RECIPE: Summery salads

I hope you are all managing to get hold of food supplies regularly now - whether you are going to the shops or staying at home, supplies still seem to be unpredictable. However one thing we're now doing really well for is fruit and veg, thanks to a local supplier who is delivering boxes to the Fleet, Farnham and Hook area (If you are in that area and want details, drop me an email for details) so that every week we can get something like this delivered: 

Of course unlike a bigger box scheme, we can't choose the contents or quantities, which means  that by the end of the week there are bits and pieces to use up, so I decided to make some home-made burgers and, instead of chips and buns, make a selection of side salads using a mixture of store cupboard items and veg box odds and ends. 

The first salad was a simple tomato salad with lots of chopped chives from the garden - I'm not going to tell you how to do that!  Here is how I made the others - I have not given exact quantities for most of them as it really depends what you have to hand: 

Potato and Hazelnut salad 

I halved about 300g small potatoes and boiled them until cooked, then drained them and while still hot, stirred in 2 tablespoons of hazelnut oil and 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile I roughly chopped 60g of hazelnuts and roasted them in a hot oven for about 7 minutes, then sprinkled them with salt. I mixed the potatoes and nuts together just before serving. 

Walnuts and walnut oil would work well too, or any nut with a light olive oil. And the sherry vinegar could be any vinegar from your cupboard. 

Avocado, corn and bean salad

Toss together 1 sliced avocado, ½ tin red kidney beans, rinsed and drained, ½ small tin sweetcorn,  drained, and a few leaves of coarsely shredded lettuce. Drizzle with lime juice just before serving.  I added a few black olives too but they really didn't add anything to the dish so I wouldn't bother with them next time. 

This is delicious as a side for chilli con carne. 

Fruity slaw 

Finely shred white cabbage (I used about ¼ of a cabbage), grated or julienned carrot (I used half of a huge one) and enough mayonnaise to moisten,  then stir in a handful of  sultanas or raisins and a small tin of mandarin oranges in juice, drained. 

I made the burgers by mixing minced beef,  very finely chopped onions,  half a teaspoon each of dried oregano, ground mace and ground cumin with enough breadcrumbs to hold the mixture together, shaped into patties and cooked in a griddle pan. 

I am sharing this with Kitchen Clearout at Madhouse Family Reviews.