A Salad Day

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a competition from the publishers Kyle Books. The prize was a place on the Sensational Salads - Love Your Leaves class at Caldesi's Kitchen in Gerards Cross, and a signed copy of the book Around The World in Salads - 120 Ways to Love Your Leaves by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi.

The book arrived almost immediately, and was crammed with delicious sounding recipes very much in tune with the way we like to eat, since we have so many lovely seasonal vegetables, herbs and salads in the garden, so I was really looking forward to the day.

The class took place in the kitchen of Katie and Giancarlo's house, where we were made to feel very welcome and at home. Cookery days I have been to before have included lots of formal teaching with participants working, singly or in pairs, at separate workstations, following step by step demonstrations, but this course was much more relaxed and informal - the nine participants and Katie worked together around a large table, creating all the dishes together. So one person would be shredding cabbage while another was skinning chicken and another making mayonnaise. I loved the relaxed atmosphere of the day that gave us lots of opportunity to chat and to share our passion for food.  We also had the chance to try some rather more unusual kitchen gadgets, such as Vietnamese cabbage slicer and vegetable shredders, and an American lime press (apparently essential for making margheritas) so I've added a few ideas to my wants list!

The session ended with us sitting down together and enjoying the dishes we had created, along with a glass or two of wine for the non-drivers. Those dishes were

Sea Bream, Grape and Celery Ceviche

 

Vietnamese Shredded Chicken and Cabbage Salad

 

Romaine Caesar salad with candied walnuts

 

Baby cress and toasted almond salad with buttermilk dressing - ooops, I forgot to take a photo of this!

 

Whole lettuce salad with gorgonzola dolce and hot bacon vinaigrette

 

 

Chicken shawarma, lettuce and coriander salad with lemon crème fraiche

 

Roast black fruit salad with amaretto and cashew lime cream

 





 

 

Every morsel was delicious, and better still for me, every single dish was suitable for me as a diabetic. I'm looking forward to re-creating these dishes at home - and to making many more of the recipes from the book.