Recipe | Radhi Devlukia-Shetty’s Everything Packed Salad

This salad is perfectly named because it has everything you want and everything you need, all heaped in a bowl. I like to tell people that this is the salad that you’ll not only crave every single day – seriously, I sometimes eat it on repeat for months and months – but it’s actually a great thing for you to have in your usual rotation because of the well-rounded nutrition it delivers. You’ll find all the macro- and micronutrients you need to feel nourished in this crunchy, creamy, leafy, zippy, fresh, bright mish-mash masterpiece.

Vegan
Serves 2-3
25 minutes

Salad | Ingredients

2 heads Little Gem lettuce or other tender lettuce, trimmed and chopped

1 medium cucumber, diced

180g cooked grain or legume of your choice (see Note)

50g rocket

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

1 small head fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced

8 cherry tomatoes, quartered

½ large red pepper/capsicum, chopped

1/2 avocado, diced

5 Medjool dates, stoned and chopped

3 medium radishes, ends trimmed and thinly sliced

5g chopped fresh mint leaves

5g fresh parsley leaves

20g vegan parmesan or vegan ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons chopped pepperoncini or pickled jalapeño peppers

Herby Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Pumpkin Seeds, toasted, for serving

Method

In a large bowl, gently toss together the lettuce, cucumber, grain or legume, rocket, carrot, fennel, tomatoes, red pepper, avocado, dates, radishes, mint, parsley, parmesan and pepperoncini/jalapeños. Drizzle as much or as little dressing as you like over the salad and toss to coat. Top with the toasted pumpkin seeds and serve.

Herby Vinaigrette | Ingredients

Makes about 240ml
10 minutes

120ml fresh lemon juice (from 4 lemons)

120ml extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 1/2teaspoons Dijon mustard

¾ teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, agave, mustard, salt, basil, oregano and pepper until well combined.

Note

I like tossing cooked grains or beans (I love quinoa or chickpeas here) into this salad to make it extra filling. It’s a great way to use up leftovers, but you could also cook a batch of your favourite grain, bean or lentil and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. That way any time can be salad time. Or in a pinch, go with rinsed and drained tinned beans and call it a day!

More recipes to try:

Classic Pasta Salad by Radhi Devlukia-Shetty

Chilled Soba Noodle Salad with Creamy Sambal Dressing by Radhi Devlukia-Shetty