Food

Simple Salads

SALADS HAVE PROBABLY BECOME MY VERY FAVOURITE TYPE OF DISH TO PREPARE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AND I SEEM TO HAVE GATHERED A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF RECIPES!

By Belinda Prince

Belinda, the ‘Accidental Chatelaine’ loves to cook at any opportunity and is delighted to be able to share that love with you

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They are great all year round, using seasonal vegetables, grains, pulses, rice and pasta, maybe some cheese, crispy bacon, chicken or chopped ham. And then, my favourite part – the dressing, a seemingly endless array of tasty oils, vinegars, lemon or lime juice, shallots, garlic, capers, gherkins, herbs and spices, combined together to make the salad ingredients sing with flavour. When I 'retired' from my full time London career 10 years ago, I was looking around for something to do and hit upon the idea of starting a food business; after all, I loved any opportunity to cook. It was more complex than it sounded, involved hard work, and most certainly didn’t make me rich, but I did learn all about salads. My initial business research led me to checking out local farmers' markets in my part of Kent and specifically to the big twice-monthly market in Tunbridge Wells. When I enquired about having a stall at the market, they asked what my product was and I simply asked back what it was they could do with. It was my luck that the 'Salad Lady' had just given up her business and so I became the new 'Salad Lady' there and at several other local markets in the surrounding towns and villages. A great accompaniment for chili con carne

Pomegranate and Pear Salsa

Ingredients (Serves 4-6) 3 firm ripe pears, cored and diced 1 shallot, finely chopped ½ pomegranate, seeded Sea salt & pepper Small handful of coriander, roughly chopped 1-2 juicy limes 4tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Combine the pears, shallot, pomegranate seeds and any pomegranate juice in a bowl. Season with plenty of sea salt and ground black pepper, taste before adding the coriander. 2. Finely grate the zest of the limes and add the lime juice (to your taste). Add to the bowl and drizzle over the olive oil. Combine together and serve. Add a finely chopped chilli or sprinkle on some dried red chillies if you like a bit of a kick!

New Potato Salad with Peas and Caper Dressing

Ingredients (Serves 4-6) 1kg new potatoes, halved if necessary. 200g frozen peas or petit pois 4 salad onions, finely chopped Dressing 6tbsp olive oil 1 clove of garlic, crushed 1tbsp white wine vinegar 2tsps Dijon mustard 1tbsp capers, finely chopped Salt & freshly ground black pepper 1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 1015 minutes until tender, adding the peas for the last 2-3 minutes. While the potatoes and peas are cooking, make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a screw top jar and shaking until thoroughly combined. Drain the vegetables and mix in the onions and dressing while still warm. 2. Dress with parsley, dill or other fresh herbs of your choice. Serve at room temperature.

Cabbage Slaw

Delicious with cold meats, bread and chutney! Ingredients (Serves 8-10) ½ head red cabbage, thinly slice ½ head white cabbage, thinly sliced 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced 2 carrots, coarsely grated Optional: - Small handful sesame seeds, lightly toasted Small handful nigella or black onion seeds - Handful mint, chopped - Handful coriander, chopped Dressing 2tbsps natural or Greek yoghurt 1tsp wholegrain mustard 1tsp Dijon mustard ½ lemon, rind and juice Glug of red or white wine vinegar

Method

1. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients and season to taste. 2. Put all the vegetables in a large serving bowl, pour over the dressing and mix together with the seeds. 3. Scatter herbs (if using) and serve!

Great barbecue salad or vegetarian main course Moroccan Aubergine and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients (Serves 4-6) 2 aubergines 2/3 tbsp olive oil 400g chickpeas, tinned Large bunch of fresh coriander, chopped 1 red onion, finely chopped Dressing 1tsp paprika 1tsp ground cumin 1tsp clear honey 1 lemon, rind and juice 4tbsp olive oil 1. Thickly slice the aubergines, brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper and either grill or griddle until browned. Turn them over, brush and season again, then cook until tender (about 8-10 mins). Cut each slice into 3 or 4 pieces of roughly equal size. 2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and tip into a bowl with the aubergine, coriander and red onion. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a screw top jar, shake well, then use to dress the salad.

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We are so excited for this year’s line up of events and to see you all here. Campsite is also open for overnight stops!

- DATES FOR YOUR DIARY -

Sat 19 June - Live Music - My Generation. Our great house band kick start the season! 12€ Fish & Chip menu including dessert LAKE SETTING Sat 26 June - Quiz Night. 12€ Fish & Chip menu including dessert & quiz entry fee Sat 10 July - Live Music - No Direction, the fantastically entertaining band are back! Wed 14 July - Fête Nationale - Live Music - The incredible Merlin with the STIFF band 7 Aug - Music Festival. We hope this can go ahead this summer! (Confirmation to be advised.) lerepos