Combined raw & cooked vegetable salads. Any ideas?

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I confess to being rather a sloppy salad maker, tending to throw whatever raw vegetables happen to be in the fridge together (at the last minute) then adding a splash of Balsamic. Boring, boring!

Yesterday I was listening to a cooking program on radio that I found really interesting. The guest chef talked of combining cooked & raw vegies together in ways that had never occurred to me: For example, steamed pumpkin, or potatoes, combined with raw or wilted baby spinach leaves, with roasted nuts, along with other ingredients I've forgotten. And lots more, using all sorts of herbs& seasonings that I have, but have never use for this purpose.

So, inspired, I tried a "spontaneous salad" last night, consisting of cold cooked pumpkin, some fresh green cooked peas, chives, baby swiss chard & some toasted pined nuts. But I was still stuck for the dressing & resorted to just a smidgeon of Balsamic. Rolling Eyes

All the same, I really enjoyed it & decided to try a some other combinations.

Any ideas? Preferably not requiring 75 stages of preparation. Laughing

I like the idea of delicious, healthy salad meals for summer. And I'm keen to try any inspired varieties of herbs (fresh from my garden) & flavourings. I confess, I'm not too fond of mayonnaise.
Want to share your favourites?

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I'm not too sure as to what dressing to recommend best, as it is all down to personal taste and what style of salad you are after.

Personall I like to include some slithers of cooked Bell Peppers in with a salad along with some crumbled stilton, chunky cucumber slices (then cut into quarters) and carrot gratings.

This way the soft texture of the peppers provides a contrast to the texture of the raw cucumber and carrot gratings and the heat from the cooked peppers slightly melts the stilton.

With regards to a dressing for the salad I would go either for balsamic vinegar or just a mixture of Olive Oil and some mixed herbs.

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Thank you Kedge. And welcome to A2K! Very Happy

Sounds good to me!

So you roast the peppers?

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I'm a fan of warm, roasted veggies on top of a 'regular' tossed salad. Green beans, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and asparagus are probably my favs.

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Sounds good, ehBeth! Actually, I have a recently bought cauliflower just sitting in my fridge, just waiting for something interesting to happen. Smile

And I love brussels sprouts! ... & it just happens to be asparagus season right now. They're very cheap & I've been wondering what different things I could do with them. Thanks! Very Happy

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msolga - one of my secret addictions (learned this at taunton.com) - roasted cauliflower served with a whipping cream/freshly grated horseradish dip.

i once ate a whole head of cauliflower by myself over 2 days in that combo

mmmmmmmmmmm

Cauliflower florets - tossed with a bit of olive oil - on a cookie sheet - in the oven at medium heat about 15 minutes - sprinkle a little sea salt or kosher salt on - serve

mmmmmmmmmarvelous

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Or have tossed salad of mixed leafy greens,
with goat cheese, walnuts, raspberries and a cooked
breast of duck or chicken, or fried beef livers.

For the dressing: mix olive oil, raspberry jam, vinegar,
salt & pepper and juice of an orange.

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I do like the sound of that roasted cauliflower, ehBeth! Very Happy

Just on a roasting tray, in a medium oven? Or in foil? Or with a bit of olive oil brushed on before cooking.
Or maybe I should check out that thread? Very Happy

Thanks!

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on a roasting tray

you can brush on olive oil, but i find the tossing method faster

cooks talk at taunton.com has lots of great veggie ideas, especially in their Tried and True folders

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CalamityJane wrote:

Or have tossed salad of mixed leafy greens,
with goat cheese, walnuts, raspberries and a cooked
breast of duck or chicken, or fried beef livers.

For the dressing: mix olive oil, raspberry jam, vinegar,
salt & pepper and juice of an orange.

Thank you, CalamityJane. You know, I'm one of those unadventurous souls who never gave goats' cheese a proper try. Do you reckon this might be the time? Very Happy

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or if you've got a small tabletop grill, you can quickly grill the veggies - if you can do that - add eggplant to the list of warm veggies that are fabulous on a salad

(or put your grilled eggplant in a bun with some goat cheese <swoon>)

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ohhhhh - i just saw CJ's goat cheese post! great minds, msOlga - you're going to have to give it a proper tryout now. Very Happy

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ehBeth wrote:

on a roasting tray

you can brush on olive oil, but i find the tossing method faster

cooks talk at taunton.com has lots of great veggie ideas, especially in their Tried and True folders

Many thanks, ehBeth! I'm going there! Very Happy

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Yeah msolga, goat cheese tasted superb, and
ehBeth suggestion with grilled eggplant & goat cheese
sounds good too.

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OK, then! As soon as I'm a smidgeon wealthier, CalamityJane, I'll take the goats' cheese route! Very Happy

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Here's a link to the site ehBeth recommended, for those of you who might be interested. Looks interesting! Very Happy

http://forums.taunton.com/tp-cookstalk/

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I love that site.
The people can be a bit food-snooty at times, but they know their stuff.
It's also neat because it's where I 'met' Mrs. SealPoet!

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msolga,
goat cheese is cheap if you buy the greek kind as opposed to the french. Once you've tasted it, you never want to
miss it again - trust me! Wink

Now I'll look at the website of ehBeth.....

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OK then! I think the Greek kind is my kind, CalamityJane! Laughing

Enjoy the thread. It's good!

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Combined raw & cooked vegetable salads. Any ideas?

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