Tempting warm autumn salads

Don’t worry about saying goodbye to your favourite summer foods with these delicious warm salads.

Embrace the cooler nights by experimenting with new fruits and vegetables that are now coming in season. Try these easy recipes, but don’t be limited by the ingredients. Try other root vegetables that are currently at their freshest.

Crunchy green bean salad

Ingredients:

• Handful of toasted almond slivers
• Four slices of grilled haloumi cheese
• 250 grams of green beans
• 1 avocado, scooped or diced
• 1/2 a punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 sprigs of chopped spring onion
• Poppy seeds
• 100 millilitres of olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine the almond slivers, cheese, avocado, tomatoes and spring onion. Sit aside.
2. In a jug create your dressing by mixing the poppy seeds, olive oil, lemon and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Top and tail the beans, then blanche in hot water. Make sure they keep their green vibrancy and crunch. As soon as they are done add to the salad, dress and serve.

SheKnows has a wide variety of great salad recipes >>

Sweet potato salad

Ingredients:

• A whole medium-sized sweet potato
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 package of baby spinach
• French salad dressing

Directions:

1. Put a sweet potato an a sheet of aluminium foil and cover in olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap around the foil and roast in an oven at 180 degrees C until it is tender and the skin peels away.
2. Chop the roasted sweet potato into big chunks and mix in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

Hot beets and goats cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of fresh beetroot
• Handful of crumbled goats cheese
• Handful of toasted walnuts
• Balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:

1. Top the beetroot to remove stems and boil in a large pot.
2. When the beetroot is tender, remove from the stovetop, drain and cool slightly. Wearing gloves (to avoid staining) peel the beetroot and dice into chunks.
3. Add the beetroot, goats cheese and walnuts to a bowl and toss with the balsamic vinaigrette.

Want more cheese? Try this tasty cheese fondue recipe >>

Pumpkin and cous cous salad

Ingredients:

• 300 grams of butternut pumpkin
• 1 cup of cooked cous cous (following packet instructions)
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• 100 millilitres of natural yoghurt
• Dash of olive oil
• 1 crushed garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• Small handful of chopped parsley
• Handful of toasted almond slivers

Directions:

1. Pre-heat an oven to 180 degrees C.
2. In a bowl, combine the cooked cous cous and raisins.
3. Cut the pumpkin into large bite-sized chunks, drizzle in olive oil and roast until tender and golden. Sit aside to cool slightly.
4. Make the dressing by combining the yoghurt, olive oil, garlic, cumin and parsley.
5. Add the pumpkin to the cous cous mixture and coat with just enough yoghurt dressing (you might not need all of the dressing as you don’t want it to be soaked). Top with the almond slivers.

Warm kipfler potato salad

Ingredients:

• 300 grams of kipfler potatoes
• 1/2 package of rocket salad leaves
• Parmesan cheese flakes
• 50 millilitres of olive oil
• Dash of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of seeded mustard

Directions:

1. Wash, dry and cut the kipfler potatoes into wedges. Lightly coat in olive oil and roast in a moderate pre-heated oven. Turn midway through roasting and remove once they are golden and pierce easily with a knife.
2. Make the salad dressing by combining the olive oil, lemon juice and seeded mustard with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. In a bowl, toss the roasted potatoes with the salad leaves and dressing. Serve on a platter or plates topped with the parmesan flakes.

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