FOR THE DRESSING
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Juice of half a large lemon
1 tbsp red wine vinegar black pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp caster sugar
10 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
IN THE SALAD
1 bulb fennel, very thinly sliced
6 good tomatoes, cut into large chunks
1 ½ romaine lettuces, chopped, thick stalks cut out
1 x 200g block feta cheese, chopped
80g pitted black olives, drained and dried
TO SERVE
Fresh baked white bread. (Irresistible but not healthy. The kids don’t get their hands on a second slice until they’re had most of the salad.)
Slice the red onion in advance, and leave it to marinate in all the dressing ingredients except the oil. I put mine in a Tupperware with a tight lid, and shake it occasionally. For the salad in the photo I had left it all day, and it was a beautiful pink colour.
Mix the olive oil into the dressing. Wash, drain and dry the salad ingredients, and place in a large bowl. Toss them together gently, then mix in the dressing. Serve with bread.
Note – take care to dry the fennel, tomatoes and lettuce after washing, or the juices at the bottom of the salad bowl will end up watery. Not so nice for dipping bread into. I even wash and dry feta (a tip from my Greek sister in law) and I pat the olives dry on kitchen roll too.
My kids like this salad, but it’s probably not thanks to the vegetables. More likely they are enjoying the rare chance to dip fresh white bread into all the lovely dressing, but I do get some veggies down them at the same time. If you’re looking for a filling salad which is big enough for a family dinner, read on.
Fennel is good for heart health and full of fibre, lettuce contains too many vitamins and minerals to list, and tomatoes are a source of antioxidants. There may be as much fat in this salad as there is in a bowl of chips, but so what? The body needs fat. Olive oil plays a key role in the much-lauded Mediterranean diet, but I’ve been trying not to cook with it since learning that heat makes olive oil unhealthy (read more here).
This was inspired by a Nigella recipe, but I’ve fiddled with it a bit. I find that the longer I leave the red onion marinating in the lemon juice and vinegar, the better – any less than an hour and the salad has a bitter aftertaste. I also take care to slice the fennel very thinly, or the whole thing is just too chewy. It’s a delicious salad. The red onion mixture brings a lovely layer of flavour to the crunchy greens and the juicy tomatoes, and the olives and feta come as an added bonus.
The girls agree that this counts as a family favourite for the blog, so I guess they really do like it. Yes, of COURSE they would rather be eating pasta and pesto, they are normal children aged 8 and 11. If you are wondering how I got them to enjoy this salad, I think it’s grown on them from repeated exposure. Big pieces of lettuce put Lanie off, so I cut it up small in her bowl. Plus there’s the fact that we don’t usually eat white bread, so that feels like a treat, and they love olives. If you’re serving this salad to kids, I really hope they like it as much as we do.
The other day my eight-year-old surprised me. She asked what was for dinner, and the only honest answer I could give the poor kid was tahini lentils with eggs and red onions. I braced myself. (The children have recently noticed that other people eat ‘normal’ food.) When she didn’t even look up from the Xbox and just said ‘Oh good,’ I knew I had to share this recipe with you.
This tray bake is rich in fibre, full of taste and so easy to prepare. Serve it with greens for an extra health kick.
I find it difficult to know when to stop eating this. The silky texture of the leeks and the sweet sticky dressing bind this vegan salad together beautifully – better than mayonnaise in my book.
The perfect comfort food, pilau rice is easy to make and counts as a meal in itself if you top it with an egg. The goji berries in this version add a healthy kick and a lovely flavour.
