Green Salad and Goat Cheese Toast With Ingredients From Your Garden

Here’s a simple recipe to make use of home grown organic salad vegetables. This clip comes from the excellent series Grow, Cook, Eat. It’s easy to prepare, tastes delicious and is highly nutritious. As an extra help, the clip shows you how to plant the seeds as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEBkq9pUAyw

Interestingly, for I didn’t know this, lettuce is a cool season vegetable. So plant in summer and allow to grow in early autumn. Lettuce needs light to germinate, so don’t bury the seeds. Sprinkle the seeds as evenly as possible, on well prepared soil, and water. Then using your hands, sift a very light layer of soil on top the seeds. The clip suggests using potting mix, because it’s light and won’t have any weed seeds. Pat the soil down with your fingers. Use a watering can rather than a hose when you water seeds like this. A watering can gives a finer layer of water, so doesn’t move the seeds around.

Once germinated, dig up the little lettuces and separate. Re-plant about six inches (twelve centimetres) apart. Water again. Harvest lettuce at any time you feel they are ready. Take a knife and slide it just below the soil line, then cut the head of lettuce off.

To make your meal, you’ll want:

• A sliced baguette (use gluten free bread if required)
• Chevre goats cheese
• Fresh parsley (or any other herb you like)

Preheat oven to 350F (175C) Mash the parsley and chevre together. Spread over each piece of toast, place on a baking sheet and leave in oven for about ten minutes until cheese is golden and puffed.

To make the salad, first wash your vegetables. Lettuce, scallion onions, peas and radishes are the chosen produce here, but use whatever you prefer. Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces and put in large bowl. Slice the peas and radishes into bite size chunks. Cut cooked potatoes and fresh spring onions.

For the vinaigrette, zest half a lemon, squeeze 2 tsp of juice from the lemon, and add a half tsp of balsamic or white wine vinegar. The key to a good dressing is to use one part acid to three parts oil. Adds three tbsp of olive oil to the lemon/ vinegar mix then whisk briskly. Add seasoning to taste. Add dressing to salad and toss gently. Serve with the toasted goat cheese bites.

This meal makes a delicious starter or light lunch. Enjoy your homegrown vegetables as part of an organic lifestyle that is cheaper, healthier and altogether more fun.

Filed under: Organic Kitchen

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