Low GI & Omega 3 Rich Recipes

Take advantage of the crisp pears available in Australia in early winter, bursting with freshness and not overly sweet to create this fresh tasty salad. It makes a wonderful side with “Herb-stuffed roasted lamb with garlic confit”, or with a sprinkle of a few roasted almonds or pecans and some thinly sliced multigrain sourdough bread can also make a fulfilling and tasty lunch. A good salad spinner like the one linked here is an excellent resource when making salads. It enables you to dry the leaves without crushing them, and really does dry them well. They work by using the gravitational forces of rotation to fling the water out the sides and catch it in the outer bowl. They are also a fun way to introduce children to the joys of cooking.

Recently while I was babysitting my 4 and 6 year old nieces, they took turns pulling the cord to rinse the leaves. That day the lettuce was VERY well spun! It let them be involved and understand all the steps to making the meal, and allowed me to get busy with the cooking. They also thoroughly enjoyed chopping the strawberries we ate for dessert with a blunt knife and dividing them up among the bowls. When we sat down to serve the salad, we followed the family tradition of mentioning that their love had been cooked into the meal!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: Lunch for 2 or a side for 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 small pears, soft but still crisp. A good way to tell that pears are ripe is to pierce the top of the skin near the stalk with your nail. If you can break it with a gentle force it is ready to eat. Choose smallish fruit for flavour.
• a handful of whole fresh baby peas or snow peas
• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes or baby roma tomatoes. (Be sure to choose tomato punnets that have a use-by date. I’ve noticed supermarkets have got in the bad habit of not dating their punnets of tomatoes. If there is condensation on the inside of the plastic and you look a little closer, you may notice mould beginning to grow. The same principle applies for strawberries. When you get them home, storing them either in the fridge or in a cool, well ventilated spot away from other fruits will help in maintaining freshness.)
• 10-15 fresh basil leaves
• 5-6 fresh mint leaves
• half a bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 small cos lettuce, or a bowl full of lettuce leaves
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• a quarter of a lemon squeezed
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• Rinse the lettuce leaves well in a strainer or salad spinner and dry off.
• Rinse the fresh herbs and chop into smallish pieces
• Quarter the pears and then finely slice lengthwise
• Rinse the peas and chop roughly
• Rinse the tomatoes
• Place lettuce, herbs, tomatoes and pear slices in a salad bowl
• Mix the dressing ingredients together with a small fork till well combined
• When ready to eat, pour salad dressing over, toss, and serve. Dressing a salad too early will cause the leaves to go soggy. Bring the dressing to the table and pour over at the last minute.
• If you want to save some for later, leave out the pear, the rest will keep well in tupperware, or in the salad spinner in the fridge, and you can add a sliced pear and the dressing when you are ready to eat it later.