Salad days

Todmorden has seen a full 2 weeks of summer weather!  This is fairly unheard of!  This beautiful sunshine has led me to thinking of salad.   This dinner actually took 2 days to make, as the beetroot were baked and the chickpeas were soaked and cooked - but you could do it in an hour using tinned chickpeas and vac packed beetroot.

All of the ingredients can be found from Todmorden market.  The Mediterranean Pantry (chickpeas, olive oil, roasted peppers, balsamic vinegar, oregano, garlic), The Crumbly Cheese (feta) and Kev's veg stall for the veg/fruit.

Bake the beetroot, washed but not peeled, with garlic cloves and olive oil for about an hour, until a knife can pierce them without resistance.  Cool a little, then peel (I always wear gloves) and chop into chunks.  While still warm drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Soak chickpeas overnight, and then boil for at least an hour.  The chickpeas are done when you can squash them between your fingers.

Potatoes
Olive oil
white onion
red pepper
garlic
oregano
lemon
feta

Chickpeas
Roasted red pepper (from a jar, in oil)
red onion

Tomatoes
Red onion
Radish
Basil

Beetroot
Apple
Avocao
Red onion
Lime
Balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Potatoes, red pepper and feta

1. Peel the potatoes (I used Cyprus, they were delicious) and cut into wedges.  Place into a roasting pan.
2.  Add quarters of white onion, chunks of red pepper  and sliced garlic.
3.  Slosh on a glug of olive oil, a sprinkle of oregano and the juice of half a lemon.
4.  Add half a cup of water, cover in foil and bake for about 30 minutes ... the water means that the potatoes and pepper will steam as well as bake which makes them extra juicy.
5.  After 30 minutes remove foil, return to the oven for about 45 minutes.  The red pepper will char a bit, but it will be delicious.
6.  Remove from the oven, crumble feta over the pan.

Chickpea salad

1.  Chop red peppers from a jar.
2.  Mix chickpeas, red pepper, oil from the jar and finely sliced red onion.

Tomato salad

Mix chopped tomatoes, finely sliced red onion, torn basil and finely sliced radish.  Drizzle with olive oil (sparingly).

Beetroot, avocado and apple salad

Mix chopped beetroot, chopped avocado, finely sliced red onion and chopped apple together.  Immediately add the juice of a lime and turn ingredients until they are all lightly coated - this will help prevent the apple and avocado oxidising, and discolouring.  Splosh in a little more balsamic if needed.

Serve, scoff  ... 7 of your 5 a day ... result!