Salad for Breakfast: Layered Tex-Mex Salad

I just ate salad for breakfast. Because I can. Isn't being an adult wonderful? I've gone wheat-free and quasi-paleo of late and am loving it, feel like a new woman and this salad fits in well!

This isn't your average salad, it's salad I've been dreaming about all night because it is just that good. The combination of flavours and textures added to the aesthetic appearance is just fabulous. It's a whole meal and a healthy one at that, which would be perfect for dinner or to bring to picnics, potlucks or parties. It keeps well overnight and doesn't get soggy. I used grilled Mexican seasoned pork chops as the main protein, sliced thinly, but you could use a layer of seasoned taco beef or ground turkey, or some sliced grilled chicken or just leave meat out entirely! You may notice you don't see the corn in the pictures that the recipe calls for, but that's because when I went to get the corn, it turned out I had none. Although this was excellent without it, I think the crunchy sweetness would have added another fabulous layer of flavour.

Ingredients:

For the salad:

• 4 little gem lettuce, thinly sliced
• 4 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 large white onion, finely diced
• handful chopped coriander (cilantro)
• 2 avocados, thinly sliced
• lime, juiced
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 can black or kidney beans
• 1 can sweetcorn
• 4 roasted red peppers, sliced
• 2 cups meat choice (see intro)
• 1 cup sliced black olives
• 1 quantity of dressing (recipe below)

Mix the onions and coriander and add half the juiced lime. Season with salt and pepper.  Use the remaining lime juice to coat the avocado slices to ensure they don't brown.

Get a large glass bowl and begin assembling. Start with a big layer of lettuce, reserving about 1/4 then layer the rest of the ingredients in whatever way seems appealing to you, with the dressing on the top. Top with another thin layer of lettuce. You can add a bit of cheese and green onions and olives on top as a garnish if you'd like.

Serve 

For the dressing:

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp chill powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. 

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Proper Caesar Salad

Sometimes the simplest of things can be screwed up so thoroughly. Caesar Salad is one of these. I have yet to have a real caesar salad in this country. Don't get me wrong, I've had tasty salads called Caesar Salads, but they haven't been the real deal.  This is a really simple dressing, but it's authentic, delicious and full of healthy fats.  Add some grilled chicken, fresh cos (romaine) lettuce, crispy bacon lardons, shavings of parmesan and some good croutons and you have the perfect summertime meal.  I like a variety of crunchy veg on top of the basic cos salad, but feel free to omit or add different vegetables to suit your taste.  This is also delicious with grilled ribeye, prawns or even a fillet of salmon.

For the dressing:

• 3 very fresh free-range eggs
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tbsp peppercorns
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1-2 anchovies (optional)

For the chicken:

• 4 tbsp of dressing
• 2 chicken fillets
• olive oil

For the salad:

• 2 cos lettuce, trimmed and sliced
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
• 1/4 cucumber, peeled and cubed
• 100g bacon lardons, sauteed until crispy
• large handful croutons
• Handful of parmesan shavings

For the dressing, add all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth, emulsified and combined.  Refrigerate until needed.

For the chicken, marinate the fillets in about four tablespoons of the dressing for at least an hour.  Grill until cooked through, about 10 minutes a side. 

To assemble, add the lettuce and vegetables to a large bowl. Sprinkle with lardons, croutons and cheese.  Dress at table and top with chicken.

Submit to: Recipe Sharing Monday

Sundried Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta Salad

This is a lovely pasta salad that would make a great packed lunch or good accompaniment to a picnic.  Make it the night ahead for maximum flavour.  You can use a fat free dressing of choice instead of the olive oil and vinegar and this will subtract 2 points from the recipe, however the serving points will remain the same.  By all means bulk this up with more free vegetables.  Roasted red peppers and or chopped cucumber would work very well.

Ingredients:

• 175g pasta, dried
• 4 sun dried tomatoes (not oil packed) reconstituted and chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 60g low-fat mozarella (half a ball), diced
• 6-7 basil leaves, sliced
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 
• 2 tsp olive oil
• pinch of sugar
• salt and pepper to season

Cook pasta as directed on packet.  Rinse with cold water.

Whisk oil, vinegar and sugar together.  Pour over other ingredients in a large bowl.  Toss to cover everything. Season with salt and pepper.  

Serves 4, 5 pro points per serving.

Pro Points per recipe: 22, serves 4.