Camping Recipes: Salads on the Go

The following salads can be used for lunches or picnics, as well as accompanying a main meal. Importantly, these salads avoid foods or ingredients that need refrigeration for bacterial control.

For example, it is recommended that meats not be kept out of the fridge at anywhere between 5-60°C for more than two hours before eating.

The other component of a portable salad is that any fluid, such salad dressings and juicy fruits, is added just before serving.

Peach, String Bean and Macadamia Salad

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 2-3 minutes

The following quantities will serve four.

• 125g quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable stock or water
• 2 large peaches
• 250g fresh green ‘French’ string beans, topped and tailed, and cut into two
• Large handful of Italian (flat leaf) parsley leaves
• 1 golden shallot, peeled and finely minced
• 4 tbsp macadamia nuts
• 1/2 small soft brie, cut into wedges

Salad dressing

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a small jar, shake the dressing ingredients together until combined.

Place the quinoa in a large pan. Add the stock or water and season to your taste with salt. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa is just cooked. Drain the quinoa well and allow to cool.

Slice the peach (or other stone fruit) in half around the outside of the seed. Twist gently to halve the peach. Remove the seed and then slice the fruit into wedges. Place in a small sealable container until ready to be used in the salad.

Bring a pot of water to the boil on the stove and add the green beans to the pot. Cook for only a couple of minutes, then remove the beans from the pot and plunge them into cold water to refresh (and stop the cooking process).

Toss the quinoa, green beans, parsley and shallot together in a bowl. Place these salad fixings in a sealable container; place the nuts into a small container, the peaches into another small container and the dressing into a jar. Keep the brie in one piece until you are ready to serve the salad.

When you get to your destination and hunger hits, to assemble the salad pour the dressing over the green bean mixture and mix well. Sprinkle the dressed salad with the nuts and fruit and arrange the brie wedges on the top of the salad.

If you want to use chicken, add it to your salad just before serving.

Greek Salad with Grilled Haloumi

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: Five minutes

The following quantities will serve four.

• 250g baby spinach leaves, washed, drained and roughly chopped
• 375g ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 continental cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and diced
• 1 red capsicum (or a chilli), de-seeded and cut into strips
• 1/4 cup pitted olives, roughly chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 tbsp chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley
• 2-3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 100g haloumi cheese, cut into cubes (or 50g crumbled feta)

Salad dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• A good pinch of dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a small jar, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar and dried oregano. Shake well to combine. Taste the dressing and add the seasonings (salt and pepper) to please your palate.

Combine the spinach leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum/chilli, olives, red onion, parsley and pine nuts in a bowl. If you are using feta cheese in your salad, crumble it in now.

If you are using haloumi, heat a heavy-based frypan over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, spray it with a little non-stick cooking spray or lightly oil the pan by smearing a little oil across the base with a paper towel or similar. Add the haloumi cubes to the pan and sauté on all sides until golden brown. Remove the grilled haloumi from the pan and allow to cool.

When the haloumi is cool, add it to the salad and toss well. Add and tumble the dressing through the salad just before serving.

The full feature appeared in Caravan World #535 March 2015.