Summer Heat = Cool Salads

Two weekends ago it was 48 degrees outside. It gets pretty hot over here. When you go outside in heat like that and the wind blows it's like a blow dryer on your skin. There is not much in the way of escape besides air conditioning (which we don’t have) and the pool (not much use after 9:00 pm).

One thing that becomes quite popular in the sweltering Andalucian summers are salads. It's too hot to cook and you're not that hungry anyway so enter salads. There are different types of course, but I can tell you that Spaniards certainly come up with interesting and colourful ways to present raw vegetables for consumption.

Over the next 6 stifling weeks, I will be showcasing some of my favourite salads that I make regularly along with the recipes. Enjoy!!

First on the list:

Ensalada Mixta

We'll start simple. Probably the most common salad you'll see in Spain is an ensalada mixta or mixed salad. Everyone has their own version of how they prepare this salad, but some ingredients you always see.

1/2 head of iceberg lettuce
2 sliced tomatoes
1/2 jar of shredded, preserved* carrots
1/2 jar of shredded, preserved* beets
1 can of sweet corn
1 small can of tuna

I also add:
1/4 of a small onion - thinly sliced
sometimes I will replace the carrots with apio (shredded, preserved* radish)

It's a typical house salad I know, but very popular in any restaurant and common in any Spanish home.

For dressing I simply put a little olive oil and even less vinegar over the salad with some salt and pepper to taste.

YA ESTA!

*Preserved in vinegar. Fairly easy to find in Spain, but maybe not so easy to find in Canada. You may have to make your own.