Winter salad ideas
Grilled haloumi cheese is a perfect last-minute addition to top any salad. Heat a lightly flavoured olive or grapeseed oil in a frying pan until medium hot. Slice the cheese thickly, reduce the heat and fry on both sides until golden with a melting centre. Place on top of the salad and serve immediately.
For extra crunch and texture, roast a handful of hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, pine nuts, peanuts or cashews, then scatter over any vegetable salad.
Large, healthy salads are a great way to cut down on meat consumption. Just 100g of quickly pan-fried beef fillet, lamb backstrap, chicken breast, venison loin or duck breast, sliced very thinly, can be added to a hearty salad for those who want more protein.
Eight- or nine-minute boiled eggs are another tasty way to add protein to a salad. Use one egg per person. When sliced in half, eggs add colour, too. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Peel the potato, carrot, parsnip and kumara, then cut into 3-4cm chunks.
Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into a roasting dish, then add the vegetables, cumin and salt and toss until well coated. Grind over some black pepper, then roast the vegetables in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the edges are crisp and golden.
Remove the dish from the oven and place the vegetables in a serving dish. In a separate pan, heat the remaining oil and toss in the cabbage with a little extra salt. Cook for no more than 2 minutes, tossing constantly. It should still be crunchy.
To finish the salad, toss the cabbage with the roast vegetables, then top with the crumbled feta and pine nuts.
Make the dressing by shaking the ingredients together in a jar until they form an emulsion. Drizzle it over the salad and finish with the parsley.
Serves 4.
Wine match: a lighter-style pinot noir.