Bits of Carey

Have you ever had a lazy day when you end up buying a rotisserie BBQ chicken and find yourself in a pickle, “what do I serve with it?” Or at a braai, you long for inspiration to prepare something other than the standard potato salad and green salad, something different…but not too wacky for your guests(have a gran and teenage bro and sis to consider)

So here are my new favourite salads for a braai:

Roasted Butternut and Rocket salad

Sweet, peppery, salty, crunchy, nutty…what more could you ask for? I could eat this one as a meal.

I used fresh rocket from the garden, tossed in 250 g roasted butternut, 3 sticks of danish feta, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and parmesan shavings. Drizzle with Verlaque’s pomegranite balsamic dressing.

Lush potato salad

Tangy with a honey and mustard undertone

Boil +- 500 g baby potatoes until tender and cut in half. Add 1 bunch of chopped salad onions.  Mix 1 cup of good mayo, juice and zest of 1 lemon, 3 T extra virgin olive oil, 2 T wholegrain mustard and 2 T honey and combine well with the potatoes and salad onions. Season with salt and pepper.

This could jooshed up a bit by adding some smoked salmon to it and fried bacon bits.

Mom’s Curried Banana Salad

Naughty, but so nice! It is so divine when eaten with lamb or chicken.

Mix 1 can of condensed milk, 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 heaped T mild curry powder. Slice 4 – 6 bananas and add to the sauce. Stir until well combined. Allow to stand for about 30 minutes to allow the favours to develop.

Trust me…don’t diss it before you’ve tried it!

Classic Green salad

You can’t not have this

I like my salads to have less leaves and more filling: baby rosa’s, soft avo, calamata olives, crumbly feta, cucumber and salad onions. Drizzle with a bit of lemon juive and extra virgin olive oil.

P.s. On this particular day I made sticky pork riblets, and wings(just used steers rib sauce!) and boerewors rolls for the youngens.

And for those days when you bought a BBQ chicken…

Rosemary Roasted baby potatoes

Boil potatoes until tender. Place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with freshly milled salt and pepper. Toss in pieces of fresh rosemary, chopped garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 200 degrees or until crispy and slightly golden.

Avo and feta salad

Soft creamy avo, smooth and salty feta in crunchy rocket with nutty pecorino ending off with a tart vinaigrette

Toss fresh wild rocket leaves, feta cheese, slices of avo together. Drizzle with olive and lemon juice. Top with pecorino shavings. Season with freshly milled black pepper.

Dinner is served, enjoy with your rotisserie chicken! or braai in fact!

Have a lovely weekend all!

Happy cooking!