Georgian Salad #nosadsalads no.2
What do Georgian salad, Garretstown Chicken and Duck A*s Pate all have in common? They’re all made-up names I’ve been (unknowingly) using for years! Granted when I stop to think about it, Duck A*s pate doesn’t sound great, but with three older brothers that seemed perfectly normal.
I used to think Garretstown Chicken was a creamy chicken dish originating from the seaside town of Garretstown, West Cork. Turns out it was something my mum made up one evening after a long day at the beach when we were on holiday there. One of those evenings where we were all starving, we had dragged sand everywhere and all the towels were soaked from the inevitable rain showers that are part of any Irish summer. It was so delicious, and for years I thought the people of Garretstown must all be such great cooks to come up with something like that! It’s chicken and broccoli in a creamy sauce, which is made from a tin of chicken soup, then topped with breadcrumbs and if we were really pushing the boat out, a bag of smashed crisps.
I had assumed that this salad was the Georgian equivalent of the iconic Greek salad. It was only recently when I read the original recipe that I realised it’s simply called ‘cooked and raw salad’. But it is from Georgia so I’m sticking with that name! It’s very good and worth the time to roast the veg first. Having a mix of cooked veg, sliced raw peppers and grated carrots gives so many layers of texture. The dressing is a bit different to the usual EVOO/Balsamic situation that we see everywhere in summer, but it’s so very delicious. The walnut/yoghurt mixture cuts through all the veg and adds an extra layer of crunch.
I am no expert in Georgian cuisine but I love reading about other countries’ food cultures and have heard a lot of good things about their wine! I have added chickpeas and changed some of the veg from the original recipe so feel free to play around. The chilli gives a lovely little kick so feel free to use more or add fresh chilli at the end. This is a great dish to prep in advance and is best eaten at room temperature so perfect for summer days! The chickpeas add some protein, the yoghurt brings protein and calcium, the walnuts are high in healthy fats and all the veg mean this is packed with fibre. Nutritious and delicious!
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Roast veg
· 1 aubergine, cut lengthways into 4 slices, then horizontally into halves and then each half into 4 batons. Or just onto cubes!
· 1 courgette - similarly, cut into batons or cubes.
· 1 pepper red/yellow – cut into strips
· 1 tin of chickpeas well drained
· Olive oil, salt and pepper
Raw Veg
· 3 carrots coarsely grated
· 1 pepper red/yellow thinly sliced
· Fresh coriander – 1 bug hand full roughly chopped
Dressing
· 100g walnuts
· 1 cup yoghurt
· 1 tsp ground coriander
· ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
· 1tsp apple cider vinegar
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180c. Put the aubergine, courgette and pepper batons into a big roasting tray and drizzle over oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15min until starting to soften and take colour.
2. Toss over the drained chickpea, give everything a good mix and put back in the oven for another 15-20min.
3. Make the sauce: In a blender, blitz the walnuts , you don’t want complete dust or mush so don’t overdo it! Add all the rest of the sauce ingredients and blend to combine. You can add a little water if it’s too thick. A dollop of mayonnaise can make it creamier if you have used low/no fat yoghurt.
You can of course also do this by hand – chop the walnuts up as much as possible and then mix all the other ingredients.
4. Mix the grated carrots, sliced peppers, most of the coriander, the cooked veg and chickpeas and the sauce. Season it with salt and pepper.
5. Serve at room temperature – leftovers keep well but take them out of the fridge in advance because it is best at room temp rather than fridge cold.
