Start the new year fresher and lighter with sumptuous salads

Sophia Lindop’s 10 commandments for making great salads

Kick off the new year by replacing the heavy stuff with salads you can make a meal out of. I believe the reason salads get a bad rap is because we create boring versions no one is inspired to eat. Here are my 10 commandments to avoid those that leave people cold:

• It all starts with the bowl — I prefer shallow bowls or platters to deep bowls. Salads are colourful and a flatter container better shows off what's inside.
• Dress it up. I toss everything in dressing before I plate it, this way no one needs to worry about extra dressing.
• Never use store bought dressings. Just never. It's so simple to make your own.
• Be generous with your dressing — go big or go home.
• If you have good-quality olive oil and balsamic glaze, you're good to go.
• Extra goodness to add to dressings, depending on what's in your salad, are lemon juice and zest, honey, pomegranate molasses, sesame oil, orange zest and sumac.
• Salad does not equal tomato, cucumber, lettuce, olives and onion rings. Be creative and play with your food. Our best salad is a bowl of green leaves (such as wild rocket or a mixture of leaves) dressed in olive oil with shavings of Parmesan, toasted pine nuts (any nut, in fact) and drizzled with balsamic reduction.
• Yes, you may add fruit to your salads. Nothing like a crunchy slice of apple, seasonal mangoes, plums and peaches, or a flash of colourful berries to add excitement to your creation. Again, play with flavours.
• Yes, a bowl of charred broccoli or other roasted vegetables can make a salad.
• Salads do not need to contain lettuce.

A TRIO OF SALADS

Mozzarella and tomato

The perfect summer salad when tomatoes are plentiful. On a platter, layer slices of mozzarella cheese with slices of firm red, preferably organic or from your garden, tomato slices. Sprinkle with dried origanum, a generous seasoning of salt, ground black pepper and a drizzle of your best extra-virgin olive oil. Toss over a handful of fresh basil leaves and serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Broccoli, feta and berries

Either steam the broccoli until just tender — no soggy greens allowed in a salad — or chargrill broccoli florets in a griddle pan with a splash of olive oil. Cool, then toss in a serving platter with a sprinkling of feta cheese and seasonal berries. Strawberries add great colour. Dress with a French dressing: equal parts extra-virgin olive oil and white or rice vinegar, a splash of water, a clove of crushed garlic, a light sprinkling of sugar and a generous seasoning of salt and black pepper. Shake well, pour over the salad and serve.

Asian salad spring rolls

Start by preparing the veggies: green leaves, strips of different coloured peppers, carrots and English cucumber sticks. The trick is to keep the veggies all the same length. Pour a little water into a bowl or serving platter wide enough to hold a rice sheet (available from Asian and selected supermarkets) and, working with one sheet at a time, dip it into the water just until it starts softening, less than a minute: if it’s in the water too long, it will fall apart. Drain on a clean dishcloth and, working from one end, place a bundle of veg on the rice paper and roll the paper, folding in the sides to make a sausage-shaped parcel.

Place on a serving dish and cover lightly with a slightly damp cloth to keep them moist and fresh.

Serve with a dipping sauce: 30ml (2 tbsp) light soy sauce; 1 clove of garlic, crushed; 10ml (2 tsp) palm sugar or honey; a knob of ginger, grated; 30ml (2 tbsp) lime juice; 15ml (1 tbsp) sweet chilli sauce and 1 chilli seeded and finely sliced.