This very contemporary way of serving a low-kilojoule chicken and salad sandwich would be ideally suited for a casual meal on the patio with friends and family. Prepare an open sandwich for a light meal or a stacked sandwich for a more substantial feast.
Continue reading Cajun-style Blackened Chicken & Salad SandwichTag: Salads & salad dressings
Roasted Beetroot Salad

This salad is quick and easy to prepare and tastes as good as it looks! It will make a great accompaniment for a braai or can be a light meal on its own.
Continue reading Roasted Beetroot SaladWatermelon, Feta & Rocket Salad
No-one wants to spend hours in the kitchen on Valentine’s day, so don’t! You can whip this up in no time.
Pickled Vegetables
Apart from adding health benefits and improving the flavour and appearance of cold food, the bright colours, sweet and sour taste and crispy texture compliments almost any summer’s meal.
Poor Man’s Caviar (Pickled Mustard Seeds)

Pickled mustard seeds are also known as Poor Man’s Caviar due to its texture which is similar to that of caviar. It is a tongue in the cheek expression for having a rich man’s taste but a poor man’s budget. See Poor Man’s Caviar (Aubergine Pate) for a paté recipe that looks similar to caviar, but does not have the same price tag.
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard powder
½ cup whole yellow mustard seeds
- In a saucepan, bring everything but the mustard seeds to a boil.
- Add the mustard seeds and simmer for 5 minutes, until the seeds bloom (or roughly double in size).
- Remove from heat and let cool. Store the seeds in the liquid in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Eggless Caesar Dressing

Caesar dressing, whether store-bought or homemade, is a glorious thing. Its garlicky, cheesy, and with the unmistakable anchovy flavor and creamy texture it is the key to one of the best classic salads around. But if it’s so good, why limit it to only salad? In fact, why not use it to make a variety of other dishes infinitely better?
Tartar Sauce

Tartar sauce is based on either mayonnaise (made from egg yolk, mustard or vinegar, oil) or aioli (made from egg yolk, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice), with certain other ingredients added. In the UK, ingredients such as capers, gherkins, lemon juice and dill are added. US recipes may include chopped pickles, capers, chives and fresh parsley.Chopped hard-boiled eggs or olives are sometimes added, as may be Dijon mustard and cocktail onions. The sauce can be served withBatter-fried Calamari Rings, Best-ever Batter-fried Fish, Prawn Tempura (Batter-fried Prawns), Tuna Fish Cakes, etc.
125 ml mayonnaise
15 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped
15 ml onion or spring onion, finely chopped
15 ml chives, finely chopped
15 ml gherkins, finely chopped
15 ml capers, finely chopped (optional)
5 ml salt
- Combine the ingredients for the tartar sauce in a mixing bowl.
- Transfer the sauce to a serving dish, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Photo credit: https://saucerecipe.net
Green Vinaigrette Dressing

This dressing is tremendously versatile and can be used as a dressing, dip or a marinade. Be sure to try the recipe for Rare Roast Lamb With Green Vinaigrette.
125 ml parsley, finely chopped
125 ml spring onion, finely chopped
125 ml celery, finely chopped
15 ml capers, finely chopped
25 ml lemon juice
5 ml prepared mustard
2.5 ml mixed dried herbs
2.5 ml dried rosemary
10 ml sugar
5 ml salt
50 ml sunflower oil
50 ml olive oil
- Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a mixing jug, mix well and pour over the meat.
- Toss, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours before serving.
Blended White Vinegar
This mixture features in many recipes in Carolié de Koster’s Art of Cooking Recipe Book. Combining different vinegars and diluting the mixture slightly with water creates a pleasant, less acidic and more flavourful product for general use. Blended white vinegar is used whenever plain white vinegar is needed and is most simple to prepare with only three ingredients.
Muffuletta Sandwich

The Muffaletta (moof-fuh-LEHT-tuh) also know simply as “muff”, is a classic New Orleans sandwich. It is the ultimate make-ahead sandwich and is super easy and convenient to make. Hollowed-out bread (authentic round muffaletta loaf or other Italian round bread) is filled with generous amounts of olive salad and a variety of cold cuts of meat, cheese and vegetables. A true Muffuletta Sandwich must always be served at room temperature.
Continue reading Muffuletta SandwichPanzanella (Italian Bread Salad)

Panzanella is a Tuscan salad consisting of chunks of soaked stale bread and tomatoes, sometimes also onions and basil, dressed with olive oil and vinegar. Making Panzanella salad is a terrific way to use up stale or leftover bread.
Continue reading Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad)Olive Salad

Olive Salad is one of the key ingredients in the Muffaletta sandwich, a make-ahead sandwich that consists of a round loaf of broad which is filled with cold cuts of meat, cheese, vegetables and olive salad. It tastes just as great served as a relish with braaied meat, etc.
200 g green olives, drained, pitted and coarsely-chopped
200 g Kalamata olives, drained, pitted and coarsely-chopped
10 ml crushed garlic
1 anchovy fillet, mashed
15 ml capers, drained and rinsed
15 ml red wine vinegar
15 ml fresh lemon juice
60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
60 ml parsley, finely-chopped
freshly ground black pepper
- To make the olive salad, combine all the ingredients and then allow the flavors to mingle for at least 1 hour prior to serving.
- Store, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to use as one of the fillings of the Muffaletta sandwich.
Potato Salad With Olive Oil, Olives, Lemon & Parsley

This recipe is a new and refreshing take on traditional potato salad. The potatoes are left unpeeled, which not only saves time, but adds fibre to the salad. It can be served hot, chilled or at room temperature.
750 g new potatoes
45 ml olive oil
2 anchovies, chopped
15 ml capers, rinsed and finely chopped (optional)
zest and juice of a lemon
60 ml parsley, finely chopped
100 ml olives, pitted and chopped
- Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water for 20-25 minutes, or until tender. Drain well.
- In a large bowl, mix together the olives, olive oil, anchovies, capers, lemon zest and juice and parsley.
- Add the warm potatoes and mix well.
- Season to taste, mix well and serve.
Mexican Corn Salad
This colourful salad is sure to be a hit with your guests. Serve it as a topping for Mexican dishes such as Quesadillas or Enchiladas or as a side dish at a braai. It is equally delicious served hot, cold, or at room temperature.

Gaucamole Chicken Salad Platter
Shredded chicken dressed with a delightful and tangy avocado, tomato and soured cream sauce, arranged on a bed of Mexican salad. This salad can also be used as a filling for Mexican taco’s.
Continue reading Gaucamole Chicken Salad PlatterFattoush Salad With Sumac Vinaigrette

Fattoush is a Lebanese version of a bread salad that includes toasted and crumbled pita bread chips. Fattoush means “crumbled bread” in Arabic. It is similar to Panzanella, the Italian bread salad. The Italians use ciabatta croutons instead of pita bread.
Salad Ingredients
1 English cucumber, seeds removed and diced
250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green sweet pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
125 ml spring onions, sliced thinly
1 to 2 cooked chicken breasts, bones and skin removed and cut into thin strips (optional)
1 x 400 g chickpeas, drained and rinsed (optional)
a handfull romaine lettuce, watercress, butter lettuce, etc.
80 ml coriander, finely chopped
80 ml parsley, finely chopped
15 ml mint leaves, finely chopped
Sumac Vinaigrette
60 ml olive oil
30 ml lemon juice
15 ml sumac
2.5 ml crushed garlic
pinch sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pita Bread Chips (see photo below)
4 large pita bread rounds, each cut into 8 triangles
60 ml olive oil
5 ml crushed garlic
2 ml sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
- Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
- Combine the ingredients for the dressing and add to the bowl. Toss all together lightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To make the pita bread chips, pre-heat the oven to 190°C.
- Cut the pita breads into triangles and arrange in a single layer on two large baking trays lined with Wizbake baking sheets.
- Combine the olive oil, garlic, sea salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl.
- Using a silicon brush and coat both sides of the pita triangles with the olive oil mixture.
- Bake the pita triangles for 10 to 12 minutes or until a light golden brown color. Turn the pita triangles over half way through baking. Be careful not to burn them!
- Set the pita chips aside to cool.
- Transfer the salad to a salad bowl or platter and garnish with crumbled pita bread chips.
6 servings.
Notes
- Leftover pita bread chips can be left whole and served with hummus or your favorite dip.
- The pita bread chips can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
- The pita bread chips can be substituted with wheat-free crackers, etc.
Cucumber Za’atar Salad

This Middle-Eastern salad is quick and easy to prepare and low in kilojoules.
2 English cucumbers
Vinaigrette
15 ml sugar
5 ml vinegar
15 ml olive oil
2.5 salt
To garnish
5 ml Za’atar Spice Mix
cherry tomatoes, halved
fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Peel, seed and slice the cucumbers into thin slices. Or use an apple corer to seed the cucumber (see photo below).
- Combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a medium mixing bowl and mix well.
- Add the cucumber slices to the mixing bowl and toss lightly to mix.
- Place the cucumber slices decoratively on a salad platter and sprinkle with the Za’atar spice mix.
- Garnish with cherry tomatoes or parsley before serving.
Avocado Ritz

Avocado ritz is delicious and an easy starter to make since avocados are plentiful throughout the summer. Although it is not the most economical starter with the price of avo’s being what it is, it is a South African favourite. The seafood salad can also be spooned onto a bed of lettuce.
Continue reading Avocado RitzPink Seafood Sauce

There can hardly be a more delightful seafood cocktail than cooked cold fish, prawns or seafood tossed with this special sauce. Also try Carolié’s recipe for Avocado Ritz.
Continue reading Pink Seafood SauceHome-made Sushi

A basic version of the ever popular Japanese delight. For best results, sushi should be assembled shortly before serving. Refrigerate after making and use within a few hours if raw fish is used or a day if cooked crab sticks or smoked salmon or trout was used. For those who do not enjoy Nori (seaweed paper), turn the ingredients into a delicious Sushi Salad.
Continue reading Home-made Sushi
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