Chicken and blue cheese salad

One of my most favourite things to eat is a baby leafed green salad, and BBQ'd something, whether it be brats (the sausage kind, not the annoying child kind) burgers, fish or lamb. I'm not too fussed, but I love the contrast between hot freshly cooked barbequed meat and the cool salad. I get bored though of the same green leaf salad and salad dressing though, so I'll mix it up with chorizo, pomegranate, pinenuts, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes even grapes or apples depending on what I have on hand at the time. This next recipe is lovely and definitely fills all the boxes I have just mentioned.

  Chicken and Blue Cheese Salad

1 bag mixed salad leaves

2 cooked chicken breasts thinly sliced

2 pears, peeled, cored and wedged

25g walnuts, roughly chopped

55g crumbled Roquefort

For the dressing

3tbsp red wine vinegar

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ tbsp. caster sugar

1tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and black pepper to taste

1.       Put all the ingredients for the dressing into a jar with a lid, seal and give it a good shake, test for seasoning and if needed give it a little extra salt and pepper.

2.       Mix all of your salad ingredients, not the cheese. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad between the four bowls and then sprinkle with the blue cheese.

A alternative spin on potato salad

We love salads, and I was looking for a “jazzy” potato salad. Something a little less “German,” don’t get me wrong, I love German food but for years my cooking was very German influenced. After all I have lived in Germany most of my 33 years, 25 if we want to be totally pedantic about it. So of course it’s going to have a lot of German influences in it. I was trying to get away from that though and start something new.

I found this “Warm Potato And Bacon Blue Cheese Salad,” in one of my cookbooks and if I’m honest it is just a jazzed up variation of a German Potato Salad.

 Warm Potato Salad With Bacon And Blue Cheese

500 grams new potatoes or salad potatoes, thickly sliced

2 tbsp Evoo

2 red onions, wedged

4 bacon strips, chopped

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

100 grams salad greens, torn

50 grams creamy blue cheese

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/450°F. Place potatoes in a roasting tin, rub with a tablespoon of evoo and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 15 minutes, then add the onion and roast for another 15 minutes or until potatoes are golden and onion is soft. Remove from the oven and allow to, cool, slightly.

2. Meanwhile dry fry the bacon.

3. Whisk together the mayo, red wine vinegar and remaining evoo to make the dressing.

4. Put potatoes, onions, bacon and salad leaves in a bowl, pour over the dressing, then toss well. Crumble over the blue cheese.