It does occassionally feel like summer here in London, it is June now so it really should! Every now and again, the rain stops and the temperature creeps up. Being England, you have to seize the moment. Every spare inch of grass is taken up with bare and reddening bodies, and I make salad! To be fair, I make salads regardless of the weather. I love them. For dinner, with dinner, or as a snack between meals - I find you can't go wrong.
I've called this one warm green salad because my first thought looking at this bowl is green. Let me be clear, this is not your typical, insipid green salad. (At the risk of sounding like an M&S advert...) This is a green salad with a difference. A hearty, healthy bowl of goodness. Recently, I experimented with a warm salad/side of courgettes dressed with a orange and honey as well as some toasted hazelnuts and this was the inspiration for the salad I'm sharing today. The dressing is quite possibly the favourite thing about this salad - olive oil, honey, orange juice, garlic and chilli. Each mouthful gives a slightly different flavour, bringing out different aspects of the salad.
Anyway, let's get down to business. This makes enough for one pretty filling portion.
Ingredients
- 1 courgette, made into ribbons
- 3-4 new potatoes, sliced into 1cm rings
- 100g spinach
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
- 30g hazelnuts, toasted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp honey
1. Use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons from the courgette. You could do this with a knife if you have impressive knife skills and more patience than me. Gently fry the ribbons in a little oil until soft and vibrantly green.
2. Boil the new potatoes in cold water for 5-7 minutes until they can be easily pierced by a knife. You want them to be cooked but not to fall apart. Drain and set aside.
3. Mix together the oil, orange juice, garlic, chilli and honey. This is your dressing, leave it to one side for now.
4. Now to construct the salad. Put the spinach into a large flat-ish bowl or plate. Scatter over the new potatoes and the courgette ribbons. Next add the sliced avocado then drizzle the dressing everywhere, making sure it will trickle down to reach the spinach. Finally, sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts. Then enjoy.