Salad lovin' - salmon and potato

One of my favourite things about summer is all the beautiful salad combos that can be made. And once I realised a great salad didn't have to contain lettuce, I was stoked! Especially as I grew up with the standard salad being iceberg lettuce, tomato [usually less than ripe], cucumber, maybe a red onion ring or 3, and a fairly basic vinaigrette. Not even close to interesting. 

I really love a salad with loads of fresh herbs, so when I picked up a beautiful bunch of fresh parsley from our local crop swap recently [and thanks to Fiona from Tiffin for sharing her haul], I knew exactly what I wanted to pair it with. Beautiful new potatoes and some poached salmon. 

Salmon and potato salad

Salmon and potato salad

What you need [serves 2]:
300g chat or new potatoes, cut in half or quarters depending on size
300g fresh salmon
2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves

Dressing:
100g plain yogurt [I like Chobani]
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 red onion, finely diced
generous bunch of Italian parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste


What you do:
Cook the potatoes - put a medium sized saucepan with water with a bit of salt on the stove and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook until just cooked [mine took about 15-20 minutes]. Remove from the heat, drain the potatoes and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes. 

Poach the salmon. To do this, almost fill a skillet or fry pan with water and bring it to the boil [leave about 2cm for the water to rise once the salmon is added]. Once the water is boiling, add the salmon so they are fully submerged in the water. Once the water is boiling again, turn off the stove, put the lid on the pan and leave it. Allow the salmon to cook in the hot water for about 15 minutes (maybe a bit less, depending on how thick it is). Remove salmon from water and pop on a plate with a paper towel. Leave to cool - the salmon will continue to cook. Once cool, break it ip into chunks. 

Make the dressing - add all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Adjust lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. 

Once the potatoes are cool add the dressing and mix through. 

To serve, arrange the spinach on individual plates, top with potato and the salmon. 

Serve with an extra squeeze of lemon juice.  

What are your favourite salad ingredients?

Soup glorious soup - Asian-style chicken noodle

One of my favourite things about cooler weather is that I can eat soup. Lots of soup. Growing up we used to have a small bowl of vegetable soup before nearly every evening meal, which I grew to love - especially as our house always seemed to be freezing! 

I must even confess that I have tried a few "soup" diets over the years. Fortunately for those around me, the cabbage soup diet lasted about 1 meal. Cabbage, I quickly discovered, was not my favourite veggie to add to soup. Yuk. 

Fortunately for me, my beloved also loves soup. His favourite is pea and ham, and I nearly always have a couple of containers of that in the freezer. 

I love Asian soups - with tender morsels of meat, slippery noodles, fragrant herbs, hot chilli and the tang of lime juice. 

Today's lunch was this Asian-style chicken noodle soup, quickly whipped up in about 10 minutes. On the weekend I had poached a whole chicken, so I could replenish my chicken stock supply and also have some beautiful shredded chicken for a few meals this week.  

To make the stock:

• 1 whole chicken (I usually try and get an organic or free range chicken)
• 10 slices of ginger
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
• 10 coriander seeds
• 2-3 star anise
• 5 white pepper seeds
• 1 onion quartered

Pop all this in a large stock pot with 4 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer with lid on for about 90 minutes. Skim off any impurities. After 90 minutes turn off the heat and leave to cool for about an hour. Remove the chicken, once it's cool, remove and throw out skin and bones. Save the meat for meals during the week. Strain the liquid into another container, throw out the solids. Keep the liquid in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

I normally try and make the stock a day or so before I need it so that I can skim any fat off the surface once it has cooled. Although this should be minimal. 

mmmm soup :)

To make the soup for 2 people you need:

• 750ml chicken stock
• 200gm shredded chicken meat
• 1 packet rice noodles (today I used 1 of the 2 packets that are in Kan-Tong rice noodles)
• bean sprouts
• 2-3 shallots
• handful each of basil and coriander (you could also use mint, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, but this was what I had)
• sriracha chilli sauce
• hoisin sauce
• 1/2 lime

Heat the stock in a saucepan until it comes to the boil. 

Cook the rice noodles according to the packet. 

To assemble, put the noodles in the bottom of the bowl, add the chicken, then add the bean sprouts. Pour over hot stock. Add the shallots, herbs, sauces and lime juice to taste. 

Eat! Preferably without burning your tongue or splashing it all over yourself... *

What are your favourite soups? 

* disclaimer - I may or may not have done both of these...

Mmmmm soup. [post sponsored by La Zuppa]

I've been a bit AWOL lately due to the juggle of work, uni and OUR KITCHEN RENO!! Yes, the Kitchen Reno [the uppercase IS deliberate :) ] is now about 98% finished! But more about that in another post. When it's 100% completed and I've packed away all the bench clutter.

Bench top clutter. And a sneak peek of colours :)

Some of you know that for a few days of this reno we had to live in our basement as most of the timber floors that cover all of our upstairs had to be re-polished. Talk about a major PITA. But so worth it.

So for 5 days we lived on food that could be cooked in the microwave or in a toaster [silly me forgot to take the thermomix downstairs...]. Let me tell you how sick I am of BBQ chicken and toast.

What I'm not sick of however, is soup. Especially as it's now getting colder. And I am SO GRATEFUL to the beautiful people at La Zuppa who sent me a big box of microwavable soup, which arrived a few days before our basement foray. Talk about perfect timing!

Those of you who know me, know how much I generally loathe pre-packaged foods. For so many reasons, but mainly the preservatives and additives they contain [and the resultant, horrifying effect they have on my mood and general mental state :( ]. So when I was asked to trial La Zuppa my first instinct was to say "no way Jose". Until they told me their soup doesn't contain any additives. They are also gluten free, diary free, 99% fat free and most are under 150 calories per serve.  I thought I would give them a go.

They are ridiculously easy to heat up [2 minutes in the microwave] as they come in their own bowl that you cook and eat out of [although I do prefer mine transferred to a bowl once cooked...]. Perfect for work or for those quick meals when it's cold and you're starving! Or for when you are living out of your basement during a Kitchen Reno!

To heat: remove lid, peel off the foil, replace lid, zap for 2 minutes. EASY!

It comes in 10 flavours - my favourite was chicken and corn.

What is your favourite soup? Enter the La Zuppa facebook competition [closing 31 July 2012], tell them your favourite soup flavour and you could win a trip to Italy's spectacular Amalfi Coast to hone your culinary skills at the La Cucina Del Gusto cooking school. Or you could win one of the weekly cash prizes.

And don't forget to let me know your favourite flavour too!

P.S. The pics were taken on our new benchtops - the colour is shitake. Of course!

Summer BBQ days - with mushrooms

As much as I would love to say I have always loved mushrooms, that would be a big fat lie. Because I haven’t. In fact, they used to be right up there with the dreaded Brussels sprouts - I had to be bribed to eat them. Even to try them. Then one day, not tooooo many years ago, I did. And WOW! What a revelation! What had I been missing all those years! 

Now I just can’t get enough of them! I happily eat a few mushrooms nearly every day - for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Yes, that’s right. For breakfast. One of my favourite mushroom breakfast dishes is my “scrambled-omelette” - quick to make, gorgeous to eat. 

The most amazing array of mushrooms I have ever seen was when I went to the Fisherman's Wharf Farmer's Markets in San Francisco a few years ago. The variety was just incredible: lobster, hedgehog, oyster, wood ear and so many more! 

Amazing array of mushrooms - all colors, shapes and sizes...

As one of my food goals for 2012 is to eat less meat and more vegetarian meals, I suspect mushrooms will be making a lot of appearances on my menu! 

Lucky for me, mushrooms are also one of those foods that are really good for you! A 100g serving of mushies has more dietary fibre (2.5g) than 100g of celery (1.8g) or a slice of wholemeal bread (2.0g). And also more protein than most other veggies. And let's face it. Mushrooms are soooo much yummier than celery sticks! 

But the real kicker for me is that 100g of raw mushrooms only has 100kj. Yes, you read that correctly! Only 100kj! Or less than 24 calories. Which, when you love cheese and butter (two foods that go brilliantly with mushrooms by the way...) as much as me, is a REAL bonus! 

I made this for a quick and simple lunch the other day - despite it being a MISERABLE day, I fired up the BBQ, but you could just as easily cook it on the stove. 

Mushrooms on toast with haloumi. Boring name, mouthwatering flavours!

All you need for 1 person is:

• 1 slice of sourdough or other gorgeous bread
• 1 clove of garlic cut in half
• 1 slice of haloumi (yes, yes I know my pictures have 2 pieces. And yes, I ate them both...)
• about 100-125g mushrooms, cut into halves or quarters (I used Swiss brown but you could use flat, button or whatever else you fancy)
• 1 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 
• 1 tbs olive oil
• squeeze of half a lemon
• sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Pop the mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, lemon juice, s&p into a small bowl, mix together and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. 

Rub the slice of sourdough with the piece of cut garlic (I then chopped this up too and added it to the mushroom mix - according to my beloved, I REEKED of garlic that night. And the next morning. Oh well. It tasted AMAZING!)

Heat the BBQ - you need the flat plate. I use a silicone mat on our BBQ flat plate as it is easier than constantly cleaning the plate! Plus, ours is a bit rusty and manky. It's also non-stick, so you don't need to add extra oil.

Once the plate is hot, add the mushroom mix, the haloumi, and pop the bread on the grill (the grill section doesn't need to be turned on as there should be enough residual heat). TURN THE BBQ HEAT DOWN so nothing burns (learnt this the hard way the first time I cooked haloumi!). 

On the BBQ

It all takes about 5-8 minutes to cook - I normally take it off when the haloumi is cooked - you want it to look a beautiful golden colour.

Cooked haloumi

Once cooked, serve it up! This is gorgeous for a quick breakfast too, especially when entertaining. 

Instead of haloumi you could add a fried egg - the beauty of the silicone mat I used is that you don't need to use oil, so your fried egg is actually healthy. 

A few variations to this:

• use thyme or basil instead of rosemary
• add some chopped red onion 
• add some bacon or proscuitto
• pop some butter on the BBQ to cook the mushrooms (I don't think it needs it, but many disagree!)

What’s your favourite way to eat mushrooms?

Big thanks to the Australian Mushroom Growers Association for sponsoring this post and recipe as part of their Summer Mushrooms campaign. Check out these sites for many more gorgeous summer mushroom ideas.

Summer salad days - with quinoa

Salads as a child tended to be the fairly dull wedges of iceberg lettuce, chunks of tomato and cucumber, with the occasional addition of some crisp green capsicum, slivers of red onion and a sprinkling of sprouts. Generally splashed with some vinaigrette. Vastly different from today. In fact, the only time I bought iceberg lettuce in recent years was when dad come for a visit as it was the only lettuce he liked. Having said that, the old iceberg is pretty good when drowned in a blue cheese dressing. Dad's favourite.

But I digress.

I was asked yesterday for some salad ideas that are more substantial than just a green salad. Two of my favourite ingredients for a salad are couscous and quinoa. And I generally use them interchangeably.

Quinoa salad

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is the seed of a pseudocereal (which means it comes from a broadleaf plant rather than a grass, which most grains come from) that originated in South America. It's gluten free, and it is a complete protein source as it has a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it a great alternative for coeliacs and vegetarians/vegans. It also tastes great - slightly nutty - and is delicious used as an alternative to oats in porridge or rice in creamed rice (yuk!) or as a savoury dish.

Quinoa is cooked in a similar fashion to rice - using the absorption method

Cooked quinoa has a white edge around it with a translucent centre

This salad is pretty simple, and can be either an accompaniment to meat or fish or a meal on its own.

What you need:

1 cup raw quinoa
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup of pepita seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped basil and/or Italian parsley (about a bunch)
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
1/2 bunch of asparagus, woody ends removed, cut into thirds
1 piece of preserved lemon, finely chopped (optional)
juice of a lemon
2 tablespoons of olive oil
cracked black pepper

What to do:

1. Cook the quinoa according to directions on the packet. Once cooked, put it into a large bowl to cool
2. Dry-fry the pepita and sunflower seeds - I just do this on the stove in a fry pan with no oil. It takes about 2 minutes, but be careful to watch them so they don't burn
3. Steam the asparagus - I do it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. 
4. Once the quinoa has cooled slightly, add all the other ingredients and mix together. 
5. Serve as part of a meal - I love it with BBQ chicken or lamb. 

This makes enough for 4 people as a meal or about 8 as a side. It tastes even better the next day. 

Beautiful orange balsamic (left) and blood orange olive oil (right)

Options:

I have made it before using leftover roast veggies (pumpkin, fennel and beetroot are particularly good), adding some fetta or goats cheese and olives, using flavoured olive oils (my current favourite is a beautiful blood orange oil I bought from the Black Pearl Epicure warehouse sale) or flavoured vinegars (again, a gorgeous bright orange balsamic vinegar also from Black Pearl). 

While I have listed this as a summer salad, it's also great in winter. 

What are your favourite summer salads?

New! Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices - and a competition {sponsored post}

Argh! What am I going to have for lunch! It's a frequent question I ask myself, generally around 11.30am. As I work from home I often have leftovers, or, even better, take the time to cook something yummy. But leftovers can sometimes be a bit boring {especially on the 3rd day...}. And I don't always have time or desire to cook. 


So when the lovely people at The Soup asked me if I wanted to try the new Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices, OF COURSE I said yes.

So. What are they like? Well, they are basically like regular Vita-Wheat biscuits on steroids! More than twice the size, and packed full of seeds and grains, they are a great alternative to bread for lunch.

I was sent sample packs of each of the four varieties - soy and linseed; sunflower, oats and chia; poppy, sunflower and rye; and sunflower, pumpkin and canola. I'd tell you my favourite but they are all pretty good! What I REALLY like is that I can pronounce all the ingredients. And yes, my grandmothers would have been familiar with them all too.

As well as sending me a bunch of samples, I've also been given a fabulous prize to give-away. This GREAT hamper will go to my reader who comes up with the most delicious sounding topping combo. So get your thinking caps on!

The prize!

To get you started, these are two of my favourites:

• avocado, smoked salmon, red onion and capers
• baba ganoush, leftover BBQ chicken and tomato

Baba ganoush, leftover BBQ chicken, tomato - I added a bit of lime salt. SO GOOD!

Avocado, smoked salmon, red onion rings and a couple of capers. 

So. To be in the running to win, tell me your favourite topping combo to go on the new Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices. The best answer will win the hamper of goodies. 

Competition closes at 5pm Brisbane time, Monday 24 October 2011. ENTER NOW! 

Read the fine print. 

P.S.  Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you if you want to enter the comp {so I can contact you if you win!} - either link to your website or email me mel AT melkettle.com.au 

Lentil-bol

I love lentils. And I really don't cook with them often enough. And I don't know why. They are easy to cook, cheap, full of fibre and other stuff nutritionists love, low in calories, and really, really yummy!

When I was a kid, mum used to always add lentils to her spag bol to add extra "goodness" and to make the mince go further. I say "goodness" because I really wasn't a lentil lover until probably my early 20s. However I did love her spag bol. Despite years of trying I've never been able to replicate the flavour. Maybe one day...

Anyway, this dish is my version of lentil-bol. Sans mince as I'm trying to cut down the amount of meat I eat.

Lentil-bol. All it needed was a glass of red!

Ingredients

• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
• 150g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 x 400g can of lentils, drained and rinsed
• 2 x 400g cans of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water or red wine
• dash of tabasco
• teaspoon or 2 of herbs/spices - I used chipotle spice, but you could use Italian herbs, paprika, cumin or whatever takes your fancy
• pasta {I like spaghetti or linguine or fettucine}
• parmesan cheese for serving

What you do

• Heat the oil in a medium-large frypan on medium heat
• Add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until pale {stir so it doesn't catch}
• Add the red pepper and mushroom and stir through for 2 minutes
• Add the lentils, tomatoes, water/red wine, tabasco and herbs and spices, stir to combine
• Lower the heat, cover the frypan and let the mixture simmer for 30-45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes or so
• About 10-15 minutes before you want to eat, cook the pasta according to directions. 
• Serve up and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top. 

This is even better a day or two after it's been made {I love it for lunch too}. It would be PERFECT with a glass of red, but as I'm trying to have 5 alcohol free days a week while I'm doing my 12 week body transformation challenge, I refrained. Yes, I know. Very unlike me.

This serves 4, and if you are doing the 12wbt, it's about 160 calories per serve - without the wine, pasta or parmesan {I know, I know, all the good stuff *sigh*}. Also very yummy served over a baked potato or sweet potato. 

What is your favourite way of eating lentils? 

Speedy asparagus tart

I was making sausage rolls on the weekend (yes, those lamb ones for those of you sampled them!) and found myself with 1 leftover sheet of puff pastry. I really didn't want to throw it out, so I had a quick forage in the fridge to see what else needed to be used up.

A few other bits and pieces later - the remnants of a container of ricotta, a couple of eggs almost at their best before date, a scrap of parmesan, a few cherry tomatoes and some gorgeous asparagus - and I had the makings of an easy-peasy tart.

Not my greatest photo - but you get the general gist of it!

Ingredients
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
3 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup of ricotta (I think I had something in between)
about 20g grated parmesan
1 bunch of asparagus - ends snapped off, rinsed
6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180c.

Place the puff pastry into a quiche or pie or flan dish - I used a long one that had a removable base. I needed to cut the pastry sheet to fit.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry (it won't look like a lot, but it will puff up when cooking).

Arrange the asparagus and cherry tomatoes on the eggy mixture.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Leave in the dish to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. You could serve it with a salad for a light lunch or dinner.

Option - to make the pastry base flakier you could pre-bake the pastry for 10-15 minutes. Cool slightly, then push the base down before you add the egg mixture. I was hungry so didn't bother pre-cooking the pastry, but the base pastry was a bit doughy. Next time I'll try not to be so impatient!

Do you have any "use up the leftovers" tricks?

Friday night pizza

Friday nights at our place, like many I suspect, can be a bit hit and miss with dinner. You know how it is, it's the end of the week, everyone's tired and a bit cranky, no one wants to cook or even make a decision about what to eat - and by 5pm all I'm normally thinking of is that big G&T or glass of red!

One of the foods that we all love (well, one of my favourite foods) is pizza. I have never been a big fan of the chain-store variety (you know the ones I'm talking about), and I find it a bit objectionable to pay $20 for a better quality but often soggy take away pizza. And I REFUSE to eat a frozen pizza.

Salami, mushroom, red pepper and bocconcini pizza

For the last couple of months we've been making pizza on a Friday night. Dough and all. It's easy and it's healthy (well, healthier than takeout pizza). And thanks to my thermomix, quick. AND since I realised you can freeze uncooked pizza dough, it's become even easier. Best of all, my stepson who is 9, and not known for his easy eating habits, LOVES it, helps make his own, and eats every mouthful. And that's a big win around here.

So, the recipe. Any basic pizza dough recipe will do, but I use:

Pizza dough
1 sachet dry yeast (make sure the use by date hasn't expired)
10g sugar or honey (a bit more than a tablespoon)
250ml warm water
3 tblsp olive oil
2tsp salt
500g plain flour (I use the '00' bakers flour but you could also use 100gm wholemeal and 400gm plain flour)

As I mentioned, I make this in a thermomix which takes about 3 minutes plus rising time, but the old fashioned way is easy too - just a bit slower!

• In a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar/honey, oil and about 1/3 water. Let it rest for a few minutes until it looks frothy
• Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle
• Add the wet mix to the flour mix and use your hands to mix it well together. Add more water and continue mixing until it comes together - you want it to be elastic but not sticky.
• Tip it onto a well floured bench and knead dough for about 10-15 minutes (this would be Mr 9's job if I didn't have a thermomix). Once it's quite pliable, roll it into a big ball, place it back in the large bowl, cut a cross in the top, cover with a tea towel and let it rise until it's 2-3 times the size (this can take 30-60 minutes depending on how warm it is) (see the pics below)

• Once risen, bash the dough down, knead for about 1-2 minutes, then shape into 4-6 balls (I prefer 6 so that it's a thinner and crispier base once I roll it out). To get even sized balls I roll the dough into a long sausage and cut it into 6 even looking pieces, then roll each (see the pics below)

The dough balls can now be frozen (I wrap them individually in Glad Go-between, then pop them all in a ziplock bag and into the freezer). This recipe is easily doubled, and the dough freezes well for up to 3 months. I defrost it on the bench - it takes about 30 minutes.

I pre-heat my oven to 230-250c and use a pre-heated pizza stone (I allow the stone to heat for about 15 minutes).

I usually make 1 pizza per person - whatever isn't eaten is even better the next day for breakfast.
To make the pizza, roll out each ball on a floured surface, place dough onto a piece of Glad Bake (I prefer to use a re-usable silicone sheet cut into the shape of the pizza stone so the pizza doesn't stick to the stone) cover with sauce and toppings, pop into the oven on a high heat (230-250c) and cook for until cheese has melted.

Tomato sauce
I often make my own tomato sauce too - it's pretty simple. I saute a couple of minced cloves of garlic, add a can of chopped tomatoes, simmer for about 15 minutes, add fresh (or dried) basil at the end. You can easily leave out the basil or add Italian seasoning, oregano or whatever you like.

Our favourite toppings are:

• tomato sauce, salami, mozzarella, BBQ sauce (Mr 9)
• tomato sauce, salami, mushroom, red pepper, mozzarella (hubby)
• tomato sauce, Italian sausage, mushroom, red pepper, bocconcini (me)
• tomato sauce, proscuitto, marinated artichoke hearts, bocconcini (also me)

What do you do on Friday nights for dinner? And, more importantly, what's your favourite pizza topping?

BBQ Salmon - a Good Friday feast!

I had been wanting to cook a whole salmon on the BBQ for quite a while and decided that Good Friday would be the way to go! We had a friend coming for a late afternoon BBQ, and knowing how much she loves salmon, thought she would be a good guinea pig!

So on Thursday morning I wandered down to Super Butcher at Eagle Farm (yes, they now sell fish - I was intrigued - I thought I'd give it a go as their meat has always been top quality). A 4.5kg salmon later, I was home.

As I quickly realised I had overestimated how many people 4.5kg of salmon would feed, I invited a few others for our Good Friday feast! Yes, it's very convenient my brother and his family live nearby - and that they are all salmon lovers!

What do to with it was the next challenge. I decided simple would be key.

I (well, hubby) had to de-head Mr Salmon as it was too big for the biggest serving platter I had. A quick rinse later, and he was ready to be stuffed with fresh lemon (from the backyard tree), fresh dill and Italian parsley. I also put lemon, dill and parsley under and on top of the salmon so the flavours would be absorbed through. A bit of pepper, salt and olive oil and it was ready. As I was cooking on the BBQ I wanted it to be well wrapped - I used a layer of non-stick baking paper, then a layer of alfoil.

I preheated the BBQ to about 180c, put the salmon on an upturned roasting tray (so it was a few cm away from the heat), turned off the middle two burners, and closed the hood. Approximately 1 hour later it was cooked.

I served the salmon with baked potatoes and a couple of easy salads. And of course a few bottles of white wine.

Chickpea Salad
I absolutely LOVE chickpeas - and most legumes - and am determined to eat more of them. This seemed like a good excuse!

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed well
1 red pepper, washed and chopped
1/2 red onion, peeled and chopped
150-200g cherry tomatoes
100g baby spinach leaves

Mix all together. Add a splash of olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and some cracked pepper to taste. Mix well.

Broadbean, rocket and feta salad
I had a packet of broadbeans in the freezer that I bought to make a feta and broadbean dip. However, as another friend was bringing nibbles, I thought I'd use those ingredients in a salad instead. My sister-in-law Emma gave me the inspiration for this, as she makes practically the same salad but with peas (which I think came from a Jamie Oliver book originally). Anyway, it tasted pretty good, and I'll now be adding broadbeans to a lot more salads! Even though I underestimated the time it would take to peel them - talk about fiddly!

2 cups of frozen broadbeans, cooked according to packet and peeled
100g rocket (arugula)
100g feta cheese, crumbled

Place all in a bowl, add a splash of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, cracked black pepper, and toss to combine.

The whole meal was delicious - but as we didn't even manage to eat half the salmon, I'm looking for some creative solutions for what to do with the rest of it!