This gorgeous salad is inspired by my dear friend and wonderful photographer, Holly who’s in the South of France right now with her family. I asked her if she would make this salad there and shoot it for us. She gathered seasonal ingredients from the local farmer’s market. You’ll be able to find fresh wonderful ingredients right here in Australia especially as we head into the warmer months. The suggested veggies for this salad make a great base and you can add some from the Optional Addition list and/or your own favourites. The lemon myrtle essential oil adds a lovely citrusy flavour to the dressing that really shines on salads. Remember to use one drop to start as it is a stronger oil and a little goes a long way and you can always add another drop if you want to.
TIP You can add extra lettuce and veggies and double the dressing recipe if you are serving more people. You can keep any left-over dressing for up to 4 days refrigerated to use on salads, fish, chicken or veggies. If you prefer a soft goat cheese rather than crumbled fetta just use a teaspoon and drop spoonfuls evenly around the top of the salad before serving or omit the cheese for a vegan option.
NOTE You can use the green beans raw or blanched. To blanch green beans or other veggies like asparagus, snow peas and peas add them to boiling water for 1 – 2 minutes then drain well, blot on paper towels (except the peas) and cool before using. You can cut the cherry tomatoes in half or leave them whole.
Ingredients
- Salad Ingredients
- 1 handful/approx. 15 green beans, stems removed (blanched or raw)
- ½ cucumber, sliced into small cubes
- 2 tomatoes, sliced (yellow and green, if available)
- 1 – 2 celery stalks, chopped in small cubes
- 6 mini zucchini or 1 medium sized, sliced (roasted, sauteed or raw)
- handful of your choice of herbs; basil, coriander, parsley, mint, roughly chopped or torn
- 4 radishes, finely sliced (assorted colours, if available)
- 10 – 12 cherry tomatoes (assorted colours, if available)
- pomegranate seeds (optional)
- ½ cup crumbled goat cheese/fetta (optional)
- Optional Additions:
- 1 head cos lettuce and/or baby gem, roughly torn or chopped
- asparagus, ends trimmed off (blanched or raw)
- snow peas, string removed (blanched or raw)
- peas frozen or fresh (blanched or raw)
- 1 avocado, pitted and sliced
- ½ lemon, thinly sliced
- olives, pitted
- nuts and seeds
- Lemon Myrtle Dressing Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil or avocado oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 – 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (optional, to taste)
- 1 tsp sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
- 4 drops lemon essential oil (optional, to taste)
- 1 drop lemon myrtle essential oil (to taste)
- 1 drop black pepper essential oil (optional, to taste)
- ¼ cup chopped herbs, basil, mint and/or coriander leaves (optional, to taste)
Instructions
- 1. Wash the herbs and lettuce, if using, dry well and set aside until you are ready to create the salad. You can prep them the day before and then wrap them in paper towels, place in an air-tight bag or container and refrigerate.
- 2. Make the dressing by placing all the ingredients in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well to combine or you can use a medium-size bowl and stir well to combine. If you would like to add chopped mint and/or other herbs to the dressing you can use a high-speed blender and blend until well combined. This adds a little more flavour, nutrition and a lovely green hue. You can make the dressing a day or two ahead of time and refrigerate until needed.
- 3. When you are ready to serve the salad prep all the ingredients and blanche the green beans (and snow peas, asparagus and peas, if using) or leave them raw, if you prefer.
- 4. To roast the zucchini slices, heat the oven to 180C and toss the slices in a little olive oil and sea salt and roast them in for approx. 10 minutes or sauté until just tender. Allow to cool a little before adding to the salad.
- 5. To create the salad, place the lettuce, if using and herb leaves on a large platter and top with the veggies except cherry tomatoes, radish slices and pomegranate seeds and drizzle with some of the dressing and gently mix a little to coat. Then evenly sprinkle around the radish slices, cherry tomatoes and then top with the goat cheese and pomegranate seeds. Then drizzle with a little more dressing, if desired and serve immediately. You can serve extra dressing in a little bowl next to the salad or chill the rest for later use.
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