The Greasy Spoon

Simple Green Salad

Often, simplicity is the key to the best things in life. This afternoon, I would like to argue the cause for the Green Salad. When was the last time you had one? There's been a recent tendency for salads to be dressed up with quartered tomatoes, raw red peppers, sweetcorn, mushrooms; and other similar ingredients. And there's also the nasty habit of a salad being served as a first course. A complete "no-no" by my book.

So here's how I make The Greasy Spoon's Green Salad, which I serve alongside a main course. I avoid those pre-package salads you can buy in the supermarket. They're always bitter, bland, and of course, fiendishly expensive. Instead, I'll buy a lovely loose lettuce, and wash it myself. I bought an interesting variety the other day (the name of which typically, I've forgotten), which had a delicious peppery taste.

Next, I add fresh watercress (again, for the peppery taste), some chopped spring onions, and some fresh lemon thyme. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

To make a simple vinaigrette, I just mix a tiny bit of a smooth French mustard with some lemon juice, and a bit of salt, and then add a dash of olive oil, and finish it off with a lighter walnut oil.

Make sure the salad is well-drained, and then lightly toss the salad in the vinaigrette using your fingers. The secret is to make sure that you don't swamp the salad with the dressing. The leaves should be lightly coated in the oil. Easy isn't it?

Cod, Bacon, and Avocado Salad with Rice

This is an interesting green and white coloured rice salad that I invented a week or so ago, and it worked out surprisingly well. First, I steamed some cod fillets. Once they were cooked, I removed the skins, and seasoned them with my latest foodie discovery, Smoked Maldon Salt.

Next, I cooked some Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice with some star anise and two cloves. I once had an argument with the owner of the Kennington Tandoori, who claimed that Uncle Ben's was a poor quality rice. Well! I like it for this sort of recipe, because it has less starch, and each grain remains clean and intact. I bet my bottom dollar that in a blind tasting, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

I flaked up the salty cod, and mixed it in with the cooked rice. Then, I added some crispy streaky bacon, fried until crisp, some chopped avocado (sprinkle some lime or lemon juice on it immediately to stop it going black), and a green chili sliced into small strips.

Then it's an easy matter to add chopped spring onions, and some chopped parsley or coriander. Mix it all together gently. Finally, add a dressing: I used a light oil, mixed with a white wine vinegar, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. You could also add some prawns, but, as always, the best thing, in my opinion, is simplicity...

Christmas Herring Salad

A German style Christmas market has come to town. I haven't been yet, but all sorts of stalls, fairground rides, and ice-rinks have gone up in Hyde Park. And for once, it's suddenly cold and frosty here in London.

Every Christmas I make a German or Scandanavian style Herring Salad. I was given the recipe by my great uncle whose family originally came from Cologne. He treated the enterprise as a work of art, and "built" up the salad over three or four days; however I recently ran into a Swedish girl at a cocktail party who insisted that it needed to be made quickly- and then finished off immediately. I'm going to go with my great-uncle on this one, as the vinegars in the salad should act as a preservative. Want to make it? This is how you do it:

You need a large mixing bowl. Chop up some herring. You are supposed to use salted herring, but I use Scottish roll-mops- which are herring marinated in vinegar and spices. Add some diced cooked potatoes, peeled diced apples, diced gherkin, chopped celery, chopped anchovies, and ham- chopped up into small pieces. Mix it all around. Throw in a handful of capers, and some diced cooked beetroot.

The beetroot will make the salad go an interesting bright pink colour. Next, mix up a vinaigrette. That's just a small dollop of mustard mixed with sugar, and wine vinegar to form an emulsion, with oil added slowly. I suggest you use a light oil, such as sunflower oil, rather than olive oil for this one. Olive oil is too Mediterranean in style and flavour.

Finish off the salad with lots of chopped dill, and chopped egg white. It's delicious.

French Chicken Salad with Curry Vinaigrette

A few months ago I went on a trawl of the Parisian antique markets at Porte de Clignancourt, the last stop on the Metro. If you haven't been there yet, you must go. The quality and range of things for sale is good, and the stands are arranged with Gallic elan. All was dandy, apart from one desperate furniture dealer who tried to flog me a third division bureau, which she insisted had been made by the ebiniste Reisner for none other than Louis XVI. Well.

To escape this outrage, we stopped off at a small unpretentious bistro. One of the dishes they came up with was this simple chicken salad. It was delicious, and the slightly unusual curried vinaigrette worked surprisingly well. Up until then, I had been slighly suspicious of the use of curry in French cooking, thinking that the French didn't really understand how to use it properly. You will find Sauce Indienne in French cuisine, and usually they just stir in uncooked curry powder into a mayonnaise or a bechamel sauce. The Indians (and Brits!) know that they need to cook the spices first- to bring out the full flavour and get rid of that rather bitter taste.

Anyway, here's my adapted version of what I had that day- and I think it works. Try it out for yourself. First, I chopped up some organic chicken breasts into thick slices. You could also chop them up into chunks. Brush some honey over them, and season them with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Shove them under a grill.

Now you need to make the curry vinaigrette. In a small bowl add a dollop of curry paste (I used a Madras paste- may have been too strong), Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and a tablespoon of sugar. Next, slowly pour in some good olive oil. As you stir it around, you should end up with a thickish emulsion, a bit like a sloppy mayonnaise.

On the serving plate, arrange some fresh crunchy lettuce. Place the grilled chicken, which should be nice and golden in colour, yet not over-cooked. Drizzle the vinaigrette over it. You could of course add other salady ingredients (the Parisian version had tomatoes), but I'm currently a fan of all things simple (and all things green) when it comes to salad, so I just added some chopped tarragon, which worked well with the chicken. Season again with Maldon salt, and pepper, and squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over the salad. Bon Appetit.

Waldorf Salad

Hands up who doesn't love a Waldorf Salad? Named after the Waldorf Hotel in New York, it's supposed to have been invented in 1893 by the maitre d'hotel, Oscar Tschirky- who also laid claim to that tantalising breakfast dish, Eggs Benedict.

Anyway, it's a simple old thing, and easily made from a combination of sliced celery, diced apples (I leave the skin on), walnuts, and raisins. You then bind the salad with mayonnaise (I will be initiating you into the secrets of how to make this in a later post), and serve it on a bed of lettuce, as the whim takes you.