Salad – Page 3 – The Constables Larder

Sunday lunch: Caper Potato Salad and Marinated Pork

Summer Sundays are great for catching up with friends for lunch on our Rye deck. A perfect day sees the kids tearing around playing havoc with the toys while the adults relax under the umbrella enjoying beers and lunch. The hot weather at the moment is just right for salads and grilled meats – fresh flavors and mostly cold food. Today, we had a delicious grilled marinated pork, french style potato salad (without mayo) and a greek-ish salad of cucumber, peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onion and feta cheese.

Pork marinade: Apple cider vinegar, coriander (cilantro), jalapeno peppers and a dash of soy sauce. We marinated the meat overnight and then grilled on the BBQ.

Potato salad: Boil small red potatoes until tender. Meanwhile mix dressing – minced shallot, parsley, 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar, 1 tbs Dijon mustard; whisk together while adding about 6 tbs olive oil in a stream; finish off with a couple of teaspoons of capers. Dice the cooked potatoes and mix with dressing while warm so they soak it up. Eat warm or refrigerated.

Three Cheese Salad

On a hot, humid Saturday, we wanted something light, fast to prepare, and which would go nicely with a Brooklyn Lager wheat beer. Our combination:

Ripe tomatoes, sliced into bite-sizes (campari, grape or cherry tomatoes recommended)
A big handful of fresh basil, torn
Mozarella cheese, cut into small cubes
Feta cheese, cut into small cubes
Parmigan cheese, shaved
Pine nuts
Olive oil
White wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper

For reasons only known to the most obscure of Greek god, Audrey has decided today that she is a squirrel and mommy and daddy are trees. We managed to scrape her off long enough to throw together a meal!

Spicy Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nuea)

I think I snagged this, or something resembling this, out of a magazine but it was too long ago to remember where.

London broil or skirt steak
fresh minced Ginger
1 Bunch of spring onions, minced including green part
1 small Red Onion
3-4 medium tomatoes
3 serrano peppers
Bunch of cilantro
1 large or 2 medium cucumbers
1/4 cup Fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 leaves of red leaf or romano lettuce

» Score the beef and let sit in a marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and hot peppers. Broil it until medium to well-done.
» In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes (cut into wedges), cucumber (de-skinned, halved and sliced finely), red onion (halved and very finely sliced), lettuce (washed, dried and torn into small pieces), and a hefty bunch of cilantro (loosely chopped).
» In a small mixing bowl, create the dressing by combining: fish sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, 2-4 tbsp fresh minced ginger, serrano peppers (halved, seeded and finely chopped), sesame oil, and for a bit more kick, I sometimes add in a touch of Rice Wine Vinegar.
» Finely slice the beef (and halve the larger pieces), add to salad and mix in dressing. Let the salad sit for a bit so that the beef marinates further in the dressing.