Summer Time Smörgåsbord

Puy Lentil Salad

A Puy lentil salad with roasted cherry tomatoes, red onion, baked garlic and plenty with fresh herbs. For toppings there was feta cheese, mixed seeds, olives and plain rocket on the side. When making a lentil salad, cook your own lentils and pour the dressing over warm lentils to enhance the flavours. Roasted cherry tomatoes and red onion is another great addition to any salad or dish. You can add some olives to the tomatoes as well.

Butternut Squash Salad

cs-butternut

Another great and super simple addition for a salad buffet is butternut squash. Simply roast cubed butternut squash in olive oil, sea salt and Nigella seeds. Nigella seeds or black onion seeds, as they are called as well, are commonly used in Indian cooking and go well with any roasted vegetables. They add a lovely earthy and spicy hint to your vegetables. Serve the butternut squash on top of plenty of green leaves. No extra dressing is required for this dish.

Potato Salad

cs-potatoA classic dish such as a potato salad is another crowd pleaser. Cook new potatoes and add a French vinaigrette, radishes, thinly sliced red onion, olives and capers. It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

Waste not, want not

Also, cooled cooked potatoes provide great resistant starch which is good for your gut bacteria. So, don’t throw away any potatoes. Store them in the fridge and add to your lunch the day after. The potatoes suddenly become much healthier the day after.

… and a dash of protein

With the salads serve some protein options like e.g. an Asian flavoured salmon, thinly sliced marinated beef, a cheese board and crudités with humus.

Gluten Free Afternoon Tea, as you like it

CS MerengueA pavlova makes a spectacular gluten free and dairy free afternoon tea. It’s not vegan friendly but to make this dish versatile serve the merengue on its own with mixed fresh berries on the side. Offer lactose free cream, coconut yoghurt or vegan ice cream so that everyone could “build” their own pudding, with or without the merengue. For anyone who avoids sugar, natural coconut yoghurt and fresh berries make a wonderfully delicious treat