Orange, Olive & Red Onion Salad

S. Alad, meet Blog universe. Blog universe - meet my favourite salad. The combination sounds strange I'll admit (I  mean come on  - oranges and olives? You're kidding, right?), but man oh man do they work well together. I could seriously inhale eat this salad day in and day out. By the truckload bowlful. The chocolate peanut butter cups in the fridge are even looking worried that this salad will dethrone them as The One and Only in my heart & tummy. I'll be honest, it's a very real risk.




On a side-note - if you have not yet read Arabesque (Claudia Roden), please do yourself a favour and go beg/steal/borrow/buy a copy now. It's one of my top 3 favourite cookbooks and one you can read over and over again for the intoxicatingly vivid food pictures she paints.

I'm submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging #214, hosted by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once. 

Orange, Olive & Onion Salad

(Slada Bartokal Bil Zaytoun)

Adapted from Claudia Roden's Arabesque

Serves 4*

4 large oranges

12 italian black olives, pitted & halved

1/2 small red onion

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

1. Peel oranges and divide into segments. Remove all visible pith, then halve each segment.

2. Gently mix oranges, olives, onion and cumin seeds together in a bowl. Add salt, olive oil and lemon juice and gently mix with salad ingredients, ensuring everything gets an even coating.

3. Place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to allow flavours to mingle.

4. Serve cold.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 122.2, Total fat 3.2 g, Saturated fat 0.4 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.3 g, Monounsaturated fat 2.2 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 515.4 mg, Potassium 360.1 mg, Total carbohydrate 24.1 g, Dietary fiber 5.3 g, Sugars 9.1 g, Protein 2.2 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 165.8 %, Calcium 10.4 %

*or one blogger/salad addict

Tri-Colore Pepper and Lentil Salad

(Update: I'm submitting this salad to Weekend Herb Blogging #211 hosted by Lynne from Cafe LynnyLu)


When you're feeling all blah about life (which is common for most people around this time of the year), what better way to cheer you up than by injecting some colour into your life? And how could you possibly resist a salad that is both colourful and super-healthy? Bellpeppers are known for their exceptionally high vitamin C content, even though oranges normally steal their thunder. Yes people, a bell pepper has twice the amount of vitamin C that an orange has. How's that for stealing thunder!




Another little-known fact about bell peppers is that they are technically fruit (who knew, right?). Although I do think most people would think you're a wee bit insane crazy if you tried to fob a lentil-laden fruit salad off on them...

The fruit/veg debate aside however, this salad will make your Meat-free Mondays POP. And there's no craziness there. 

Tri-Colore Pepper & Lentil Salad

Serves 6 - 8 (as side-dish)

1 cup uncooked lentils (or about 3 cups cooked)

2 tbsp olive oil 

 1/2 large onion, finely chopped

1 tin (410g) red kidney beans

1/2 large green bellpepper, julienned

1/2 large red bellpepper, julienned

1/2 large yellow bellpepper, julienned

1/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 round feta, crumbled

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add lentils and a dash of salt, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked. The lentils should be soft but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a smallish frying pan. Add onions and saute over medium heat until glossy and starting to soften. Remove from heat. 

3. Allow lentils to cool down slightly, then toss with onions, kidney beans peppers in a large salad bowl. Add the rest of the olive oil, as well as the herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir to distribute the flavours evenly, then top with feta and serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 231.7, Total fat 6.0 g, Saturated fat 1.8 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.5 g, Monounsaturated fat 3.3 g, Cholesterol 7.2 mg, Sodium 366.6 mg, Potassium 437.4 mg, Total carbohydrate 32.6 g, Dietary fiber 11.5 g, Sugars 2.2 g, Protein 13.3 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 132.9 %, Folate 43.3 %, Iron 26.6 %, Manganese 24.4 %, Phosphorus 19.5 %

Jamie's Simply Dressed Greens

Except these aren't green! According to Jamie Oliver this is the how Italians serve their veggies - simply cooked/steamed and then drizzled with a garlicy vinaigrette. And let me tell you, I could eat an entire bowlful of veggies like this - the dressing is just enough to subtly flavour the vegetables without being overpowering. 

I defy anyone not to like vegetables when served this way (seriously, don't you get annoyed by people who say they don't like ANY veggies? Surely you must like SOME, right? It's not like they all taste the same!) And this would be good with almost any vegetable - zucchini is lovely as well (cut them diagonally for visual interest), even broccoli shines like a star upon receiving this treatment.  

I'm submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging #200, hosted by Cook Almost Anything

Jamie's Simply Dressed Greens

Adapted from Jamie's Italy 

This is not really a recipe, as it will depend on your tastes, but the basic premise is this:

1. Simply steam your veggies, or cook in a liiiiiitle bit of water (keyword here is little - we don't want to drown out all the nutrients).

2. Make a dressing using 3 parts of olive oil to 1 part lemon juice. Add a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic - increase if you are a garlic slut like me, or if you have a particularly large amount of veggies - but remember the garlic won't be cooked, so it's flavour will remain quite intense. Lastly add a handful of chopped up herbs - again, you can use almost anything you like of the soft leafy varieties (I wouldn't recommend the woody ones) - so experiment with parsley, fennel, dill or whatever else strikes your fancy.

3. As soon as the veggies are done (they should be crisp-tender and not mush), drain them (if necessary) and immediately toss with the dressing. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and serve warm or lukewarm.