by Niamh Cooper, Melissa Byrne & Gillian Hegarty
Salad is so much more than soggy lettuce and a squirt of salad cream. We have three easy, tasty salad recipes, and a secret weapon, just for you: the best salads start in the garden, and growing them is easy-peas-y!
Grow your own
Lettuce shoots up fast and barely takes up any space. It is not too late to plant your favourite lettuce, in fact, the more varieties the better! Keep your lettuce watered, and most importantly, pick those slugs whenever you see them – unfortunately they love lettuce, too. When it’s ready, just pick the outer leaves (be careful not to tug too hard and take out the root) and the plant will keep growing.
Why not plant a few radishes in between the rows of lettuce, while you’re at it. Radishes grow quickly and you can slice them straight into your bowl for some lovely colour. You can add some herbs too: parsley, mint, chives and basil all love growing here, and each one gives your salad a completely different taste.
Here are a few great and easy recipes you can try to make at home:
French Green Bean Salad
Ingredients:
• a handful of green beans
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• grated parmesan
• roughly chopped parsley
• a few edible flowers (marigold, viola or cornflower)
• your favourite salad leaves
Method: Boil the beans in salted water for 3 to 4 minutes.
Shake the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper together in a jar until well mixed.
Tip the still-hot beans into a bowl and immediately top with parmesan and toss.
Mix in some of the dressing.
Serve on salad leaves, and decorate with parsley and edible flowers.
If you prefer to try a different dressing, why not give this one a go:
French Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
• 2 fl oz vinegar
• 6 fl oz olive oil
• 1 tsp honey
• half tsp Dijon mustard (opt)
• a pinch of salt and pepper
Method: Put all the ingredients into a clean jar. Make sure you have a close-fitting lid!
Screw the lid on tightly and shake well.
Pour over your beans, or any salad you like.
Tip: Write the date on the jar. It’ll keep in the fridge for up to four weeks.
If you love peas, we know you’re going to adore the next one. It can be made so easily with frozen peas. Give it a try, and why not invite your friends over to help you make it (and eat it!).
Pea Guacamole
Ingredients:
• 450g frozen peas
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ a red chilli, chopped
• 1 tsp toasted ground cumin
• 2 tbsp coriander
• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
• a pinch of salt and pepper
Method: Boil the peas in salted water for 2 to 3 minutes.
Cool them in cold water straight away.
Add in the rest of the ingredients. Blitz everything together in a food processor until smooth.
Taste it and adjust with salt, pepper and lime juice if it needs it.
Did you know?
Peas have been grown in Ireland for hundreds of years
Peas actually are sweetest as soon as they’re harvested, and start losing their sweetness once they’re picked. Frozen peas are frozen as soon as they’ve been picked, which is why they often taste better than fresh ones that have sat in a shop for days.
Parsley is a great source of iron and it has more vitamin C in it than an orange!
Edible flowers like marigolds and violas aren’t just pretty, they’re full of antioxidants that help your body repair itself.
So next time someone asks if you want more salad, say yes. And tell them you know the perfect recipe.
The Kids’ Food Revolution is a community-led initiative. Our recipes are tried and tested with kids. Our Eat! Grow! Cook! pilot is funded by the Lidl Green Fund Community Prize, where the Kids’ Food Revolution won the top prize of €25,000. You can find out more on kidsfoodrevolution.ie. Sign up for our newsletter.
