Enjoy healthy, tasty salads year round with this book. From interesting side salads to complete one-dish meals this is bound to have something for you!

A good salad with just enough interesting dressing to liven it up is a real treat. When the author asked members of the audience at cooking demos to say what topic they would like the authors to write about they said Salads, as most they made themselves were boring.

SAMPLE RECIPE

East-west beef salad with coriander dressing
Lovers of Asian flavours will enjoy this delicious salad. The rump steak can be replaced with sirloin, rib-eye or fillet steak if you prefer.

For 2 servings:
200–250g rump steak cut 2cm thick
1 Tbsp fish or soy sauce
1 Tbsp canola oil
mixed salad leaves
cucumber chunks
cherry tomatoes
sliced cooked green beans
avocado slices
basil leaves

Dressing:
1–2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped lemongrass
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp water
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp chilli powder or minced red chilli
2–3 Tbsp chopped coriander
1 chopped spring onion

Trim fat from the steak. Coat steak with a little soy sauce and oil and leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Prepare salad ingredients – if necessary make two salads in shallow bowls. About 15 minutes before serving, preheat a heavy pan over high heat and pan-grill steak in the dry pan for 1–2 minutes per side until brown on the outside but pink in the middle. Put steak on a carving board and leave to cool.

To make the dressing, finely chop the garlic and thinly sliced lemongrass in a food processor or blender. Add the remaining dressing ingredients and process until coriander and spring onion leaves are chopped.

Just before serving, slice the cooled meat thinly into strips and coat with part of the dressing. Arrange slices on the individual salads and drizzle over extra dressing. Serve with crusty bread or bowls of Basmati or Jasmine rice.