1 cup whole, shelled walnuts
1 ½  pounds 1-inch pieces, boneless roasted chicken
6 cups prepared herbal salad or baby greens, rinsed and drained thoroughly
4 firm ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored
½ cut lemon

Good- quality prepared Balsamic salad dressing or:
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine or Balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces crumbled Roquefort or Stilton cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let cool and chop coarsely.
2. Arrange the greens in the bottom of a large bowl. Arrange the chicken pieces and pears on top. Sprinkle the cheese and walnuts over all.
3. If preparing the dressing, in a bowl, whisk together the mustard and vinegar. Slowly add the oil in a thin stream while whisking the mixture vigorously. (Alternatively, you may do this in a food processor.)  As you add the oil, the mixture should thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and serve.

Copyright Nina Simonds

This bread salad is the favourite every-day Lebanese salad. The spice sumac gives it a distinctive sharp flavor. The old traditional way was to moisten the toasted bread with water and a little lemon juice before soaking it further with the dressing, which made it deliciously soft and soggy. Nowadays, the toasted bread is broken into pieces and added to the salad at the end while it is crisp. You can buy purslane and small cucumbers (they have a better flavor than our large ones) in Middle Eastern stores.
11/2  pita breads
1 Cos lettuce, cut into 1/2 inch ribbons
about 100g purslane leaves or lamb’s lettuce
4 firm ripe tomatoes, cut into medium pieces
4 small cucumbers, peeled and cut into thick slices
1 green pepper, seeded and cut into small slices
11/2 mild onions or 8 scallions, chopped
large handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
4−5 sprigs of mint, shredded
1/3 - 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon ground sumac

Cut around the pita and open them out. Toast them under the grill or in the oven until they are crisp; turn them over once.
Break them into small pieces in your hands. Put all the vegetables and herbs in a large bowl.
For the dressing, mix the olive oil with the lemon juice, salt, pepper and sumac.

Just before serving, sprinkle the toasted pita o ver the salad then toss the salad well with the dressing. Serves 6–8

Serves 4 to 6

4 very ripe red tomatoes
1/2 sweet green pepper
1/2 Bermuda onion, peeled
1 small head Boston lettuce
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. mild vinegar
1/4 cup borage leaves, minced
Salt to taste

1. Peel the tomatoes and cut into wedges. Mince the pepper and onion. Wash,
drain, dry the lettuce, and chill everything.
2. In a wooden salad bowl, crush the garlic with the salt. Add the olive oil
and vinegar. Put the chilled tomatoes in the dressing, and mix well.
3. Sprinkle with borage leaves. Toss just before serving.

Copyright@ Di-Di’s Timeless Herb Secrets

http://www.herb.co.za/herbal/borage-recipes.htm

Six Servings

The appearance of this dish in my house heralds the arrival of the best part of summer when tomatoes are at their peak. I love to make this salad with yellow and orange tomatoes which can be very sweet. We like to make tomato-basil sandwiches with toasted seven-grain bread for lunch or a light dinner.

Garlic Vinaigrette

4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
1 ¼ teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ cup Balsamic vinegar
1 ¾ cups good quality virgin olive oil
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 to 7 medium ripe vine-ripened tomatoes, about 1 ½ pounds (Yellow and orange tomatoes are wonderful, if available.)
12 to 15 leaves fresh basil leaves, stems removed*

1. To make the Garlic Vinaigrette, drop the garlic cloves down the feed tube of a food processor fitted with a steel blade while the machine is running. Mince finely. Open the lid and add the mustard and vinegar.
Pulse to blend, turning the machine on and off and slowly pour the olive oil down the feed tube in a thin stream with the machine running. The dressing should become thick and creamy. Add salt and pepper, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. This will keep refrigerated for months.

2. Cut out the stem of the each tomato and cut into ¼-inch slices. Arrange on a plate. Rinse the basil leaves and blot dry with paper towels. Tear into thin pieces with your hands and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Pour some of the vinaigrette on top and serve some remaining on the side. Serve at room temperature or cold.

*Alternate slices of fresh mozzarella with the tomato, if desired.

© Copyright Nina Simonds 2008