6 classic salads – reinvented

Roast lemon and baked feta Greek-style salad

Feta is great served hot and the caramelised lemon is sticky and delicious. Don’t forget to salt the tomatoes to intensify their flavour. Try the roast lemon and baked feta Greek-style salad recipe here.

Coconut-and-coriander three-potato salad

A good old potato salad is a South African summer staple. I used three varieties, each with their own shape, flavour and texture, and the coconut-and-yoghurt dressing is beyond! Mayo may be good for a potato salad. but coconut cream and yoghurt are so much better! Try the coconut-and-coriander three-potato salad recipe here.

The new Cobb-style salad platter with beetroot dressing

DID YOU KNOW, COBB SALAD WAS MADE IN HOLLYWOOD? Restaurant owner Robert Cobb invented this in 1937 when he felt peckish after closing time at The Brown Derby in Los Angeles. The combo of chopped Romaine lettuce, avo, watercress, tomatoes, cold chicken breast, a hard-boiled egg, chives, cheese, crispy bacon and French dressing, presented unmixed, tasted so good he put it on the menu. It became a Hollywood favourite, with the likes of movie mogul Jack Warner often sending his chauffeur to pick up a takeaway.

This recipe merges the yogi bowl with the iconic Cobb salad. Both usually have styled sections of individual ingredients – mix and match as you please! Try the new Cobb-style salad platter with beetroot dressing recipe here .

Waldorf slaw with tahini dressing

“WALDORF SALAD, FAWLTY!” The beleagured Basil’s salad nemesis started life at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in 1896 when the maître d’, Oscar Tschirky,dressed chopped apples and celery in mayonnaise – for the grand opening. Grapes and chopped walnuts came later but we’re using pistachios and fennel, #justsaying.

What better way to revamp a New York classic? Use yoghurt for mayo, fennel rather than celery and pistachios in place of walnuts. Try the Waldorf slaw with tahini dressing recipe here .

Niçoise-style salad with blackened trout

The classic, with its origins in Nice, has plenty of garlic, tomatoes and anchovies – sometimes tuna. This version uses trout instead.

COOL BEANS! You can now buy frozen edamame beans from Woolies, which are supplied exclusively by a community development and job empowerment project in KwaZulu-Natal Edamame beans are young soya beans in their pods, commonly eaten in Japan, China and Korea. And we’re growing them in SA! The Newlands Mashu Community Development Centre has been working with emerging farmers, in partnership with commercial growers and academic research institutions, to make these legumes (which contain high-quality protein), available locally. Approximately 500 jobs have been created by the project and 100 small growers have been trained, mentored and supported. Snack on them, or add to soups, salads and noodle and rice dishes. edamame.co.za
Try the Niçoise-style salad with blackened trout recipe here.

Crunchy fried chicken with buttermilk Caesar-style dressing

I’LL HAVE THE CAESAR. ET TU, BRUTUS? Restaurateur Caesar Cardini threw this one together in 1924 over the Fourth of July weekend at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. A rash of Americans who’d crossed the border to party (this was the Prohibition era, folks), meant his kitchen was running low on supplies. A master of improvisation, Caesar tossed romaine lettuce with croutons, then dressed an otherwise meagre dish with Parmesan, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcester sauce, garlic and black pepper. Genius. His brother later added the anchovies, which set the new standard.

Crunchy chicken is the best twist to this classic. Save time and use Woolies’ chicken schnitzels. Try the crunchy fried chicken with buttermilk Caesar-style dressing recipe here.

Discover more salad recipes here.