Two substantial salads that are complete meals

This salad, with its filling components and varied textures, is one of our perennial favourites – even when it’s not summer. The lentils give this real staying power, but you could sub in any grain of your choosing. Just don’t skip the dressing – in fact, make double and pour it over everything.

INGREDIENTS

• 2  brinjals
• 1  butternut, thinly sliced
• 1–2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 x 400 g can lentils, drained and rinsed

For the dressing:

• 1  t tahini
• ½ cup plain thick yoghurt
• ½ lemon
• ½ clove garlic, crushed
• Celery leaves, for serving
• Parsley leaves, for serving
• Purple sprouts, for serving

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Halve the brinjals lengthways, then score the flesh in a crisscross pattern. Arrange on a baking tray with thinly sliced butternut, drizzle with olive oil, season and sprinkle over crushed garlic. Roast for 30–40 minutes, or until tender and slightly charred.
3. To make the dressing, mix the tahini with ½ cup plain thick yoghurt, the juice of ½ lemon, ½ clove crushed garlic and season to taste.
4. Shallow fry a few celery and parsley leaves in hot oil for a few seconds until crisp, drain on kitchen paper and season with sea salt.
5. Toss the butternut and brinjal with 1 x 400 g can drained and rinsed lentils, a squeeze of lemon juice and a little olive oil.
6. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and garnish with purple sprouts and the celery and parsley leaves.
    

SHOP THE RECIPE

A chicken and bulgur wheat salad might not sound like the most interesting thing, but the pomegranate glaze adds a big punch of flavour. Mix and match with the greens used here – kale, baby spinach and even finely sliced, blanched broccoli would also work wonders.

RECIPE BY: Phillipa Cheifitz
SERVES: 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1  kg free range skinless chicken thighs
• 2  T olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the marinade, mix:

• 4  cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1  green chilli, sliced
• ⅓ cup pomegranate molasses 
• 2  T olive oil
• ½-1 t freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

• 400 g bulgur wheat
• 1  t salt
• 2  T olive oil
• boiling water
• 100 g shelled pistachios, roasted and coarsely chopped (half reserved for serving)
• 150 g currants
• 4  t dried mint
• 2  T pomegranate molasses (thinned with 1-2 T olive oil)
• 100 g pomegranate rubies (1 T reserved for serving)
• 20-30 g mint, roughly chopped
• 20-30 g parsley, roughly chopped
• Lemon or lime juice, to taste (we used ½ lemon and 1 lime)

SHOP THE RECIPE

1. Coat the chicken in the marinade. Cover and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. You can marinate it up to 48 hours in advance – leave it in the fridge until you are ready to start cooking.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and add the marinated chicken, skin side up. Season with salt and pepper and fry for 2–3 minutes, or until dark golden in colour, then turn and cook for a further 2 minutes. Place the pan in the oven. Or, if you prefer, transfer the browned chicken and marinade to a baking pan lined with baking paper. Bake for 5–8 minutes, or until cooked through.
3. To make the salad, place the bulgur wheat, salt and oil in a saucepan. Add enough boiling water to just cover it (about 3 cups). Bring to a simmer, cover and turn off the heat. Once tender, fluff up with a fork.
4. Add all the remaining salad ingredients, except those you have reserved for serving, and stir well. Check the seasoning. Spoon the salad onto a large platter and top with the chicken and the cooking juices. If you like, reduce the juices to make a glaze to spoon over the chicken. Sprinkle with the reserved pistachios and pomegranate rubies. 

Feeling inspired? Salad ingredients at Woolworths: 

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