Summer Salad

Source: The X-Diet Cookbook
Serves: 4-6

Guest always exclaim over this light and colourful summer salad, with its unusual flower garnish. The watercress and rockets belong to the group of dark green leefy special vegetables so eat up.

Ingredients
3 oranges
1 'pillow' packet fresh rocket or young spinach
1 'pillow' packet watercress
1 red pepper, very finely sliced
1 green pepper, very finely sliced
1 ripe papino, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
6 spring onions, finely sliced
1 cucumber, cubed
6 carrots, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
1 tin (about 400g) whole kernel sweetcorn, drained
8 nasturtium flowers and 8 leaves

Dressing
80ml raspberry vinegar
80ml orange juice
45ml runny honey, warmed

Method

1. Peel oranges over a bowl and cut out segments. Reserve juice.
2. Wash rocket or spinach and watercress and pat or spin dry.
3. Arrange rocket and watercress in a large bowl.
4. Scatter over red pepper, green pepper, papino, spring onions, cucumber, carrots and sweetcorn.
5. To make dressing: combine all ingredients in a screwtop jar and shake until well blended.
6. Pour dressing over salad and toss well to combine.
7. Garnish with nasturtium flowers and leaves and serve.

Extra Tips

• To segment an orange neatly, first peal the orange as you would an apple, using a sharp knife and taking care to remove every trace of white pith. Hold the orange over a bowl to catch the juice. Cut on either side of the membranes that divide the segments, making sure you cut all the way to the centre. Gently twist the knife to release the segment, leaving the membrane behind. Repat until you have removed all the segments.
• If you are short of time, replace the oranges with well drained tinned mandarins. Tinned litchis also work well in this salad.
• If you can't find nasturtium flowers, use any other edible flower such as chive flowers, borage flowers or violets.
• Transform this salad into a statisfying meal by adding potatoes. Boil 12 new potatoes in their skins, drain well, cut in half and add to the salad immediately before serving. The contrast of the hot potato and cool crunchy salad is spectacular.
• add a tin of drained aspargus tip or use steamed fresh asparagus when it in season.