Plant-based entrepreneur and founder of London’s very own Plant Academy, Lauren Lovatt, shares a seasonal, mind-boosting salad recipe perfect for long summer days.
Try Lauren’s Smashing Summer Salad recipe of green pea, summer blushed tomatoes & potato crackling to lift your spirits and inspire a mellow summer in the sun.
New Potato crackling
Ingredients:
200g new potatoes (if you can find purple potatoes to add another variety to your life they are fantastic) 40ml olive oil 10g dried oregano Big pinch salt
Method:
Firstly, pre-heat your oven to 180c and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Clean your potatoes and cut them into quarters, across the middle then in half again.
Place in a saucepan covered in water and bring the boil.
Allow to simmer for 20 mins until cooked through then allow 120g of the potatoes to cool.
With the other 80g, smash them in a bowl with a fork, smother in oil, salt and oregano and place on one lined baking tray in the oven.
Cook until crispy.
Summer blushed tomato pesto
Ingredients: One punnet cherry tomatoes Two cloves garlic 100g hemp seeds The zest of one lemon 100ml olive oil 10g nutritional yeast Pinch salt
Method:
Cut each tomato in half and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt, toss these tomatoes onto the other baking tray.
Place the garlic cloves, skin on, on the tray with the tomatoes and turn the oven down to 140°C.
Slowly roast for one hour (with the potato crackling still in the oven) until the tomatoes have lightly blushed and the garlic is soft.
This enhances the flavour of these lovely summer tomatoes and changes the texture perfect for pesto.
Now, as you gather the other ingredients, allow the tomatoes and garlic to cool.
Peel the garlic and place into a food processor with tomatoes, hemp seeds, lemon zest, salt and nutritional yeast. Pulse to combine and gradually stream in the oil.
Set aside.
Greens
Ingredients: 200g peas 100g mixed leaves 20g Fresh mint leaves, picked from the stalks 20g Fresh parsley leaves, picked from the stalks Juice of one lemon Pinch of chilli powder A handful of fresh tomatoes, optional
Method:
Whilst the cooked elements are coming together, simply gather your greens.
Toss the peas in the summer tomato pesto and set aside.
Whisk the olive oil, lemon, chilli and salt together and pour half over your cooling potatoes.
At the last minute, toss the leaves and herbs in a couple of tbsp of dressing.
Lay on a plate, scatter over potatoes, pesto smothered peas and fresh tomatoes.