Luxury Potato Salad

 A delicious, creamy potato salad full of flavour

This potato salad is delicious both warm or cold, depending on what you're serving it with.

Great as an accompaniment to cold meats, smoked fish, cured meats, barbecues, salads, leftover roast chicken and almost anything you can think of!

If you want to lower the calories, use fat free Greek yoghurt, light mayonnaise and half fat creme fraiche (or just extra yoghurt). Will keep happily in the fridge for a few days. Serves 8 to 10 comfortably, easily halved.

Chicory, Courgette and Radish Salad with Orange, Coriander and Dill Dressing

Well, this wasn't supposed to be a recipe for my blog, but it turned out so delicious, that it would have been criminal not to share it!

The other half declared it the most delicious thing he'd eaten this year - and he doesn't like salads, so that's really saying something! The children also loved it, and I found it incredibly more-ish - especially the dressing, so I've had to write it down as accurately as I can, so we can recreate it again!

The only downside to creating something delicious, without planning it or thinking about it, is that you don't tend to get a very good photo of it, as you haven't set it up or made it at the right time of day - so apologies for the picture, but I can assure you that the flavours are divine! This was created to go with hot smoked mackerel, and hot smoked salmon (with a few new potatoes on the side, or some crusty bread would be nice too), and it really is fantastic with smoked fish. It would also be great with griddled, roast or barbecued chicken., and a sophisticated side to serve on a platter for people to help themselves to.

Marinated Mushrooms with Garlic, Lemon and Herbs, and other Summer Grilled / Marinated Vegetables

Delicious appetiser / antipasti, side dishes, or even starters. Makes for great vegetarian mezze / tapas dishes to share.

I really love mushrooms, and remember making Mushrooms a la Grecque many, many years ago. I thought I'd add my own spin to it, by charring the mushrooms a little first, as a nod to the char-grilled marinated artichokes we enjoy, and a few of my favourite flavours.

             

Scroll down for a couple of other recipes / suggestions for side dishes to go alongside the mushrooms (as pictured). 

These dishes will collectively serve 4-6 people as sides for lunch, and keep well in the fridge for a few days (see notes).

Calories per serving for those counting: Mushrooms - 70, Asparagus - 50, Peppers and Tomatoes - 61. Total calories for all three dishes as sides - 181.

If you're not counting calories, feel free to slug in extra oil and serve with Parmesan shavings, torn mozzarella, goats' cheese, feta cheese, pine nuts, and / or whatever else you fancy scattered on top or along side!

Quick Beetroot, Goat's Cheese and Puy Lentil Salad with a Balsamic and Basil Dressing

A simple and tasty dish to throw together, especially if you're in a rush!

So this dish came about one evening, when I didn't have much time left, and wanted to throw together something simple and tasty in time to watch Masterchef together (because it ALWAYS makes you hungry when you watch that programme, and you have to have something nice to eat!).

I threw the lentils into a bowl, dressed them to taste, went to get the pack of vacuum-packed cooked beetroot I had in the fridge, only to find out that I hadn't! Fail! I did at least have some beetroot, even though it wasn't already cooked, so had to compromise by throwing it into the oven to roast, while we watched Masterchef feeling increasingly 'hangry', then threw the rest together afterwards once it was cooked! However, provided you have a little more foresight than I did, and the ingredients to hand, then this will be a quick and easy meal to throw together in a matter of minutes.

If you wanted to, you could serve the lentil and beetroot element of this warm instead of cold, by giving it a quick blast in the microwave, or warming through gently in a pan with a splash of extra water.

Serves three for lunch or a light meal, or two for dinner (it's surprisingly filling!), or of course, more as a starter! 

Calories - for three lighter portions, 232 to 278 calories per portion (French vs. full fat cheese); For two larger portions, 348 to 417 calories per portion.

Spicy Prawn and Avocado Salad

The classic combination of prawns and avocado... with a kick!

Just a quick flash in the pan for the prawns, and you’ve got a tasty, spicy salad with a lovely lemony zing – fantastic fast food!

Serves one (easily doubled or quadrupled!), 272 calories per serving.

Retro-tastic Prawn Cocktail Salad

Prawn cocktail doesn't really need much introduction, does it?

Here’s a blast from the past – and incredibly simple to make, too – just chop and mix! A quick light salad perfect for a starter before Sunday dinner (or Christmas dinner!) with 'the olds', if you’re so inclined - or even a light, packed lunch to take to work!

Somewhat tenuous as a festive dish, I know, but when I got home one afternoon, I discovered someone had left the last handful of frozen prawns on the side, which were all but defrosted, so I had to use them up... what better dish, than the retro-tastic prawn cocktail salad - starter from the 80s, and still present on many a pub menu, especially Christmas ones!

Serves 2, easily halved or doubled. 152 calories per serving.

Seared Tuna Nicoise Salad (includes Thermomix method)

A modern take on salade niçoise, topped with a seared tuna steak and a delicious, chunky dressing packed with bursts of niçoise flavours.

Contrary to popular belief, tuna isn't actually one of the core ingredients of a nicoise salad - anchovies are more likely to frequent the more authentic presentations, and the two wouldn't usually be served together. Cooked vegetables (e.g. potatoes and green beans) are also not part of an authentic salade niçoise recipe - fresh and raw broad beans are the way to go. I remember thinking I'd been 'done' when I ordered a nicoise salad in France a couple of decades ago, because they'd 'missed out half the ingredients'. But, what is this? Next I'll be telling you there are no boiled eggs either!

       

No, don't worry there are. However, there are as many recipes for salad niçoise, as there are for chilli con carne no doubt, and it's just as contentious! Even the modern Niçois break the 'rules' and serve tuna and anchovies together. So, if they can, so can we, and while we're at it, let's break a few more and keep everybody happy and call it Nicoise Salad instead! (I doubt anyone Niçois would be reading a recipe for it in English anyway - especially if they saw a photo with potatoes and green beans on it - sacré bleu!!). With this recipe, you can choose whether to serve it warm or cold - I like to have my potatoes, beans and eggs warm, which makes it a great dish for winter or summer.

So after our first little harvest of French beans this year (lovingly grown by the good man), together with a motley collection of different tomatoes, hastily picked according to ripeness (rather than variety!), I was inspired to blog my version of Nicoise salad, which has evolved over the years. Mine involves serving a seared tuna steak over the warm steamed green beans and potatoes (optionally tossed in a little olive oil), with lettuce and cherry tomatoes on the side topped with a fresh a boiled egg (of course!), and a wonderfully piquant chunky dressing, with the olives, anchovies and basil within it, warmed through until the anchovies melt into the dressing and finished with capers and diced tomato then spooned over the top... fancy joining me?

You can play around with the salad ingredients (or the dressing), of course, according to what you have and love - add peppers, cucumbers, radishes or whatever you have to hand, use rocket leaves, and even try it with the fresh broad beans if you want to see what you're missing out on! I have a love of fresh tuna, just seared on the outside and rare in the middle - cook your tuna the way you like it, or if you prefer, use a good quality (dolphin-friendly) jarred or tinned tuna (in oil, if you're going to do it the more Gallic way).

Serves two people, easily doubled. 470 calories per serving (328 calories without the dressing, if you want to use a bought dressing, or just have a drizzle of balsamic for a few calories). Halve these quantities for a sophisticated starter at 235 calories [Calories in square brackets - it will of course be more if you add more extra virgin olive oil for tossing potatoes in and drizzles!]

Salad Shirazi with Pomegranate Seeds

This is one of those dishes whose simplicity belies how utterly amazing the combination of ingredients tastes...

Which is perhaps why it is pretty much the national salad dish of Iran. Hailing from the city of Shiraz, this Persian salad is to Iran, what Kachumber is to India.

With the same base of cucumber, tomato and onion, salad Shirazi is flavoured with citrus and mint. I've added fresh pomegranate seeds to my version, for delicious little pops of sweetness with a crunch, and the fresh mint brings it all together beautifully.

It's good to make this a little in advance and leave it to chill for an hour or so, to allow the flavours to mingle. It's great as a side dish to pretty much any Persian meal - we had it on the side of some delicious Joojeh kababs (Persian chicken kebabs with saffron and lemon - recipe here) along with my Persian-inspired quinoa and lentil salad with roasted vegetables, sumac and fresh herbs.

This serves four people as a side dish, at 38 calories per serving. [Calories in square brackets]

Quinoa, Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Salad, with Sumac, Lemon and Fresh Herbs (includes Thermomix tips)

Enjoy a taste of the Middle East in this delicious and healthy salad full of different textures and flavours.

Courgettes and peppers are roasted with cumin seeds and sumac then tossed with quinoa, nutty lentils and a refreshing mix of coriander, mint and parsley and dressed with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

          

Makes a fantastic side dish to grilled or barbecued meat, fish, poultry or halloumi, or even good as a light lunch on its own. We enjoyed it with Joojeh kababs (Persian chicken kebabs in a saffron and lemon marinade, my recipe is here) and salad Shirazi with pomegranate seeds.

Serves six to eight as a side dish. 174 calories per serving for an eighth, 232 calories for a sixth. [Calories in square brackets]

Ten-minute Trout, Asparagus and New Potato (Warm) Salad

Simple, quick and satisfying and ready in minutes - a delicious dish with minimal effort.

If you prefer, substitute salmon fillet(s) instead, from the tail end where they're flat and triangular, which will be equally delicious - ready-to-eat smoked trout fillets would work really well too, if you don't want to cook the trout yourself. A nice addition which combines perfectly with the other flavours is a boiled egg with a creamy yolk, quartered and nestling on top.

Serves two, 315 calories per serving - easily halved or doubled (calories in square brackets if you're counting). Add another 88 calories for a UK medium sized egg (58g).

Carpaccio of Beef with a Mustard Dressing, Rocket, Capers and Parmesan

Greaseproof paper and a rolling pin means that you don't have to have the world's best knife skills!

Wafer-thin fillet steak is tender to the point of almost melt-in-the mouth consistency, when prepared this way and perfectly complimented by the rich mustardy dressing, peppery rocket, slivers of salty parmesan and tiny capers that give little bursts of flavour in your mouth.

Simple to make, no cooking necessary (although you can optionally quickly sear the very outside of the beef, see method) and an elegant dish which could be a light lunch, or a delicious starter.

This serves two people (but is easily doubled), at 265 calories per serving (if you're counting - calories in square brackets).

Greek Village Salad (Horiatiki Salata)

A timeless classic, great on its own, or as a side dish

A handful of good quality ingredients is what makes this simple salad so enduring. Go for a decent barrel-aged feta, juicy vine-ripened tomatoes and the best Greek olives you can get your hands on: classic purply-brown to black almond-shaped Kalamata olives, or if you're breaking from tradition, go for a nice plump green variety, like Halkidiki or some Olympian green olives.

I tend to switch depending on what I'm having it with, and who else is eating it - if in doubt, just put your favourites in!

Serves up to eight as a small side dish, or four as a light lunch, from 79 calories per serving for a small side and 159 calories as a light lunch (see below for information re. calories).

Get the BBQ Out for a Turkish Night In! (Or the Grill or Griddle...)

The nights are getting warmer, and it's time to get the BBQ out and fire it up - whether it's for friends, or family, or just the two of you.

There are some foods just made for barbecuing. Many countries have their own versions of kebabs, and barbecued meats and fish and vegetables. Turkey is no exception, and cooking food over burning coals (as on a mangal) is a speciality.

And, bonus - it can be pretty healthy too, and you wouldn't even know it!

So I've put together a little collection of my Turkish recipes, for a tasty evening to share with friends or family - you can either scale down by half, warm up leftovers the next day, or freeze half of the meat uncooked for another time if the quantities are too large for you (the rice and hummus freeze well too). I've also included a shopping list below, as well as a key to what to prepare and when, to make it easy to put together.

If you're counting calories, then here's an example of how surprisingly few it adds up to per portion - you can eat everything pictured on the above plate for under 500 calories (and that's with full fat Greek yoghurt, and full fat organic lamb mince - so no compromise on flavour with dry, extra lean beef steak, either!) - and if you're not counting, you can have some nibbles beforehand, and go back for seconds! You could have just chicken skewers, or just lamb skewers with everything else and adjust the calorie count accordingly.

All in all, this is fantastic as either a healthy and delicious meal that's a real treat - or use the recipes the next time you get the BBQ out to entertain your friends, for something a little bit different and completely delicious! Click on the highlighted  text to go to each different recipe. [Calories in square brackets if you're counting]

Turkish Red Cabbage Salad

This is a must if you're barbecuing some Turkish Kebabs...

It's so simple, and goes so well along with a few other sides, that it would be a crime *not* to make it the next time you're having a barbecue (regardless of what you're cooking!).

It's something I became familiar with as a side dish in Turkey, and from a Turkish restaurant I frequent from time to time who make exceptionally delicious kebabs; and it has now become synonymous (along with a few other side dishes) with eating good kebabs.

Serves 4 as a small side dish, 28 calories per serving. Easily doubled (or quadrupled, of course!) for a crowd.

If you fancy putting together a nice Turkish feast, with a shopping list and preparation plan, then have a look here!

Italian Tricolore (and more) Salad

Italian Tricolore Salad is one of my favourite Italian salads

It's just so simple, but so delicious. This isn't so much a recipe, as me satisfying my own curiosity as to how many calories there were in what I was eating. But given that I write recipes for people who want recipes for under 500 calories, it was a great idea, as it's very easily under 500 calories even with extras! So working out the calories for the different ingredients, kind of made it into a recipe, and discovering that it was something delicious and simple which could be consumed for far fewer calories than I thought, made it a must-blog to share... (warm ciabatta not pictured!)

So, my apologies that it's not set out in a purist or traditional fashion, and that there are extras on the side, but I wasn't planning to post this as a tricolore salad, or even necessarily as a recipe - just as something summery and vague on a sunny day, showing my appreciation of the simple things in life. Also... I kind of like to keep the balsamic to the tomatoes, to make them more piquant, rather than staining my mozarella or avocado, and I like the grassy tones of a good extra virgin oil shared between the tomatoes and mozarella, with it's greenish golden tones trickling over the white of the cheese.

But I digress... you want to know how you can fit something like this in for under 500 calories (because if you're not counting, you're like a kid in a sweetshop in the deli, and you don't care!).

Serves one, from 326 calories.

Wakame and Shaved Vegetable Salad in a Soy-Ginger Dressing with Toasted Seeds

Now that the sun is starting to coyly tease us with its presence, it's time to think about some exciting new salads for refreshing accompaniments or meals on warmer days!

But... seaweed? Really? Yes!!!  This tastes amazing!

Serves 4 (possibly a couple more as a side dish). For the whole salad for 4 people: 747 calories with avocado, 471 without. Per serving: 187 calories with avocado, 118 without.

Go on, step away from the iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes, and push the boat out. Believe it or not, the whole family loved this, including my two children (aged 9 and 11). It's healthy, tasty and packed with different textures and flavours - and if you invest in some dried wakame a little goes a very long way (see below!) and it's great in things like miso soup too (my miso soup recipe is here). Makes a great side dish to all kinds of Japanese/oriental-flavoured marinated, grilled, griddled or barbequed meat, poultry, fish or tofu etc. (think teryaki, yakitori etc.), with a side of rice or noodles.

Sunomono - Cucumber and Wakame Salad

Just a quickie!

Seeing as I've posted my Seared Tuna with Daikon Dressing recipe, I thought I'd better post this lovely little Japanese salad dish, which I chose to serve on the side. Lovely with all sorts of things as a side dish, including Teriyaki grilled meats and fish, or you could even go a bit 'fusion' and serve it up with little Thai crab cakes.

Sunomono

Serves 2 as a side dish, 42 calories per serving.

Mango, Red Pepper and Coriander Salsa

Fruity and Fresh, Zingy and Zesty...

This simple salsa with a kick is really versatile - I love it with either spicy or plain grilled, griddled or barbequed chicken, pork or fish - for me it's usually Cajun-spiced chicken, which is one of my staple go-to foods when I want something quick and tasty. It's not much to look at in a bowl on its own, but adds a splash of vibrant colour served alongside grilled meat or fish with a leafy salad and some coconut rice or home-baked potato wedges.

Oh, and if I'm in a rush, or I want to avoid making my eyes water later (you know, when you rub them after chopping up chillies), I sometimes like to throw in a teaspoon of my salted chillies instead of a fresh chilli, which gives a really interesting dimension to the salsa.

It will only take a couple of minutes to make, and you can eat it straight away, or the next day (if you don't add oil or salt, the coriander won't wilt particularly either, and the peppers and onions will stay crunchy, so it will still look and taste pretty fresh if you keep it in the fridge).

This quantity serves four as a small side, for 37 calories per person.