SALAD HANDS RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. I think it’s quite nice to have different shapes and sizes in a salad, so cut your medium tomato into wedges, halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the beef tomato into large rounds. Put all the tomatoes into a large salad bowl. Slice the onion very finely so it’s wafer thin and add to the tomatoes. Scratch a fork down the sides of the cucumber so it leaves deep grooves in the skin, then cut it into thick slices. Deseed your pepper, slice it into rings and add them to the salad along with the cucumber.
  2. Roughly chop the dill and most of the mint leaves, reserving the smaller ones for garnish. Add the chopped herbs to the bowl of salad, then squeeze your handful of olives over so they season the vegetables, then drop them in.
  3. Add a pinch of sea salt, the vinegar and the extra virgin olive oil. Quickly toss everything together with your hands. The minute all those flavours start working with the veg is when the magic starts to happen. Have a taste, and adjust the flavours if need be.
  4. To serve, pop the block of feta right on the top of the salad. Sprinkle the oregano over the top along with the reserved mint leaves, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and take it straight to the table. It’s confident and scruffy with a bit of attitude. Delicious.
  5. PS I’ve been known to pop leftover Greek salad into a liquidizer with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a few ice cubes, then blitz it up to a smooth consistency so it's basically a Greek gazpacho. It’s not a classic thing to do, but it is very delicious, not to mention a great way of using up leftovers!

Steps:

• 1. Shred the brown turkey meat into thin strips using your fingers and put it into a dry pan over a medium heat.
  2. Add the cashew nuts, dried cranberries and Chinese five-spice, give it all a good stir, then let it toast away while you get on with your salad, shaking the pan occasionally to stop it from catching.
  3. Pick the mint and most of the coriander leaves into a bowl, then add the salad leaves and toss together.
  4. For the dressing, peel, finely grate and add the onion to a small bowl.
  5. Squeeze in the clementine and lime juice, then halve the pomegranate and squeeze half through your fingers to catch any seeds. Pour in three times as much extra virgin olive oil.
  6. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Peel and coarsely grate the ginger, then squeeze all the juice into the bowl, discarding the pulp.
  7. Give the dressing a good stir, and have a taste – if you want a little more salt, add a splash more soy. If you want more acid, add another squeeze of lime juice.
  8. Drizzle over enough dressing to coat the salad leaves, then use your hands to toss and dress them. Deseed and finely chop the chilli.
  9. Drizzle the honey into the pan with the turkey meat and stir through until coated. Turn the heat up to full whack for the last few seconds to really crisp up the meat mixture.
  10. At this point, make sure your guests are all at the table and ready to eat so you can serve the salad as soon as the hot meat hits the salad leaves. Toss half of the pan-fried ingredients through the salad leaves and transfer to a serving platter.
  11. Spoon the remaining nuts, cranberries and crispy meat over the top of the salad and add another drizzle of dressing.
  12. Hold the remaining pomegranate half over the salad and gently smack it with a wooden spoon so that the seeds tumble out over the salad.
  13. Garnish with a nice sprinkling of fresh red chilli, and the remaining coriander leaves and serve right away.