The Caldesis run restaurants, a cookery school and have produced several cookbooks. This latest focuses on salad – not the limp variety featuring mild combinations of lettuce, cucumber and tomato, but vibrant leafy, fruit and veg feasts. Inspiration for the project came when Giancarlo was diagnosed as diabetic and gluten intolerant and ‘we had to cross over to the greener side of life’ as Katie Caldesi puts it. Using recipes discovered while travelling to South-East Asia, Morocco and the USA, Greece, Kuwait and Japan they compiled this book of 120 health-boosting salads ranging from Portobello mushroom and celery salad, Indian flower salad, Wakame seaweed salad and peach and lentil salad to Swedish cucumber salad, chickpea salad with tamarind sauce and Mexican quinoa, feta and corn salad. Salad in a jar is economical with the washing up means you can take a healthy lunch to work with you.
Salad in a Jar
First find your jar and then fill it in layers using all the food groups: protein, starchy pulses or grains, veg, fruit and salad leaves
Start with a dressing at the bottom, then add moisture-resistant veg such as carrots, cucumber, beans or pulses. Add a layer of grated carrot, fruit or cabbage, followed by protein such as chicken, cheese, chickpeas, nuts, quinoa or faro. Follow this with berries such as blueberries or strawberries or tomatoes and finish with herbs or leaves, crumbly bacon or toasted breadcrumbs and screw on the lid. Keep upright in the fridge until lunchtime and when ready to eat, turn it upside and shake to mix in the dressing , then tip out onto a plate
The Caldesis include many recipes for dressing in their book, including this classic vinaigrette
Classic Vinaigrette
Serves 6-8/makes 100ml
- 2 tblsp red wine vinegar
- 8 tblsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to taste
- 1-2 teasps honey or maple syrup to taste
- 2 teasp Dijon mustard
- 1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the ingredients in a lidded jar and shake to combine
Variations include:
- Balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar
- Adding two tblsp of chopped leafy herbs
- Swap half the olive oil for walnut or hazelnut oil
Around the World in Salads is published by Kyle Books, £16.99 kylebooks.co.uk
