Simple Summer Salad

Hello my lovelies!

Oh my, just seen, I’ve been absent for a few days.  It’s been busy at Chez Pout these past few days and I guess I’m still adjusting to having social come back into my life again.  You too?  Or are you in lockdown right now?

So whilst I reassemble all the numerous draft posts and ideas I thought it would be nice to kick things off again with food.  Is there a better place to start?!

I made this extremely simple salad last week. 

I love this sort of easy goodness in summer and with increasing social activity which invariable involves some form of eating, quick, simple and clean food is what my body needs for

meals at home. 

This dish is so simply it’s rather embarrassing to give it a recipe but here goes ...

Finely slice a couple of sticks of rinsed celery and a small red onion, and stir all together with half a tin of drained chick peas. (I put the other half of the tin in a huge vegetable curry.)

Stir in a homemade vinaigrette*, top with some fresh shredded herbs. And Bob’s your uncle!

This quantity gave me meals for two days, whilst TP are things sautéed, cream sauced and potatoed - it’s HIM who should have the weight problem!

 I used basil in this salad as my indoor basil plant is going crazy at the moment.  I’m doing something right and I think that is that I replanted it from small supermarket pot to something a little larger, placed the pot in a bowl and then I’ve been religiously watering it by pouring water into the bowl, not the pot - I think basil prefers it’s watering that way.  And I think giving the plant room to grow was the other essential of this winning formula. 

I’m hoping I can remember what I did right next time I buy a potted basil. 

I chopped in the delicious fronds from the top of the celery stalk - I love the oomph these leaves bring to a dish. 

*My vinaigrette dressing  is simple.  I make it in old chutney and jam jars, whatever is clean and to hand.  I put in some red wine vinegar, add 3 times thar amount of olive oil,  then flavour with salt, pepper, a teaspoon of whole grain mustard and a squeeze of honey then pop the lid on and shake it all together till it emulsifies.   I shove the pot in the fridge and use if it most days. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks but in my house it’s always used up way before then!

What’s your favourite vinaigrette recipe?

A la perchoine,

Maey x