Dinner inspiration

So I think we’re all in agreement that summer 2024 has been a bit of a shit show and turning it off and back on again hasn’t worked.

I have really enjoyed the warm weather we’ve had the last few days and I’ve really enjoyed eating salads for dinner. Here are my top five salads that I love to eat for dinner. I serve them with a protein source such as chicken, sausages, fish or pork. If you are vegetarian or vegan you can add tofu, tempeh, lentils, beans or other pulses.

Pesto chicken salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 pack of ready made quinoa

2 tbsp pesto

2 tbsp Greek yogurt

2 cooked skinless chicken breasts, shredded

½ small bunch of basil, leaves picked and torn, plus a few small leaves to serve

½ cucumber, chopped

1 pack of cherry tomatoes, chopped

4 generous handfuls of fresh spinach

2 tsp toasted pine nuts

Method:

1. Mix the pesto and the yoghurt together in a bowl and set to one side.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients together.

3. Serve onto plates, drizzle the pesto dressing and enjoy.

Italian ham, cheese and pear salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 pack of ready cooked quinoa

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp honey

80g baby spinach

60g rocket

2 small pears, cored, quartered and finely sliced

50g feta cheese, cubed

4 spring onions, finely chopped

1 lemon, zested

8 thin slices of Italian ham, shredded

Method:

1. Mix the dressing ingredients together and set aside.

2. Prepare the rest of the ingredients as described above and place in a large bowl. Serve onto plates and add the salad dressing. Enjoy!

Salmon, orange and fennel salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 salmon fillets, cooked

1 fennel bulb, sliced using a mandolin

3 oranges, peeled and sliced

1 red onion, thinly slice

50g of black olives

2 celery sticks, thinly sliced

30g pine nuts

For the dressing:

2 tbsp of red wine vinegar

1 tbsp of runny honey

Salt to taste

Method

1. Mix all of the salad dressing ingredients together and set aside.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients together and serve on a plate. Place the salmon on top and serve with the dressing. Enjoy.

Radicchio and courgette salad

Serves 2

1 courgette, thinly slices

2 Radicchio, roughly chopped

2 plum tomatoes, sliced

1 pack of Italian hams

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Prepare all of the ingredients as described above. Serve onto plates and add the oil, balsamic, salt and pepper to your taste. Enjoy!

Pulled chicken salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 small roasted chicken, about 1kg

½ red cabbage, cored and finely sliced

3 carrots, coarsely grated or finely shredded

5 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal

2 red chillies, halved and thinly sliced

small bunch coriander, roughly chopped, including stalks

2 heaped tbsp roasted salted peanuts, roughly crushed

For the dressing

3 ½ tbsp hoisin sauce

1 ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil

Method:

1. Mix all of the dressing ingredients together in a bowl and set aside

2. Shred the meat from the chicken and place into a bowl. Add the cabbage, carrots, spring onions, chillies and half the coriander. Toss together with the dressing and pile onto a serving plate, then scatter over the remaining coriander and peanuts.