Sainsbury's are wanting to inspire the nation to be more
creative with their vegetables after seeing a massive upturn in the sales of
vegetables. Leading the way are avocado with sales up 147%, asparagus spears up 118%, broccoli up 40%,
courgettes up 30% and bunched beetroot up 25%.
Sainsbury's has teamed up with raw vegan food artist and Instagrammer Amber Locke to create some gorgeous summer salads using seasonal vegetables and we were challenged to have a go at creating our own.
My daughter Megan has a plant based diet and is very creative when it comes to making delicious raw salads and vegan meals. So I enlisted her help to make a delicious salad using an array of seasonal salad vegetables, combining some wonderful flavours, colours and textures.
Megan's salad plate featured sundried tomato falafel; raw lemon, chilli, courgette &
almond salad; lime, carrot, coriander & toasted cashew salad; tomato, avocado, spring onion & cucumber salsa with walnuts and home made houmous with smoky paprika. Everything is made from scratch and tastes delicious, making the most of the fresh salad vegetables available. The recipes are simple, but the combinations are full of flavour with zingy citrus or the heat of chilli to bring out the taste.
Carrot, Coriander and Toasted Cashew Salad
3 medium grated carrots
grated juice and zest of a lime
chopped fresh coriander
sprinkle of chilli flakes
small handful of toasted cashew nuts
salt and pepper
Pop the grated carrot, zest, juice, coriander and chilli flakes into a bowl and mix together. Season with s & p and sprinkle over the toasted cashews.
Lemon, Courgette, Chilli and Almond Salad
1 large courgette
juice and zest of one lemon
half a red, deseeded, chopped chilli
small handful of flaked almonds
salt and pepper
Use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons of courgette. Mix with the juice, zest and the chilli. Season with s & p and sprinkle over the nuts.
Tomato, Avocado, Spring Onion & Cucumber Salsa
4 tomatoes - various colours
1 ripe avocodo
half a cucumber
4 spring onions
chopped fresh coriander
chopped walnuts
one teaspoon each of lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar and olive oil
salt and pepper
Chop the tomato, avocado and cucumber into small cubes. Slice the spring onions thinly. Combine together with the coriander, the dressing ingredients, salt and pepper. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the salsa.
Serving these salads with some home made falafel, houmous and some Romaine lettuce leaves makes a lovely, summer meal for four, packed with health giving vitamins and minerals.