There is nothing worse than being virtuous, getting a salad for your lunch, and being starving fewer than three hours later is there? After all, what's the point of having a meal at all if it's not going to sustain you until your next one?
Sadly, when it comes to salad recipes, all too often the creators forget the one thing that fills you up: the carbs. Yes, it's all very well having the finest chard and kale and bok choi for lunch, but if those greens aren't coming with a hefty dose of grains, pulses or bread, they're not going to cut it
Luckily, new book Salad Feasts by Jessica Elliott Dennison, a café owner, supper club runner and food stylist (she's got a lovely Instagram unsurprisingly), is all about salads that work for you. Think big, hearty, multi-ingredient salads which are perfect to make for lunch and keep you going all week.
We've chosen some of the best vegan options from her book for you to try at home. Click through to find the recipes.
Salad Feasts: How To Assemble The Perfect Meal by Jessica Elliott Dennison is available from 12th July, published by Hardie Grant
Mushroom and Rosemary Wild Rice with Crispy Kale and Garlic
Time: 25 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
300g wild rice
1/2 vegetable, chicken or beef stock cube (optional)
200g kale
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
40g blanched hazelnuts (see tip)
400g mushrooms (ideally chestnut or wild mushrooms)
3-4 large sprigs rosemary, leaves only
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
30g dried cranberries or sour cherries
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
1. First, preheat the oven to 180°C. Next, add the rice to a medium pan and top up with three times the volume of water. Crumble in the stock cube, if using, then bring to the boil and simmer over a medium-high heat for the time stated on the packet (around 18-20 minutes). Once cooked, refresh under cold water and drain.
2. Meanwhile, wash the kale under cold water and pat dry. Tear the leaves away from the tough stems and discard. Shred the kale into 1 cm strips then add to a large roasting tray. Rub in 1 tablespoon of the oil and the salt then roast in a single layer for 7 minutes. (If the kale is overcrowded in the tray, it will steam rather than roast, so split across two if your trays are small.)
3. Roughly crush the hazelnuts then add to one corner of the tray. Gently toss the kale then roast for a further 3-4 minutes until crisp and the hazelnuts are beginning to turn golden and release their natural oils. Set aside.
4. Put a large frying pan over a high heat while you chop the mushrooms – thickly slice some, quarter others and leave any small mushrooms whole. Add to the hot pan along with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil and cook for 6 minutes, stirring now and again. (You want to let the mushrooms colour and catch to build up flavour rather than sweating and steaming them.)
5. Finely chop the rosemary, reduce the pan heat to low and add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Fry for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and add the garlic to cook in the residual heat, stirring frequently so that it doesn’t burn.
6. Stir the cranberries, lemon zest and juice and rice into the mushrooms then gently toss. Scatter with the kale and hazelnuts to finish.
Tip: Don’t worry if your hazelnuts aren’t blanched. Just rub the nuts between some sheets of kitchen paper when they come out of the oven. This will wipe away most of the papery skins.
Photographed by Matt Russell
Braised Olive Puy Lentil Casarecce with Garlic, Lemon and Radicchio
Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
200g casarecce pasta
180g jarred pitted kalamata olives in brine (drained weight)
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2-1 tsp chilli flakes
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
2 1/2 tsp sugar (ideally brown)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 sprigs rosemary, washed
3 garlic cloves
1 lemon
250g sachet precooked puy lentils
1 small radicchio
Instructions
1. First, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Carefully add the pasta then boil over a high heat for the time stated on the packet (around 10-12 minutes) until al dente then drain. Reserve a mugful of the cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the olives then add to a large frying pan along with the oil. Place over a medium heat then add 1/2 teaspoon of chilli, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, the sugar, vinegar and rosemary (whole sprigs). Peel and bash the garlic then add to the pan. Using a speed peeler, create thin strips of lemon zest (avoid the bitter white pith) and add to the pan along with the juice of half the lemon. If the olives look to be drying out at any point, splash in some of the pasta cooking water to help them braise.
3. Stir the cooked pasta into the olives along with the lentils. Remove any tired-looking outer leaves from the radicchio then finely shred and stir through the pasta. Increase the heat to high for 1 minute then remove. Have a little taste to check the seasoning. Depending on how naturally salty your olives are, you may want to add more salt, lemon juice or chilli flakes. Remove the woody rosemary stalks then serve warm or at room temperature.
Photographed by Matt Russell
Cherry, Almond and Baked Pitta with Pomegranate, Chickpeas and Mint
Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 pitta or flatbreads (white or wholemeal)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground sumac
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp sea salt flakes
50g almonds
400g tin chickpeas in water, rinsed and drained
200g cherries, stones removed and roughly chopped
Large bunch (30g) flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Small bunch (20g) mint, roughly chopped
130g radishes, sliced
2 large ripe tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 small cucumber, deseeded and roughly chopped
For the dressing
1 small garlic clove
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
Juice of 1/2-1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground sumac
Instructions
1. First, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). Open out the pitta, then tear bitesize pieces into a baking tray and rub with the oil, sumac, cumin and salt. Bake for 7 minutes then remove, give the tray a shake, add the almonds and bake for another 3 minutes until the bread and almonds are golden. (Keep an eye on them in the oven as I find oven temperatures and cooking times really vary.)
2. Transfer to a plate to cool.
3. Peel and crush the garlic into a large mixing bowl then stir in the molasses, juice of half the lemon, the oil and sumac. Slice the cooled almonds into slivers then tip into the bowl along with the chickpeas, baked pitta and remaining chopped ingredients. Toss gently to evenly coat in the dressing then check the seasoning; you may want to squeeze in the remaining lemon half. Serve immediately while the pitta is still nice and crunchy.
Photographed by Matt Russell
Sticky Pomegranate Beetroot with Pistachio Freekeh and Chickpeas
Time: 35 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
200g freekeh or bulgur wheat
1 1/4-1 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
600g bunch beetroots
60g shelled pistachios
Large bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
400g tin chickpeas in water, rinsed and drained
30g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
3 1/2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
100g prepacked pomegranate seeds or 1 small pomegranate (optional)
Instructions
1. First, bring a medium pan of water to the boil. Add the freekeh and 1 teaspoon of salt then simmer for the time stated on the packet until tender (around 15 minutes). Rinse under plenty of cold water and set aside to drain completely.
2. Meanwhile, wearing rubber gloves, peel and trim the beetroots then cut into quarter wedges (any smaller ones can be halved). Put in a large pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil then simmer for around 25 minutes or until tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Drain in a colander then return to the pan.
3. While the beetroot is cooking, toast the pistachios in a dry frying pan over a high heat for 1-2 minutes to release their natural oils. Transfer to the corner of your chopping board and allow to cool. Put the parsley in a large bowl along with the drained freekeh and half the oil. Slice a cheek/side off the lemon and chop really finely, then add to the bowl along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Toss the chickpeas through the dressed freekeh then check the seasoning; you may need to add more salt.
4. Add the ginger to the beetroot pan along with the molasses, a squeeze of the lemon and the remaining oil. Heat the pan over a high heat for 1 minute and gently toss to coat the beetroot in the glossy, syrupy juices.
5. Transfer the dressed freekeh to a large platter then tip over the beetroot and syrupy juices. If using, scatter over the pomegranate seeds to finish.
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