I love me a proper salad. I’m not referring to a boring-ass, basic and bland salad with nothing but lettuce and dressing; rather, I’m referring to vibrant, colourful and rich salads that incorporate just about every food group in their contents.
The salads I’m describing, I think, hit best when it is summertime, arguably because the ingredients required for said salad are fresh and local. With summer approaching, I figured I would find a delightful summer salad recipe to share with all of you, and this recipe comes from bbcgoodfood.com.
“Ingredients
- 400g black beans, drained
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
- 500g heritage tomatoes, chopped into large chunks
- ½ cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds scooped out and sliced on an angle
- 1 mango, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 1 large red onion, halved and finely sliced
- 6-8 radishes, sliced
- 2 avocados, peeled and sliced
- 100g feta, crumbled
- handful of herbs (reserved from the dressing)
For the dressing
- large bunch mint
- small bunch coriander
- small bunch basil
- 1 fat green chilli, deseeded and chopped
- 1 small garlic clove
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil
- 2 limes, zested and juiced
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
Method
- STEP 1: Make the dressing by blending all of the ingredients in a food processor (or very finely chop them), saving a few herb leaves for the salad. You can make the dressing up to 24 hrs before serving.
- STEP 2: Scatter the beans and spinach over a large platter. Arrange the tomatoes, cucumber, mango, onion and radishes on top and gently toss together with your hands. Top the salad with the avocados, feta and herbs, and serve the dressing on the side,” the recipe states.
Serve this with some grilled chicken, steak or seafood alongside a nice loaf of hearty, crusty bread with some scrumptious herb butter and you’ve got yourself a meal worthy of any occasion.
ontheedgeofeverything 
