A big bowl of greens, golds, textures and flavours – how about diving into this autumn salad with freekeh and a rather tasty chorizo dressing?
I had the urge to make a salad of some description with whatever jumped out at me at the markets. It’s been a while since I last went to a farmers’ market and let the produce tell me what I was going to do with it, as generally I go to pick up bits and pieces I knew I needed. Not that we shop at city farmers’ markets every week as it can be an expensive exercise.
I know what’s in season right now, but you never know what other goodies may be up for grabs. So there I was at the Eveleigh Market, taking note of fresh produce as I wandered from vendor to vendor with thoughts, ideas and combinations jumping about my head.
Root vegetables were a must, as it was difficult to ignore the bright yellow and deep purple baby carrots at every fruit & veg stand. And those beets!
Another couple of little surprises were the tiny zucchini flecked with green and yellow. I couldn’t resist those.
And then I spotted cucamelons at two of the vendors; those adorable little things that originate from Central America and Mexico. Great thing is that they’re grown here now, and they’re the most wonderful, crunchy little morsels to toss through salads.
As for the greenery, I snipped some of that from the communal garden in my street. The bright green sorrel was grown from one of those micro herb containers you can get from the grocers – another great salad addition. The other leafy bits are shiso, which I also grabbed at the market, plus a few leaves like nasturtium and native violet from my garden.
Now, let’s talk about that dressing.
I’ve infused some virgin olive oil with crumbled chorizo I got from the market. Done over low heat, the oils from the chorizo seep out and dye the olive oil, bringing with it that beautiful smoky flavour. All you do is strain it and emulsify it with an acid like vinegar (apple cider in my case), a little seasoning and some mustard.
So tasty!
Course | Salads, Vegetables |
Servings |
servings
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Ingredients
Dressing
Salad ingredients
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