Lamb’s lettuce salad with feta and tomatoes
Quick and healthy..
O god no… I can hear you think… not yet another salad!! Yes, sorry, it is another salad.. Isn’t January the official salad month? The month where half the nation wants to lose a little here and a little there so turns to ‘boring’ salads? Now let me correct that immediately; salads are amazing, salads are so versatile you could eat salads for the rest of your life and never have the same one twice.
True, when I was growing up, my conception of salads was also quite boring; iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, throw in a boiled egg for good measure, make a dressing from one of those little bags they sell in the supermarket (it’s called salad dressing, add 2 tbsp of mayo and 3 tbsp of water and voila, you have a dressing) and if you go really wild you might add a few pieces of ham. That was my salad growing up. That was – I fear – the only salad mum ever used to make.
Essential; a good homemade dressing!
When I left the house to go study as a nurse (yes, yes… that’s how my working life started!) at the age of 19 we had to live in a ‘sisterflat’ where all girls had there own tiny room (2 by 3 meters) and a kitchen that wasn’t worth mentioning. The only cooking equipment we had was an electrical plate and that’s all we had to prepare a healthy meal. Ofcourse the idea was that all girls would eat the hospital fodder.. Something we weren’t all that keen on, so we did try to cook a little bit. For years I was under the solid impression that salad was the above described uninspired meal.
There are still a lot of people out there who have the same strange ideas about salads. Let me tell you people; salads are amazing! I never eat iceberg lettuce anymore; it’s banned where-ever we can. It’s boring and tasteless and why bother if there are so many different and tasty varieties out there that are preferable in any given situation?
This salad came together from random ingredients I had in the fridge and needed to use. It’s simple and the delicious dressing makes this salad a winner, any time of the year. I’ve used a special sweet muscat vinegar for this dressing that was kindly given to me by Didi from Made In Spain (she has some amazing Spanish articles in her webshop, check it out) and it really complemented the dressing and the salad!
Lamb's lettuce with feta
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 10 mins
Ingredients:
- 100g lamb's lettuce
- 50g feta
- 1 small handful tablespoon sunflower seeds (roasted)
- 3 tomatoes (cut into quarters)
- croutons (from 1-2 slices of stale bread)
- 1-2 tablespoon grated parmesan
- 1-2 tablespoon Olive oil
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons homemade ketchup with bellpeppers
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coarse grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon sweet muscat vinegar
Directions:
| Cut the tomatoes, wash the salad and roast the sunflower seeds. Make the croutons by cutting the bread into small cubes, put these in a bowl with some olive oil and grate some parmesan cheese on top of it. Mix and then roast these in a hot frying pan until golden brown and crispy. Drain on a kitchen towel | |
| Arrange all the separate ingredients together on a plate and put all the ingredients for the dressing together in a bowl or small jar. Shake or stir well to combine, taste and add seasoning where needed | |
sprinkle some of the dressing on top of your salad and enjoy!
|
|
Recipe by Simone van den Berg
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
That salad is pure perfection! I particularly like the dressing.
Cheers,
Rosa
[Reply]
I love that story Simone… The salad dressing sounds so interesting….. There were a few of those around in my time too … Mix with ‘salad cream’ ….. Shudder
And – I can picture you as a nurse Simone. You have a lovely caring quality in your personality.
Hope the January salads are as enjoyable to eat as they are to look at.
Burgers for supper here tonight! With salad of course xx
[Reply]
Your salad dressing sounds interesting. I don’t think “not another salad,” actually I am enjoy the salads you are posting as I am always on the lookout for a salad that I can eat solo, due to my husband not being fond of anything with lettuce. Nice story about your nursing days Simone.
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — January 27th, 2012 at 18:11
Thanks so much Julie. I love salads but my husband gets a bit bored when I have yet another salad, so I tend to eat them for lunch when he’s not around..
[Reply]
Your photo perfectly captures the wonderful flavorful combination of this salad. Great post!
[Reply]
I could never get tired of salad, personally, especially when they look as fresh and vibrant as yours.
[Reply]
Simone (junglefrog) — January 29th, 2012 at 10:34
Thanks Hannah! I looooove salads too…
[Reply]
delicious looking yummy salad
[Reply]
Lamb’s lettuce (which I know as mâche, but I recognized it instantly from your picture) is one of my favourite greens. Unfortunately, it’s expensive in Canada… Well, most salads are expensive in the winter, but mâche seems to be like that all year around. So I stuff myself with it when I come to Europe! Your salad dressing sounds very good and original, too!
[Reply]
Making this salad is really interesting! The ingredients are easy to find in the market. And making it really easy and quick. I would definitely be doing this again! Thanks!
[Reply]