Salads that will bowl you over with flavour

Health-conscious Greek cooking enthusiast Kon Karapanagiotidis shares some of his favourite delicious family salad recipes to enjoy over summer.

Spinach and dill rice from A Seat At My Table

ANCIENT GREEK GRAINS SALAD

Essential to the Greek way of life since ancient times, barley has been used not only for making wine and beer but for making porridge and flour for our bread as well.

This salad is packed with so much goodness – barley is low GI and high in dietary fibre and vitamin B1, and puy lentils have one of the highest amounts of protein of any pulses. Pomegranates are rich in antioxidants and flavonoids and the almonds are rich in vitamin E and magnesium.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
● 200g puy lentils, rinsed

● 200g pearl barley, rinsed

● 30g (1 cup) flatleaf (Italian) parsley, chopped

● 20g (1 cup) mint, chopped

● 390g (2.5 cups) whole almonds, plus extra to serve

● Seeds of 1½ pomegranates, plus extra to serve

● 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

● Salt and pepper, to taste

● 80ml (1/3 cup) extra‑virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

● 2 tablespoons pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

● 50g Greek feta

METHOD
Bring a large pot or saucepan of water to the boil, add lentils and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until tender, then drain and rinse well.

Meanwhile, in a separate large pot or saucepan, boil barley for 25-30 minutes, or until tender, then drain and rinse well. Combine cooked lentils and barley in a bowl.

Add herbs, almonds, pomegranate seeds and pomegranate molasses and gently combine.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine.

To give your salad an extra dash of beautiful colour, it is worth topping it with some more pomegranate seeds and almonds so the colours really stand out. Add pistachios and crumble feta over the salad, then drizzle with extra oil to serve.

MAKE IT VEGAN

By using a vegan feta.

MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE

By replacing the barley with millet.

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVERS

This is a salad that will easily keep for a week if refrigerated and covered. Make a whole new salad by adding spinach, rocket and Greek feta.

ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES ON GOAT’S CHEESE

I love this dish so much for its simple pleasures. You can’t go wrong when you place anything on goat’s cheese. In this dish, I have simply roasted cherry tomatoes in a Greek marinade.

You can roast these tomatoes on your barbecue, on your oven grill or even fry them in a large pan.

INGREDIENTS
● 1kg cherry tomatoes (multi-coloured or red)

● 2 sprigs thyme

● 2 sprigs rosemary

● 3 garlic cloves, sliced

● 1 teaspoon Greek oregano

● 80ml (1/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil

● Salt and pepper, to taste

● 250g goat’s cheese

● 30g (½ cup) mint, basil or flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, coarsely chopped

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C (360F). Place tomatoes in a large roasting tin and toss with the thyme, rosemary, garlic, Greek oregano and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until golden, soft and deeply coloured.
Note, as an alternative you can also use a frying pan on low heat: add oil and garlic and fry for 1 minute, add the herbs, fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and fry for about 10 minutes, or until golden, soft and deeply coloured.

Meanwhile, spread the goat’s cheese over a serving plate or small bowl.

Remove herb sprigs from the roasting tin. Top goat’s cheese with roasted cherry tomatoes, drizzling over any juices from the pan. Top with remaining herbs to serve.

MAKE IT VEGAN

Use a vegan goat’s cheese or other soft vegan cheese.

MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE

It already is!

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVERS

Enjoy the next morning, spread over toast or use as a pizza topping.

GREEK PASTA SALAD

INGREDIENTS
● 500g fusilli pasta

● 60ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

● 30g (1 cup) flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, finely chopped

● 20g (1 cup) mint
● 2 red capsicums (bell peppers), deseeded and sliced

● 2 red onions, cut into wedges

● 100g pitted olives

● 80ml (1/3 cup) white vinegar

● Juice of 1 lemon

● 200g cherry or baby roma tomatoes (red or multicoloured), halved

● 150g semi-dried tomatoes

● 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano

● 2 Lebanese cucumbers, chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

100g Greek feta

This salad is spring and summer in a bowl. The contrast of these bright vegetables with the pasta tossed with fresh herbs and generous amounts of olive oil go perfectly together.

You can also replace fusilli pasta with penne, macaroni or hilopites pasta.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and set aside to cool.

Combine oil, herbs, capsicum, onion, olives, vinegar, lemon juice, tomatoes, Greek oregano and cucumber in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add pasta and toss through to combine. Season well and sprinkle with feta to serve.

MAKE IT VEGAN

It already is! If using feta, choose a vegan feta.

MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE

By using a gluten-free pasta.

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVERS

All pasta salads can become delicious Greek pasta bakes. First, drain salad, toss with grated hard cheese, finish with a sprinkle of extra cheese on top and bake at 180C (360F) until golden.

This is an edited extract from A Seat at My Table: Philoxenia by Kon Karapanagiotidis (Hardie Grant Books, $45). Photography by Sarah Pannell.