My Mega Salad – Bacon, Beetroot, Rocket and Asparagus, with a Zingy Horseradish Dressing, Croutons and a Boiled Egg

One of my new year’s resolutions is to get more creative with salads, I say one of because I have so many, and they are all food based! It is never appealing when you go out for lunch and in the salad section it is listed:

Tuna Salad

Ham Salad

Cheese Salad

It just turns me right off, and I just think, ‘come on, give me some oomph!’ I don’t know about you but when I read ‘Salad’ in a restaurant I just think lettuce, tomato and cucumber; and then whatever extra item the restaurant has decided to throw on-top. Salads can be wonderful and they deserve the respect of a bit if jazz. Give them a zingy dressing, throw in some different textures and you will probably be more satisfied if you add a carb in there too. I think this salad has everything; lots of vegetables, multiple textures, flavoursome proteins, crunchy croutons and topped off with a super zing of a dressing! Go on, give it a try!

Serves 2

–          2-3 pickled beetroots – chopped into small cubes

–          2 sliced bread – cut into small cubes

–          5 rashes bacon

–          1 tbsp olive oil

–          2 eggs – boiled and sliced into 4

–          8 asparagus stalks

–          2 big handfuls rocket

–          1 small red onion – very finely sliced

–          ¼ cucumber – cut into thin strips

For the Dressing – mix together the following ingredients

–          Juice ½ Lemon

–          3 heap tsp natural yoghurt

–          1 heap tsp creamed horseradish

Pre-Heat the oven to 200’C

Toss the beetroot in a little olive oil and roast in the roast for half an hour

Combine the cucumber, onion and rocket together in a large bowl and set aside until ready to plate up.

Heat a griddle pan with the olive oil and fry the bacon on this. Once the bacon is cooked, remove and fry the bread cubes and asparagus in the juices for a couple of minutes until the asparagus is cooked and the bread is golden and crispy

Once the beetroot is cooked plate all the ingredients and drizzle with the dressing.