everything over a few times with a spoon so that it all gets covered in the dressing.
If possible leave for an hour or so; this softens the cabbage and gives the flavours a chance to blend. Stir in the nuts just before serving.
Cabbage salad with mint and pomegranate
This salad is so pretty: pale cabbage with shiny ruby pomegranate seeds glinting among the bright green mint.
SERVES 4
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g (1lb) white cabbage, coarsely grated or finely shredded
1 pomegranate
3–4 sprigs of mint, to garnish
Put the chopped mint, honey, vinegar, oil and some salt and pepper into a large bowl and mix together to form a dressing.
Add the cabbage and mix thoroughly, so that it gets well coated with the sweet herb dressing.
Leave for at least 1 hour, so that the cabbage softens a little and absorbs all the flavours.
Just before you want to serve the salad, cut the pomegranate in two and, holding one half over a plate to catch the juice, bend the fruit backwards to make the seeds pop out, helped as necessary with the point of a sharp knife.
Add the pomegranate juice to the salad, and stir in some of the seeds. Then tip the salad out on to a large flat plate and decorate with the mint sprigs and remaining pomegranate seeds. Serve as soon as possible, while the pomegranate is bright and sparkling.
VARIATION
Sweet cabbage salad with lovage
Make as described, using chopped fresh lovage instead of mint. The pungent, aromatic flavour of lovage along with the sweet dressing makes this salad deliciously different. Lovage is not easy to find in the shops, but if you have the space to grow it, it’s easy because it comes up every year.
A great veggie Caesar
Caesar salad, with its sweet, crisp leaves, creamy mayonnaise dressing, cheese and croûtons, seems like a great vegetarian salad, except that often it isn’t. The mayonnaise may have Worcestershire sauce in it; there may be anchovies in the salad, and Parmesan cheese is not vegetarian. But it is possible to make a great veggie Caesar with Tabasco, capers and gherkins to pep up the mayonnaise, and Parmesan-style cheese or hard vegetarian pecorino to take the place of Parmesan.
SERVES 4
1 Cos lettuce, washed and torn into large bite-sized pieces
FOR THE DRESSING
6 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
a few drops of Tabasco or hot chilli sauce
125g (4oz) pecorino or Parmesan-style cheese, flaked with a potato peeler or coarsely grated
2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed (or rinsed and drained if preserved in salt)
1–2 small gherkins, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE CROUTONS
2–4 slices of bread olive oil, for frying
Put the lettuce into a salad bowl.
Mix the mayonnaise with the lemon juice, garlic and enough Tabasco or hot chilli sauce to give it a pleasant kick. Add half the cheese, the capers and the gherkins, and add to the bowl with the lettuce. Scatter the rest of the cheese on top and season to taste with pepper and a little salt if necessary.
To make the croûtons, fry the slices of bread in olive oil in a frying pan, until they are crisp and golden, turning them to fry the each side. Cut the fried bread into pieces and add to the salad bowl. Toss the salad and eat at once.
Celeriac remoulade
Celeriac, that knobbly root with the delicious celery flavour, makes a classic, creamy salad. I like it with some lovely bright green watercress. It’s also delicious in a lighter, vinaigrette dressing (see the variation).
SERVES 4
450g (1lb) celeriac
6 tbsp mayonnaise: homemade or good-quality bought
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
Peel the celeriac and cut into quarters, then grate coarsely.
Put the grated celeriac into a bowl with the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, sugar, salt and a good grinding of black pepper, and mix well.
If possible, leave it for 30 minutes or so to give the celeriac a chance to soak up the flavour of the dressing, then serve.
VARIATION
Celeriac vinaigrette v
Grate the celeriac as described, then mix with vinaigrette, so that it is all coated and glossy with the dressing. This is good with plenty of pepper added; you could grind it in, or add ½–1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper from a jar, or crushed using a pestle and mortar.
Chicory and walnut salad v
If you can get red chicory, this salad is lovely made with half red and half white; otherwise just use white chicory. Either way, it’s crisp and refreshing.
SERVES 4–6
350g (12oz) white chicory
350g (12oz) red chicory
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or half walnut oil and half olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt
