GLUTEN-FREE CELEBRATION SALADS
You’ll probably be serving lots of salads through the festive season so we thought you might like to try some new ones: a Vine Tomato Salad and a White Salad With White Gazpacho Dressing.
The Vine Tomato Salad might sound time-consuming - with its skinned truss tomatoes dancing around the plate like Christmas decorations - but the process is surprisingly easy and all the ingredients, including the dressing, can be prepared well ahead of time.
The White Salad is cook-friendly in that regard too. The dressing, inspired by a Spanish White Gazpacho, is teamed with a selection of any white vegetables you choose, and most can be prepared in advance and tossed together at the last minute.
Both salads are fresh, crunchy and delicious, and a little bit different.
Perfect for Christmas. Or any other celebration.
Jan
VINE TOMATO SALAD
Serves 10
1 kg small truss tomatoes, ideally Roma (about 30)
200 gm green beans, quickly blanched and diced
1 green capsicum, deseeded and finely diced
2 large sticks of celery, trimmed and finely diced
1 tablespoon baby capers
½ tablespoon finely diced green jalapeno chilli
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons shelled pistachio nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and prepare a large bowl of iced water.
Take a truss of tomatoes, with about 5 or 6 on the vine, and with a sharp knife cut a small cross on the base of each tomato.
Drop the truss into the boiling water and carefully remove with a slotted spoon after around 20 seconds, or as soon as the skin around the crosses starts to peel away.
Dip the truss into the iced water. Leave for a minute or two and remove. Gently peel the skin from each tomato – a pair of tweezers can be useful or just use your fingers. The skin will come away quite easily and the truss will remain intact.
Repeat with remaining tomatoes. Store them on a flat tray, cover and refrigerate.
Mix all remaining ingredients, except for the pistachio nuts, in a bowl and stir to coat lightly with the oil and salt. Cover and refrigerate.
Sumac Dressing
250 ml Greek yoghurt
150 ml crème fraiche
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sumac
1 teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper, freshly ground
Mix dressing ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until required.
To Serve:
Spread the Sumac Dressing generously around the edge of a large serving platter. Toss the green salad into the middle of the dish. Add the skinned tomatoes to the dressing around the outside and scatter with pistachio nuts.
WHITE SALAD WITH WHITE GAZPACHO DRESSING
Serves 10+ as a side dish.
Use the following ingredient list as a guide and experiment with your own selection of ‘white’ salad vegetables.
1 witlof, leaves separated
¼ Savoy cabbage, white leaves finely shaved
½ small daikon radish, peeled and cut into half moons
1 celery heart, finely sliced
1 yellow bullhorn pepper, thinly sliced into rounds
1 fennel bulb, outer sections discarded, finely shaved
1 apple cucumber, peeled and de-seeded, julienned
50 gm button mushrooms, white parts only, sliced
6 spring onions, white parts only, finely sliced
100 gm Manchego cheese, shaved
50 gm blanched almonds, very lightly roasted, roughly chopped
White or yellow herb flowers, optional
White Gazpacho Dressing
Prepare all the vegetables as recommended above.
Except for the almonds and flowers, use gloved hands to toss all the salad ingredients and at least half of the White Gazpacho Dressing in a large mixing bowl. Add more dressing if required then tip onto a wide serving platter.
Top with the almonds, and flowers if using.
White Gazpacho Dressing
Makes approximately 500ml
120 gm blanched almonds
2 cloves garlic, blanched in boiling water for 5 minutes, drained
50 ml olive oil
40 ml extra virgin olive oil
60 ml sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon white ground pepper
2 teaspoon green Tabasco
300 ml water
Blend the almonds, garlic and olive oils in a food processor until combined. Add vinegar, seasonings, Tabasco and water. Continue to blend until very smooth.
Taste and add more seasoning and vinegar if required. Add more water if the dressing is too thick. The dressing can be made the day before required, however it may need additional water as the almonds absorb the liquid.
TIPS:
1.Consider doing some of the work ahead of time. Salad vegetables that won’t discolour, the cheese and the dressing can be prepared the day before serving and kept in the fridge in airtight bags or containers.
2.
Other vegetables to consider using include cauliflower, celeriac, apple, bean sprouts and white asparagus.
3.
This salad is made suitable for vegans by omitting the cheese.
4.
For a more substantial dish add some white anchovies and a cup or two of cooked white cannellini beans. Or add extra protein with fine strips of poached chicken or calamari.
5.
For a complete White Gazpacho soup recipe CLICK HERE.