Vietnamese Chicken and Mint Salad

adapted from Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson

Serves 4 as a main course

A food processor or mandoline slicer makes short work of the chopping and shredding in this recipe. To make this even faster to put together, buy a rotisserie chicken from the store, shred it and use that in the salad.

4 chicken breasts
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
50 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
50 ml nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
50 ml vegetable oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, finely sliced
1/2 head of white cabbage, shredded
4 to 6 medium carrots, shredded or grated
1 large bunch of mint, roughly chopped, with some set aside to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a baking tray with olive oil.

Place the chicken breasts on the baking tray. Drizzle the chicken with a little olive oil, then sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside to cool, then roughly chop into bite-sized chunks.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the chili, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, oil, vinegar, sugar, and black pepper to taste. Add the sliced onions to the mixture and set aside for 30 minutes.

In a big plate or bowl, mix the cabbage, carrot, mint and cooked chicken. Pour over the dressing and toss well, making sure everything is combined and covered thinly with dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve on a flat plate with a little mint scattered on top.

White Bean and Tuna Salad with Lemon Pepper Dressing

adapted from How to Cook Book Two by Delia Smith

Serves 4 as a light main course or 6 as a starter/light lunch

This is one of those lifesaver recipes made from store cupboard staples that everyone should have in their repertoire.

for the salad:
2 x 400 g tins of cannellini beans
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few handfuls of rocket, stalks removed
2 x 200 g tins of tuna, drained
1 red onion, peeled and sliced thinly
crusty bread, to serve

for the dressing:
1 or 2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt
1 heaped teaspoon mustard powder, such as Colman’s
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
zest and juice of 1 large lemon (3 tablespoons juice)

To make the dressing, first crush the garlic and salt using a pestle and mortar until the garlic is pulverised into a paste, then work in the mustard powder and pepper. If you have a large pestle and mortar, add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice directly into it and whisk everything together thoroughly. If your pestle and mortar is small (like mine), then scrape the garlic paste into a larger bowl and whisk in the olive oil, lemon zest and juice in that.

Place the beans in a bowl and pour the dressing over, stirring to make sure all the beans are coated. Season generously.

To serve the salad, arrange three-quarters of the rocket leaves over the base of one large serving dish (or you could assemble the salad on individual plates), spoon the beans on top and add the tuna fish in chunks. Add the rest of the rocket, pushing some of the leaves and chunks of tuna right in amongst the beans. Arrange the onion slices on top and serve straight away with plenty of crusty bread on the side.

Ravioli and Tomato Salad with Basil

adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

Serves 4 to 6

This will be even better if you can make it ahead of time, giving the flavours plenty of time to blend together. It would be perfect for a picnic. Feel free to vary the ingredients according to your tastes. If you don’t think your kids will like them, leave out the artichokes, olives and capers altogether – this will still be tasty with just tomatoes and basil.

450 g cheese ravioli or tortellini
1 kg ripe tomatoes
1 x 170 g jar artichoke hearts, drained and halved (optional)
1 bunch basil, leaves torn into pieces
100 g olives, pitted and halved
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
red wine vinegar

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the ravioli. Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes. (To do this, cut a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife, then pour boiling water over them and leave until the skin around the X starts to curl away, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and allow to cool, then slip off their skins.) Deseed the tomatoes and chop them into large pieces. Put the tomatoes and artichokes in a large bowl along with the basil, olives, capers and oil.

Once the water is boiling, add the ravioli or tortellini and cook according to the package instructions, then drain well. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture in the bowl and toss gently with a rubber spatula. Taste for salt, season with pepper and sprinkle with vinegar to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.