The Super Simple Salad School

This is the Super Simple Salad School of LCHFLondon. Find quick and simple versions of salads for your dinner and your lunch as well.
I will inspire you to make these delicious salads every day. Nothing less. Freshly and homemade salad is on my table every day.
An important thing is to change your salad a little every day. Otherwise you’ll not see the beauty of washing veggies on the long run.

Apply a little special treatment every day that makes it so much more than just a side. And it’s easy, once you read this post. I divide the salad theme into veggies and combinations, and dressings and finally tips for preparing it all.

The Super Simple Salad School

First of all, identify your favourite veggies and then ensure always to have some of those in your fridge. If you don’t have any favourites yet, your adventure starts here. Making these salads is not rocket science. Find your favourites and make them delicious in a salad every day. You’ll discover that in the end the meat and fish might become your side dishes instead.

Veggies and combinations

I love spinach, avocado, cauliflower, pointed cabbage, red cabbage, salad onions, tomatoes, cucumber, watercress, rocket salad, endivie and many more herbs, leaves and vegetables. You can put fruits and berries in your salad as long as it’s small amounts due to keeping the carb content low.
Use strawberries,  blackberries, blueberries, apple or orange.  It is fantastic to add lemon juice, coriander leaves, parsley and mint to your salad. These are my favourite combinations, but you can find your own;

1. avocado, apple, spinach, pointed cabbage sliced on a mandolin
2. avocado, orange, onions, tomato
3. cauliflower, parsley, lemon juice, fennel, tomatoes
4. fennel, pear, radish
5. watercress, tomatoes, cucumber, blueberries
6. rocket, cauliflower, apple, salad onions
7. red cabbage, orange, fennel, radish, parsley
8. tomatoes, onions, rocket, strawberries
9. cauliflower, parsley, basil
10. red cabbage, apple, spring onion
11. avocado, rocket, cucumber, blueberries
12. watercress, rocket, cauliflower, lemon zest
13. pepper bells, avocado, orange, red cabbage
14. chicory, capers and green sauce

Possible addings to the salads above

1. boiled eggs and/or goat cheese
2. any cheese or salmon
3. chorizo
4. small whole tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese
5. boiled eggs, salmon
6. boiled eggs and/or tuna
7. roasted pine nuts
8. pecan nuts, mozarella
9. capers
10. walnuts, lemon zest, feta cheese
11. smooth goat cheese
12. strawberries, blueberries, pine nuts, walnuts or pecan nuts
13. capers, feta cheese

There are many more options, which is why you will discover a lot of miracles when you are comfortable making your own salads. If you fancy olives, buy the best quality, and add these to you favourite salad. They go specifically with tomatoes and cheese.

Dressings

I only use extra virgin olive oil. I use the best balsamic, which is old, and sweet and thick, It is expensive but you could consider it as a bottle of wine or champagne and it lasts for a long time. You won’t regret when you have first started this habit, it is sunshine on your salad, believe me!’

For a basic dressing, use 100 ml of olive oil, 30 ml of balsamic, 20 ml lemon or lime juice, a little Dijon mustard, and flake salt. Shake it all well together, and discover your own final mixture. Add a little more balsamico or a drop of fluid honey. It’s your taste that matters.
You can stir this olive with yogurt or cream also to make the dressing more rich.

Tips & Tricks

• The veggies might be too fresh and too artificially matured. To soften to process, put salt on your sliced onions, leave them for an hour. Add vinegar and salt to your sliced cabbage, and leave for an hour or two. Drain and mix with the other ingredients.
• Avocados should always be opened, sliced or mashed only just before served. Otherwise they would quickly change colour. You can drizzle with lemon juice to prevent the oxidation.
• It’s important to style the salad. Ensure variation of colours, and also be sure the veggies are tasty. If they taste like nothing, they are of bad quality and not worthy for your precious life.
• Use a mandolin to slice the veggies very thinly. They will absorb more oil which is important for the healthy fat intake. I use a mandolin a couple of times during a week as I also fancy the more chunky salads.

The salads should always contain both sweetness from the ingredients, sourness, savoury taste, and offer soft and crunchy items. Enjoy!