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.
- Top with the crackling, serve and enjoy!
Get more summer food inspiration, with our tips on throwing the perfect sustainable BBQ or low-waste picnic.
Read more about the relationship between food and mental health in our interview with Lauren Lovatt.
See the Eco-Age team‘s thrown-together summer recipe ideas.