeps its structure a bit better than cos or iceberg. There is a little bit of sweetness with the roast pumpkin, some crunch with the pistachios, and a little creaminess with the feta. This should satisfy every taste bud in your mouth.

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 lamb leg steak, marinated (I use the Coles Lamb Leg Steak with the greek or middle eastern marinade)
• 2 handfuls of leafy greens (I use the packet leafy greens)
• 1/2 cup pearl couscous
• 1 cup pumpkin, diced
• 1 1/2 tbsp feta, crumbled
• Handful pistachios, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp hummus

Method

1. Roast up the pumpkin in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
2. Cook the pearl couscous as per the packet’s instructions
3. Grill the lamb steak for five minutes on the one side on medium heat, then flip and cook for another three minutes. You want the internal temperature to be between 65 and 75 degrees Celsius.
4. Assemble all the ingredients on a plate, serve and enjoy

taco salad

Mexican cuisine is my favourite type of food. I could eat it for every meal, every day. Unfortunately, burritos and enchiladas are not really something you should be eating all the time. So I thought I would take my favourite taco ingredients, whack them in a bowl, add a few more veggies, and call it a salad. Easy as that.

These ingredients can be used for other meals. I like to cook up a whole batch of taco minced beef and then use it for several meals. You only need to use about a cup of mince for this salad, but you can keep it in the fridge for two days.

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 500g beef mince (or whatever protein mince you like)
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 2 handfuls cos lettuce
• 1 x 70g can Edgell “Snack Time Black Beans & Corn with Lime & Herbs”
• 3 baby cucumbers, diced
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese (I like to use the Perfect Italiano Mexican Style Cheese)
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tbsp taco sauce
• Handful tortilla corn chips
• Pickled jalapenos, how many you add is up to you

Method

1. Cook the minced beef with the taco seasoning until cooked all the way through. You’re only going to need 1 cup to add to the salad.
2. Arrange all of the ingredients on the plate, serve and enjoy.

broccoli and crispy chicken salad

Not all salads need to have lettuce, and this is a good example of one that doesn’t. I like to use a bed of steamed broccoli as the base and then build on top. This is beyond tasty with a delicious breaded chicken, a little cheese, bacon, as well as some carrot, corn and slivered almonds. For the dressing, I like to have some creaminess, but not an overwhelming flavour. I like to use cashew cream, but you could use a ranch or caesar salad if you feel it.

This combination of protein, fibre and fats will keep you full and satisfied for ages.

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 3 breaded/crumbed chicken tenders (I just buy these pre-breaded tenders)
• 1 head of broccoli
• 125g sweet corn
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup bacon, diced
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup water
• handful of slivered almonds to top

Method

1. Add the cashews and water to a food processor or blender and blitz until you have a nice, smooth, creamy sauce.
2. Cook up the bacon until as crispy as you like
3. Cook the chicken tenders. I like to put these in the airfryer at 200 degrees Celsius for 12-15 minutes.
4. Steam the broccoli until it is as tender or crisp as you like
5. Assemble all the ingredients on a plate and top with cashew cream and slivered almonds.

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